This was the first week of our two weeklong breaks for this summer. It was supposed to be a Squadron cruise but there was not enough interest from the Squadron boaters so we just cruised down to the Gulf and San Juan Islands. The last time I was there, Anneline and the kids were in South Africa so they had not seen the Southern Gulf and Washington waters before. Christopher and Megan came with but Philip had other plans and wanted to stay home.
We cruised down to Todd Inlet on the Friday morning and was joined by Chris, Dana and their kids in their boat "Two For Hooking". We met Chris earlier in Thetis Island on the BCBoatNet cruise and Megan and his daughter Alex immediately hit it off. This weekend they picked it right up again and were immediately off kayaking and having fun with George, a naughty little monkey who joined us on Kuredu for a vacation cruise. Todd inlet is off the Saanich Inlet, right next to Buchard Gardens. It is a beautiful and very serene anchorage. Because it was the Canada Day weekend it was pretty full but not as busy as I had expected. We chose to anchor and stern tie to the South-Eastern bank and Two For Hooking tied to our starboard.
Rob and Heather, with Mr B Nana on Baby Knot, joined us on Saturday morning and tied to our port. Anneline had a sore back to I dinghy'd her over to the Brentwood Spa for a massage, which she really enjoyed. We were going to go and watch the Saturday night fireworks in Buchard Gardens but everyone was pooped and we ended up watching from the boats. Our view was mostly blocked by trees and one really has to be in the Gardens to appreciate the show.
Sunday morning we all departed from Todd and headed for Sydney Spit. We needed some supplies and popped in at Mill Bay, so we arrived at the Spit after Baby Knot and Two For Hooking. They were tied to a buoy but suggested we find a more suited spot out of the rougher water caused by passing boats. After we anchored the two boats joined us and Baby Knot set a stern anchor to keep us pointed towards the open channel, which helped a lot. We set a crab trap and settled into a party mood on board.
Monday morning Baby Knot left early for Friday Harbor (a mis-communication sent them to the wrong marina!) and after a leisurely breakfast Two For Hooking left for home (they only had the long weekend). Thanks for joining us Chris and Dana - it was great having you cruise with us and hope it was the first of many cruises with you.
When everyone had left we lifted anchor and set out for Roche Harbor. I had been there in 2004 and wanted Anneline to experience the marina. Since it was July 4th week, the marina was full but clearing customs was friendly and easy. I took a chance and called the marina on VHF and requested a slip, which they confirmed a few minutes later. After tying up Anneline and Megan went exploring while Chris and I BBQ'd some Boerewors for the evening meal. We all walked up to watch the setting of the colours. Roche was in a festive mood and the docks were filled with party boats. Roche is an expensive marina but the quality of the docks, the friendliness of the staff and the whole atmosphere of the place makes it worth a visit, especially since the loonie is now over 93c US.
Next morning we departed Roche early since we wanted to be at Friday Harbor by 9:00 am to ensure we got a spot in the Marina. The cruise over was easy and by 9:00 we were tied to the slip allocation dock (Northern Breakwater) and by 10:30 we were tied in our slip. The next morning we walked up to the little town of Friday Harbor and watched the 4th of July parade. A little tacky but cute. We had an incident at the Liquor store where the little twit would not serve Anneline because Chris was with her and did not have id. So I walked up and then the spiteful asshole would not serve me either (I had not said a single word to him till that point) so I called him a jerk and left. The evening fireworks in the Harbor were great but we could see the show on Lopez Island and they are way more spectacular.
We left Friday harbor at noon on the 5th and headed for Sucia Island. We decided to head into Fossil Bay which we found pretty much full, except for one mooring buoy, which was towards the mouth of the bay. We decided to anchor and raft up at teh head of the Bay instead and spent a great evening on the hook. Sucia is a magic spot to visit and the anchorages are very protected with good, sandy bottom in 20 ft at high tide.
We headed for Bedwell Bay, Poets Cove on South Pender the next morning to clear customs, which was phone-in and dead easy. We decided to spend the evening at Port Bowning Marina on North Pender and had a lovely, inexpensive meal at the marina. The docks are rickety and only has limited 15 amp power but the marina somehow has a friendly, relaxed and festive atmosphere.
Our cruise back to home port the next morning was smooth and pleasant. This was a busy trip and, except for the two nights in Todd, we moved every day. Our next cruise will be more relaxed with longer stays at our destinations. The boat performed well with her newly tuned props and fuel consumption was excellent. With the trip odometer at 200 miles we had used slightly more than a 1/3 tank of fuel.
