South Again??!?...

When the temp rises to 90... ...the cold water swimming looks more inviting.
Shortly after this photo, Chance met his first seal. A pup, noisily missing his mom, swam right up to us. Chance lept into action and plowed down the rocks. We yelled to get him to leave it be, but he ignored us and walked right up to it to touch noses. Satisfied that it was just a waterlogged dog, Chance wandered back to us at his own pace as the little pup swam away.

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Speaking of Chance. Here's a shot of him in Pirate's Cove Lagoon south of Nanaimo. The cove has a veerrry strange and interesting history, but also a fun treasure chest. Cruisers left the chest and folks can take something and leave something.

Chance took a stuffed fish and left a stuffed starfish that we'd found in Olympia, and he never played with. He's a bit of a snob for vertebrates, it would seem.

Our hero, upon entering Dodd Narrows (our first real serious tidal narrows) hoping the pirate bandanna will give his ship luck. We made it, though we realized we were a bit on the late side for the tide swing, where slack water only lasts a few minutes. The 3-4 knot current, pushy boaters, and tugboats pulling massive log rafts choked the 100 yard wide gap, making this a tricky and stressful passage. Note the "I'm not worried" look upon circling back a time or two.

If you click this photo, you'll see what I mean.

This is what it can look like, and isn't a place to be late getting through. Our second run was clogged with grumpy boaters, but luckily log-free.

Nanaimo - and a special visit

Nanaimo - a blue collar city with a silly boat habit.

But first, a little aside. We met up with a Peter Briggs's mother, Chriss in Nanaimo. She treated us royally with a gorgeous spread of baked halibut with all the fixings, homeade desserts, and a really fun conversation. We also loved seeing Peter B's baby pictures...

Here's a photo of Peter. I didn't think I could safely post anything embarassing from the 70s of him. We are grateful for some "mom" time. Thank you Chriss!

The next day we toured the Cathedral Grove park with her and walked among the giants.

The old growth forest is truly a special place, and we're glad Nanaimoans (?) have a bit so close to town to cherish. Many of these huge trees are 800 years old, but the most wonderful quality these forests have is the layered and broken canopy. The floor is as vibrant as the roof, and sunlight streams in to feed all manner of growing things. This light is surprising to many who have only wandered in second-growth forests.

Speaking of nature (and we do often), we spotted an old friend from Anchorage. This Hudsonian godwit was feeding in an estuary with a flock of killdeer. What it was doing this far south at this time of year we have no idea - perhaps holding tank issues, too.

A few nights anchored out in Nanaimo were a little rough. Here's an attempt at capturing the lights at night.

Our final night in Nanaimo, we were plowed into by a 1929 60 foot wooden troller "RomanceII", when it drug anchor in a windy blow. Aside from seeing the owner in his tighty-whiteys at 2:00am, we emerged unscathed. Oystercatcher is a tough little boat, we are learning. We really smacked, and it probably could have been a lot worse.

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Aside from that, the anchorage in Newcastle Island was very enjoyable with 65 deg. water to swim in, old quarries and coal workings, and miles and miles of trails to explore.

Back to the sights of Nanaimo. We loved this trail sign. Probably a good idea to read and obey this one...

Here's the cannon crew at the Bastion getting ready to fire.

We were very lucky to have hit the town for the "silly boat" races. Competitors must assemble the boats in the morning and race in the afternoon. As you can see, it was a major event and spectacle.

Most floated, but some, like this creative design, failed completely.

You can see that some were probably thought up in bars. But others, particularly this human-powered paddleboat with a lot more forethought, were truly yare little craft.
In our wanderings, we came across a fellow that we felt like we knew. The father of the "silly boat" race is someone that would fit in well in Spenard. Mr. Whitekeys would feel the kinship. That he was given a bronze sculpture in their gorgeous saltwater park is a testament that Nanaimo residents take their fun seriously.

A nautical pilgimage

Our Saturna returned to her namesake Saturna Island.

We're sure Wm Garden, the designer of our "Oystercatcher" found charming and compelling many of the same things we did about Saturna Island. That's why he named his best boat after it. Of course.

The sandstone cliffs and formations are wildly eroded and Boat Channel funnels the tide through at a fast clip. We saw several thrill-seekers run this rapid in powerboats.
Monique is wondering if Saturna Parks needs a Superintendant.

The general store and Saturday market were nice. Lots of fresh-baked goodies.

We really think the island has it's priorities right. This recycling center is wildly busy, taking almost everything. All garbage must be shipped off the island, so they save a lot of money by sorting into recycleables. The Free Store was awesome. All donations and loaded with goodies.

Having lived through many many park bond defeats, we also loved seeing the brand new community/recreation center facility - verses the Fire Department. The joke in Anchorage being that the voters would never turn down a fire bond...

The bikes finally got unpacked form their bags, and we rode all around the island. Visited the Saturna Island Winery and other places all along the narrow hilly roads. We recommend not trying to ride too many hills after the winery tour. Very few cars, though so nice rides. We both had bike-butt in the mornings for a while.

Blain is becoming quite the woodsman. We forgot utensils on our bike ride to East Point lighthouse, and had to improvise a soup spoon with an apple and leatherman. It gave a nice apple-y flavor to the gazpatcho Mo made.

A photo of Mt. Baker from the Island.

Blain had to rub off 6 months of seaweed from the waterline. Chance is lending advice.

We are now in Ganges (not the one with the bodies floating in it) and enjoying the Canadian Public docks and Wifi. Life is good.