Catch of the Day!
June 2, 2014
Montague Bay on Galiano Island
We hit the
motherlode with our crab pots this morning! We snagged 15 but unfortunately,
only four were keepers. Oh, well, better than an empty pot. Our prawn trap
yield zero. We need to do some reading up on prawn trapping. It probably wasn’t
deep enough. The prawn bait we bought was some of the stinkiest stuff I have
ever encountered! Once again, the
chicken in the crab pots was all gone but we think it’s the smell of the prawn
heads that is really attracting them.
Our trip here was
about 2 hours. I suggested that we tow the skiff behind us. Most boats do, and
I thought that in an emergency situation, having the skiff already in the water
in case we needed it would be a good thing. We made it to Montague Bay without losing it, but when we were anchoring, David
started to go in reverse to test how secure we were, and he remembered the
skiff line. Don’t want it to wrap itself around the propeller…bad news. So he
had to bring it along side before reversing. Another procedure to work on and
master!
After washing off
all the anchor mud that had accumulated on the decks and putting away all the
trap gear, we sat down and enjoyed a margarita. David shared with me his
conversation with the Canadian Customs agent a few days ago regarding the booze
on board. We were fine because our spirit bottles were only partially full. Many
years ago when we were checking in, David reported that we had a number of
bottles of spirits and wine. The agent informed him that a duty of $500 would
have to be paid! Needless to say, David
was dumbfounded. The agent put him on hold for a time and when she got back she
said they would only charge us $250. They conveniently take Visa or Mastercard
over the phone. We now carefully watch how much alcohol we are carrying. They
always ask about cigars, too.
There are a lot more
boats here compared to our visit last time in autumn. We were disappointed to
find out that the summer bus to the Hummingbird Pub from the marina doesn’t
begin until June 14th…missed it again!! We will probably stay here
two days before heading across the Strait of Georgia. Can’t believe it’s
already June!
While filling up our
fuel tanks on the skiff, David met Dan who had just purchased the marina two
weeks ago! Sure hope he will be ready for what’s sure to be a hectic summer. At
the marina there’s a small grocery store with lots of souvenirs, an art shop,
moped and kayak rentals and a coffee and bakery café.
We cruised around
the bay and stopped at the Lady Ann, a Pilgrim 40 which, in my opinion, was the
sweetest boat in the harbor. The owners sold
their home in 1998 and have been “live aboards” ever since. This is their final
cruise. They are selling their boat and buying an RV. They are tired of the maintenance and physical
labor that living on a boat takes and will be trading in their propeller for
wheels.
Lady Ann
We sat out on the
bow waiting for the sunset. Apparently there is a spot on the island that has
been voted as having one of the world’s best sunset views. Ours was pretty
spectacular from where we were sitting. We enjoyed our books, sipping on wine
and listening to Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra. David kept saying, “What have
we done in our lives to deserve this?” It was definitely a special moment for
us.
A boat, some crab, a glass of wine and a camera.
Yep, it was another wonderful sunset
What have you done? Worked hard all your lives, played the game right - fair and honest, raised a couple of great kids and been true and loyal to your friends. What have you done indeed!
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