Chapter1: Country Music and Shotguns
Our adventure begins in Sydney, British Columbia Post or read comments. We are on our way around Vancouver Island, by sailboat. Sunset behind the Patience. We have spent the last two weeks moving the boat during weekends from Seattle Washington to Sydney. I have spent months planning, preparing and provisioning for this trip, and we are now ready to begin. My girlfriend Amy and I depart Sydney Harbor at 7.00AM to catch slack tide. Six or seven hours later we arrive in Nanaimo Post or read comments . Unfortunately, Amy has to go home, but Stephen and Fred come and join the good ship Patience. Fred arrives by ferry, Stephen by seaplane. We stock the boat with plenty of food and about five cases of Canada's finest (well four cases and a case of Labott's Classic - per Fred) and depart across the Straits of Georgia Post or read comments under sail. We are blessed by about twenty knots of wind from the north. From my previous experiences crossing the Straits of Georgia, this seems to be the prevailing summer wind. We set course for Pender Harbor Post or read comments . After beating about three quarters of the way across the Straits of Georgia, averaging 7+ knots, the winds die and the sun begins to make its descent. We fire up the diesel, and pull down the sails. With the sun setting, we cruise into Pender Harbor and drop our 66 pound Bruce anchor into some nice mud. Weary from conquering the high seas, we settle into an 11 hour sleep, lulled by the melodic sound of country music and gunshots (no joke).
The next day we awake and decide that Pender Harbor is a nice anchorage, but certainly not worth postponing the trip for. We continue and cruise on to Westview Post or read comments - approximately 25 nautical miles to the north. We motor into a brisk northerly wind blowing down Malispina Strait Post or read comments . Texada Island Post or read comments is to our west and mainland North America is to our east. I can't help but think that it would have been a joyous sail if only we had been southbound. We end up squeaking into Westview with barely enough time for Fred to catch his 4.30 bus appointment. Fred is heading back to the big M to finish up his summer contracting job. Bummer. Weather is a roasting 80+ degrees Fahrenheit. To cool off, Stephen and I inflate the Avon, mount the motor and scoot off for cool swim in Malispina Strait. After coming back and drying off, I perform the much needed task of alphabetizing the Patience's 124 album CD collection. While alphabetizing, I discover that we have, not one, not two, but three copies of Joe Satriani's "Surfing with the Alien". I guess I was paranoid about forgetting Joe. Stephen and I cap off the evening by dining out - pizza and a beautiful sunset over the mountains on Vancouver Island. Weeks later I will be seeing those same mountains from the other side of the island.
It's funny, I don't know why, but I have always been fond of Westview. It's not a particularly beautiful spot, but it has everything you need and everyone is very nice. You can't beat it as a provisioning stopover on your way up to Desolation Sound Post or read comments . Make sure you fill up your fuel and water tanks and empty your garbage at Westview - it will be your last chance to do so for some time.
The next day it is onwards and upwards. We depart blistering Westview, and head north for Desolation Sound. For those that haven't been, Desolation Sound is far from Desolate - quite the opposite. Noisy American and Canadian pleasure boaters abound - Jet Skis, Ski Brendellas, drunks, the whole gamut. Despite all the racket, Desolation Sound remains a beautiful spot. The sound consists of a large archipelago of islands located between Vancouver Island and mainland North America. The sound is bordered on the north and west by snowcapped peaks ranging up to 5000 - 8000 feet high. Entrance to Desolation Sound The water in the sound is unusually warm by Northwest standards (most of the salt water in the Pacific Northwest is a chilly 48 - 54 degrees Fahrenheit) averaging about 68 - 70 degrees in many of the inlets and coves within the sound. The highest water temperature we ever recorded was 77 degrees Fahrenheit in Pendrell Sound one summer when we were vacationing with my family. I believe most of the sound is a Canadian National Park.
Back to the story at hand. We are motoring (there was no wind) towards Desolation Sound - Prideaux Haven Post or read comments in specific. On our way, both Stephen and I take the Avon for a joy ride to the south side of Savary Island Post or read comments . On a nice day, Savary is wonderful. It is like a little slice of the South Pacific hidden in the Pacific Northwest. The water is warm and clear. The beeches are sand and almost completely deserted. I would highly recommend stopping in on the south side of Savary if the weather is good. Be careful - it is shallow. Anyway, we continue towards Prideaux Haven. As we round Sarah Point Post or read comments we are treated to one of the most beautiful vista's in the region - the entrance to Desolation Sound. I shoot about a half a roll of film and somehow manage to screw up every shot. We continue on for about another hour and navigate the tight entrance to Prideaux Haven. We secure ourselves a tight anchorage and set two stern lines. Our Bruce anchor is firmly set in a nice mud bottom. Stephen calls the second stern line overkill, but I call it prudent.
This is the beginning of three days in paradise at Prideaux Haven. The first night Stephen cooks up what is now a Patience specialty - extremely hot, curried Fajitas. View from Prideaux Haven As Stephen says, "They're not good unless they hurt going down and going out". Captain and crew scarf down the fajitas while breathing flames out their nostrils and swatting mosquitoes. We find the mosquitoes come out religiously right after sunset. This makes sleeping outside unpleasant if not impossible. On the second day, my father arrives in his vessel the Too Grand. He sponges off our phenomenal anchorage by rafting up alongside. Shortly afterwards, fellow Patience crew members, brother Sebastian and friends Jose and Callison arrive compliments of Kenmore Air. We successfully use Kenmore Air throughout the voyage to shuttle crew members to and from the Patience. The Patience is now loaded down to her waterlines with food and crew. New crew members do their part and head to Refuge Cove Post or read comments in search of more overpriced Canadian beer. One nice side-effect of the Canadian system for distributing alcohol is that while overpriced in general, it is at least overpriced consistently. A 6-pack of Labott's costs the same in downtown Vancouver as it does is remote Refuge Cove in Desolation Sound.
Time passes on, and eventually we are Prideax Havened out. It is time to move on. We hoist anchor and spend about 45 minutes coiling the hundreds of feet of stern line we had out. Our destination today is Big Bay Resort Post or read comments on Stuart Island. We travel in company with the Too Grand to Refuge Cove and then they leave us - bound for waters to the south. Lewis Channel We slowly sail north through Lewis Channel Post or read comments barbecuing hot dogs as we go. About half way to Stewart Island our wind dies and we have to start motoring again. We don't know, but this will be our last sail until we round the northern end of the Vancouver Island and get to the west coast. At around this time, Callison tells Jose that, "knocking is no longer option". This is in reference to Jose's announced and uninvited arrival in the head while Callison was there using the facilities. Having learned the hard way that this was no longer a 100% male crew, we continue on and hit Yaculta Rapids Post or read comments at perfect slack. We moor at the public dock in Big Bay.
Stewart Island Post or read comments is at the north end of Desolation Sound and is about half way up the inside of Vancouver Island. Due to the geography of this area and Stuart Island's central location, the island is surrounded by channels which are host to some very strong rapids. These rapids are called Yaculta, Arran Post or read comments and Dent Rapids Post or read comments . If you are from the Puget Sound region and are accustomed to the rapids at the Tacoma Narrows or the gentle current down the Ship Canal, you will probably be shocked. All of the above mentioned rapids can flood or ebb at up to 10 - 15 knots of current. This means that at full ebb or flood, these passages look much more like rivers than salt water passages. It also means that if you are a sailor, you only transit these rapids at very close perfect slack. If you want to see an amazing spectacle, climb (be careful) the mountain above Big Bay Resort and time your arrival to the "summit" for full flood or ebb. Stewart Island You will get a wonderful vantage of the rapids that surround Stewart Island. It is interesting to note that while Stewart Island is only about 28 nautical miles north of Prideaux Haven, the water temperature drops to a very chilly 45 - 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Salmon fishing here is supposed to be great, although I have never landed a thing in all my years of coming here.
We spend two days at Stewart Island. Our time is spent lounging (the weather remains good) and watching eagles. Stewart Island is known for it's eagles. At one point we are lucky enough to see seven eagles in one tree. At about 5.00 PM on the second day, Stephen has to pack up and fly back to Seattle. After the remaining crew take much needed showers, Jose treats us all to a salmon buffet at the Big Bay Resort. Despite being slightly underdressed, an extremely good time is had by all. We end the evening by retiring to the Wheelhouse Pub and playing a few rounds of Hearts. Sunset at Stewart Island Little did we know that this night would start another Patience tradition - a fanatical obsession with the game of Hearts. Overall, Stuart Island and Big Bay resort get five stars from the crew of the Patience. The area has recovered nicely from the clear-cutting a decade or so ago, the eagles and rapids are awesome and the buffet at Big Bay Resort can't be beat.
The next day we awake at about 10 AM - still stuffed from our food extravaganza the previous night. We leave at about 1.45 PM aiming for perfect slack at Dent Rapids. It appears that I made a slight mis-calculation and we end up battling a couple knots of current through the rapids. Despite potential for problems, all goes well, and within about an hour we celebrate crossing the WNTL (The Whelan Northmost Travel Line). This imaginary (similar to the Date Line and the Equator) line marks the farthest north latitude anyone in my known family has navigated a yacht. By 5.00 PM we have left Desolation Sound and are mooring at Blind Channel Resort Post or read comments .
Blind Channel Blind Channel isn't much to look at - a bit of a Motel 6 of marine stopovers. Jose and I go salmon fishing and Callison and Sebastian go off on a hike. While fishing, I kick-off what is to become an annoying habit that prevails throughout this trip - losing Buzz Bombs (lures) and not catching salmon. During the Blind Channel fishing expedition I manage to lose two buzz bombs. After fishing Jose and I head up to Blind Channel Resort for dinner. It turns out that Blind Channel is run by a family (the Richters) of German decent and the restaurant features primarily German food. While I hardly consider myself a connoisseur of German food, I have to admit that the food and service were excellent - though not on par with the Big Bay Resort Buffet.

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