Monday July 16th – After a lazy morning in Roche Harbor we stocked up on some provisions and got the boat ready to take off. Our friends Todd and Tami left before we did heading to Nanaimo BC. We waved our goodbye from the dock then pushed off ourselves on our way across the border for a night in Bedwell harbor on South Pender island.

We stopped along the way to fish for salmon off Stewart island. No luck but it sure was nice floating along in the current in a beautiful area. We all cheered as we entered international waters then got in the long lineup to dock the boat for customs. Usually it’s a quick process but this time there were a lot of boats wanting in the country. Clearing was a simple process once docked then we went just around the corner and anchored in Bedwell harbor where the wind was blowing. This area is known for a micro wind tunnel that usually settles down in the evening.

Sure enough it did, so Skylar and I took Julie and Ava to the beach while we went bottom fishing. We didn’t catch anything except a rock, a sea cucumber and a Dog Fish.
After studying the weather and tides we decided the long run to Vancouver would be perfect tomorrow but will take some good timing to get through Gabriola Passage.

Tuesday July 17th – We left Bedwell and set our cruise speed through the Gulf Islands to arrive at Gabriola Pass at 1:30. The current through the pass would still be running 2 knots against us but I felt that was doable. No problems as we zipped through the narrow pass and out into the open Strait of Georgia. The strait was flat calm, and we had a wonderful cruise across this large body of water into English Bay. This is the first time we have been to Vancouver by boat, so it took some planning and new navigation, but we made it into False Creek’s Quayside Marina.

It was later in the evening when we finally got tied up, but we had to check out False Creak by dinghy. We cruised the waterway checking out all the sights getting familiar with the city.

Friday July 13th – Sunday 15th. It was tough leaving our anchorage at Kimball Nature Reserve but onward we went through the heart of the San Juan’s to Roche Harbor at the north end of San Juan island. We have had a nice time with without Skylar aboard (Love you Skylar ) giving Ava all the kid attention for a few days has been nice for her. But, tomorrow Skylar is flying in to Roche to join us for the rest of the trip.

Radioing in for a slip assignment had us at the very end of the seaplane dock, perfect for seeing Skylar off the plane and a quiet spot in the marina. Julie readies the lines and fenders on starboard side. 10’ from the dock its evident starboard is not going to work, the slip is too small, and we have to let the bow hang over. Julie quickly flips everything to the other side. 10’ from the dock we realize we can’t get the dinghy down if we dock on that side. We motor to open water and put the dinghy down then dock the boat for real this time. Just kidding, the power doesn’t work at the dock. “We are going to have to move you to I8 at the other end of the marina” the dockhand said. Ok, flip lines and fenders to the other side, again, and off we go this time to our permanent slip for the next 3 days. Wheeeeewwwwwww….

The next day (Saturday) was the opening day of crabbing season and we were excited to get some pots down. The 3 of us dropped the pots in our usual spot off Pearl island then went on what we call “the loop hike” then went back out to pull the pots. First pot had Zero keepers, but the second pot, just 100 yards away had 7 nice size crabs!

Skylar had a nice flight in that night and got settled in to the boat before we went to dinner at the Madrona Grill. Sunday, brought more crabs for a total of 19! Our friends Todd and Tami arrived by boat with Todd’s brother, wife and kids onboard. They are joining us for one night in Roach before heading north at a quicker pace then us. We are going to meet up with them in Desolation later in the trip.

Having caught 19 crabs, we prepared a feast for our arriving friends. We all had dinner together on Todd’s boat, eating crab until we could fit no more. We shelled the rest of the crab and still had another 5lbs of meat! Those were some hefty crabs.

Thursday July 12^th– Lazy morning at anchor, we didn’t get up and off the boat until around 11am. Nice to just sit and relax in a beautiful anchorage.  We finally got in the dinghy for a ride to the beach to do some hiking but with a minus 2.7 tide we couldn’t find a good place to anchor the dinghy.  So, we decided to do some touring of the local area by small boat and headed south to Mud bay.  Cruising along at 20 knots we came upon a huge house with multiple guest houses and a dock with a sign that said Welcome to Sperry Peninsula.  I told Julie “it says welcome, let’s go up and see what it is.”  I couldn’t convince her.  We later found out it it’s one of Paul Allen’s houses, probably better we didn’t venture on land, fine Julie was right.  We toured Mud Bay then Hunter Bay scouting out good anchorages for a return trip.  We got a little too close to some seals on a drying shoal, they seemed to bark and snort at us, but the babies were so cute we couldn’t resist getting closer.

After the tide came up we went back for the hike.  Really fun cliffside trail all the way around what I think is called Unnamed Island #3. The views were amazing, and Ava loved the challenge of the hike.  We then crossed back over the beach and hiked the other side (Decatur Island) up to the highest point overlooking the bay.