Well it has
been an action packed 10 days. We made our way back to Refuge Cove with another
one night stop in Von Donop Marine Park. This anchorage will be on our list to
revisit as I think we have only scratched the surface here. There are some
hikes to check out and I would like to try crabbing. We put the crab trap down
for the night and while unfortunately they were a bit too small, we pulled up 4
lovely Dungeness crab. We put them back with instructions to grow more and
we’ll be back!
Next stop
was a few more nights in Refuge Cove. I left Brian, Dezi and Cariba there with
tons of laundry to do (Thanks Brian!) and flew via float plane to Vancouver.
The pilot was a really nice gal and the views outstanding. The flights
originate in Campbell River and apparently they will pick you up anywhere in
Desolation Sound. We had thought you needed to be in a marina or dock.. but not
so. The next stop after picking me up was Pendrell Sound. She flew the plane up
the sound and landed in the middle of the anchorage. A couple minutes later a
dinghy showed up to drop off a couple who had come up for the weekend to see
friends on their boat!
It was
surreal to be in Pendrell Sound and surrounded by wilderness and awesome views
one minute.. only to be an hour later in a cab being driven fast down Granville
Street!. It was a busy 2 and half days in Vancouver with quality time with my
girls, my friends on Orca 3 .. oh and yes the first board meeting of the Nurses
& Nurse Practitioners of BC.
Fast forward
and in reverse.. the plane lands back in Refuge Cove and we leave the next
morning to continue exploring Desolation Sound. We thanked Moira, Matt and the
great crew that run the store and restaurant there.. we will be back.
From Refuge
we had a great sail to Gorge Harbour where we met up with another Spruce
Harbour Marina alumni.. Kyle and his girlfriend Jeanine. We had a great evening
laughing and sharing some great appies and stories in Cariba’s cockpit. Small
world as Kyle went to school with our son-in-law and his mum was one of our
neighbours in our townhouse complex!
We woke
after our second night in Gorge to a hazy smoky sunrise. By the time we had
breakfast and a couple cups of coffee, the smoke was getting much thicker. We
decided that perhaps it was time to head south sooner than planned. We remember
watching the exodus of boats last year from Desolation Sound due to the smoke..
is this the new seasonal reality? But first world problems for us.. we are not
leaving close to the wildfires in fear of losing our home!
As I write
this we sit in Comox Harbour Authority Marina again. We had a long smoky trip
yesterday of over 30 nautical miles. But the payoff was being able to babysit
Vincent today so his mum could study. He has got over his aversion to wearing a
life jacket. I think the promise of a dinghy ride and the fact his stylish
jacket is covered with “Paw’s Patrol” characters made the difference. He loved
the ride in the “little yellow boat” and insisted on helping Grandpa row!
So we will
stay here for a week and not sure what’s next. It really depends on the smoke.
It is clearer here today but sounds like the lower mainland is terrible. Taking
a pause and reflecting this evening on our trip prompted me to look at some
statistics. At the risk of boring some of you I will share:
- Days since we left home 95
- Ports of call/anchorages 29
- Nautical miles traveled 415
- Nights at anchor 66
- Nights in marina 28
- Nights on mooring buoy 1
- Sailing vs Motoring 45% vs 55%
The last
stat doesn’t really represent the amazing sails we had. I was surprised that
the motoring miles were as much because I remember so many awesome sailing
days. But as many know the summer high pressure systems often don’t allow for
much sailing, so I think we sailed more than what we expected.
So the next
post will likely be the last as we should be home by the end of the month. And
our plans will be dictated by the smoke.. so stay tuned!
Cheers
SV Cariba
SV Cariba 