Today we will be starting to head south again, and to do that we will need to go back through Dodd Narrows. Slack was predicted for about 9 am or 4 pm; we opted for the 4 pm transit time. The wind had picked up overnight and was blowing pretty hard, even in our bay, but the anchor was holding fine so we decided to leave the boat there and take the dinghy across the channel to Nanaimo. We’d never done that before and wondered if (a) our little, unreliable outboard motor would hold out and (b) we would get swamped from the waves being kicked up by the wind, but tried it anyway and had a pretty easy crossing that only took about ten minutes.
We explored downtown Nanaimo and, although we have been here many times before, we found an area we had never been to: the historic district where the city actually began to take shape. After some wandering, it was time to check email, charge the laptop battery, get some groceries, and head to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch.
Going back to the boat by dinghy was not quite as easy as coming across, because now the wind was against us. The waves were bigger and we got wetter, but we still made it and got back just about as it was time to leave for Dodd Narrows.
When a northwest wind blows, as it was today, it funnels down the Georgia Strait (the big body of water between Vancouver Island and the mainland) and into the little channel that connects the Nanaimo area with Dodd Narrows. It was pretty choppy, although we’ve seen worse. In less than an hour we were through the Narrows and less than another hour at our next anchorage.
We opted for a little bay that is unnamed on the charts, but it on the south end of De Courcy Island and offered nice protection from the wind that was still blowing. We came here last year during a similar northerly windstorm and shared it with one other boat. Today, several people had the same idea as us – by nightfall there were six others, but everyone still had plenty of room to swing. Here's a picture looking toward shore, the other boats were all anchored out farther than us.
We explored downtown Nanaimo and, although we have been here many times before, we found an area we had never been to: the historic district where the city actually began to take shape. After some wandering, it was time to check email, charge the laptop battery, get some groceries, and head to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch.
Going back to the boat by dinghy was not quite as easy as coming across, because now the wind was against us. The waves were bigger and we got wetter, but we still made it and got back just about as it was time to leave for Dodd Narrows.
When a northwest wind blows, as it was today, it funnels down the Georgia Strait (the big body of water between Vancouver Island and the mainland) and into the little channel that connects the Nanaimo area with Dodd Narrows. It was pretty choppy, although we’ve seen worse. In less than an hour we were through the Narrows and less than another hour at our next anchorage.
We opted for a little bay that is unnamed on the charts, but it on the south end of De Courcy Island and offered nice protection from the wind that was still blowing. We came here last year during a similar northerly windstorm and shared it with one other boat. Today, several people had the same idea as us – by nightfall there were six others, but everyone still had plenty of room to swing. Here's a picture looking toward shore, the other boats were all anchored out farther than us.
This bay is part of a marine park, so we went ashore and hiked some of the trails. A couple of them lead to a bigger, more popular bay called “Pirate’s Cove,” but the wind isn’t as kind to boaters in there and tonight it was almost deserted.
On the beach, a kayaker was just pulling in and we got to talking. He was on a solo, three week trip from Port Hardy, way the heck on the north tip of Vancouver Island, to Seattle. (It turns out he lives just a few miles from us!) I don’t know how many miles that is, but look it up on a map and you will be astounded. I can attest to the fact that some of the water he has had to go through is ROUGH! Anyway, he was an interesting guy and found some fellow kayakers on the beach with whom to share dinner and stories. We went back to being our lazy selves, eating dinner in our soft chairs and watching the sun go down. We admired his drive, but are enjoying ourselves just the same.
On the beach, a kayaker was just pulling in and we got to talking. He was on a solo, three week trip from Port Hardy, way the heck on the north tip of Vancouver Island, to Seattle. (It turns out he lives just a few miles from us!) I don’t know how many miles that is, but look it up on a map and you will be astounded. I can attest to the fact that some of the water he has had to go through is ROUGH! Anyway, he was an interesting guy and found some fellow kayakers on the beach with whom to share dinner and stories. We went back to being our lazy selves, eating dinner in our soft chairs and watching the sun go down. We admired his drive, but are enjoying ourselves just the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment