Back Home...

I'm looking out my office window and there is a momma deer and her 2 spotted babies munching away in our yard.  Land life ain't so bad...

We ended up spending our last night in Kingston where we had a great visit and dinner with the Langs.  It's a great marina with beautiful grounds, an electric car to borrow for free and many events held on the  lawn.  A smooth ride back home to Tacoma and now just chilling and reading emails.  Everything is so green and lush!

Thank so much for following our trip!  We love sharing sailing and the beautiful places we are so very lucky to go with our friends and family.

Until our next trip - love and peace!
Fran, Jeff and Colonel

Port Townsend

The southern winds that were supposed to stay away for another day came during the night. We left with a nice breeze to sail to Roche Harbor but as soon as we rounded the corner of N. Pender Island, it was howling. The winds and waves within minutes jumped to 34 kts and 8' all on the nose. We had full sails up and we had to really scramble to get them in fast. We pounded south only making 4.5 kts against the steep waves and finally ducked into Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island. Stayed for a couple hours then headed to Roche Harbor in calm seas. We were able to fit on the end of our Roche Harbor Yacht Club dock and there is a picture of us hanging out (literally) withe big boys. 

An early crossing of the Straits today with a few waves due to yesterday's wind but nothing too bad. A treat was having my best buddy Carolyn stop by the boat for a quick visit! A nice way to get back to civilization.  Then pizza and stumbling into the concert on the dock with a great band. PT is my absolute favorite town!

Off to Seattle tomorrow and maybe we can get a spot at Bell Harbor.

Ellen Bay, Prevost Island, BC

Sitting here in the cockpit and its absolutely still. Pink skies all around. An eagle is on one side in a tree and a heron on the other side. Heaven...

I did get Jeff to watch a Kingfisher doing his thing thru the binoculars for a couple minutes. His comment was "well I'll be damned, he got a fish".  

We really liked Nanaimo and will put in on our list as a city to visit again.

We passed through Dodd Narrows early at 1.9  kts against us and it was wild for about 5 seconds then just fine.  After we heard the traffic as many boats tried to go thru and logs got flushed into it from a nearby logboom. Glad we went they early.

Gorgeous run down Trincomali Channel

but still not that many boats are out. We decided on this anchorage because winds should stay from the north for another day. It's mid July and we are the only ones here!  Even the popular anchorages nearby are not very full.

It's our last night in Canada and Jeff and the Colonel had halibut to celebrate. Tomorrow we are off to Roche Harbor; a place we always love. 

Nanaimo and a return to civilization.

Last night was a night of little sleep for me as the winds picked up in our anchorage. From 3-4pm it was really howling but everyone's anchor held. With it still blowing less but 15kts and more further out we headed for Nanaimo hoping the winds would settle down and the seas would be ok. Both happened and we had an uneventful 1/2 sail 1/2 motor to the very crowded Nanaimo; made more crowded because no one left to head north against the wind and seas. Nanaimo Yacht Club was full but we scored one of the last slips at the very nice public wharf. Across from us is a Catalina 42 and Jeff has loved talking man stuff with the owner. They are still talking now...

We did the usual laundry, shopping and ice cream runs that seem to occupy us when we hit civilization. And I was on a quest to find Nanaimo Bars. Jeff thought I made them up but finally we found them

In the gift shop. Bought one and some trinkets for upcoming birthdays. 

Tomorrow we think we are going to Prevost  Island but will make up our minds as we get there. Nice. 

Another beautiful sunset with only a light breeze so hopefully the folks here will not be delayed on their northern adventures. 

Tribune Bay

We woke to mirror calm in our cove and headed south to cross the Staits of Georgia. It seems like they always have a strong wind warning out there and it never develops. But sometimes it does.... As we turned to the SW, winds picked up. We had a great sail, flying the gennaker, to about the halfway mark. 15 kts true at a 100 degree windpoint. Perfect for flying the chute. But the winds continued to

build with the seas and we took down the gennaker when it hit 18kts and 6' following seas. Sailed the rest of the way and hand steered. It's a lot if work for the autopilot to steer in following seas and its good  practice for me.  A more challenging crossing them when we were headed north but anytime you can sail

Is better!

Got to Tribune at 4pm, ate some leftovers- first food since splitting a PBJ earlier in the day- and took a nap! The plans to walk the trails and see the artists co-op will have to wait until our next trip. Maybe that was Jeff's plan all along....

Only 1 pic since we had our hands full sailing..  Off to Nanaimo tomorrow!

Susan Islets and Copeland Islands

We headed up Lancelot Inlet and were a bit worried that there were no islands. Although part of Desolation Sound Marine Park, it's very different with large open bays (the inlets). But we got a great anchorage spot tucked in behind Susan Islets and with the exception of a couple fishing boats passing by, we had the entire area to ourselves; another perfect day. 

A dinghy ride to explore Theodosia Inlet and a swim (for me) off the boat led to a peaceful sunset. Very tranquil. 

Today we turned the corner from Desolation Sound (sob...) and started the return trip home. We are now settled in at      a small cove in the Copeland Islands with other boats. Yes, we are now seeing other boats. But we scored a perfectly good fender adrift on the shore- jeff is pretty jazzed with that!  

The weather remains perfect and we should have an easy crossing to Hornby Island tomorrow. 

A couple pics of Susan Islets, Copeland Islands, my captain and our Colonel. 

Heading to Susan Islets

If a day could be perfect, it would have to be yesterday. We anchored with only 4 other boats in Laura Cove. Prideaux Haven, just west of us had about 50 boats in it. Behind our boat was a long rope hanging from a tree over the water. After I saw some kids swing out on it, I decided to play Girl Tarzan. We waited until low tide for the biggest air and then I climbed the small cliff and took the jump, swinging out and letting go at the end to plop about 15-20' into the water. What a blast! Jeff took pictures on his good camera but they will be screened by me before showing to anyone! 

A paddle thru the small surrounding islands at low tide was a tide pool adventure followed by a dinghy ride to see the big powerboats at Prideaux.  Grilled salmon for Jeff and Colonel ended the day. 

We are off today to the Susan Islets. 

Laura Cove, Desolation Sound Marine park

We spent last night in Squirrel Cove but much to the Colonels dismay we did not see any squirrels. We did run the short rapid to the lagoon but then had to pull the dinghy from shore to get out. But lagoon was fantastic- perfectly still! I'm attacking a video - hope it comes through. 

We just stern tied in Laura Cove where there is a rope swing off our stern! We 'll be trying that out in just a bit. First a kayak paddle around then swimming!

Off to Squirrel Cove

Our friends started their trek home this morning and we are off to Squirrel Cove. The plan from there is loose but we'll most likely head across the channel

To Laura Cove or Pyramid.

Another fantastic day of sunny skies!

Von Donop Inlet

Ambidextrous headed to Von Donop Inlet with us while Alliance went to Gorge Harbor and Tangeroa spent another day in the Octopus Islands.  Von Donop is another marine park shared by the Klahoose Tribe. Jeff and I decided to take the "30 minute hike to town" which ended up being a 6 mile hike of which 2 miles was on the road . The other 4 miles is through the park and it is gorgeous. 

 All this for an ice cream cone. Our smarter companions on Ambidextrous decides to snooze the day away at the beautiful anchorage. 

Today we are off to Gorge Harbor  to do laundry, fuel up and reprovision

 for another week. And tomorrow, we will bid Bon voyage to our sailing buddies who start their trek home.  Over breakfast today we were trying to decide where we go next as we still have another week and a half. Stay tuned!

Octopus Islands

Within a few hours yesterday, we had motored to the Octopus Islands Marine Park. We anchored with a stern tie to Easter Island, our name since we tied to a big vertical boulder, in the first little cove on the right. Yet another beautiful anchorage! After hanging out for a bit, we all dinghied to the trail at the top of the bay. A short hike through beautiful woods and we were on "the other side of the world" looking at Johnstone Strait. The shore had mint growing on it which naturally led to Corbetts Killer Mojitos at happy hour. A fantastic dinner on Ambidextrous and a silent, peaceful night of sleep. Ahhhhh.

Nancy and Randy are headed south to Gorge Harbor where we all hook up tomorrow for a restaurant dinner and a hot tub! Tangeroa is staying another day at Octopus and ambidextrous and us are headed to Von Donop Marine Park. 

The non stop sunshine and warm temps continue with cloudless skies and temps in the high 70s and 80s. 

A few pics!

Toba Wilderness Marina, Toba Inlet

Another fantastic place! We are the only 5 boats at Toba today. Weird how nobody is here. The weather is fantastic! The pics below are of the falls that generate the power for the owners marina. And the view out the back of Salpare!

Pendrell Sound

For the last 2 nights we have been in "Lagoon Cove" towards the end of Pendrell Sound. This place is definitely worth staying extra time. We fit our 5 sailboats into the cove and only saw a few other boats in the rest of the sound. Those who have been here before are really surprised at how few boats are in Desolation Sound right now. 

The weather has continued to be incredible with every day sunny and warm. Paradise!

The Colonel is doing great and although this is not his dream vacation, (visiting and all you can eat bunny farm, he likes all the attention he receives.  And we have another cat on this cruise, Mr. Cat, on his first trip on Tangeroa. 

Last night we did Ling Cod tacos on Corbett and Jill's boat. Randy and Nancy, on their gorgeous new Jeanneau 379, are the fisher people of the gang and are sustaining the troops with their catch. Linda, who is on Tangeroa with hubby Bill , helped catch the last 36" cod. We cruised with them and Jill and Corbett last summer on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. 

Rand and Penny, tagging along on Ambidextrous, helped Jill and Corbett make a feast for our new holiday- Cinco de Julio! 

We have been surrounded by majestic snow capped mountains and paddled in a serene cove- we love this place!

Off to Toba Inlet this morning!

Teakearne Arm

We woke up this morning, after one of the most restful nights ever, to a pair of loons calling. 

Yesterday we left Tenedos, stopped by Refuge Cove to do laundry and pick up some supplies and headed to Teakearne Arm.  We have 3 of our boats up by Kassel Falls, 1 around the corner from us and we are alone at the top of the arm. We have a small creek spilling into the Arm right behind us. Absolutely perfect. 

The shores are so steep here that you can anchor very close to shore using a stern anchor.  See the photo of the beach a mere 10' away.

We hiked the short trail past the falls to warm Kassel Lake and had a great swim. There are 2 schooners from the program SALTS with 30 kids each anchored by the falls. Really cool and very nice kids. 

We are now off to round W. Redondo Island to the north, then head south 

to Waddington Channel to  the very warm waters of Pendrell Sound.

Happy Fourth of July to all of you!

Tenedos Bay, Desolation Sound

We left Secret Cove early and headed north to Lund where we met up with the other 4 sailboats we will be with for the next week or so.  After a quick refueling and visit to the grocery and bakery, we left for Tenedos Bay. When we came around the corner to the opening of Desolation Sound, I thought about the Grand Canyon. This place has the same wow factor and the many pictures we've seen of it do not do it justice. Stunning, majestic!

We are anchored in a small nook with steep cliffs and mountains all around. And warm water!!! It's true! We've been swimming here and after a short hike at Unwin Lake, too. 

Tomorrow we head for Teakerne Arm which should be just as stunning! We are having a great time with our friends on the other boats; some who have been here before and some, like us, who are first timers. And we are having a blast with each other and the Colonel. Pics of Salpare at anchor, Jeff and the scenery. 

Secret Cove BC

Another long day on the water as we are making good time to Desolation Sound. And when the weather is as great as we"be been having we may as well be on the water!  We spent yesterday, after a glassy crossing of the Straits at Bedwell Harbor on S Pender Island. Not only is it our first weekend of summer weather, it's also Canada's National Holiday - Canada Day. So everything is packed. We had a fun dinghy circumnavigation of the island and a great time anchored in the harbor. 

We set off early again today and seemed to be the only boat on the water all day except for ferries- see the pic as we enter Active Pass with 4 ferries in it!  We could have water skied the Straits of Georgia it was so glassy. Not great for sailing but when you are trying to make time to get to a destination. It makes it easy 

Secret Cove has to be the friendliest place we've ever been. We grabbed a dock since the anchorages were filled and they were so nice. And ice cream keeps the Captain happy!

Mom, we will be cruising thru the Malaspina Straits that you are reading about on tomorrow's leg.

All is great going great and we feel like the luckiest couple in the world .

Crossing the Straits of Juan De Fuca

After an easy day to Port Townsend where we spent the afternoon walking around town, we started early (5am) for S. Pender Island.  We bumped in to outpr rigging friend Brion Toss and will be catching up with him for dinner on our retrun trip home. Why so early? The currents were favorable only with this early start. And it is pretty cool to feel like you are the only boat out here.  Except of course for the Coast Guard Ice Breaker Healy and a few tankers, the Straits are ours. 

It doesnt seem bad waking up early if your not going to work! The snowcapped Olympics are on our port and Mt baker on our Starboard, a pink and gold sunrise and mirror calm water.  Add in a feast of fresh blueberry pancakes and it doesnt get much better!

More from Pender later.

On vacation!

TAfter a frantic day of last minute to do's, we are headed north. The rain has stopped and its fairly warm as I stand on the now typing this.  Going up Colbos Passage, it's mirror calm with a low gig layer. We'll anchor tonight at Blake Island and head to Port Townsend tomorrow.   This picture shows the name we (mostly Jeff) sewed on our new sail over! Have a nice evening!

Next Thursday at 5:31pm, we'll be heading off on our next adventure - 3 1/2 weeks in Desolation Sound!  This world cruising destination is about a 4 day trip north for us. We'll leave Thursday evening after Jeff gets off work and head to Blake Island for the night. Then if weather is good, we push for a few days and arrive on Monday July 1st in Lund, BC.  Then a couple weeks of cruising the beautiful and WARM waters of the Sound.  We should have internet and we'll post whenever we can. Love to everyone!