Tour de Vancouver (Part 2)

October 10, 2010

We must call the full Tour de Vancouver a screaming success.  The downtown Vancouver leg has had its uncertainty in the moorage department, but overall it has worked out beautifully.

 

Last Monday, we headed south from West Van through the drizzle.  We finally reached a real person at the False Creek Yacht Club and secured moorage.  The moorage manager was off to a meeting when we arrived, so Brad and Austin stayed with the boat at the check-in boat to await his return and complete the process.  Meanwhile, Bryce and I walked to the other end of False Creek to check on the status of Science World particularly enjoying the abundant art along the way.

 

Tuesday, we scootered and rode bikes to the Vancouver Maritime Museum.  We learned alot about the history of Vancouver from the maritime perspective.  There was a picnic lunch next to an incredibly tall totem pole.  During our meal, we were joined by a bald eagle who hung out at the very top of the pole.  Bryce and I figured out the short way back to the boat over the Burrard Bridge, but our gelato stop gave Brad and Austin “first ones back to the boat” status as they rode all the way around False Creek.

   

Wednesday was an absolutely gorgeous day in Vancouver.  We needed to move the boat from False Creek Yacht Club to anchor in Charleson Bay farther up False Creek.  So, after grabbing breakfast at the Granville Island Public Market, we pulled the boat out and returned to the free three hour moorage right in front of the Market and did a little more exploring before heading up to the anchorage.  We found a nice spot, anchored CAPAZ and then Brad and I had Bryce take us ashore with the bikes.  We took the bike trails to Coal Harbor and then returned to False Creek ending our ride with a pint of beer at a pub under the Burrard Bridge.

 

Thursday’s impending weather change made it hard to get motivated to do anything more than get schoolwork done and just hang out on the boat.  At 4:15  pm, we got a call that there was a spot for us at the Vancouver Rowing Club’s docks in Coal Harbor.  We sprang into action, pulled the anchor, proceeded around Stanely Park and were tied up, checked in and on our way to the Gastown Spaghetti Factory for dinner by 6:30!  It was a bit of a walk, but we got to see alot of the Vancouver waterfront. 

Before the rains started on Friday, I hopped on the bike after breakfast and tried out the Seawall Bike Trail around Stanley Park.  With the weather turning, there were  few people using the trail and the scenery was fabulous.  In the afternoon, we walked back downtown and found the Burrard Skytrain station and caught the light rail out to Coquitlan.  We were met by our cruising buddies from Blackdragon and chauffeured back to their base of land operations in Port Coquitlan.  We enjoyed mocajitos and stevaritas which were followed by cards and guitar hero.  The boys were in Lego heaven with Foster and also went to cheer him on at his first basketball game.

 

After cinnamon sticky buns, lattes and a lazy morning, Steve returned us to the boat where we did a quick check to make sure that all was well and hopped on a bus to West Van to share Thanksgiving dinner with the Mulanians.  The bus driver was completely annoyed with us because we didn’t have all coins for the fare and he said we couldn’t use paper money.  Now, I understand not being able to give change, but why should the transit people care if you give them paper money or not.  Anyway, we were saved by a guy with guitar who just gave us the two “twonoonies” ($2 coins, a loonie is a $1 coin with a loon on it).  He wouldn’t even take the $5 bill that I had at first, but we insisted.  He felt bad because he didn’t have another dollar to make it a fair trade.  We insisted that saving our bacon was worth at least a dollar!  Anyway, we made it out to Vancouver where the turkey was already in the oven and there was just enough to make a quick loop around Point Adkin’s Lightouse Park.  We got a little damp, but we were ready for the feast the was just about ready when we got back to the house.

Today is Brad and my anniversary.  After a breakfast of waffles, we hopped on the bikes and rode around the Seawall Trail in Stanely (much more crowded, with the good weather and being Sunday).  After radioing the boys back on Capaz and finding that all was well, we continued south to Jerico and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club where we had a great lunch.  We sat in the bar and watched a small boat regatta our in front of the yacht club.  We couldn’t let this gorgeous day go by without the boys getting out and enjoying some of Stanely Park.  So when we returned to Coal Harbor, Brad and the boys walked up to check out the Aquarium.

I would like to say we have “done” Vancouver, but I know we have only scratched the surface and will have to return explore it more.  Luckily, we have the excuse of the friends that we made while cruising to do just that! 

Tour de Vancouver (Part 1)

October 3, 2010

    

The West Vancouver leg of our Tour de Vancouver has been a success, but not without its challenges.  Moorage has been incredibly hard to come by in this neck of the woods and there is no place to anchor due to the “inflow/outflow'” weather pattern in Howe Sound.  After striking out at West Vancouver Yacht Club, Eagle Harbor Yacht and the Thunderbird Marina, we finally found moorage for the weekend at Sewell’s Marina in Horseshoe Bay.  We are right next to one of the busiest ferry docks in Canada, maybe the world.  We are getting used to the BC ferries as we have also moored or anchored very near them in Campbell River, Snug Cove, and Drew Bay.

  

After securing moorage, we met up with our fellow cruisers from Mulan at their land base of operation in Fisherman’s Cove in West Vancouver.  They were completely welcoming of us into their home including a trip to Costco and making us in a part of a reunion barbecue that they hosted for everyone who had bee a part of the Mulan adventure!  It was great to see those that we had already met along the way again and meet the others who had served as crew on Mulan at various times.  Finally, even though it was actually Susan and Andrew’s wedding anniversary, they gave us the gift of an evening and most of a day without kids.

When the Mulan crew returned the kid half of the Capaz crew to the boat, we were all joined by the Blackdragon crew for a Sunday afternoon and early evening of catching up and dinner.  Both of the newly land based cruisers commented that even though hanging on the boat was familiar, it was also a bit weird for them.  There was alot of discussion of the process of “re-entry”.    We are all in different stages and it was nice to hear the insights of those a little farther down the road than we are.  One CLOD (cruiser living on dirt) told us that rum helps – I think that has been the best advice thus far – especially when shared in the company of friends!

Just to alleviate any confusion when I mention “painkillers” during our transition time!

Waterfall Wonderland

Princess Louisa, British Columbia, Canada

September 25-27, 2010

  

Why “Waterfall Wonderland”? Well, it was! The up side of having some rain fall is that it makes for absolutely spectacular waterfalls. They were so numerous that we lost count and then the centerpiece of Princess Louisa Inlet, Chatterbox Falls was pretty amazing when we arrived. After Saturday night’s torrential rainfall all night long, the Falls were a once in a lifetime sight for us.

   

We were very lucky to have our good friend, Rose, along with us for the trip up Jervis Inlet. She arrived late Friday night and did not complain at all when we left at 7:00am to time the slack tide at Malibu Rapids. The trip up was uneventful and we only saw a few minutes of bumpy water right where the locals had said we would at Egmont, the opening to the Skookumchuck Narrows and Sechelt Inlet. After that, it was smooth motoring. The trip through the Rapids was also, uneventful, thankfully.

There were only two other sailboats at the dock when we arrived and they were very welcoming. Our first night brought the above mentioned torrential rains, but Sunday dawned misty and beautiful although, this time of year it takes until mid morning for the sun to peek over the tops of walls of the Inlet. Rose and I explored the Beyond Malibu site which is pretty well boarded up for the season. After lunch, Brad and I climbed the near vertical “trail” to the mythic trapper’s cabin. Convinced we had made a wrong turn, we stopped about a hundred yards from an impassable waterfall only to find out upon our equally grueling return that we were “there”.

 

Monday, we had a relaxing morning before leaving for the early 9:00am slack tide at the Rapids. Just back into Jervis Inlet, we answered the call of a small powerboat that had been on the dock with us the night before and had apparently run out of fuel. We caught up with them after about an hour and towed them back to Pender Harbor (about 30 miles). They offered to take us out to dinner, but all the restaurants were closed because it was Monday!

While we were away from Garden Bay, the resident bear has continued to enjoy the apples that are on the ground at the neighbors’ house. The caretaker and another club member snapped some pictures of what we are supposed to be looking out for!

Re-Entry Update: We are chipping away at our re-entry tasks. We have bought a car. We have secured moorage and live-aboard status at Shilshole. We have laid the groundwork for our return to skiing after two years of not being on or near snow.

Cortes Rendez-vous

September 21, 2010

Cortes Bay, Desolation Sound, British Columbia, Canada

 

We arrived in Cortes Bay between the low cloud ceiling of the morning and the high winds that kicked up in the late afternoon.  The moorage in the bay is so protected that we didn’t even realized the wind was blowing til we went up to change over the laundry.  G-ma, Auntie Barbara and Susie arrived just as we were finishing our dinner.  Once they had unpacked and settled, we met up in the Cortes Room and chatted while the kids worked on puzzles.

     

 

Any day that starts out with fresh cinnamon rolls can’t go badly and it held true for yesterday.  We took advantage of having the car and made a trip to the grocery and co-op.  Bryce wanted to take G-ma to the bookstore.  While we waited for it open, we headed down the road to visit Hollyhock and strolled through their beautiful gardens in the fabulous fall sunshine.  Bryce got to pick out a couple graphic novels for he and his brother.  I can hardly wait to get back to our fabulous library system – talk about things we have missed over the course of our year+ away from Seattle.  G-ma took all the ladies on a hike up to Red Granite Bluff (which is just above Lively Beach – article forthcoming in the Capaz Chronicle).  The recovery from her knee replacement surgery is impressive – she may ski a run or two this season yet!  Brad filleted our salmon and we had fabulous salmon and prawn feast for dinner.  G-ma and company even let me bored with our newly trimmed slideshow of pictures from the big adventure.

  

We awoke bright and early for a trip to Prideux Haven for the day.  It turned out to be much closer than our distance calculations and we hit the pinch point right at low tide but still had plenty of water under the keel to spare.  I got Auntie Barbara out in the two man kayak for a nice little jaunt and chat.  Back on the boat, we had lunch in the cockpit while the sun played peek-a-boo behind big white fluffy clouds.  The boys went for an explore along the shore that had Brad and Austin going overland while Bryce piloted the dinghy around to meet them on the other side of a little peninsula.  Under beautiful sunny skies, we headed back to Cortes Bay.  Our early departure for Wednesday morning was confirmed by the “Securite” warning issued by the Canadian Coast Guard for impending nasty weather.  We returned early enough for the boys to fit in a quick trek up to Red Granite Bluff  before G-ma fixed up G-pa’s special scalloped potatoes for dinner.

Circumnavigating Quadra Island

September 18, 2010

Octopus Islands-Kanish Bay-Campbell River- Rebecca Spit-Carrington Bay

It took us awhile but after giving up on exploring the Broughton Islands, we finally figured out a plan:  we would circumnavigate Quadra Island.  Maybe someday, we will actually get to circumnavigating Vancouver Island.  We will have to save an adventure or two for another time.

  

Our first stop was Kanish Bay which was the bay that we hiked to (Small Inlet) from the Octopus Islands.  The weather lifted a bit and we had a nice evening.  Brad and I even went for a little bit of exploring in the dinghy as the sunset turned to dusk.

  

On through Seymour Narrows and its wild currents to Campbell River for a little provisioning.  We ended up in a small marina that is owned by a hotel and so had access to their hot tub before bed.  We also visited the Campbell River Maritime Museum which has a its centerpiece a 1958 salmon fishing boat that has been restored because for 17 years, its picture graced the back of the $5.00 bill.  We got Austin some long pants that fit so that his ankles won’t be so cold and a new warm jacket.  There was also a stop to obtain some local salmon fishing knowledge and gear at the outdoor store.  We even fit in a pretty extensive grocery run and stop at the Seattle Embassy.  All that in less than 24 hours.  I wonder if it was the dip in the hot tub or the level of activity that contributed more to everyone’s excellent night’s sleep.

  

We trolled for about 3 hours on our way to Rebecca Spit: the only bites were little and had to go back to grow into big salmon.  The first night at anchor, we were the only boat in the hook of the spit and had the entire end of Drew Bay to ourselves.  The weather was great and the boys spent the whole afternoon on the beach making driftwood sailboats.  I took the kayak in search of ice cream, but came back with a brand of pierogies that we can’t get in the states anymore and some beets for borscht so that we could have a little Ukrainian feast for dinner.

 

We trolled for a couple more hours on our way up to Carrington Bay on Cortes Island.  One good sized fish, but since we have to use barbless hooks here in Canada, it got away.  Brad had visited here years ago with his dad and some friends on “Heather” as an Explorer Scout.  He knew about the cool rapids between the bay and its lagoon.  Just before dinner, we zipped up to the head of the bay.  Even though the tide was already past high, the bay level was still a good foot above the lagoon level and so the water was pouring in through the rapids.  The boys (all three of them) raced logs through the rapids.

 

On to Cortes Bay so that we can meet up with Auntie Barbara, G-ma and her friend.   Getting up early pays as we will be having salmon for dinner tomorrow!