Roche Harbor to Vancouver

April 29, 2016

With only a relatively short day ahead of us, we departed Roche Harbor at 0950 and transited the short distance across Haro Strait and into Port Sidney Marina where we cleared Canada Customs by phone.  At 1135 we cast off the lines from the customs dock and headed to Ganges.  Our plans to see Miriam’s cousin Dean Sevold were changed when he had to cancel, but since we were already close to Ganges, but too late to divert to Vancouver, we continued on.

The wind suddenly increased to nearly 20 knots as we pulled the Grady White alongside and moored at Ganges Marina.  We were pleased to see Frank and Kathy Montgomery also there on the Selene 55, Rendezvous, so plans were quickly made to share our chicken enchiladas with chile verde with them in an informal potluck on Spirit.

We did some basic provisioning in Ganges, saving the major items of produce and meats until we reached Vancouver.

April 30, 2016

We had planned for a relatively early departure from Ganges to ride the morning flood tide to Vancouver, so at 0730 we departed quietly under sunny skies.  Heading up Trincomali Channel to Porlier Pass we entered Georgia Strait at 0940.  The calm waters of Trincomali were replaced by 10-15 knot winds from the northwest and 2-3 foot chop from the same direction, putting the seas nearly on the beam for the 22 nautical mile crossing to Burrard Inlet.  The stabilizers got a workout as we altered course to stay clear of the Vessel Traffic System lanes.  With the northwest wind, Burrard Inlet and English Bay were exposed and choppy as we pulled the Grady White alongside and threaded our way through the windsurfers, sailing races, kayaks and paddleboarders and people ferries into False Creek

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Spirit was alongside the dock at Quayside Marina with the engine shut down at 1339.  We have traveled 99 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes.  After checking in, the four of us walked to Costco and reprovisioned before returning to Spirit where we enjoyed the balance of the day soaking up the sun.  We capped off the evening with a Danish open faced sandwich smorgasbord, served in courses starting with pickled herring, then meats, followed by shrimp and avocado and finishing with a selection of cheeses, all done on buttered pumpernickel bread.  Each course finished with a “skol” of aquavit.  Finally, we then ended with a marathon game of Mexican Train.

Ted Marx serving the Aquavit for the first course of pickled herring