We finally get all chores done and pull out of Cameron Island Marina at about 2:00PM. We “putz” (Amy’s word for motoring) down to the Esso station at the north end of the Newcastle Canal where we put on 62 US gallons (235 liters) of diesel. None of the floating fuel stations in Nanaimo have propane (contrary to what is written in the cruising guides). While we are at the Esso station, Amy has a nice conversation with a Canada Customs officer. The Customs officer notes that she especially likes to board large luxury vessels. We notice that she doesn’t ask to board the Patience.
We head out across the

About half way across the Straits, I prepare to launch message-in-a-bottle #1. I have prepared seven messages that will be launched at strategic locations throughout the trip. This is our first

Rounding

We get up the next morning and we are the only boat left in Buccaneer Bay. Feeling pretty slovenly, I pull up the ground tackle. I get a little nervous as the winch sucks up all the rode. I hope the winch doesn’t puke out on us during this trip—we are going to be doing a lot of anchoring. Today we are unsure of where we are headed; perhaps Stewart Island or Squirrel Cove. It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day.

Amy has made us coffee and is now doing an on-boat pedicure & manicure. I have dubbed the boat “Frenchy’s North” (inside joke for female Seattle-lites). It is very nice out, although it has gotten a bit cooler with a bit of a westerly. There is also a bit of high cloud cover coming in from the east. Overall though, very pleasant. We are towing the Avon (with motor attached) as we head up

By mid-afternoon it appears that we are fighting the ebb as we continue up Malispina. Visual Navigation Suite doesn’t show any current stations in Malisplina Strait, and I am too lazy to look in the paper tide and current guide and see it it has any other information. However, it looks like the tide will be low at about 4:00PM. Although it is sometimes confusing in the islands, I rationalize that when the flood starts, it should head northbound up Malispina—helping us.

At about 4:30PM, we pass

By 5.00 PM is has gotten really warm and a little muggy. There is no wind and it is dead calm. The barometer continues to slowly drop and the weather forecast from Environment Canada does not sound good. I decide to stop at

Finally, what has been an wonderful day is coming to a close. We enter

After I get the anchor set, we continue partying. Happy hour has been gradually going straight since about 5:00PM. Amy plays D.J. and we listen to a bunch of the new CD’s we bought for the trip. Behind Amy’s back, I keep notching the volume knob down on the Ghetto Blaster so that we don’t disturb our neighbors. The mosquitoes aren’t too bad. They seem to like Amy a little more than they like me. We début our new citronella candle. I am preaching to my limited audience about how good it smells when Amy tell me it is not just a simple Citronella, but rather a more advanced Raid-Citronella candle. No wonder it works so well. I stop basking in its toxic fumes. As the sun sets I take some pictures, hoping that they turn out without the use of a tripod. This continues until about 11:00PM, which is pretty late for the crew of the Patience. We head below and hit the sack. For some reason I am unable to sleep and I end up reading

Thus far we are about one day behind our planned schedule.
We are headed to Stewart Island via Lewis Passage. This is the same route we took during our

We continue up the aptly named

We end up being a little late for slack water at

We end up staying at Stewart Island for two days. I have always really liked Stewart Island. Amy likes it also and declares that she would come back “in a heartbeat”. The facilities essentially consist of the resort, a public wharf, a pub (I believe it is officially called the “Wheelhouse Pub”)and what appears to be fishing cabins/resorts. The resort has dock space, a store, a good restaurant, showers and laundry. The store has a pretty good inventory of groceries, fishing gear and gift-type items. I have stayed at both the public wharf and the dock at the resort. The dock at the resort is quieter, but the public wharf is cheaper. The pub can be quite fun, but was closed since it was too early in the season. There was also a “for sale” sign on the wharf in front of the pub. I asked a gentleman about this and he confirmed the pub and some associated acreage was for sale. I remember “discovering” the pub in the early '90s with my brother John. We had always considered Stewart Island a pretty mellow place. One night John and I heard what we thought was loud music. We trudged up some trails and stumbled upon the pub. As we entered, we were told it was lady’s night and all men had to remove their shirts to enter. We did, and sure enough the entire pub was packed with topless guys and topped women. The place was packed and rocking. We stayed until late at night and had a great time. I hope the pub doesn’t go away—we have definitely have had some fun times there.
Later that afternoon Amy and I take an easy hike on the gravel road out to

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Adventures in the Charlottes was written by Tim Whelan.
All pictures and text ©Tim Whelan 1998-1999.
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