Multiple Bear Sightings in Chemainus!

Always on the lookout for something new to experience, we decided to visit Chemainus on our return trip south, through the Gulf Islands, on our way back to the U.S. The name, Chemainus, originates from the native shaman and prophet “Tsa-meeun-is,” which stands for Broken Chest. The legend goes that the man survived a massive wound to his chest and then became a powerful leader, his people took his name to identify their community, Chemainus First Nation. Later founded as a logging town, in 1858, the town is now famous for 39 beautiful painted murals that grace the downtown buildings depicting the town’s history. Apparently, the murals helped rejuvenate the town in the early 1980s when the larger sawmill was replaced by a smaller, more efficient version.

We had to dodge a lot of logs along this stretch (above and below), probably because of the sawmill in Chemainus.

After a beautiful cruise from Nanaimo, we tied up at the little marina and walked into town; it was just a short walk up the hill from the marina. What we found was a small town alive with people strolling, shopping, eating and socializing. We couldn’t help but notice the famous painted murals on building after building depicting the towns’ logging, milling, and mining history. We found them to be very tastefully done and educational.

Walking down the street a guy stopped us and asked if we are from Traverse City, Michigan. Kind of surprised, as I often forget when I wear my Traverse City T-shirt, I asked if he was also from Traverse City. The fellow said no, not at all, but I see you have a t-shirt on, and “Traverse City” is written across the front. Long story short, he tells us his wife grew up in Traverse City, and they still have family there and go back frequently to visit. I guess that 6 degrees of separation theory must be on the mark, considering that as far as we were from home we were still not that far from meeting someone with similar family, friends or acquaintances. It is a small world!

We walked through town once to get the lay of the land, all the while scoping out a place to land for lunch, in the end, we decided on Pho Triple 7 Restaurant and had one of the best Vietnamese lunches ever.

Although we did finally see a bear, at Hardy Island, just before our cruise up Jervis Inlet, we thought we’d see more during our Cruise to Desolation Sound and Chatterbox Falls. Well, guess these multiple bear sightings in Chemainus will have to do.

Just before we left the dock the next morning we were surprised by all the debris around our boat, again we think this is a result of the sawmill nearby.

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Out Into the Strait of Georgia Again, Heading for Departure Bay!

We left Jedediah Island refreshed and confident in heading out again. We continued our crossing of the Strait of Georgia the day after being literally blown off the water. As you can see Lisa’s taking photos again. While this day looked much better it was still a little stormy when we started out. However with some blue sky showing up on the horizon. The water conditions were still a little lumpy, but comparing it to the day before, it was a walk in the park, so to speak. By the time we completed the last 10 miles of our crossing we had protection from the leeward side of Vancouver Island, making the last 15 mile run down to Nanaimo very pleasant indeed. We ducked into Departure Bay and worked our way down Newcastle Island Passage. We found there a peaceful anchorage just off of Newcastle Island Marine Park, where we had great views of Nanaimo Harbour at sunset with colorful city lights lining the shore of the harbor.

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We felt that sunny warmth today.

Princess Louisa Inlet and Provincial Marine Park were created on June 24, 1965. Sitting on the other side of Jervis Inlet with Malibu Rapids acting as the dividing point, the park is a 5-mile-long spectacular fjord. The park is surrounded by 3,000-foot-high, waterfall-littered, snow-tipped mountains. The inlet boasts about 1,000 feet of water depth and measures no more than a half-mile wide. At the end of Princess Louisa Inlet is the equally stunning 120-foot-tall Chatterbox Falls.

The Princess Louisa Inlet and Provincial Marine Park is only accessible by boat or plane, there are no public roads. The only access a boat has is through the Straight of Georgia by way of Jervis Inlet and finally the terrifying Malibu Rapids.

Boaters consider Princess Louisa Inlet to be the Holy Grail of cruising!

After making our way uneventfully through Malibu Rapids, we slowly cruised the length of the inlet in relative silence. We glided through the tranquil waters by the granite-walled, glacier-cut gorge in complete awe of the phenomenal sights being presented to us. Surrounding us were tall cliffs, snow-capped peaks, mirror-like water, and something intangible that is hard to describe.

Glaciers carved the now-standing, 7,000-foot, almost completely enclosed granite-walled fiord. Much like a placid mountain lake, but with constantly changing tides. There are no currents except at Malibu Rapids

Our first sighting of Chatterbox Falls (below) took our breath away. Since it had been raining a lot in this area, the mountains sported waterfalls everywhere it seemed, but none could compare with the famous Chatterbox Falls.

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The Anchorage at Hardy Island is Located at the Base of Jervis Inlet

We were somewhat protected by Texada Island as we cruised 21 miles southeast from Powell River to Hardy Island. The anchorage at Hardy Island is located at the base of Jervis Inlet. We are positioning ourselves for the cruise up to Princess Louisa Inlet, Malibu Rapids, and finally Chatterbox Falls. Entering Blind Bay we found calm waters ideal for anchoring in a narrow, well-protected, cove within Hardy Island Marine Park. As we were scouting for a spot to drop our hook we came across a small black bear strolling by the water’s edge. The bear was just as startled as we were. He immediately hightailed it up the rock cliff and into the woods never to be seen by us again. This would end up being our only bear sighting during our PNW cruise.

The real reason for anchoring at Hardy Island was to position ourselves for the 46-mile run-up Jervis Inlet the next day. We were pleasantly surprised with the beautiful rock boulder island setting with several protected coves, suitable for our late afternoon dinghy exploration cruise.

On our way in this wolf-shaped image jumped out at us (above) as we made our way deep into one of the coves to anchor.

We don’t have a photo of the bear we saw. He was just too fast to run up the rocky cliff and out of our view. The photo above shows the spot where we saw him.

We especially enjoyed seeing these rock sculptures during our dinghy cruise.

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After two glorious weeks of picture-perfect boating weather and sensory overload during our exploration of Canada’s Desolation Sound, the time had come to start working our way south/southeast. We had a calm but overcast day to exit Desolation sound from our anchorage in Roscoe Bay. Up next, was Jervis and Princess Louisa Inlets and the much talked about Chatterbox Falls, but first we had to explore a few of the little fishing villages along British Columbia’s “Sunshine Coast.” Our first stop was Lund (below), a busy, picturesque, seaside village, 120km north of Vancouver, only eight miles south of Desolation Sound. The village has only about three hundred year-round residents but is host to a lot more during the warm weather season. Not only is it close to Desolation Sound Provincial Marine Park but also the Copeland Islands, Okeover Inlet, and tropical Savary Island.

During our brief stay in Lund, we learned a lot about the area called the Sunshine Coast, a region of the southern mainland coast of British Columbia, on the eastern shore of the Strait of Georgia, just northwest of Vancouver. The Sunshine Coast is British Columbia’s best-kept secret, stretching over 180km of coastline from Langdale to Lund with many quaint, tiny coastal communities in between, assessable only by boat or ferry, it has its fair share of desirable weather and is known for its many cultural activities including resident artist’s gallery exhibits, outdoor recreation, and many festive community events.

After roughing it in the wilderness of British Columbia, cruising in saltwater without a real bath, and stowing garbage in the far corner of the cockpit, the boat needed a good cleaning, a pump out, fuel, and freshwater – needless to say, Lund Small Craft Harbour was a welcome stop. After accomplishing all of the above, we still found time to tour the historic, 110-year-old, Lund Hotel and walked all over the small town.

During a rainy evening, we enjoyed an excellent fish and chips dinner at the Boardwalk Restaurant located in the harbor, right across from our slip at the marina.

This is one of the car ferries we saw delivering boats to the village (above). One morning we visited Nancy’s (below) for some fresh cinnamon rolls and ate them outside in the warm sun next to a palm tree. Guess it really is the Sunshine Coast.

The Lund Hotel has a helicopter pad (below) adjacent to their lawn. We imagine a lot of locals travel this way instead of taking the ferries or personal boats. Seaplanes are very prevalent in this neck of the woods.

We found this bike (above) an interesting way to advertise a bike rental and repair business on Savary Island. It was located near the Lund Water Taxi building.

The small marina office offers an outdoor boater’s lounge with a beautiful rustic chair (below) to use for accessing the internet.

An interesting factoid about this small fishing village is that it sits at the northernmost point of Route 101, mile 0. If you were to start in Lund on Route 101 and drive south you could end up at the tip of South America, all on this historic highway.

When asking Fran (below), Lund’s Harbormaster and one of the friendliest we’ve met, about available transportation to Powell River (an 18-mile trip), for a provisioning run, she volunteered to lend us her car. We had not been to a full-fledged grocery store in well over two weeks, our supplies were low and I needed to visit a marine hardware store we had heard that Powell River had everything we could possibly need, it is a real hub of activity.

Thanks again, Fran!

We always enjoy visiting other countries while boating to see all the different products they have on their shelves. On this trip we were introduced to Sour Cabbage Heads (above), packaged up in a sour marinade, we suppose.

On the ride into town, we couldn’t help but notice how the road was lined with deliciously ripe, ready-to-pick, wild blackberries. If you’ve read some of our prior posts you already know this is a real bonus find for us, we just can’t get over how abundant this wild berry crop is all over the Pacific Northwest. On our return trip to Lund, we found a dirt road off the main highway (below) and made a roadside stop to pick several bags of the plump, black, juicy fruit, using some of our shopping bags to collect them, enough for three or four days of breakfast snacks, blackberry pancakes. One night Lisa improvised a little and produced a blackberry cobbler with a little whipped cream on top. Yum!

So relieved we got to reprovision at the big stores in Powell River. We saved a lot of money by going to a bigger town and got everything we needed to sustain ourselves during our trip to Chatterbox Falls.

One of the things we love to do when boating is walking the docks and see all the unusual boats tied up. This one, not far from our slip, was intriguing with its unique anchor mount on the bow of the boat.

This beautiful sculpture of King Neptune stands guard over the harbor at Lund.

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We left Pendrell Sound this morning to motor over to Squirrel Cove. Several boaters recommended this spot as a very well-protected anchorage and since our weather turned a little sour we decided the cove might just be the ticket for a good night’s sleep.

The photo below not only shows a pretty typical type of cruising boat in Canada’s Desolation Sound but some of the huge logs boaters have to contend with when cruising this area.

Squirrel Cove is a popular anchorage for cruisers!

The cove provides a very protected anchorage for a large number of boats and, as a bonus, there’s a small village nearby, Squirrel Cove – we love an opportunity to get off the boat. That’s just what we did shortly after we got settled at anchor; we jumped into the dinghy and headed toward town. The wind had really picked up outside the cove and it was a pretty rough, one-mile ride in our little 7.5-foot dinghy from the Squirrel Cove anchorage to the town of Squirrel Cove.

It doesn’t take much to entertain us, a little walk, lunch off the boat, and a stop at the grocery store for a few supplies or just to check the availability of produce and goods. On this trip out we even picked up some blackberries from a roadside stand. We desperately needed to dispose of some garbage that had been collecting in the corner of the cockpit of Kismet and we’d heard the town dock at Squirrel Cove was the place to drop it off.

The pirate boat (below) sent their tender out to collect a small group of aptly dressed young ladies.

Our trip into the village of Squirrel Cove was three hours tops. As far as getting off the boat, Lisa was good to go for another day, but I was still up for a little more exploration by dinghy, so when I dropped her off at the boat, I continued on to explore the anchorage at Squirrel Cove. As it turned out it became a little more than I had bargained for… I almost missed dinner.

Sometimes a guy just has to get away by himself to explore new territory by himself. I thought this would also offer up an opportunity to return to the boat with stories to share with Lisa, something hard to do when we’re always together. I had heard about an inner lake near the anchorage that is impossible to transit, even by dinghy, at low tide, and also not possible at high tide when the current is creating full-fledged rapids, but my source said that it could be negotiated at or close to slack tide. Sounded like just the sort of challenge for me… just what I was looking for to brighten up my afternoon.

Consequently, I set out to investigate this mysterious channel before slack tide, thinking to myself that this adventure would be worth some spousal separation. Time-wise, I thought a good half hour or forty-five minutes tops would do the trick. As I approached the northeast side of the small inlet to the lake, I could see water filling the approximately 100-foot channel with the incoming tide. I ventured a little closer to get a better vantage point, thinking all would be OK and just as I was processing this thought a kayaker had come through the rapids and continued past me. As I inched closer I realized the shallow, rock-laden, and narrow mouth of the inlet would be problematic for my small dinghy, much less returning against the current. TOO LATE!!! The outboard prop caught a rock, the engine died, and I went for the oars… without control of the dinghy the current sucked me through into the calm interior of the landlocked little lake.

Now what to do, I thought to myself as I restarted my outboard and slowly cruised around the small pristine lake, enjoying the undisturbed natural setting. I May as well take a look around while I was there, but all during that time I was thinking, how the heck am I going to get back out? Nightfall was not far off and slack tide was at least two hours away. Of course, I had not brought my cell phone or portable VHF radio, so  I couldn’t alert Lisa, who was comfortably enjoying our anchorage back at Kismet. It was about this time I spotted another dinghy in the far reaches of the inner lake and decided to head his way. My thoughts were that this guy would have more knowledge of the area than I did and surely would have an exit strategy in place. Subsequently, I introduced myself to Peter, who I found out was in the exact same predicament as myself, he was also stressed about being late for dinner back on his anchored boat and perplexed as to what to do next.

Peter suggested we both raise our outboard dinghy engines to their highest transom elevation, in order to reduce our draft, then we could try to run hard up against the turbulent rapids. We both tried and failed, the current was that strong against our small outboards, besides, if we had drifted into the really shallow rock areas we could have caused damage to the prop and/or the dinghy. Our next strategy included the aid of a friend of Peter’s who had, lucky for us, just kayaked up to the inlet and landed his craft on the outside mouth of the rapids. Peter’s friend suggested we do a three-way relay and pull the dinghies (one at a time), with a long painter line, up through the rapids. At the shore’s edge, one person stood on slippery rocks and steadied the dinghy close to the rock-strewn shore, another pulled the dinghy forward 20 feet, while the third person took the newly created available line up the channel another 20 feet and began another pulling process. We did this relay method three or four times for each dinghy and finally made it back to the anchorage with both Peter, his friend, and I returning to the dry warmth of our respective boats… just in time for dinner.

By the time I got back to the boat, I was pooped, but it was a fun time and makes for a good story.

I was so excited about my little adventure, the next morning before we left the cove, I took Lisa over to the rapids so she could fully appreciate the dilemma I faced the day before.

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Anchoring in Walsh Cove while waiting to get dock space at Toba Wildernest.

One of the beauties of cruising in Desolation Sound is that when you leave one place you have plenty of spots to consider for your next day’s docking or anchorage. We left Laura Cove after the three-day holiday weekend and headed northeast up Homfray Channel. We passed Homfray Lodge, a stop recommended by some friends, but we decided to pass on it and continue cruising as we were hoping for a black bear sighting. We had heard bears were often sighted along the shoreline of the channel, however, after striking out on the bear sighting, we cruised up to Wildernest Lodge and radioed in to reserve a spot on their dock for the next day and night, we then proceeded on our way to Pryce Channel, down into Waddington Channel and finally into Walsh Cove where we decided to anchor for the night – all this within a two-hour, trawler paced, cruise. The snow-capped mountains and picturesque fjord-like channels more than made up for the lack of a bear sighting earlier in the day.

 Look how much different that rock island looks at high tide. Jim is just returning to the boat (above) after setting the stern line to shore at Walsh Cove. The photo below shows our line barely visible on the top of that rock.

Shortly after our anchor was set and stern lines were taken ashore, who should show up but some friends, fellow Tugnuts (folks who own or have owned a Ranger Tug), Willie’s Tug, Last Call, and Moondance, cruised into the cove and rafted off each other on the far side of Walsh Cove. After spending a week or so without much outside social interaction we were looking forward to visiting with them after dinner to catch up on our mutual Desolation Sound cruising adventures. Don’t get me wrong Lisa and I get along just fine, but when you’re on a boat 24/7 together, it’s nice to bump into some friends on the water.

After dinner we dinghied over to the three boats, the girls settled into the salon inside, and the guys in the cockpit of Last Call. I’m not too sure what the girls talked about but they sure laughed a lot, we guys talked about anchorages, fuel filters, boat registration, and such. Herb and Willie, on Willie’s Tug, Bruce and Vickie, on Moondance, and Patrick and Gail, on Last Call, had been cruising together since they left Gorge and came up with a group name… Willie’s Last Dance.

When we bumped into Bruce and Vickie later we learned how close we were to a whale sighting, apparently, when they arrived at the cove (we were already settled in) they saw some orcas making their way through the channel outside Walsh Cove. Our view of them was blocked by the huge rock we had tied up to.

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We found a nice anchorage in Laura Cove, so we set the anchor and tied lines to the big rock. Lisa prepared lunch to take out on a dinghy exploration of the surrounding area. We ventured out of the cove into Homfrey Channel turned the outboard off and floated around while having lunch with a spectacular mountain view surrounding us off in the distance.

Afterward, I dropped Lisa off at the boat and continued on, by dinghy, to a hiking trail located off Melanie Cove. I’d read about this trail somewhere and how it leads up to Unwin Lake, the freshwater lake we’d hiked to and swam in the day before when staying in Tenedos Bay. As I neared the shore, I looked for a well-worn path leading into the brush and I fairly quickly found a homemade sign indicating the path to Unwin Lake.

As low tide had already passed (tide swings are around 10 feet) I knew I had to be careful where I landed and parked the dinghy, there wasn’t a sandy beach to rest the dinghy on and the rocks were covered with growth that was slippery and sharp. To keep the dinghy from washing ashore and risking puncturing a hole in the Hypalon, I didn’t raise the outboard like I usually do, instead, I let the skeg act as a stern anchor while running my extra long painter line up to shore to secure.

Another hike to Unwin Lake after securing our anchorage in Laura Cove.

Then I set off on my hike through the woods up and away, above the crowds of Melanie Cove on a narrow, well-traveled path. The further I got away from the busyness of the boat-strewn coves of Prideaux Haven the quieter my surroundings became. The woods were almost magical with cedar trees canopying the hillside as I made my way up to the lake. At various points, I’d climb under or over fallen trees as I followed the path lined with monstrous 5-foot-tall ferns. At more than one point I thought I’d been gone awhile and it was enough of a hike for one day, but I continued on rationalizing that I may not have this opportunity again.

Forty minutes later, after about a mile into my hike, I reached a divide in the path. One direction indicated it led down to the lake while the other, the one I chose, led to a cliff-side view of Unwin Lake. I chose the latter and less than 10 minutes later I had reached the summit and stood 300 to 400 feet above the unspoiled beauty of Unwin Lake and a spectacular view overlooking the northern arm. I’m glad I persevered and continued to the top. What I found up there was serenity – absolute quiet, no boats, no people or seaplanes, the only noise was that of a slight breeze ruffling through the forest. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of undisturbed nature, the aroma in the air seemed to come from the cedar trees that line all of the nearby hills and mountains. I clapped my hands and heard the clap return to me in the form of an echo off of the canyon walls. What can I say but how I am loving our cruise in Desolation Sound?

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After our swim at Unwin Lake, we followed the river and small rapids back to the dinghy. Just outside the woods in the open sunlight by the park entrance, where our dinghy was tied up, we came across a slew of blackberry bushes loaded with precious ripe berries. Risking bee stings and thorn-torn hands and legs, we harvested enough for blackberry pancakes the next morning. But first, when we arrived back to the boat, sitting in our Tenedos Bay anchorage, a batch of martinis was in order to wind down a very enjoyable day. Lisa then whipped up one of our favorite dishes, red beans, and rice.

By this time in our trip, I’d have to say we’ve become very VERY relaxed. Over a stack of blackberry pancakes the next morning, I asked Lisa, “What day is it?” and she said, “I don’t know!” After spending five travel days trailering our Kismet across the country, followed by a few days of preparations, laundry, and provisioning, and finally hop-scotching up the coast of Vancouver Island with the Ranger Tug group, we knew we’d come to the point of our PNW cruise where we had become completely relaxed. We didn’t know, or care, what day of the week or month it was. We had not seen or heard a newscast since putting our boat in the water, and we didn’t care. We had turned our phones off when we entered Canada and our onboard wifi card was turned off as well, no calls in or out for us and no internet except at the rare marina stops. We were beginning to feel like we were in a bubble of sorts and we savored every minute of that blissful state, being in the moment and totally focused on our Desolation Sound Cruise.

Blackberry pancakes this morning in our Tenedos Bay anchorage!

After a yummy breakfast of pancakes and berries, on Sunday morning, we pulled anchor to head over to Melanie and Laura Coves.

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Soon after we got the boat stern tied to shore at the anchorage in Tenedos Bay, we grabbed our bathing suits and towels and hopped into the dinghy for a short ride over to Unwin Lake for a refreshing swim in the 75˚ water. There are no real beaches up at Unwin Lake, it’s all natural with lots of logs and rocks. We found an outcropping of boulders that provided us with a bit of privacy and a shallow pool of water on a rock ledge before it dropped off for swimming.

We lingered eating apples and enjoying the mountain view on the shore of Unwin Lake.

Refreshed from our hour swim and with clean bodies we made our way back down to the bay following a rushing stream of water.

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Refuge Cove is a relic of the past.

We have not been out cruising in Desolation Sound that long, this being our fifth day, but we missed getting fuel while we were at Gorge (it was busy when we left and we didn’t want to wait). So when we left Teakerne Arm we thought we’d head over to Refuge Cove, a fully functioning marina and year-round community, centrally located on West Redona Island in the heart of Desolation Sound. We wanted to fuel up and top off our water supply. Refuge Cove is a relic of the past. We marveled at how the store still stands in one piece on top of the ancient barnacle-covered pilings below. The cove provides a seasonal home to 20 families and home to half that many during the off-season.

While there we had a quick trip through the little store and were pleased to find quite a selection, more than we thought they’d have – all the basics were covered and some fresh produce to boot. We picked up a few items at the store and investigated all the other buildings – a laundry and shower facility, a used book store that also sold local honey, and a small gift store and cafe on top of the rocks.

We were really impressed with the laundry and shower facilities at Refuge Cove. They also make and sell ice there.

We like the looks of the marina’s Boater’s Lounge (above).

We ran into a couple of Ranger Tugs while we were at Refuge Cove, one of them had delivered Kenny, Service Rep at Ranger Tugs, to Refuge Cove so that he could catch a seaplane to Seattle to attend the wedding of a friend. We had talked to Kenny earlier about him cutting his Desolation Sound trip short to attend the wedding, he said it was really important that he be there for his friend. The reason Kenny is still sitting at the dock mid-Saturday with his suitcase, a day after his scheduled flight, is that during his trip to the marina to catch his scheduled flight, the boat ferrying him to the marina had a mechanical problem. Kenny chose to forego his flight to stay and help the owner identify and repair the problem. Now that’s way up there on the charts for first-class customer service. Way to go Kenny. It all worked out for the best in the end. We later heard that Jeff Messmer, Ranger Tugs Sales Manager, arranged a special flight for Kenny and he was able to make it to the reception.

The marina has an unusual plumbing system (above and below, right).

We had never heard of this game called Washer Dome (above left and below). Have you?

I guess you could say I have a weakness for cute dinghies. The bright colors of this one caught my eye. Isn’t it sweet?

We stayed less than two hours checking out the cove and getting fuel, water and groceries, then we were on our way again. Next stop… an anchorage in Tenedos Bay.

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Teakerne Arm – A Waterfall and Hike to a Fresh Water Lake

Leaving Grace Harbour, we had a short cruise to Lewis Channel before we made a turn up into Teakerne Arm and another anchorage in the British Columbia wilderness. In the open waters I kept seeing a distinctive peak off in the distance, it seemed to appear from behind and above the waterside hills, fjords, and mountains as if it was following us as we worked our way around Desolation Sound. With a little research, I found Mount Denman (the pointy-tipped mountain in the middle of the photo below – taken from just outside Melanie Cove) to be 6,299 feet high, it rests at the end of Desolation Sound and is considered Canada’s Matterhorn.

At the head of Teakerne Arm, one is greeted by a cascading waterfall spilling into the saltwater away from Cassel Lake, a freshwater lake just above the falls. We continued past the falls and found a small cove to anchor in stern tied to the shore, there were only five boats anchored there that night. The next morning all the other boats left and we had the entire cove to ourselves.

Waterfall (above) at Teakerne Arm

We found a nice spot to anchor and stern tie in Teakerne Arm, only one other boat shared the small cove with us.

The apparatus above is called a “donkey,” it sits here rusted along with many heavy-duty cables, remnants of the logging that took place in this area.

The trail we hiked led us to this smooth rock on the lake’s southern shore, it angled deep into the lake. Someone had fashioned a haul-out rope with knots to make it easier for people to get in and out of the water as the rock is very slippery. We brought aqua socks though and that helped a lot. The water was refreshing and surprisingly warm.

As we were walking back from our hike we saw a blue Ranger Tug (above) hovering in front of the falls probably taking photos like we did (which were just below us to the left in the photo above).

The territory of Desolation Sound was pretty dry during our time there and we saw many of these signs posted (above).

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First stop, Grace Harbour – Striking out on our own to explore Desolation Sound –

We left Gorge Harbour mid-morning to find yet another perfect boating day awaiting us. History states that Captain George Vancouver first sailed the waters of the Sound in 1792, thinking the landscape remote and forbidding, he named it Desolation Sound. We think he must have had a run of bad weather to have taken such a gloomy stance on such a diverse and stunningly beautiful area, but we’d have to admit that the name has a certain draw to it.

With Cortes Island behind us we headed for Desolation Sound Marina Park, a large dedicated group of islands, along with a bit of mainland BC, set aside as a marine park in 1973 for the benefit of recreational boaters, campers, and hikers. Our goal for the first day out was to head to an anchorage in Grace Harbour, a well-protected cove a large sheltered bay located in Malaspina Inlet, surrounded by Gifford Peninsula. We heard about it from another boater.

As we made the turn at the southern tip of Cortes we were greeted with an incredible sight as we motored on, hills growing into peaks and eventually a few snow-capped mountains way off in the distance.

Grace Harbour’s inner bay, where we anchored, is surrounded by forest and is almost entirely landlocked. We enjoyed a pleasant dinghy ride around the harbour, met a few of our neighbors, grilled some fish for dinner, had a few stimulating games of dominoes, and watched a beautiful sunset grace the harbor.

Two new items this trip out, we bought a set of new, wood, folding chairs for extra seating in the cockpit and we added a spool with a line for stern tying. Another Ranger Tug owner had made the suggestion to attach it to the bimini railing and it works perfectly there, can’t wait to try it out.

Grace Harbour was a photographer’s dream subject tonight.

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Ganges Harbor, on Saltspring Island, is a short 10-mile run from Montague Harbor and the gathering point for the boaters participating in the Ranger Tugs 2013 Desolation Sound Cruise. We left early for Ganges, with yet another blue-skied day with just a light breeze and fairly calm waters.

We looked forward to meeting up with about 45 Ranger Tugs and their owners for five days of socializing, pot lucks, and finally taking three days to cruise together up to Desolation Sound, and this was just the Ranger Tug boats, we would meet up with a group of Cutwater’s (about another ten or fifteen) in Nanaimo for the cruise to Comox.

We met folks from Illinois, Georgia, Texas, California, Utah, Nevada, and Oregon with most being from Washington and Canada’s British Columbia, even Ganges.

We wanted to arrive early so we could get our boat washed up and looking pretty, but much to my surprise and dismay I found out the town had a shortage of water and there was a ban on washing boats in the marina. The good news was that by skipping the boat cleaning process we could move right on to meeting other Ranger Tug owners as they trickled into the marina. On the first evening, a happy hour was held on the dock with everyone contributing snacks. We had two full days in Ganges, plenty of time to walk around town to do some last-minute provisioning (vegetables, wine, and fish), we even found two small wood chairs for the cockpit of Kismet at the local hardware store.

The first thing we did when we arrived in the harbor was to fuel up. We wanted to be full-up and ready to go when we vacated the docks on Sunday.

We were surprised that the majority of the Ranger Tugs in attendance sport the classic dark blue hull with the second most popular color being the new dark grey with one or two dark green, two yellow, and three variations of red.

Low tide at Ganges is quite a drop down from shore (below).

We met Vickie and Bruce, on Moondance, at the 2011 Ranger Tug Rendezvous in Bremerton, WA., they recently went from a Ranger Tug R25 to an R29. Bruce and Vickie are very instrumental in a lot of the Ranger Tug cruises and rendezvous.

On our second day in Ganges we took Andrew Ranger Tugs Customer Service Manager extraordinaire and his wife Carlene (above) to lunch at Calvin’s, overlooking the harbor. Andrew and Kenny (also in Customer Service) and Jeff, Ranger Tugs Sales Manager are kept so busy during these gatherings (more later) we felt it might be nice to get Andrew and Carlene away from the docks for a brief spell. The benefit for us was that we really got to them as a couple, hear about their recent wedding and talk about their interests outside of work.

There were lots of these float planes buzzing overhead as they landed in the harbor (above).

The town of Ganges has a very popular Farmer’s Market on the weekend. It really had more arts and crafts with a lot of fresh baked goods, but we found a little produce section and managed to score some nice swiss chard to go with the fish we had bought in town for dinner that night. We really enjoyed the participation by the youngsters at the market, it was interesting to see what they were selling, some very creative, future marketers.

The piano (above) is available for impromptu performances (apparently it gets moved all over town), bring your music or play from heart, we thought it was a very unique item and added even more character to this bustling Canadian town.

Leon and Karen, on ScottFree (below), stopped by to ask a few questions about doing the Great Loop boat trip in a Ranger Tug. The biggest benefit of having two days to gather together in Ganges was that we could take time to meet some of the other Ranger Tug owners, we enjoyed having time to sit and talk with some as we did during those two days before we skipped up the coast to Desolation Sound.

The second night was another happy hour followed by our first captain’s meeting where we discussed our departure schedule (carefully timed and coordinated to get so many boats out of the marina in an organized fashion), the distance being cruised, and the particulars of transiting Dodd Narrows. With 11-foot tides and a very narrow channel, Dodd Narrows is a rapids with up to 7 MPH currents at full force and therefore is safest and best advised to traverse at slack tide. With that said the timing of 50 boats leaving Ganges had to be orchestrated so everyone arrived by slack tide.

After the main captain’s meeting boaters broke up into three groups to receive more specific instructions for our group, having chosen the time of departure and speed each wanted to travel and determined the group they would join. Predetermined, experienced lead boaters headed each group along with sweeper boats previously assigned. One group went at 6 A.M. at a fast speed to catch the morning slack, while the other two groups, ourselves included, signed up to go late morning, so we’d arrive for the early afternoon slack.

There is a kind of electric buzz around the marina tonight as everyone is ready to go and we all kind of know, the excitement is just about to begin.

The post Forty-Five Ranger Tugs Gather at Ganges, British Columbia appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.

Peaceful Night On the Hook in Prevost Harbor

From Anacortes, we headed straight to the northern end of the San Juan Islands to spend one night on the hook in Prevost Harbor before we checked in at customs in Bedwell Harbour, British Columbia. Stuart Island was just south of  Boundary Pass and Bedwell Harbor and just short of a heavy fog bank that just seemed to hang around the western edge of Stuart Island.

As we arrived in the harbor, we immediately spotted this Fathom 40 trawler (below – just like our previous boat, same color too), we cruised by to say hi to the owners, thinking maybe we’d know them, but we didn’t. Fathom yachts are beautiful boats and easy to handle. We loved ours, but find we can do even more cruising with our trailerable Ranger Tug. We can cruise as we did before on a bigger boat, but also a trailer and launch her in many desirable inland lakes, such as Lake Powell and Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

This pair of eagles were perched near our boat all evening. It appeared they were keeping an eye on the activity in the harbor.

When I began to take stock of what items we might have on the boat that would not fly during our check-in to Canadian customs, I got the bright idea to make potato salad with all the potatoes we had on hand. Potatoes were on the NoGo list we checked, but cooked items would be fine. We also had tomatoes to eat, some limes, and cherries. It made for an interesting dinner. We had potato salad for lunch for many days after.

Love nights on the hook when the water is glassy and reflects everything it touches. Prevost Harbor was picture-perfect for our one-night stay.

The post Positioning Ourselves In Prevost Harbor Off Stuart Island in the San Juans appeared first on Trailer Trawler Life Blog – Cruising USA & Canada.