Scenes Along the Way

The bell is silent !

Leaving Gorge Harbour - Cortes Island

RMD&C

Rebecca Spit - May 22 - 25

Rebecca Spit Marine Park is found on Quadra Islands east side. It forms a natural breakwater for Drew Harbour, and can be a very popular spot for locals and tourists.

The anchorage was empty when we arrived so we chose what turned out to be a great spot. Just behind the head of the park, where the x is on the chart above. Winds were forecast to be strong NW which blow into Drew Harbour but our little piece of water was always calm and peaceful.

The anchorage is quiet.

Rebeca Spit is a day use park only ( for land lubbers of course ) so the nights and mornings are quiet and people free. The daytime brings the park visitors but most of the activity is focused in the large grassy field closer to the entrance and the beaches of course. Summers look like they will be a zoo with lots of boats, beach goers and water skiers !!!

The Spit provides miles of trails for walking.

The paths along the spit provide beautiful views with water on both sides. Snow covered mountains form the background horizon and driftwood covers the beaches, not just little driftwood, but huge large timber from distant shores.

Beach Art with a snow covered background

The best sticks ever !!

So long for now

RMD&C

Copeland Islands Marine Park - May 18-20

The Copeland Island Marine Park is situated off the Malaspina Peninsula just NW of Lund.

It is a small group of islands well known by kayakers and boaters travelling to Desolation Sound. Most summer travellers, pass between the islands and the Malaspina Peninsula on their way to Desolation Sound , without stopping and sometimes without even slowing down. What they are missing is a beautiful outcrop of islands surrounded by clear waters full of sea life.








The main anchorage is small but well protected from the weather. Anchoring is on a rocky bottom and when the busy season arrives, a stern tie to shore will be the norm for most.

The elusive Que Sera - Seen in her natural setting.

Que Sera, along with her many other roles, is a mothership for our kayaks. The many islands and relatively protected waters of the copelands provides hours of kayakng adventures. The marine life highlights are the starfish and sea cucumbers. The rocky shores have countless types and colours of starfish, some carefully attached to the shore and others found in heaps, one upon another. Eagles, Oystercathers, ducks, geese and yes, even seagulls, fly the open skys around the park.

Sunstar by the shore

Rick and Celiedh out for a paddle.

If you are so inclined, you can yacht watch and see anything from kayaks to mega yachts.


A big thumbs up for this little gem of Marine Parks.

Bye for now.

RMD&C

Tribune Bay - Copeland Islands - May 18 - 20

Bald Eagles overlooking the beach

Tribune Bay and Helliwell Park provided days of outdoor fun with beautiful sand beaches, a magnificent park on a bluff overlooking the Georgia Straights and Hornby Island trails and hospitality. The long weekend brought a few beach goers and a handfull of boats but everybody left on Monday and we were all alone again.

Helliwell Park - Hornby Island - Our kayak on the beach

Anchoring in Tribune bay is excellent but any SE - SW winds do build up waves quickly. Never a safety issue during our stay, just the trials with the new kayak and Celiedh's trips to the beach for some fun and digging in the sand. After a few trips with waves and more wind we are much more comfortable with our new transport and Celiedh, well, she seems comfortable in any conditions.

We bid farewell to Hornby for now and headed NW up the Straights. Dark clouds and rain surrounded Comox but we skirted the weather and had a beautiful trip to the Copeland Island Marine Park.

So Far - Copeland Island Marine Park

We have visited here before by kayak out of Lund but just a day trip. This is our first time anchoring and staying overnight in this beautiful location.

Que Sera at anchor

It has a charm and variety only a remote marine park can share with visitors from afar. We spent a few days exploring, kayaking and walking several of the islands within the park and will definately return later.

Copeland Island Scenery

More on the Copeland Islands next post.

Safe Sailing


RMD&C

False Bay - Lesqueti - Tribune Bay - Hornby

We last visited False Bay in 2002 in our Viking 33, Jenny Gibson and a much smaller cat - It was still DiMilo but she was much smaller then !!

The postmaster was at that time restoring a beautiful antique boat which we discovered has been sold to its original owner on Thetis Island and is being returned to its original glory.

Dockside Painting

Main Dock - False Bay

Art can be found everywhere

Lesqueti is a unique place with a few hundred full time inhabitants. There is no electric power brought in to the island so alternate power sources are used and the night is dark as few lights clutter the evening sky. Unique art works are found at every turn and homes blend in with their natural surroundings like few places we have seen before.







The anchorage is a large bay with smaller bays of varying depths. The boaters make up the majority of visitors to the island but at this time of year only 2 boats were outsiders visiting the bay. The view out of the bay had a backdrop of snow covered mountains from Vancouver Island. Fresh snow still falls there at night repainting the mountainsides a brilliant white and reminding everyone of the cold winter past.

Snow covered mountains on Vancouver Island

Tribune Bay on Hornby Island is our next stop. Only a few hours away but a dramatically different place with expanses of sand beach, public parks overlooking the water and tens of miles of walking spots crisscrossing the island. The anchorage is huge with great holding in sand but it is totally open and exposed to the SE. With 15-20 knots of wind, there is no danger of dragging but the waves can get big.

It is the long weekend in May and we are the only boat here - it is hard to believe but we enjoying every minute.

Look Closely - Que Sera is anchored here !

The sun is out and the temperature is headed for 20 plus so we are off in the kayak with our hearty crew, to visit the park, see the marine life and enjoy a smoked salmon picnic overlooking the Straights.

Gotta Go !!



Life is good.

Later, RMD&C

Boho Bay Cabin

Look what we found Rick !!

And the hockey game is on tonight - Not !

Nanaimo - Jedediah Marine Park - False Bay

May 12 - Farewell to the Nanaimo area and north we go. Motoring for a while to recharge and refreeze then a nice sail around the NW end of Area Wiskey Golf and on to Boho Bay just adjacent to Jedediah Marine Park.

Jedediah is a little paradise that always welcomes visitors and gives a glimpse of what Mary Palmer must have endured during her life on the island.


Two goats grazed on the hillside by Deep Bay as we kayaked ashore. Hundreds of sheep took notice of the intruders on their island and the grave of Will - the horse - brought back fond memories of our encounters with Will in years past.





Three boats were tied up in Deep Bay and we were on our own in Boho Bay enjoying the solitude that the off season brings to these popular anchorages.

Wednesday afternoon we moved a few miles over to False Bay on Lasqueti. More on this anchorage later.

Sun is out and the crew is beginning to poke us with her snout for an outing.

Later


RMD&C

Nanaimo YC and Newcastle Marine Park

Thursday afternoon and the winds were light. We motored outside of Gabriola Island and around into Nanaimo Harbour.

Nanaimo Yacht club was home for a day while we walked the boardwalk, washed the boat (well at least one side) and discovered St Jeans Cannery..

A 5 mile plus walk from the Yacht Club takes you past the DQ, Petroglyph Park and into St Jeans Cannery the candy store for seafood lovers. We left with two large bags of frozen fish, smoked and non smoked.

The marine park beckoned. We anchored there on Friday night and saw clear skys, calm winds and a beautiful full moon over the transom.. Lots of boats for the weekend and it is not yet the busy season or even a long weekend.

The wildlife is abundant with fields of deer, geese with their newborns, herons with their pre historic "grock" sound, Purple Martins in the dock nesting boxes and more ...

Great spot - a little busy.

RMD&C

Sat May 9 - Newcastle Island Marine Park

Nanaimo in the background

Newcastle Island Marine Park

Nesting Purple Martins

Families of geese

Happy Harry or Harriet

The crew taking a rest

Kits Beach to Silva Bay - Gabriola Island

We left English bay with a SE wind which carried us to Silva Bay as the sun tried to part the clouds. Rain showers behind - exactly where they should be.

The crew worked on the computer and the other 2 - you guess - snoozed as we sailed.

Silva bay is quiet -very quiet with only a handfull of people anywhere to be seen. The marine maintenance yard, workshop and used gear shop have all been cleaned out leaving an empty yard and a few maritime ghosts.

Que Sera

Sunday May 3 - Tangatatu Sailing out of English Bay

Our friends in Tangatatu enjoying a beautiful breeze as they leave English Bay for the Sunshine Coast.

Sunday May 3 - Gambier to Kits Beach

Sounds Exotic eh ? - Kits Beach - white sand beaches - dancing palm trees - crashing surf - colourful sunsets.

Well, that is the wrong Kits Beach !! The sunsets are colourful and the anchor holds well but really we are just back in Vancouver to finish off our appointments and pick up a forth crew - Ceilidh.

Sunday night was a perfect anchor - Monday brought the predicted E & SE winds but they are offshore so lots of wind and small waves.
Our crew is now 4 - Rick, Mary, DiMilo the cat & Ceilidh the dog ( Cat and Dog -Hmmm)

We had a beautiful sail over from Gambier on Sunday evening and while entering English Bay we saw a beautiful Westsail 32 , Tangatatu, with its new sails and sparkling brightwork, enjoying the breeze as they tacked out of the bay and disapeared into the sunset.

Que Sera

The journey begins

Hi All

We got off the dock at 13:00 Friday May 1st. Bill and Brenda gave us a hand out of the slip and we stored our lines, fenders and Electrical embilical cords then motored out under the Burrard St. Bridge.

Fueling at Sewells in Horshoe bay is a little more difficult as they have added a short seaplane dock at right angles at the end of the fuel dock.

Night 1 - we anchored in Mannion Bay on Bowen Island. Since then we have been to Smugglers Cove on Bowen, Halket Bay Marine park and we are now anchored in Port Graves on Gambier.

More to come

Rick, Mary and DiMilo