Please join us on MV Pairadice : SAN JUAN ISLANDS to PORT NEVILLE, B.C.

Wednesday, May 3nd Day 19 Friday Harbor, WA to Nanaimo, B.C. via Bedwell Harbor

We got ready to go and actually had time to kill. Refrigerator is acting weird again, so I cleaned up all the melt. Said good by to ASD this morning. Tom was kind enough to help me cast off :-) The girls weren’t up and about yet, but we said goodbye last night. The passage was scenic with calm waters. A lot of fog but plenty of visibility. We had a short stop to clear Canadian Customs at Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island, B.C. We docked at customs sailing the yellow quarantine flag. John cleared us in a matter of minutes with a mere phone call. And yes, we like it that way! We now fly the Canadian guest flag on the flybridge... the auto pilot was at the helm most of the day... following the course and arriving on time at Dodd Narrows.

(Remember to click on the pictures to scroll for full screen.)

Just as we were getting ready to pass through Dodd Narrows, John spotted our first set of Killer Whales. It was 4:30pm, we were heading north through the Narrows and the pod of Orcas were heading south. It makes you wonder if the whales have the sensory to time the tide? I ran upstairs, had one good sighting and got one picture of a fin. I’ll be keeping my camera set up with the telephotolense, from hear on out! John timed the tides just right for passing through at slack. Didn’t even see a hint of any rip tides!

Dodd Narrows

Calm seas the entire route made for a very pleasant day. Arriving in Nanaimo appx 5pm we found the moorage to be the most expensive we have experienced thus far at $80 per night. It’s neat place and by the time we headed over for halibut tacos, she had closed! I sure was disappointed! We made our way to the market and settled in to review the map, weather, tides, etc. Tomorrow will be a beautiful day. We will make our way to Comox.

Thursday, May 4th Day 20 Nanaimo, to Comox

I was up early to use the internet and go for a walk. What started out sunny, turned overcast and foggy as soon as I was dressed. Go figure. I took my camera up to the park for some photos of the scenery and made my way to the market for a couple last minute things. If, or should I say when, the the weather turns shitty, I want to be prepared. Left the dock at 9:30, the fog was thick navigating our way out of the harbor, but cleared after an hour or so. It is very tense when you see a huge ferry on the radar and AIS, which you know is really close and have NO sight of it. Soon we were in it’s wake and we were clear. At noon John remarked, “I don’t know that we could have asked for better conditions. Pretty damn smooth!” Lovin’ it!

An hour later, we are in and out of fog banks. John has to keep a steady eye on the radar and AIS, while I work on updated the ships log and filling in all the blanks. While underway, I made an awesome marinade for chicken breasts on the barbie. Sides of shells with cream garlic sauce and salad, we enjoyed a great dinner and a nice sunset. After dinner we walked up to the the Black Fin Pub for a night cap. Last call comes early in this retirement town and that suited us just fine. The winds are picking up tonight and tomorrow are expected to be 25 - 30 knots. We will remain behind the breakwater and the protection of the docks for another night.

Friday, May 5th Day 21 Comox Valley Harbor Authority

I was up early, utilizing the internet which was pretty good here. I got to work on breakfast. I had promised Grumpy biscuits and gravy. As soon as I was serving, one of his trawler forum buddies, Joe, showed up. These trawler forum dudes are everywhere. After a nice long shower I set out to see the town. With my headphones, backpack and grocery bag, I took off to see if I could get 10K steps in today. The small town is beautiful, the streets are lined with trees and flowers. An older gentleman named Gordy, motioned for me to take a seat with him at his perch on a retaining wall in the sun. He sits there everyday for a spell and new I wasn't from around hear. He was intrigued by my story and we chatted for about 30 minutes. Nice guy even posed for a selfie!

Harbor Overlook

Black Fin Pub

Beautiful Comax Sunset

We enjoyed a nice dinner at the popular Black Fin Pub. It seems the whole retirement community turns up for dinner at 6pm on Friday’s. The place was packed! Service was great! We retired with clean sheets and towels... Love it when that happens! I was even able to get in over 10K steps in today!

Saturday, May 6th Day 22 Comox to Gowlland Harbor

Up and about. I went to town to send off some Mother’s Day cards and get a couple things for dinner. While underway, we enjoyed lunch in the pilot house, chicken salad, with crackers. I had fun communicating with Missie aboard their new Selene 53', Melissa Lynn, today. Russ and Missie hired a Captain to take her from Anacortes, WA to their home port of St. Helenes, OR. They are doing a nonstop in the Strait of Juan De Fuce, rounding Cape Flattery then heading south on the Pacific Coast for their Columbia Bar crossing. They left this morning at 6:30. Will be interesting to see how their passage goes...

I took some pictures of the lighthouse at Cape Mudge and made our way into Gowlland Harbor. No problem setting the anchor. I made gourmet burgers for dinner and relaxed with a beautiful sunset.

Sunday, May 7th Day 23 Gowlland Harbor

Our friends, Tom and Kay aboard Alaskan Sea-Duction (ASD) will be catching up with us today. They left Nanaimo this morning and have a long day running so I’m making chili for everyone tonight. John informed me that they will be rafting to us, so he placed the snubber line to the rhode and I dropped the fenders on the port side. I got busy in the galley, tending to the meal. They arrived on schedule and guys wasted no time to launch the dingies for a race. Everyone enjoyed the hearty meal. After dinner the boys adjourned to ASD’s smoking lounge to tell lies, while Kay and I played cribbage on Pairadice.

Figuring out the weather on the IPad from the stern.

Monday, May 8th Day 24 Gowlland Harbor

Today was a lazy day. Kay made breakfast for the guys, I hung back, working on my next blog entry and cleaning up from last night. We both welcomed showers in the water closet and planned a pot luck steak dinner. Tom used his grill which caught fire... and we don’t like fires, especially on a boat! Kay made mac n cheese, I ponied up the salad and garlic bread. We had dinner in our salon and dessert and Game of Thrones on ASD.

Tuesday, May 9th Day 25 Gowlland Harbor to Port Neville

Up early, released our rafting buddies and hoisted the anchor. Got a nice push through Seymour Narrows. Lots of eddies through here, so we timed the crossing for 10:30. or to Port Neville. The auto pilot is working pretty hard using lots of rudder. at 1400 rpm we were doing 9+ knots. We even caught up to Tom. I took a couple pictures going through the rip tides, but John doesn’t want me on the deck. Later I photographed a tug with a hug log boom in tow. Suddenly we hit a log... the water is full of debri. There is a neat light station at Chatham Point to the port. We made the turn there into Johnstone Strait.

This rig was in tow the tug was well ahead of it.

We just saw a Humpback Whale and I didn’t have my camera ready. It’s ready now, but apparently the whale doesn’t like the boats. Johnstone Strait is nice and smooth today but the current is not in our favor. John called Tom on the radio regarding the whale sighting, so we made plans for gourmet burgers with leftovers for dinner tonight. We’ll use our grill this time. John gave me shit about my radio etiquette. It’s a beautiful day! No cell service through here.... and the current and rip tides are thick!

We reached Port Neville approximately 5pm. Once secured to the dock with a starboard side tie. Kay and I took our camera out on the beach for a walk about. It was a nice afternoon. We grilled hamburgers for dinner and hit the rack early. The guys are planning on rounding Cape Caution Thursday. We need a positive weather window for sure!