Day 6 would be spent in Nanaimo all day.  We needed to re-provision and get the boat ready for the next leg of our adventure, another 100 miles north.   Washing the boat and getting everything ship shape all morning long was no fun for the kids but it had to be done.  We figured they needed to get out so we took them to the park for what proved to be a lesson in kids with behavioral issues.  They were like caged monkeys that just broke free.  They really are great kids but this outing was not their shining moment.

Two carts full of food at the grocery store and we had everything we needed now all we needed to do is pay for it.  The first credit card didn’t go through for some reason; well maybe they don’t take Discover I thought.  AMX same thing, what the @#$%.  Last option, the debit card returned the same result.  3 cards, 3 denied, I was a little embarrassed especially with all the people waiting behind us.  The checker was able to put our transaction on hold while I figured out how to pay.  Just then, my phone rang.  It was Discover card fraud prevention department.  Apparently they put a hold on the account due to transaction made in a foreign country,  same thing for the other 2 cards.  Good thing I was able to answer my phone and call the other cards.  I guess you need to notify them when traveling out of country.

The day ended with an awesome air show from the Canadian Snow Birds that just happened to be going on right above the marina.  It was amazing seeing what they do but the jets were way too loud for Ava.  Tomorrow is an early departure for crossing the Straight of Georgia.

Day 5 required some careful planning to transit Dodd Narrows.  This narrow passage just south of Nanaimo flows a lot of water creating some serious rapids during certain times of the tide cycle.  11:47am is slack tide, so leaving Montague we needed to schedule our passage to arrive right around that time.  Actually I wanted to arrive 20min or so early so water was still flowing slowly in our direction of travel.  As we motored along it became apparent we would arrive too early so we slowed to 5 knots.  The boats were stacked up in both directions to take advantage of the slack water.  One small section of the passage is so narrow two boats can barely pass but you try and avoid that situation at all costs.  As we were just about to go through the dogleg narrow spot a boat comes out from the north.  I slow down to a crawl and notice it’s an American Tug with a blue hull exactly the same model as ours.  If that not crazy enough, we know the owners and they keep their boat in a boathouse literally right next to ours.  What are the chances we would see them right there at that exact spot.

Tied up at the Nanaimo Port Authority docks we had a little bit of time before Marty and Scott flew back to Seattle.  All 6 of us jumped in the dinghy to cross over to Newcastle Island, a BC provincial park.  It was a nice hot day so we walked along the beach to find a place for the kids to swim.

Back at the dock time was running out for Scott and Marty but not before a nice early dinner and Penny’s Palapas.  Penny’s is a great little Mexican food place latterly floating on the docks just a few hundred feet from our boat.  They have great food in an awesome setting.

The guys flight left from across town in the next bay north.  Instead of taking a taxi we loaded all there stuff in the Dinghy for more adventuresome water delivery to the floatplane docks.  Off they went for what was sure to be an incredible flight back to Seattle on a gorgeous day.  It was sad to see them go, I felt like we could have spent weeks on the boat exploring new territory.  Thanks guys for taking the time to go with me, it was a great trip!

After dropping them off it was time for me to visit a BC walk in medical clinic to get diagnosed for this horrible cough I can’t shake.  After a quick wait, the doctor listened to my breathing and quickly proscribed some antibiotics.  I didn’t even ask what I had, wanting to get out of the germ infested office ASAP.  I knew antibiotics would do the trick although I hate taking them.  With a drug store just a block from the boat I had the pills in no time.

Day 4 had us sleeping in and making toasted English muffins with fresh crab!

As we were getting ready to leave I got a call from Julie.  She was almost in tears saying she and the kids would not be able to make the flight to Nanaimo.  They were going to be leaving Seattle via Kenmore Air at 2pm for Nanaimo, our rendezvous point the next day.  Kenmore Air called her the day of the flight to say the kids must have a passport for the flight.  Julie has a passport but the kids have enhanced ID’s, something that works just fine for crossing the boarder in a boat or car but not by air.  They gave her a credit to be used at a different time.

She was so upset but I told her everything would be fine and I would figure something out and call her back.  After considering all the options our best bet is to fly her and the kids into Roche Harbor (in the USA).  We would then need to go back across the boarder, clear US customs, pick them up and take everyone across the border into Canada.  Luckily we were able to book a flight for that day, putting them in Roche at 5:30pm.

We had just enough time to rent some bikes for a 1-hour ride down to the southern most tip of Pender Island.  We had an awesome ride and walk across the beach to the rocky outcropping overlooking Haro Straight, the exact area we would need to cross going back to the USA.  Our ride home took us on some fun wooded trails out to the water and back up the long hill to Poets Cove.  The nasty cough (some type of infection) I have been ignoring for the last couple weeks comes out in full force for the ride but it still feels great to get some exercise!

We quickly hopped in the boat to get back to Roche Harbor.  It was a smooth crossing with lots of jumping Salmon.  Scott points them all out, one of those guys that’s in tune with nature.  Everywhere he would say, “fish right there, there’s a deer up in that grass, look at that bird” whatever it was he saw it first.  Marty says its because he doesn’t have an iPhone.

Back at Roche we cleared customs for our 2-hour stay in the US then up to the pub for a couple beers while waiting for the floatplane to come in.  A text from Julie said they were landing early so I ran down the dock just in time to see the fam get off the plane.  Skylar was having the time of his life having acquired the co-pilot seat for the ride up.  It felt great having us all together getting back on the boat.  We cleared Canada customs once again then left for an anchorage further north in order to stay on schedule.

A little fishing along south Pender provided nothing, so we motored through a beautiful sunset into Montague Harbor arriving at 9pm.  The anchor was set and everyone went to bed for a restful nights sleep after a long day.

Well at least that’s what we thought.  12:30am Julie and I wake up to Ava moaning in her sleep, then “my stomach hurts”.  “Go in the bathroom and go poop” was our response, not wanting to really deal with the issue.  As she opens the door to the head we hear a weird sound, kind of like a swoosh or something.  “What was that” I said to Julie, now we need to really wake up and deal with the issue.  Upon swinging the door open we see puke covering the entire floor and a freaked out child wondering… What Just Happened!  This is the first time she has ever thrown up and doesn’t really know what’s going on.

We cleaned it all up (luckily it was only on the hardwood) and gave Ava a shower.   Julie was a great mom, lying with Ava for the next 3 hours on the floor until she felt good enough to go back to her bed.  Not much sleep for Julie and she didn’t feel all that good either.  All I could think was that we were going to get the whole boat sick!  Julie didn’t feel too good the next morning but Ava seemed to be 100%.  As Julie started feeling better mid morning we narrowed it down to a ham sandwich just the two of them had the day before.