Desolation Sound to Vancouver

Moon near Dent Island
View down Pryce Channel

Moonrise in Prideaux Haven

Canadian Goose Begging for Food in Squirrel Cove

August 24, 2010

Leaving Dent Island Lodge behind, we entered Yuculta Rapids at slack water and proceeded down Calm Passage. Although we still had worries about the throttle, there was so much boat traffic going the same direction that we felt comfortable. The weather was sunny and the winds calm so we decided to cruise up Deer Passage, across Pryce Channel and down Waddington Channel so we could investigate Walsh Cove Marine Park. Walsh Cove looked good, but was already full of stern tied boats. The water temperatures were in the low 70's as we headed down the channel. We continued on to Prideaux Haven and found a place to anchor and stern tie. By this time it was just plain hot, so the kayaks went over the side for a paddle around in the 70 degree water. There were lots of people swimming and jumping off the rocks in Prideaux Haven, Melanie Cove and Laura Cove. We invited the Usher's on "Friendship II", whom we had met at Dent Island, over for a BBQ in the sun. We ate out on the boat deck and had a great time as the sun set. We had a selection of burgers, hot dogs, polish sausages and steak, along with homemade potato salad.

August 25, 2010

Waking up to another sunny day, we decided to just stay where we were and explore the area in detail from kayaks and the tender. We treated the anchorage to the aroma of a marinated pork loin and potatoes au gratin, along with a huge green salad as we tried to use what fresh vegetables we had left before they spoiled.

August 26, 2010

We reluctantly hoisted the anchor and headed just a few miles to Squirrel Cove for the evening. We had not been in Squirrel Cove for at least 10 years, and two boats ago. Luckily we found a place to anchor right in front of the reversing rapids to the lagoon and had a ringside seat as we watched tenders and kayaks attempt to enter the lagoon. The breeze started to pick up, and the temperature cooled down as we converted some of the pork loin into a spicy Szechuan stir fry over rice. As night fell, the rain started, just as we were stowing the tender on deck in preparation for the trip to Pender Harbor in the morning. The rain continued most of the night, at times extremely hard.

August 27, 2010

Since the trip to Pender Harbor was expected to take 7 hours, we hoisted the anchor at 0800. There was a large quilt wrapped around the anchor chain, all covered with mud, and the smell was atrocious. Since we did not have a fishing license for quilts, we returned it to the deep. At least we did not snag any logging cables! The rain had stopped, and the weather just got better as we headed south. We were part of a parade of boats all headed the same direction, although there were a few boats still headed north. When we arrived at Pender Harbor, Garden Bay was pretty full, so we went to our back-up plan and anchored in Gerrans Bay at 1415, a fast run. It was time for a pub lunch, so the tender was launched and we headed for the Garden Bay Pub for halibut and chips and some Kusshi oysters on the half shell. We then toured some of the other parts of the bay in the tender, including Gunboat Bay, which has a narrow rock filled entrance with high currents. The bay looks good, but no large boats due to the narrow and shallow entrance.

August 28, 2010

After unsuccessfully trying to get dock space in Howe Sound at either Gibsons or Bowen Island, and being unsure of the space on a summer weekend in either Smuggler Cove or Plumper Cove we decided to just stay anchored in Gerrans Bay and enjoy another day in the sun, along with more tours of the entire harbor. Dinner was grilled New York steak, getting down to the bottom of the freezer stock from our initial provisioning four months ago. The wind came up in the evening and the temperatures cooled a little, but we were treated to a gorgeous starry night.

August 29, 2010

The anchor was raised at 0730 for the 50 mile run to Quayside Marina in False Creek, Vancouver. For most of the trip we had mild winds and calm seas, until we got to the entrance to Howe Sound. The ebb tide and opposing wind made for choppy seas until we turned the corner and transited Shoal Passage to look at Gibsons and Plumper Cove Marine Park. We are glad we did not head for Plumper Cove. It is crowded and surrounded by private homes and buoys. Most of the boats there were in the 20-30 foot size, and the dock and buoy spacing seemed sized for them.

We continued up around Bowen Island and then headed for False Creek. Snug Harbor on Bowen Island looks like a place to stop in the future, but with advance reservations. Since it was a Sunday afternoon, there was a lot of traffic entering False Creek, everything from kayaks to powerless sailboats and dinner cruise ships. We finally docked at Quayside Marina behind the 151 foot Northern Marine megayacht "After Eight".

Today was John Duvall's birthday so we headed into the Yaletown area of Vancouver at the head of the dock looking for a place to celebrate his special day? There were lots of places to choose from in this former warehouse, now trendy upscale area, but a place called "100 Days" caught our eye, and we headed in. The menu was in chalk on the wall (also printed), and after being seated in an area with open French windows onto the street, found out they had only been open 2 days and would close in 100 days and renovate again. Our waiter was from the Gold Coast outside of Brisbane and told us the story of how they had created the restaurant in only 5 days. The place stilled smelled of fresh paint. However, the food and service were great, and the staff brought us a special dessert platter for John's birthday that had tiramisu, a halved Okanogan Peach broiled into a cobbler with topping, Boston cream pie éclairs, and three kinds of panna cotta, mandarin orange, pineapple and chocolate/hazelnut. Some of the entrees included crab and lobster Mac & Cheese (Miriam's choice), Spaghetti Bolognaise (John) and Angus steak (Patrick).

After dinner, a walk along the new waterfront esplanade brought us to False Creek Yacht Club where we stopped for a glass of wine before heading back to the boat.

August 30, 2010

Today we went to Granville Island on the water taxi and looked for some inside passage planning charts for John Duvall. Alas, this late in the season none were available. We shopped in the public market for some cheese and cold cuts for appetizers later in the evening with Mike and Susie Miner on the Selene 50 "Seeker". Miriam and Patrick also explored the "Urban Fare" supermarket one block from the boat. It has a fantastic selection of food at reasonable prices.

We have crossed paths with the Miner's several times, most recently in Sullivan Bay. After appetizers we all went up to the "100 Days" restaurant for dinner and let the chef pick a tasting menu to share, which turned out to be more than we could all eat.

Light rain started shortly after we returned to the boat, and just got heavier overnight

August 31, 2010

The rain was very heavy when we woke up, along with gale warnings in the Strait of Georgia. At 0900 the Halibut Bank buoy was reporting sustained winds of 24 knots with gust to 30 and 5 foot seas which were building over the previous hour. With the intermittent throttle problem still not resolved we are staying one more day in False Creek to let the winds and seas subside. We will then go direct to Anacortes, a distance of about 72 nautical miles.

We now have 4142 nautical miles on the log after 123 days on this adventure.