Up to the top of Vancouver Island - we pass the rapids test

Since August, we've been foraging better, and have managed to find berries, mushrooms, wild chives, mint, apples, plums, and from the sea; cockles, oysters, crabs, seaweed to stretch the pantry. Not doing too good on the fishing, yet. Rest assure, we're eating just fine. Making lasagna from homemade pasta, fresh basil and asiago cheese. Oh my.

Mo rolling out some lovely noodle dough.
Every once in a while we look outside the cabin, and once, we spotted this golden spruce on the hillside along the way. Head and sholders above the others. We wondered if it's truly a golden spruce like the famous Queen Charlotte Islands one.

Another oddity, this little murrelet was fishing nearby and we puzzled over it's make and model. We hope it's a long-billed murrelet (rare and doubtful). One can hope. Also, we've started seeing flocks of shorebirds coming through. A true sign that summer's winding down.

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Here's a shot of Blain pulling the kayak through a reversing tidal rapid. We through this in as a scale model representation of the real thing. If we make a mistake in calculating the currents in Oystercatcher, this ISN'T an option. He's not that strong.

So knowing we had a bunch to go through, we dusted off the calculator and had to blow out a few cobwebs, but we tasked the team analyst with figuring out the tide/current corrections for Yaculta, Dent, Greene Point, and Whirlpool rapids.

Note the proper relaxed arm extension and comfortable posture with the compass. She's a natural. Good thing we got it right. The penalty for being early is that you get to maneuver around in the eddies waiting. The penelty for being too late is certain death. OK, maybe not that dramatic, but we can attest to the strength of these constrictions even when we time it correctly. We don't want to be around them otherwise. Slow boats, like ours, need smarter captains.

These series of tidal rapids can really kick it up. Like trying to squeeze a hippo through a garden hose, there's a lot that can happen if you're standing too close. An interesting thing happens up at the top of Vancouver Island. The tides come in from both sides, and meet somewhere in the middle. So the calculations of which direction the tide floods in and ebbs out is critical. You can get it right and have an easy free ride, or fight it with a screaming engine and lots of cuss words.

The view in Dent Rapids was a bit disneyesque, complete with jet helicopter and a fleet of fishing chauffeurs standing by for well-heeled guests.

Our heels were a bit dirty, so we didn't stop in.

Ren and Nick and more fireworks!

Ren worked for Land Design North with Monique, and Nick is our old canoeing buddy Kevin's brother. They've been living in Vancouver while Ren finishes school. We got to catch up last time we were in town, and we're glad they were up to some fun. We spent a very nice day at the kid's museum - being big kids - and the "BC Day" fireworks show on the water that evening.

Yes, more fireworks...

As the sun set, we knew we were in for a treat.

We carved out a nice spot on the beach and settled in.

The fireworks were set to an asian beat, and were the most asymmetric and artistic display we had ever seen. The crowd was subdued by the almost hypnotic trance music and gorgeous arangements. It was truly unique and kudos to Vancouver for doing something way different.

Of course there were a few of the boring old huge explosions that rattle the windows, just for good luck.

After replacing Blain's bike, we got to meet up again for dinner ala Ren. Her Indian twist on Carribean shrimp was amazing. We had a really nice visit getting back in touch with them. Thanks guys!!!

Vancouver - City of Lovely Ren and Nick and Some Nefarious Booger-butts

OK, a little strong, but that's how we felt after Blain's bike was stolen as we were stuck babysitting a 32' powerboat that drug anchor into us.

But we'll back up.

Timing the gap in Porlier Pass with the tides, the crossing of Georgia Strait was a perfect sail. 15-25 knots of wind on the beam the whole way. We sailed 20 of the 30 miles across.

Even though it doesn't look like it, Chance LOVES his new leecloth. Lovingly made by Mary Hannah Murphy in Shilshole, it keeps him in his berth when we heel over sailing.

Under the Burrard St. Bridge and into False Creek to anchor up for the week. We would get to cross this bridge several time on bikes over the course of our stay.
The skyline is much more asian than any other influence. Hundreds of new high-rise apartments have gone up in the last ten years, and all are beige concrete and green tinted glass in speculation for the 2010 Olympics.
These little water taxis are the lifeblood of the area and you can hail them from your boat for a ride. Note the hip floathouses in the background.

Anchoring in False Creek has it's benefits. The market at Granville Island is awesome.
Berries piled high.

And speaking of fruits.... Oops, did I say that? Sorry John.

We ran into John Reed - of sistership "Omega" fame in town. He was crewing aboard "LAtitudes", and we got to cocktail with him aboard a couple of times.

Our grocery runs were an excercise in space management. Loading the bikes aboard the dingy, then locking the dingy to the dock, we'd set out for the store. A run to Costco almost flattened our tires and sank the dingy, but it worked all the same. Who needs a Subaru? We'll call her the "Dingaru".

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So now for the eventful night.



We put the bikes together and rode around town on the weekend. Sunday night we locked them with a cable to the rack nearest the dingy dock at Monk's (a bar and restaurant). Intending to go back and apply our U-lock, we snuggled into a comfy bed instead.


Woken at 2:00am by Chance getting up, Blain got up to use the facilities. Mo, also hearing something pokes her sleepy head out the hatch and sees another boat, right on top of us. Slowly dragging anchor by, and no one aboard, we figured we'd best tied it to us to keep it from sailing through the anchorage and hitting someone else. Luckily no damages were done, but having held the boat through the night and waiting for the owner's to return, we were ready to see it go away by the afternoon. Calling the Vancouver PD eventually launched a small armada our way. As the officers boarded it and were extricating our gear from their's, the unlucky owners showed back up to a police boating safety tongue-lashing.

Off they went, with just a weak-ass "thank you", probably mandated by the officers.

Finally free of the "ugly powerboat" as the cop/skipper said, we were able to go check on the bikes.

Bad news. Blain's is gone. Mo's connected by the same cable lock, was luckily still there. She's still a bit offended that they did like her's. So off to price bikes. Luckily we found about the Univ. of BC's Bike Kitchen. They refurbish bikes and re-sell them. Blain got a decent Kona with character and all new drive components for $475.