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Poppies on on Garden Bay
Under an impossibly blue summer sky, boats sit in the protected waters of Hospital Bay, BC.
“Any fool can carry on, but a wise man knows how to shorten sail in time.”
– Joseph Conrad
I’m not a great sailor: my favourite part of sailing is making a safe landfall.
This is especially true when the landfall is somewhere new and different, and when the sailing has been a bit fraught!
But, I do love being on the water, and I do love visiting new ports. (I have quoted Brooks Atkinson before: “Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit,” (see: On the Straits and Narrows).) So, when people who know the British Columbia waters around where our boat Graystone lives, suggest a trip in tandem, I jump at the opportunity.
Our friends and their 32-foot Catalina, Alaunia, were planning to head into the magnificent, but grimly named, Desolation Sound for several weeks of summer cruising. We didn’t have enough time for the whole trip, but organised to piggy-back on the first legs northeast from our home-base of Nanaimo into the Sound. My husband and I would then return home alone, while our companions continued deeper into the wild northern waters.
Our Graystone is a modest, gracefully-ageing 38-foot Hughes sailing sloop. Unlike our friends’ boat, the galley doesn’t run to overhead wine racks and a microwave oven, but she’s comfortable enough – provided I organise simple meals that can be prepared on two burners in minimal space. The beauty of travelling with another boat is that the planning – charting for landfalls, moorages, and anchor-spots – is reduced, and the preparation is almost halved: if we took turns making dinner, I’d only have to cook half as often.
Although we keep all the requisite charts on board, in this day and age of GPS’s, my husband and I both get a little haphazard with our map-reading. We rely (rather more heavily than we should) on the expertise of our friends, and then I turn to my Dreamspeaker Guides – delightfully illustrated cruising books – for detailed advice and information on our planned destinations.
Usually it works – and barring a few bumps or tears or bruises, we eventually make a safe harbour in one of the many glorious spots available to us along the Strait of Georgia.
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Alaunia on the Strait of Georgia
The Strait of Georgia, between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, provides endless sailing and cruising opportunities. When we first set out from Nanaimo behind our cruising companions in their Catalina, the winds were too light for sails.
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Setting Course
Before long, however, I have the sails up, and we are whipping across the Strait under wind-power.
Wreck on the Harbour
Some six hours later, we finally limped into the protection of Pender Harbour. Contrary to Joe Conrad’s advice (above), we had not shortened the sails in time! We had also lost sight of our companions, missed our landmarks, and overshot the harbour entrance considerably in rough winds. As I said, we are not particularly good sailors.
Fortunately, thanks to mobile phone reception, we found our way back, and unlike this wrecked tugboat at the harbour entrance, we had only minor damage to our sails, which I mended before dinner.
Hospital Bay
It’s still light at eight o’clock on a northern summer evening: we’ve told our tale and shared a meal. Our afternoon squall is soon forgotten, as the warming sun …
Fisherman’s Marina
… and quiet waters of Hospital Bay in Pender Harbour sooth our ruffled feathers.
Sunset on Fisherman’s Marina
There is nothing quite as peaceful as watching the sun set from the deck of a boat that is safely moored!
Morning on Fisherman’s Marina
The sun rises early on the water; …
Fisherman’s Marina
… we take the opportunity to walk up through Fisherman’s Resort and Marina (now known as “John Henry’s”) …
LaVerne’s Grill
… and into the Garden Bay area of Pender Harbour.
Poppies on Garden Bay
On the hill, the poppies are starting to bloom, …
Garden Bay
… and quiet waters lie below.
No Wake!
Late in the morning, we motored gently out of Pender Harbour behind Alaunia, …
N3N Bi-Plane
… pausing to admire the bright yellow N3N bi-plane that – until a day after our trip – lived for twenty-five years on these waters.
N3N Bi-Plane
A rare model equipped to land on water, this N3N was originally built in 1942 as a training plane by the U.S. Navy. It was bought by Bill and Wilma Thompson in 1990, and lovingly renovated and flown around Pender Harbour by Bill until his death. Before our visit, the plane had been sold to an operator in Yellowknife NWT, and it made its last flight out of here the very next day (see: The Coast Reporter).
Ballet Bay
The winds north of Pender Harbour were much more forgiving than they had been the day before, and we managed a smooth and uneventful trip up the rest of the scenic Sunshine Coast, past the opening to Agamemnon Channel, and around to the protected north side of Nelson Island into the pristine and quiet Ballet Bay.
Our Boats on Ballet Bay
With our boats securely anchored, we have plenty of time in the early afternoon to explore the bay in our dinghies.
Dinghy on Ballet Bay
It would be almost a crime to break the peacefulness of the bay with a motor; the splash of the oars, on the other hand, just adds to the feeling of calm.
Rocky Foreshore – Ballet Bay
The water is crystal clear, and changes colour dramatically in the afternoon light.
Kayaks on Ballet Bay
As the sun goes down over Nelson Island, people take their kayaks out onto the quiet waters …
Evening on Ballet Bay
… and enjoy one of the prettiest bays you could hope for.
What a beautiful spot! And what a great place to enjoy a quite drink after a successful two days on the water before continuing north …
Until next time,
Safe sailing!
Beautiful details and pictures of your voyage! For some reason, I hadn’t seen this posting before!
Hi Tony,
Thanks for your visit. The pictures might be old but the post is new, which is why you hadn’t seen it. It always takes me a while to get back to all my photo file!
All the best to you guys! U x