Day 7 started off at 6:30am.  Bound for Pender Harbor on the east side of the Straight of Georgia means that we must cross this large body of water that can get rough at times.  The weather forecast was for light winds in the AM although clouds and some rain were coming in.  We figured it was a good time to cross although Whisky Gulf was going to be active.   Whisky Gulf is a torpedo testing area in the Straight of Georgia.  It’s used by the Canadian and US military and when its active they do not allow any boat traffic whatsoever.  This area is extremely large and lies right in the path of our intended route.  To get across we must travel around the restricted area adding a little more time to our passage but not a big deal.  The first ¾ of our passage was flat calm then things got a little rough but not too bad.  Later we talked to a couple that left Nanaimo at 9am.  They said the crossing was extremely rough and they heard there were even some rescues going on.  Good thing we left when we did!

We pulled into Pender Harbor Garden Bay (Garden Bay Marina and Pub).  After talking to the locals we found out you could hike to a lake just up the road.  A short hike revealed a beautiful lake that looks like the high mountain lakes we have back home.  Skylar jumped off the rocks into the lake and had a blast swimming!

We took a really long dinghy ride exploring the many inlets in Pender Harbor.  Dinner at their pub was really good that night and everyone was very friendly.

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.