Canada Bound

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.