Part XVI - Rebecca Spit to Everett

August 11 - 13, Nanaimo

The weather forecast for today (Friday, August 11) was for light winds in the Strait of Georgia and a strong wind warning for Saturday and Sunday.  With that in mind, we departed Rebecca Spit at 6:00 a.m. waving goodbye to Ralph who came out wave us off.  We spent just over 2 hours fishing at the green can on the south end of Cortez Island along with about 40 other boats.  We caught nothing and saw only one fish caught.  Poseidon apparently didn’t want Cash to catch more than 27 salmon.

Following our unsuccessful fishing effort, we headed south and went all the way to Nanaimo where we arrived about 7:00 p.m.  Thirteen hours and 75 miles – a really tiring day.  As expected, we had to anchor since the reciprocal dock at the Nanaimo Yacht Club was full.

True to forecast, the wind started picking up on Saturday morning.  We kept an eye out for an opening at the yacht club and, when one did appear, we promptly picked up the anchor and tied up to a dock.  It’s always nicer to be at a dock when the wind is high.

One task we had to take care of was processing the octopus.  We froze 6 tentacles and experimented with the remaining two.  First they were dipped 3 times in boiling water which supposedly caused the muscles to tighten up.  Then they were boiled for an hour in wine, vinegar, and a cork.  When done, the skin and suction cups just peeled right off.  The meat was moderately tender and now needs a recipe to add flavor.  That’s for when we get home.

Cooking octopus

There’s a lot to enjoy along the waterfront in Nanaimo and we spent a lot of time walking it.  Artists, a concert in the park, ice cream, and of course, fish & chips.  We were, however, disappointed in Troller’s.  Previously we had dubbed them the best fish & chips we’d had anywhere; this time the pieces were really thin so the batter overpowered the fish.  They now get no better than an average score.

Concert in the park with aerial gymnast

Paddle carved by First Nation street artist

August 14, Port Browning

We timed our departure from Nanaimo so we would hit the Dodd Narrows at slack current.  This was a good opportunity for Cash to take us out from the dock and through some rapids.  The biggest problem, of course, is other boats.  It was mobbed today with boats traveling both north and south and the radio was full of “securitay securitay, securitay” announcements of boats passing through.  Wakes from other boats were the biggest problem of the day. However, the weather was kind to us today: sunny and only a light breeze. 

Port Browning is a pleasant place which provides great protection during bad weather.  Fortunately, the weather was great so we took the dinghy to shore and took a walk to the local (really small) shopping center.

Cash driving Hobbit through Dodd Narrows

August 15, Bedwell Harbor

From Port Browning we headed east around South Pender Island and joined about 20 boats fishing for salmon.  Cash caught his 28^th in only half an hour and we continued fishing for several more hours.  During that time we didn’t see anyone else catch a fish so we retreated to Bedwell Harbor, set anchor, and then cooked and processed the crab.  It will last in the refrigerator till we get home where we have room to put it in a freezer. Port Browning is on North Pender Island while Bedwell Harbor is on South Pender Island.  Our anchorage tonight is only about 2 miles from where we anchored last night.

Poseidon smiled: Cash’s 28th, a Chinook

The U.S. (Stuart Island) from Bedwell Harbor

August 16, Friday Harbor

Ahh, Friday Harbor.  Always a favorite stop.  As usual, we made a trip to the ice cream store promptly after clearing customs and docking.  After the ice cream, we went to the Arctic Raven Art Gallery so Cash could look for Native American art. Cash  has become somewhat of a collector, and  Melinda gave him money for art as a graduation present.  You would think that with all the stops in BC and Alaska Cash would have found something he liked.  The problem is that so much of the material is mass produced for cruise ship tourists that you don’t have confidence you’re getting good art.  The Arctic Raven is different and has long been one of Cash’s favorite places.  He did find a print he really liked and, after considerable thought, bought it. 

Back on Hobbit we vacuum packed Cash’s last salmon.  Like the crab, it will be ok in the refrigerator until we are able to put it in our home freezer.  At night Cash went onto the dock and took a wonderful star shot.

Cash’s print from the Arctic Raven

Cash’s star shot from the dock at Friday Harbor

August 17, Oak Harbor

We slept in and didn’t leave Friday Harbor until 8:30.  The sunny weather continued and we had a fairly pleasant trip from Friday Harbor to Oak Harbor except for the 7 miles crossing Rosario Strait.  In the Strait 1 – 2 foot swells from the Pacific hit us on the beam and made it a rock & roll journey.  As we pass through Deception Pass I always have the feeling that the journey is just starting or that it is over.  Today we passed through heading south so, to me, it seemed like all that is left is the 6 hours of droning along to get home.  Cash assured me that he didn’t share that feeling.

At Oak Harbor we took advantage of a reciprocal and once tied up we made the short walk to the Navy Exchange and restocked our supply of Alaskan Brewery beer…Summer and HOP have become our favorites. Then, we joined the Oak Harbor Yacht Club for hamburgers. 

August 18, Everett

Our final day of this adventure was sunny and warm with a light breeze.  After a good breakfast of bacon, eggs, and biscuits, we left the dock and took on 290 gallons of fuel before heading home.  In Everett we were greeted by our friends Steve and Nancy Makar and Kent and Cathy Wehle who helped with the lines.  Final statistics for the trip were:

 3 months and 13 days
39 salmon
5 halibut
Many gallons of prawns
Lots of crabs and herring
Many glaciers
Incredible wildlife
2717 nautical miles (3127 statute miles)
473 hours on the engine
149 hours on the generator
904 gallons of diesel
1.9 gallons per engine hour

Fuel consumption is a little higher than the normal 1.75 because of all the generator hours and because, for most of the first two months, we ran the diesel heater all night.

Cash had gallons of apple juice, Red Bull and Monster energy drinks as well as huge amounts of macaroni & cheese and popcorn. Well, we helped consume a bit of the popcorn!

Linda and I enjoyed our wine, gin and tonics, cider, jelly beans, and Tim’s potato chips.

We all ate so much seafood that we longed for hamburgers and ice cream and, of course Canadian bread and butter, always.

Three scuzzy travelers in Everett
(as usual, Linda still in her pajamas)

Epilogue

We probably would have come back at least a week, maybe two later except that Cash had to be back by August 18th in order to drive to Oregon to view the eclipse.  Here are two of his eclipse shots.

Total eclipse

Eclipse series