SV Cariba

When we last wrote we were in Rebecca Spit. We provisioned at the local grocery store in Herriot Bay, treated ourselves to dinner at the pub and had a great visit from our friend Dani and her daughter. It was lovely to host them on the boat for dinner in the sunshine!

It was starting to get a little smokey from the forest fires in the province and reports from Vancouver was it was quite a bit worse at home. We decided to head back into Desolation Sound and hopefully find an area with less smoke. Friends on SV Callisto had recommended an anchorage on Read Island called Evan’s Bay; they had enjoyed the hiking there. On Navionics it looked really protected and it was only 10 nm away. The trip there was an uneventful motor as there was no wind. To our delight we were greeted by huge pod of dolphins feeding along the shore as we entered the bay. The pod stayed in the vicinity for hours and were still there when we went out to put down the prawn trap later in the afternoon.

The hiking suggested SV Callisto didn’t disappoint; we were able to hike across the island to Burdwood Bay and had great views of Sutil Channel. There was a great kayaking campsite area there complete with a cute fire pit and benches.

After a couple of nights in Evans Bay we needed to move on. The water tank was getting a bit low and the bay was filled with moon jellies – not really a great environment to run the watermaker in. We had a feeling that we may not get back to Desolation sound for a few years, given the plans we were making for 2023… so off we went to a favourite spot – Elworthy Island.We had the anchorage to ourselves for the next several nights. It was so peaceful and relaxing.

After leaving Elworthy we retraced our track that we took when we left Vancouver. Our first stop was a couple of nights in Squirrel Cove. We went fishing in Lewis Channel and finished the crib tournament of the season. Finally Sue won after losing the last 3 years in a row!!

This trip was shorter that our usual summer cruising but the weather and the sailing was fantastic. The sun was warm during the day and we had only a couple of cloudy days this entire trip! And did I mention the sailing!? Often in the summer there is very little wind, but choosing to go at the end of the season made a big difference. We sailed almost 50% of the time; and we can thank our Code Zero Big Bird for that as she was able to move Cariba even in light air.

But all good things must end and our last morning in Pender Harbour made us realize the summer was rapidly coming to a close! The temperature was so cold in the cabin that we quickly had coffee, put on the warm sailing clothes and pulled up the anchor!

We have been home for a couple of weeks now and it is starting to feel like fall. We actually had some rain – though not enough really. We are running both the space heater and the dehumidifier on Cariba now. I want to get out of the PNW before it gets cold enough that we need the diesel heater as well!

With less than a month till we drive south to Mexico, there are lists of “to do’s” taped up on the saloon walls. We have to organize and pack everything we need to take with us to Calidris as well as plan for how to put Cariba to bed for the winter. We have an exciting cruising season planned for Mexico so continue to watch this space! And stay tuned for other big plans for summer 2023!