September Sail, North by Northwest, to Desolation Sound, BC, Canada

We have just returned from our most adventurous and lengthy sailing trip yet - a 3 week exploration of the Canadian Gulf Islands and north to Desolation Sound on Cat's Cradle, our 32-foot catamaran. . We have traveled ~10 miles per day, sometimes tacking back and forth to end up only a few miles upwind of our start. We have had a fine time slipping into beautiful little coves, hiking forested trails and finding lots of local organic produce at various farmers' markets and pathside stands. We have had many pleasant dinners prepared in quiet spots as well as local pubs. Our catamaran worked very well; it clipped along at 7 knots when beating 60 degrees off the wind and sped up to 8 or 9 knots when off the wind. We encountered calm days as well as afternoons with 10 to 15 knot winds. There is a tidal range of more than 10 feet in this area, so rocks come and go in unexpected ways. Keeping a watchful eye is essential.

Leaving our homeport of Snug Harbor on Mitchell Bay of San Juan Island with Mosquito Pass on starboard and heading north:

Port Browning on North Pender Island:

We begin our habit of taking hikes in provincial parks, stretching our legs after hours of sailing, and startle a curious otter.

Ganges Harbor on Saltspring Island & Montague Harbor on Galiano Island: After attending the marvelous Farmers' Market on Saturday morning in Ganges, we take a strenuous 7 mile hike to a bluff overlooking Active Pass with B.C. ferries and swirling waters swishing by below as we perch on the bluff above. Back on the boat, with Val barbequing fresh tuna, a kayaking feline observes us and our cat.

At Montague we walked a rocky shore in the morning and came upon a sailboat leaning over on its side. (This and Dodd Narrows were Leslie's two most anxiety-ridden fears before we began our sail.....) The charterers grinned sheepishly as we walked right up to their marooned vessel. Four hours later, the tide was in and the young chagrined sailors and their boat were free.

Cat's Cradle rests in Conover Cove on Wallace Island: We take a hike through an old apple orchard and past 3 cabins built by the Conover family in the 1940's. We picnic at a quiet overlook above Trincomali Channel as Fat Gaper clams spurt 2-3' high waterspouts at low tide.

Pirate's Cove on DeCoursy Island is so pleasant that we each read a book and take two hikes. One along the road leads to Marylyn's Kusina ("Serve yourself and please pay.") where we load up with freshly-baked rye bread, lettuce, peppers, cucumbers and garlic and place our ten loonies in the box.

We had one narrow passage to negotiate. Dodd Narrows is about 150 ft. wide and quite deep. At each change of the tide a current of up to 9 knots surges and boils through the gap between two rocky cliffs. Boats queue up on both sides of the narrows and wait for the brief minutes when the current stops and then reverses to slip through. We motored slowly toward the narrows and watched the waiting boats. About 30 minutes before slack tide we motored through without difficulty, though these situations do concentrate the mind.

We then headed to the big city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. We slipped into a spot on G Dock and headed off to explore this charming town with its nicely renovated historic buildings.

Friend John Ford, a whale researcher, alerted us that a group of orca whales called "offshores" have just passed through Dodd Narrows and are heading north at a rapid pace.We temporarily pulled up our anchor off Newcastle Island Marine Park and quickly headed out into the Strait of Georgia, dropping our hydrophone over the side of Cat's Cradle to record the vocalizations of these seldom-seen orcas which are so different from our Southern Resident orcas.

After a fresh crab dinner, we walked along the winding waterfront promenade to view a presentation of taiko drumming and stilt dancers whom we'd seen earlier on the street.

Strait of Georgia and Malispina Strait: up at daybreak and headed north to take advantage of predicted winds from the southeast. We rolled out the genoa as winds built to 20-25 knots with occasional gusts to 30 knots. After a gray, cold and blustery trip north, we pulled up to a dock in Sturt Bay on the northern tip of Texada Island. We'd safely crossed the Strait of Georgia, covering approximately 40 miles and running all the way down the Malispina Channel between Texada and the mountainous mainland of B.C..

Desolation Sound near Sarah Point: we finally reach our destination! We motor sail around Sarah Point and cautiously enter Grace Harbor, dodging numerous small islands and rocks.We tie our new stern line (all 335 feet!) to a tree on shore and gaze down into the water which is full of medium-sized jellyfish. Our marine field guide tells us that they are moon jellyfish and non-stinging. With their translucent bell forms and short tentacles, they undulate all around us. We stay 2 nights in this quiet cove, hiking several island trails to view wood ducks on a pond of lily pads with colorful, irridescent dragonflies darting nearby our picnic spot.

Melanie Cove:We quietly celebrate Val's 60th with homemade rolls and freshly-squeezed orange juice, a Val-birthday-breakfast tradition. We dive into new birthday books and listen to new CDs with Val warmly wrapped in his handwoven birthday scarf. We hike in a true RAIN forest, wet and dripping. The plow anchor refuses to plow and we deploy a second anchor, our faithful Danforth. (The cruising guide states that "holding is good in sticky mud in Melanie Cove......").

Toba Inlet: the most beautiful part of a beautiful trip, and well worth the effort to get there. Classic glacier-carved fjords with seals hauled out on rocks in an estuary of mud and sand. Waterfalls cascading to aquamarine waters. Majestic Coast Range mountain backdrops of 8000 feet. And then one sees (and hears) a logging operation which mars an otherwise tranquil scene.......

Most of the time we sit on the bow, remote in one hand and a good book about the region in the other, and read, observe and daydream. We share passages from "A Dream of Islands" and "Upcoast Summers" and slowly cruise back from the end of Toba Inlet.

Waddington Channel: we anchor in Walsh Cove with 4 other boats, between East and We st Redona Islands after another stern line (mis)adventure. In the morning Leslie rows the dinghy to hunt for supposed petroglyphs at Butler Point.

Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island: after reprovisioning (thank goodness for fresh vegetables!) and doing the laundry, we hike along a hilly trail until we reach Von Donop Inlet.

After sailing south toward home, mostly under spinaker for two days, we prepare once again to go through Dodd Narrows. As we approach the entry point it is just getting light and we note a tug off to the side with an adjacent log boom. Suddenly there is a bang and the engine coughs and sputters, and aft to starboard roll two massive logs. The rudder has popped up (which is good) and we examine the engine which is still chugging along. All seems OK, and we pass through the narrows without any problem. On the other side, we set the spinaker and slowly head southward to Princess Bay on Wallace Island. We enjoy a late breakfast of French Toast with amaretto-cherry syrup from the Ganges Farmer's Market. Later, as we attempt to set the anchor at Wallace Island, an unexpected squall comes up and starts to push us toward the rocky shore. Leslie holds Cat's Cradle off the rocks with the boat hook as Val sets a stern line and deploys the second trusty anchor using the dinghy. Mr. Fix-It-Fox jury-rigs the newly-discovered broken part of the engine from the Dodd Narrows drama with ropes and epoxy.

We head home the next morning, wondering if the engine will continue to work.

We motor past lengthly Saltspring Island at a consistent 2000 rpms and stop briefly near Turn Point to talk to some waving friends on their Hunter 32 whom we'd met several weeks ago. . A half hour later, we pull onto our secure mooring in Snug Harbor and heave a sigh of relief. Later, we talk of our September sailing adventure, and vow to go north again next September, continuing on our sailing learning curve.