June and July, 2019
After the departure of Barry and Rebecca we headed north to Desolation Sound. There we found superb, uncrowded anchorages and enjoyed two weeks of perfect weather.
Andrew joined us for two weeks in early June. He was feverish and not feeling well prior to flying west but his doctor said it was probably nothing. Two days after his arrival we discovered the reason behind his malaise. A red round blotch appeared on his arm and we quickly diagnosed it as Lyme Disease. He had been camping in Pennsylvania two weeks prior and the telltale sign did not show till he was aboard. We motored down to Campbell River where we knew a clinic existed and they concurred with our Lyme diagnosis and got him started on Doxycycline. Within a couple of days he bounced back and was able to enjoy the surroundings. We managed to visit a few islands and got in some great kayaking and hiking. Our plan was to end Andrew’s visit in Vancouver with a stay at Coal Harbour Marina. We knew that the BC Highland Games and Scottish Festival were happening that weekend so we took the train to Lafarge Lake Park in Coquitlam for a day of Scottish culture, music and fun. After two weeks of fun Andrew returned to DC.
We now had over a month to ourselves before we needed to be back in Sidney to pick up our next guest. We thoroughly enjoyed the weather, met new friends, did lots of hiking, and experienced bears and sea lions up close.
We started the month by relocating to False Creek on the south side of Vancouver. We anchored for three nights right in the middle of all the practicing for the Dragon Boat Festival occurring that weekend. We were told we had to weigh anchor by Thursday afternoon so we did not get to see any of the races and festivities. The practices were done in earnest and we are sure the races were tough.
Northwest we headed, away from Vancouver. With overnite anchorage stops at Gambier Island, Pender Harbor, Cortes Bay, Teakerne Arm, Bickley Bay, Forward Harbor, Boughy Bay, finally pulling in at Lagoon Cove Marina on Minstrel Island. We spent two delightful nights at the dock and met several fun couples. The crabbing was excellent and we cought our first Dungeness Crab of the year. Delicious.
We were now out of the Desolation Sound area and in the Broughtons. Several days of anchoring brought us to Sullivan Bay Marina on North Broughton Island. Here we spent the 4th of July and the marina did it up with an outdoor barbecue, music and of course a dock parade.
The festivities ended and we departed the next day. Several more beautiful days of anchoring, a long passage down the 68 mile Johnstone Strait and a timed trip thru Seymour Rapids brought us close to our next destination. One last anchorage in Gowlland Harbour across from Campbell River and it was off to Comox, BC a town in Vancouver Island.
In February, I had made reservations for several days at Comox marina so that we could attend the Comox Music Festival . The festival began Friday morning and went all day and late into the night, all three nights. This was the 23rd year of the festival and the crowds were large.
We had to be back in Sidney in a few days but we arranged to stop at Gorge Harbour Resort and have dinner with our friends and fellow Selene owners Doug and Linda. Don and Gloria motored in unexpectedly so the six of us enjoyed a great meal at Gorge Harbour’s, Floathouse Restaurant.
We hustled back to Sidney for three days of provisioning and getting Big Smile shipshape for our next guest. Joan, a lifelong friend of Cath’s, flew in from the east coast and spent four days with us. She had never anchored out or slept on a boat and really enjoyed the experience.