After spending the night in Ballet Bay, which was mosquito infested as well, we moved up to Westview this morning to fuel-up and re-provision. There have been A LOT of changes to the marina (which is still under construction) since last year. They completely redid North Harbour, the permanent moorage, and have added to the seawall in South Harbour, the guest and commercial moorage, changing the entrance in the process. Apparently, when we pass this way again in September, it'll be even more unrecognizable with the addition of floats and possible relocation of the fuel dock.
Unfortunately, the shuttle isn't running yet which meant a hike up “Cardiac Hill” to the shops where we had lunch and bought enough groceries (and chocolate) to see us through the next three weeks. The laundromat across the street from the marina is still closed which meant that after taking showers and filling the water tanks, we'd be ready to go...or would we?
When we got back to the boat, it was already 4 o'clock and time for us to move on but something wasn't quite right. Regardless of the tide, neap or spring, we've always been able to get out of the marina; it may have been a tight squeeze, but we've managed just fine. Not today. With the new configuration of the seawall, we no longer have the room to manoeuvre and turn the corner (which hadn't been there before) at low tide . . . and it was LOW! It was seven o'clock before we felt comfortable moving and, by that time, too late to make our next destination, Refuge Cove in Desolation Sound, before dark – even if that isn't until 10:00 pm. So we stayed the night only to be lulled to sleep by the sound of sirens, traffic and fishing boats. Ahhh! Civilization!
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