Garden Bay, BC, Canada
September 8, 2010
On Monday, when we left our friends in Howe Sound, the weather was anything but great. We were having our doubts about our decision to head north (although, not so much after looking at the longer range weather forecasts). So northward we pressed. We were much happier than the steady stream of vessels making their way home into the southeasterly seas and winds that we had at our backs. We could have sailed north, but as we pondered raising the sails, Brad’s exact words were, “It is wet and cold out there.”
We arrived in Garden Bay (in Pender Harbor) a little after noon. The boats that came in all afternoon mainly from Cortes were a little ragged. We let Adios in the laundry line ahead of us as they took a wave over their bow that opened their forward hatch and doused the forepeak.
I took Austin with me on our foraging expedition to Madiera Park on the other side of Pender Harbor because we are looking for some shoes for him. He left his crocs on Blackdragon and so we won’t be seeing them til the middle of next month. Until then, he needs some water shoes or boots that he can use for walking around rocky beaches. He does have a pair of running shoes, but after a year of crocs or no shoes at all, they seem to be an unacceptable choice. There was a thrift store, but it was only open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and the drug store was already closed (on Labor Day hours) by the time we got there. So, Austin just helped with a big stock up.
On Tuesday, boat school was back in full session after a brief hiatus during which only reading and writing were required of the boys on any kind of regular basis. New math books and new spelling programs have been added back into the mix. Luckily, it was a little drizzly and we got through the morning with only a 40 minute break at low tide to harass the starfish on the beach. We were missing our private marine biologist, Mike from Io so that we really could count it as science time. The introduction to Bryce’s first chapter of math called for a group of four people to gather data for him from a jumping jack exercise. So, I guess you could say that we all had a little PE, too.
Austin and I took another swing back through Madiera Park for shoes to no avail. We did pick up a few forgotten and additional items at the supermarket. The liquor store was open and we found a good all purpose British Columbia specific animal and plant identification book for our upcoming hikes and other land-based exploring. On the way back to the boat, we discovered that Pender Harbor goes much deeper into the heart of the Sechelt Peninsula than I had thought. The inner-most bay had a fairly narrow entrance that we must have hit pretty close to max flood. We really had to ignore the “watch your wake” signs as we tried to head back to Garden Bay because otherwise we would not have been able to make any progress against the current. We were glad that Juanny (our outboard engine) was in a good mood, because though rowing it would have been a great workout, it would not been fun.
Before a sunset dinner of steaks and baked potatoes on the outstation patio, I finished the first big chunk of my quilt. One down, 5 or 6 more to go. I prepped the next section while we were staying at my parents house last month. I get lots of help on big projects like this, usually from Brad. However, with Brad sailing CAPAZ to the mainland, I was lucky that my dad willingly stepped in and turned all the pieces right side out, thus eliminating one whole step for me. Bryce’s love of aesthetics is a perfect fit for helping me organize the “window” pieces for the next step and he has said he will give me a hand with that when we get to Cortes (we will see if I will be able to lure him away from Crab Beach to help me).
Leaving sunny, clear Pender Harbor this morning, we were preparing ourselves for a foggy Malaspina Strait. Magically, as we rounded the corner, the fog began to dissipate into patchy low clouds clinging here and there. It looks like it will be a smooth and sunny trip (albeit a little chilly) up to Cortes Island.
Fog ahead in the Malaspina Strait
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