Victoria to Pender Harbour, British Columbia

Some of the houseboats in Victoria

We continue to be blessed with clear skies and warm weather!  It’s been a spectacular start to our trip.  Leaving Victoria Inner Harbour early, to take advantage of the beautiful morning, we headed north toward Sidney Island Marine Park.  

As we neared the park, it was clear that being a Sunday, and a hot day, everyone from Sidney who owned a boat had gone over to the marine park.  Hundreds of boats were in the park boundaries, so we chose to go into the marina in Sidney.  Jerry wanted electricity anyway to work on a couple of projects, so it worked out the best.  Coming into Port of Sidney is tough because it’s extremely difficult to see the opening to the breakwater.  Even once you see the marker, making out the actual opening is tough until you are almost on top of the opening.  The marina is nice, well protected, and has an exceptional laundry facility, with numerous machines, leather chairs, and 4 televisions to catch up on news, weather, or your favorite daytime show.  Downtown Sidney is just a short walk from the marina, and we strolled down the main drag looking for new tennis shoes for Jerry.  The day was extremely warm and so we hugged the shady side of the street, sipping iced mochas.  Success with the shoes, along with getting fishing licenses for the trip, we headed back to the boat and met up with a nice couple who helped us dock.  Dick & Susie, from M/V Changing Tides, own a Pacific Trawler 37.  Pacific Trawler used the Blaine Seeley design of the North Sea, but the kitchen and head are flipped.  Dick & Susie gave us a thorough tour and we got some good ideas for ways to improve Cloud Nine.

  

M/V Sound Venture

Next morning we met up with Chris & Donna from M/V Sound Venture who were patiently waiting for us outside the opening to the Port of Sidney.  We’ll spend the next several weeks with them cruising up to Princess Louisa Inlet and through Desolation Sound.  They have cruised both, extensively, and are anxious to show us their favorite spots.  We let them take the lead through the Gulf Islands, which were beautiful.

Montague Harbour

 Winds were calm and it was a glorious passage up to Montague Harbour.  This harbor is a major stopping point for boats heading north and contains a marine park on the north side of the harbor with many mooring buoys.   

Rafted up in Montague Harbour

Sound Venture dropped their hook, and when we came into the harbor, they were ready for us to raft up.   

Dinghy successfully in the water!

Chris and Jerry worked on getting our dinghy down into the water, which was more like watching an Abbott & Costello skit.  Donna and I were giggling through it all, but the topper was once the dinghy actually got to the water, it quickly started to fill up with water because Jerry had forgotten to put the plug in.  Good thing that man is quick on his feet!  Once the plug was in its “correct” spot, the bailing commenced and the giggling from the women continued.  We obviously need to figure out a better way of storing the dinghy for the remainder of the trip.  Once the little boat was dry, we headed out for a quick trip around the harbor, finding another Pacific Trawler anchored out. 

Seals enjoying the sun!

Next day the winds picked up as we got ready to leave Montague Harbour headed for Dodds Narrows, which we wanted to hit at slack water.  With the wind and waves at our back pushing us northward, we made good time, too good actually, and backed off the engine to hit the narrows at the right time.  I got to drive through the narrows, which were quite narrow.  We’ve been through Port Townsend Canal at times where the current was so strong it was pushing us close to 10 knots and two boats could easily pass, but the Dodds Narrows are so narrow that for safety sake only one vessel should be in the narrows at a time.  We did a 360 at the south end of the narrows to allow a sailboat coming south to enter first, and then we continued northward.  I enjoyed maneuvering through the Narrows, but the problem with me driving the boat is that no photos are taken of the surroundings, hence, no photos of this impressive passage.  I teasingly suggested a return trip the next day just so we could get some photos. 

We were moored in Nanaimo in time to catch the 5:10 Dinghy Pub Restaurant ferry which takes you over to Protection Island, where you can catch dinner at the restaurant or go for a walk.  The food was good, but I would take my own dinghy over the next time (its plug in its right place) and save ourselves the $17 round trip cost for the two of us.  The next day was our first “rest” day, where we headed to a great chandlery to pick up parts to more easily hoist and lower the dinghy, and Chris was looking for a remedy for his house battery problems. While Donna and I walked town, the “boys” worked on Chris’s house battery issue, getting a new battery in place.  Later that evening we enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant and on the way home, Jerry realized that his jeans had a rip in them.  A few steps later and the rip increased in size.  A moment or two later the light bulb above Jerry’s head went off when he realized that battery acid had spilled on his jeans earlier in the day.  Let me just say that he’s lucky we were as close to the boat as we were and not still sitting in the restaurant.  Oh my!!!

This morning we took off from Nanaimo headed for Pender Harbour on the mainland side of British Columbia.  Crossing the “Big Grumpy” (Georgia Strait) can be uncomfortable, but we were in for a great day on the water and no problems crossing over.   

 

We lucked out spotting a pod of killer whales, but they were headed away from us, so we couldn’t get any closer.  We nestled into Pender Harbour with plans on hitting the local pub for dinner tonight.