One of the great things about the cruising life is having your home in the right place at the right time. And today was one of those days…. The Olympic Flame made its official arrival in Victoria this morning from Greece and, as part of the public ceremony, a Dragon Boat carrying several area First Nation’s chiefs and a miner’s lamp with the flame arrived dockside at the...
We’re in Victoria now having arrived yesterday afternoon after spending nearly five months at anchor. It’s been almost a year since our last visit and, yet, it’s as if we’ve never left this great city – even Sally seems to know her way around. We’re currently docked at the Causeway Floats outside the historic Empress Hotel and Provincial Legislative Building enjoying a world-class view and easy access to...
Telegraph Harbour sits between Thetis and Kuper Islands – the later belonging to the Penelakut First Nations people. It’s a nice anchorage with excellent protection from the wind and good holding in mud but, once again, we were disappointed to find the best spots taken by moorings and marinas and barely managed to squeeze in amongst them. In the summer months, it’s one of the Gulf Islands’ most...
We spent a week in Silva Bay waiting for several weather systems to pass through before moving on. It rained quite a bit and was cold, but we were comfortable inside Cambria with the heater going as we passed the time making plans for the upcoming winter and doing small jobs around the boat. There’s not much happening in Silva Bay this time of year. During the summer...
Cities have never been our thing. They can be noisy, dirty, full of people, and unwelcoming. But, as far as cities go, Nanaimo’s all right. In it’s favour, it has an excellent harbour with a good anchorage and a revitalized downtown full of shops, cafés, pubs, and restaurants. Along the waterfront, there’s a great walkway that spans the length of the harbour where you can take in all...
The first Grub ‘N Groove, Lasqueti Island’s version of an “open mike night”, of the season was a hit with some acts putting together a set of three or four songs to perform for the packed house. And they were good. Really good. In fact, with only 350 year-round residents on the island, the amount of talent in the room was dumbfounding. It must have been somewhat daunting,...
We left Pender Habour this afternoon and made way for Squitty Bay on Lasqueti Island. Along the way, we talked to Mike and Lisa on the phone fully expecting them to be in Neah Bay, but they had just crossed the Columbia Bar in Oregon having gone straight from Port Angeles yesterday morning. The conditions weren’t ideal – 25 to 30 knots of wind on the beam with...
