Famiy Visit

                                             

                                Skipper and Mighty Crew on Last Day in Bellingham

On our way to Ganges, we “reminisced” about several previous anchoring attempts there. We have always found it somewhat challenging trying to find the pockets of mud bottom where our anchor will hold instead of  hitting  rocks and drifting.  On our first attempt, we struck it just right!  But our smiles vanished when we spotted a crab pot floating way too close to our boat.  We weren’t comfortable so moved on. 

After crisscrossing the bay dodging boats and a bevy of crab pot floats and attempting SIX more times to hook our anchor, David had the grand idea to head for Goat Channel just on the other side of a narrow strip of land separating it from Ganges Bay. We hooked it first try!  We were exhausted but our spirits lifted and our frustration soon disappeared once we knew we had found our home for the night.

In the morning, we took our dinghy over to Ganges and shopped for groceries and hardware. I tried to find David a pair of jeans but the only ones I could find were $169!!  After checking out the Farmers’ Market, we found a great Pizza place which boasts, “The Best Pizza on Saltspring Island”. We  were definitely impressed.  The next morning we returned to the Treehouse Coffee House for a delicious breakfast.  There is an actual tree growing in the middle of this cafe with a rather low branch expertly avoided by our lovely tall waitress who commented that you only need to whack your head once to remember to duck

                                                             A stroll on Stuart Island

David has been twisted and scrunched in cramped quarters for 3 days trying to get our water maker working. We bought it used (spotted a new one for $22,000). Unfortunately, this morning, David threw in the towel. There were unrepairable  leaks so could go no further. We have been trying to make our boat as self-sufficient as possible. The water maker was one of the last steps. We haven’t given up on it yet but David is taking a break until further research can be done and his back straightens out!

                                             Our frustrating water maker

                          David finally relaxing after doing battle with the before mentioned machine.

We are anchored in Montague Bay on Galiano Island for the night. Here is where the “World Famous” Hummingbird Pub resides, and we hope to finally catch the bus at 5:00 to get there. In the past, we have come on the wrong day or during the wrong time of year when the bus wasn’t running. Since we have no cell coverage on the boat, we can’t call to confirm the bus schedule so fingers crossed.

                                          The Hummingbird Pub Express

The Hummingbird Bus turned out to be a real hoot!  The driver, Tommy, has been in the transit business for over 30 years, has written a book, and is now a motivational speaker.  He had us all playing tambourines to blasting rock music accompanied by his occasional drumming of the symbols above his head. He pointed out several interesting sights along our way.  His friendliness and spirit of fun was infectious! I overheard one passenger say, “It’s great when someone makes you laugh and smile like this.”

                                Our driver, Tommy, and his one-man band

                               Pat and the Pub's Friendly Garden Gargoyle

                 A real hummingbird at the Hummingbird Pub...imagine that!

We are now on our way to Nanaimo. We were set to haul anchor at 7:30 this morning but David noticed several boats leaving at 7:00 and heading north. On the notion that they probably knew something we didn’t know, we left early. Good thing because we are working against the current only going 5.3 knots.  We have to time our passage through Dodds Narrows at slack time so we should be in good shape for that.

We plan to stay in Nanaimo just one night before crossing the Straits. It all depends on the winds and if the restricted area Whiskey Gulf (WG) is clear. We do not want to tangle with their air and subsurface torpedo tests!

Several seagulls are circling our boat as we motor on. They probably think this is a real fishing vessel and that there will be fish pickings for breakfast. They are in for some real disappointment…Angry Birds!!  Maybe after 2 weeks of boating we are starting to smell a bit “fishy”…time to do some laundry.

                                          

 Hungry geese looking for a treat...got some bread then moved on to the next boat.

                                          Gotta have a sunset photo!

                                                    Montague Bay