Reid Harbor, Stuart Island (8/27-8/28)

Posted on 28 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 27, 2021

With Emily aboard, we departed Bellingham and motored to Reid Harbor at Stuart Island to rejoin the Tyee Yacht Club San Jaundering cruise for two nights. As we passed Sucia we met up with Boris and Mayli on their boat Ships N Giggles. We cruised over and set the anchor. Ships N Giggles dropped their crab pots and came up to raft.

Tom Tidyman came over to join us and we spent a wonderful evening playing the card game Pirate Fluxx. Can you say ARRR?

August 28, 2021

The Tyee fleet came in throughout the day. We had already planned to add two more boats to our raft. When Coda and Symphony (Laughing Loon) got close enough to radio in, we started the preparation. Boris and I put together the stern anchor and he dinghied out to pull the boats into position and dropped the anchor. Tom decided that he couldn’t miss out on the fun so he brought over his boat Alexandra to join the part. Below is the final raft.

The rest of the day was spent checking crab traps and relaxing on the boat. Tonia and Emily also went onto Stuart Island for a nice hike. They scoped out the first part of the hike we planned for tomorrow, including the Stuart Island School Teacherage Museum, and had two encounters with otters, one under the dock and another that peaked around the trail at them and then took off to the water with its mate. And they met a mother and daughter taking their boat cat ashore for some nature time!

The Tyee group had a progressive boat happy hour that concluded a wonderful day in the islands!

Bonus video of tiniest hermit crab!

Bellingham

Posted on 26 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 26, 2021

We got up early and made our way over to Bellingham – a side trip to pick up Tonia’s sister Emily. It’s also the first fuel dock we’ll be pulling into since leaving Ketchikan.

The trip over was short and other than routing around tug traffic was nice.

Pulling into Squalicum Harbor we got right onto the fuel dock and took on 479 gallons. This is about 50 more than we used on the trip up to Alaska but that was justified given the additional five days of cruising we did in the Broughtons and Desolation.

The afternoon was spent preparing for Emily to arrive and getting some projects completed. We walked up to the grocery store and stopped at Goods Local Brews on the way. Tonia found a good blackberry ginger cider that she liked made by the Bellingham Cider Company. After getting the groceries we took a Lyft back to the boat and started getting cleaned up.

The day went spectacularly until an incoming boat tried to take off our bow rail. Unfortunately, Tonia had just showered, and I was in the shower when the boat arrived….so don a quick robe and shorts and we popped up to the bow to witness the other boat still ramming our rail. They were just about a foot too short for the slip in front of us while there was a whole huge space behind us. Wish they would have gone where they would have fit. When we arrived, the dock was full but as the boats cleared out the dock was wide open and had large spaces as you can see below, so we didn’t worry about it.

Shortly after the drama ended, Emily arrived and it was time for dinner. We trekked over to Anthony’s Hearthfire Grill for their last reservation slot of the night and a lovely welcome meal.

Here are a couple random pictures from the “hike” to the store:

Back in the US & Sucia Island

Posted on 25 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 25, 2021

The day has finally arrived to head back to the US. But the trip isn’t over yet! We’re going to spend another few days in the San Juan Islands for the Tyee Yacht Club’s San Juandering cruise.

The trip from Ganges across Boundary Pass was nice and smooth. We crossed over the border as we were passing the Turn Point Lighthouse and submitted our paperwork via the CBP Roam app. Having already done it going into Alaska, we now had our verified traveler and decal info readily available. The border officer called us within a few minutes and cleared us to enter without having to go to Friday Harbor. Yay! So we changed course and headed directly to Echo Bay at Sucia Island.

The evening was grand. It was awesome catching up with all the Tyee members that we usually see throughout the summer. For some reason we didn’t get many pictures that day but here is one of us anchored in Echo Bay.

And, finally, we were treated to a nice colorful sunset.

Ganges & Salt Spring Island

Posted on 24 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 24, 2021

Rest day! Steve has had us on a tight schedule to get back so he can see his new grandson (not yet born) but the schedule allowed for a stopover day in Ganges.

The first order of business was transportation. We headed up to the marina parking lot and conveniently there is a car/scooter rental business there. And we were lucky. The scooters were rented out later in the day but we could get in just before that reservation. We filled out the paperwork, fitted ourselves for the designer helmets, and took a practice lap in front of the staff to prove we were scooter worthy. I’m wondering how many people wreck them doing the practice?

Off we went. We decided the first stop was going to be almost the furthest away and it had cheese. We zoomed towards the Salt Spring Island Cheese Farm Shop. Zooming may be a stretch. Should have described it as putted towards. Back to the cheese. The Salt Spring Farm shop is a wonderful place. Why? You get to see, and pet, goats and they have cheese!

About the cheese, they make wonderful cheese from, you probably guessed it by now, goats’ milk. You can tour around their property, check out the goats, and get some free samples. And then of course buy some cheese for the trek home. Hope they don’t get to picky about cheese when we cross the border tomorrow. Bonus! Steve got the call from his daughter while we were eating cheese: his grandson was born earlier that morning!

After we had some delicious cheese we headed down the road to the Ruckle Provincial Park. It’s a large park on the south end of the island that was donated but still keeps active farms so they have a wide range of animals for your viewing pleasure. We arrived right as the cattle were fed so it was awesome to see them eating and playing with the hay.

Our time was almost up on the scooters so we started making the way back to the marina. We made one last stop before town at the Ciderworks. They had so many options we didn’t know what to choose so we went with a flight. As with all beverage flights there are good and there are not-as-good but it is was a fun time and a nice location with a great view!

And, it’s time to head back….

Strait of Georgia crossing to Ganges

Posted on 23 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 23, 2021

The weather looked good so we had made the decision to get up very early and make the long run down to Ganges so we could spend a day on Salt Spring Island before heading back to the States. And a long day it was. The longest of the trip in fact. We clocked in 13.86 hours and traveled 108.24 nautical miles. Phew…. but a very smooth ride minus a few ferry wakes!

After settling in at the Salt Spring Marina, we headed up to Moby’s Pub for a small bite to eat. We were joined by our fellow Tyee members Todd and Andrea. It was great to see them and see more boaters expanding their season up to Canada.

Desolation Sound: Francis Bay to Refuge Cove

Posted on 22 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 22, 2021

Got up early and paddled over to the shore in Francis Bay. The bay has remnants of an old logging camp, including a stairway that looks like they used to get to a dock that had seen better days. Above the shoreline was a road that was mostly overgrown but traversable to a point.

After we were finished hiking, we pulled the anchor and were off to Refuge Cove. Refuge Cove is a nice area that has a marina, fuel, store, and gift shop. They also have a restaurant that is rumored to have good burgers but they were closed for remodeling.

Broughtons onward to Desolation: Blind Channel Resort to Francis Bay

Posted on 21 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 21, 2021

We’re starting a pattern: get up, hike, and then boat. The morning’s hike took us to Big Cedar and then on the Viewpoint Trail. Neither were all that strenuous but it’s great to be out getting the body moving.

We decided earlier that we’d stick around until early afternoon so we could transit Dent Rapids (by the Devil’s Hole) at slack current. That also gave us the additional opportunity to hit the restaurant and take in their daily specials.

After a great lunch we cast off and headed to Dent. We left a little early so when we got there, we had to wait about 45 minutes. We just floated around and when we got impatient, we took the tug passage and transited smoothly.

After the rapids we cruised by all the resorts and came up to Jimmy Judd Island. We noticed a bunch of splashing and then saw huge sea lions as we passed. They appeared to be feeding vigorously.

Broughtons: Lagoon Cove to Blind Channel Resort

Posted on 20 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 20, 2021

We started out the day by doing the hike to the Blow Hole. It was a great little stroll out and then around the island. We planned to go up the lookout trail that isn’t really a lookout but there were trees blocking the way so we decided to go back to the marina.

Upon returning to the marina, we spotted a huge number of starfish. Tonia loves starfish if you haven’t figured that out yet.

I loved the quarantine sign. Dan (owner) was joking and said it was required earlier in the year. The real story was they had a dock at one point that they wanted to keep people off and the improvised quarantine sign did a great job.

After a bit of coffee, we cast the lines and headed down the Johnstone strait and decided that Blind Channel Resort was a good place to end up for the night and celebrate Tonia’s birthday eve dinner.

Broughtons: Echo Bay to Lagoon Cove

Posted on 19 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 19, 2021

We started the day by kayaking over to the Provincial Marine Park and hiking up to the top.

Went thru the Burdwood Group Islands on the way towards the Tribune Channel. Saw a lot of people on shore via small boats, kayaks and canoes.

We were told that Kwatsi had been sold and was no longer taking moorage so it wasn’t a surprise when we poked our head in that it had a big private, no moorage, sign. Steve-O still wanted to check it out to compare to his memories from 2012.

We stayed at Lagoon Cove and it turned out to be a great choice. There was a potluck happy hour at the gathering shed at the top of the dock with fresh, local-caught shrimp cocktail platter provided by Kelley & Dan, our awesome marina hosts!

Port McNeill, Broughton Islands & Billy Proctor’s Museum

Posted on 18 Aug 2021 by netgoof

August 18, 2021

Before heading back out on the water, we took a quick stroll through town to get some movement in. Found McNeill Landing – a neat food truck park with a view of the marina, an awesome painted fence near a garden pea patch, and an orca sculpture.

After our walk, we set out again. You’ll never guess… We saw whales on way to the Broughtons!

And more seals…

And passed local villages along the way and lots of wonderful scenery.

We stayed at Echo Bay, though it is no longer owned by Pierre. The staff were friendly; however, there were no activities – likely due to COVID and the ownership transition – and the marina was ready for some TLC.

We visited Billy Proctor’s museum, which was a wide-ranging collection of “junk” (Billy’s term, not ours!) from antiques to shells, oodles of soda and liquor bottles to hundreds of fishing lures, and random assortments of many other items. We briefly saw Billy for a quick hello but he had to rush off for a fisheries meeting.