Heading back
We have started our journey back to Anacortes in the US so
that we can head back to Denver and pack up the house and put the contents into
storage.
We left Forward Harbour for Big Bay on Stuart Island, a
passage that would take us through 4 sets of rapids on two tides. Our plan is
then to make two more stops before transiting the Strait of Georgia and a stop-over
at Nanaimo for Katya’s birthday on the 18th July.
We entered Van Donop Inlet after a leisurely sail down Sutil
Channel with islands all around us and dropped the anchor only to have to reset
it after we started to drag in high winds. I stayed onboard with Rog whilst the
rest of the crew went for an expedition to Squirrel Cove (apparently there are flying
squirrels in the woods) in search of bread and cinnamon rolls. I started preparation for supper: home made pizzas.
It was a challenge to make the dough without making too much mess. Meanwhile
Katya’s friend Riley G entered the harbor. Katya got on the radio and invited
Riley and her father over for supper. 3 hours after leaving Steve phoned to say
that they had only just arrived at Squirrel Cove and there were lots of goodies
in the store. Now they just had to trek back.
The winds did not abate after sunset as usual and in fact
they increased with gusts up to 30 knots so I decided to camp out in the
cockpit and keep an eye out on the anchor. All was well with the winds dying
down around 1am.
We set out in the morning for Westview with winds of 20
knots on our nose so we motored until we intended to turn south and have the winds
on our beam. When we turned south the winds died to less than 5 knots so we had
to keep motoring.
Westview port seems to be a commercial harbor that is slowly
being transformed into a leisure port as the fishing trade dies. Steve and
Sandy went for lunch whilst Rog, Jude, Katya and I went for a walk through town
where we passed an art school that was offering a Sunday child minding / art school.
Katya was delighted to spend a couple of hours painting!
We have met so many people along the way, mainly Canadians
and Americans and only two Europeans from Norway. Most of the people seem to be
regular cruisers who go north for the summer, fishing, crabbing and prawning as
they go. Most of the people we met in the northern part of our journey are
retired but as we make our way south again there are more families. Steve
certainly wins the award for the most gregarious crew member. I am sure he
would suffer some social disorder if he did not speak to anyone else for more
than 3 days. Steve however is the fountain of knowledge once we step ashore. He
manages to find out who is doing what, when and where and always finds a source
of cinnamon rolls.
Katya has kept herself busy on the trip with her artwork. All
cardboard boxes have to be kept so that they can be turned into something
amazing. Even the small plastic widgets from Roger’s Guinness cans have to be
kept which are turned into eyeballs for her art projects. She has also been
having a competition with Steve to see who can read the most books. Not once
has she said that she is bored (two very pleased parents).
We arrived in Nanaimo and decided to anchor for a couple of
nights off Newcastle Island which is about ½ mile across the water from the city. The next
two days were spent going for walks around the island and swimming off the back
of the boat. In the evening we took the dingy to the floating Dingy Dock pub
for a few beers and supper.
Katya woke up on her birthday to a heavily decorated boat.
Balloons, streamers everywhere. A hide and seek present hunt had been arranged
and full celebrations for later in the day including a cake and dinner out on
the town in Nanaimo.
So great to hear from you again! We tries to call your number so many times but to no avail. Nice Canadian lady informed us again and again that you are too busy having a good time :-)
ReplyDeleteMum mentioned that you might be heading down under in September, just keep in mind we are away fron Sep 16- Oct 9.
Jude, very sad news regarding our cousin Misha. He had a stroke and passed away after 3 weeks of coma. Unfortunately the damage to his brain was too massive and nothing could be done to save him. Maybe you can call Ilana at some stage.
+9 723 635 1001 I've told her that you are away, she is probably following your blog too.
Enjoy the rest of your trip and keep safe!!!
Hello from Lyons, CO. Thanks for posting your adventure. All is well here with family coming and going and a side trip to Salt Lake City. Enjoy every minute. Love from the Journeays!
ReplyDeletethat sounds like fun !!! never been to salt lake city before
Deletehi this is jenna. i hope u are having a great adventure.i miss u already
ReplyDeletejenna lukes
hi this is rachel .i think is is so sad that luda died.did u know that my birthday is coming up in only 6 days . miss u a bunch
ReplyDeleterachel lukes
cool
Deletehi! this is Avery. i miss you:( happy late birthday Katya!!!!!!!!!! can I see you when you are in Colorado??????????
ReplyDelete