Hello and welcome to the Island Eagle home page. Island Eagle is 61 foot trawler designed by Arthur DeFever, built in San Diego and launched in 1964. Scott has owned her since May 2003, and we'll be posting regular updates here. If you have any questions at all, just drop us a note, the address is scott@firstclass.com (Scott) and terriwalowina@hotmail.com (Terri) . By the way, you can click on most of the images for a high-res version.
Thursday, July 17th - Toronto to Nanaimo
Arrived from Toronto to Victoria by Westjet. Drove to Nanaimo, and slept from 7 pm to 7 am.
Island Eagle looks fantastic. Scott Nattrass did an amazing job of the new deck and bulwarks, not to mention the new VIP suite. She looks better than ever.
The new teak foredeck / Island Eagle in her element
We worked all week getting the boat ready.....gave the Eagle a good cleaning, ordered carpet for downstairs, took inventory of food, cleaned the bilges, purged the boat of excess stuff. Scott really did a number on the shop, moving things to the engine room, and he promises he'll leave one counter clear for me for laundry...hmmm…we'll see... We also had a get together for my ex-workmates of Employment Standards Branch on Wednesday night.... Scott made up a wicked Sangria, which was much enjoyed. It was nice to see everyone again.
Also, I have to mention how well Kara Lou, my 13 year old cat, adjusted to being on the boat again. She seemed quite excited and happy to be on board….not the fearful cat she was last year. I think she takes after her mother….as I crave change and adventure, so must she.
Kara Lou at the cabin door / Kara Lou found a patch of grass in the lavender
Of course, I will never cease to worry about her falling overboard. It does happen, as I’ve been warned from many cat owners, so I picked up a small life jacket for dogs from the Shipyard…pink and white polka dots of all things and tried it on Kara. Scott always says that unlike dogs who have no pride, cats on the other hand seems to have an excess of it. After I snapped together the Velcro and plastic clips, she promptly fell over on her side. After propping her up again (she looked rather like a monkey), she walked a few steps, meowed and fell over again. No such luck.
July 26th - Nanaimo to Ladysmith
We finally set our course for Ladysmith on Saturday, July 26. Last year we tied up to my ex-husband Vince for a couple of days, so we did the same.
Tied up to Vince's boat in Ladysmith / Vince, Scott, Hollis and Pete in the saloon of Island Eagle
Hollis and Peter, my long time neighbours and friends from Craig Street in Nanaimo arrived at 6:30 for a dinner of spareribs that had been slow cooking since 12:00 noon, alongside coleslaw, potato salad and corn bread. Then we all went for a put in Seka around Ladysmith Harbour, Vince giving us the tour from the front of the boat. A very pleasant evening.
Scott thinks this is the best recipe for corn bread he’s ever had and I have to agree.
Moist Cornbread
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. sugar
1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. corn oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 sm. can (1 c.) cream-style corn
Beat sour cream, oil, and eggs. Combine dry ingredients. Fold into sour cream mixture. Fold in cream-style corn. Do not overbeat. Pour into 8x8 pan or 9x9 pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. Cool; cut into squares.
Sunday, we hung around Ladysmith, after finally getting out of bed around noon. We walked up town, and then borrowed Vince's truck and went for a drive. It was a low key evening, reading books and watching Larry Sanders. I've started reading Picasso, Creator and Destroyer.
Monday morning, Scott went to talk to Doug at the Ladysmith Shipyard about fabricating us a ladder out of aluminum, since our other newly fabricated and powder coated ladder is at the bottom of the drink between Chemainus and Ladysmith these days hanging out with the crabs. After getting that organized, we were chased out of the harbor by a big barge from Saltaire Marine waiting to get past us through the narrow channel between Vince's boat and the breakwater. It was quite the pressure to leave, and of course we forgot again to pay the wharfinger for our dock fees. Sorry Vince...catch you when we come back to Ladysmith next week for our ladder fitting.
Monday afternoon, we cruised to Maple Bay. Then off to Cowichan Bay to see the war canoes. They were all congregated on shore, and it appeared that the bulk of the activities had happened already, so we moved on to look at the possibility of spending the evening in Genoa Bay. The winds however were blowing a little hard in the bay, so we decided to cruise a little further to Patricia Bay, where the winds would be less. Another hour and we were moored in Patricia Bay, no other boats in sight, and we settled in to another quiet evening of reading.
Tuesday, July 29, we were underway around 10:00, cruising down Malahat narrows. The weather was cool and wet with low lying clouds...basically 'socked in'. It was interesting finally seeing this area from the water.... But as Scott and I realized, this area is somewhat desolate
We cruised all the way to the end of the narrows ‘til we got to Misery Cove at the very end. I asked Scott why the heck it would be called that, and he said probably because the explorers would have discovered this 'dead end cove' and then would have had to turn around and go back, probably without the needed wind to do so.
We backtracked out of the narrows and tossed around ideas about where we would anchor for the evening, and Ganges Harbour on Saltspring was decided on. But first we had a look at Piers Island off of Swartz Bay. It’s a small island, approximately 250 acres with 130 homes (strata), all but three are waterfront, and 147 acres of parkland in the center. Most homes had long wharves providing deep water moorage. Here is the site if you’re interested: http://www.homesvictoriabc.com/map.html
We anchored in a small bay right beside Ganges which had no other boats compared to the busyness of Ganges Harbour, and then amazingly the sun came out. We needed a few staples so we took Seika in to Ganges and had dinner at a Mexican Restaurant, which as it turned out was very so-so. I think I’ll stick to our version of Mexican from now on because we always find ourselves disappointed with most restaurants attempts at Mexican. Scott and I think that the only place to get good Mexican food is in California, or Mexico of course, although probably California may be better having refined it more to North American’s palettes. Although there was this one little restaurant in downtown Campbell River which did the most amazing Enchiladas Verdes, but I believe they may be out of business last I
heard.
It was another nice relaxing evening, and after talking to my dad, I proceeded down the stairs from the wheelhouse. I happened to have on big wooly socks (a no no), lost my footing and promptly and ungraciously fell down the stairs on my back, and ended up on my face. Of course, Scott heard the thump and came running. At that point, I was in so much pain and I wasn’t sure how badly I was hurt, so didn’t move until I could evaluate the damage. Nothing broken, but two large scrapes on my back which felt and feel like bad burns, a very bruised and swollen elbow, and a big bruise under one of my arms. Aside from feeling like a truck rolled back and forth over me, I’m fine.
The following morning, and after I slept in a bit while Scott was on a teleconference, we mulled over which direction to go. We had two options: one was to head off to islands or places we hadn’t explored yet, and the other was to head back to Ladysmith to have our ladder fitted. I truly wanted the first option, but we did need to get that ladder fitted to be picked up at another time. Not having a ladder means there is no way back on to the boat, so safety first and off we head for Ladysmith. But first the nasty task of taking up the hundred or so meters of anchor chain that had been dragging in a sticky, muddy bottom, and oh was that chain cloyed with sticky mud. We got out the hose and as I brought up the chain, Scott sprayed, until he got bored and left the job to me. Needless to say, I
was soaked and covered with mud, my big concern was the new teak deck. At some point, anxious to get going, Scott peered out of the wheelhouse and said, ‘Get over it….. it’s a boat’. So I got the last of the anchor up, swabbed the decks with fresh water followed by a pail of salt water to keep it adequately swollen as advised by John, the shipright on the Ladysmith dock, and off we went.
We were just 10 minutes out of the Harbour when Scott went down for his normal engine room check. He came up to the wheelhouse shortly thereafter informing me that we have to turn back because there appears to be a leak in the salt water intake, and upon investigation, two of the bolts broke off trying to take the cap off. So back to Ganges, down with the anchor again (all I could think about was the mud), Scott took me down to the engine room to explain the hows and whys of how the engine works and what was happening. He said that it could go two ways. Either he gets the bolts out, or failing that he would have to get out his tool and die kit out and force the little suckers out. Luckily with vice-grips he turned the broken bolts out, and after searching his ‘wonderful box of bits and pieces’ found more bolts to secure the cap back in place. Putting on a makeshift gasket, there was then only a drip here and there, and not the constant, drip, drip, drip that could have only
led to disaster. Scott, my saviour!!!
So to end this chapter, I will mention the one nasty thing that needs doing on Island Eagle. The forward black water tank and the flexible tubing is long past due being replaced. Scott and I have discussed the possibility of us doing it ourselves….argh!!!!! But you know…. I’m actually considering attempting this to get rid of the sewer smell that keeps wafting up. But then, maybe Scott will figure out the perfect way to vent the bilge to prevent or prolong the need to do that ‘crappy’ job. He loves figuring things like this out and more importantly….. he loves to keep his woman happy.
July 30th - Ladysmith
Evening….dinner aboard Eagle with Vince, his roomie Elizabeth, her brother Jake, and her dad Chris, who works for Vince. Scott made a big batch of pasta and the folks visited for a couple of hours.
July 31st - Ladysmith
we borrowed Vince’s truck again and went in to get some parts from the Shipyard. Also looked at some property on Barnes Road and Holden Corso in Cedar. We had to move to let the Saltaire Barge in again, so we decided to moor our in Ladysmith Harbour. It’s cold and wet and of course our heater isn’t working so after a meal of Rum Tum Tiddy we holed up for the evening.
A Cold Night in Ladysmith
It was a rough and noisy night with the waves slapping the stern. After trying to sleep through the noise I watched When Harry Met Sally for the 10th time, and when that didn’t help me sleep, I went up to the wheelhouse, where it was nice and quiet.
Saturday, August 1st - Thetis Island
We thought we’d meander with the Eagle down to Chemainus, and perhaps go to see a musical at the Chemainus Theatre, but when we got there it appeared to not have any decent anchorage despite what the guy at Chemainus Marina told me. They did have free tie ups all over the harbor but only for boats under 45 feet, so after snooping around we decided to pass and made our way over to Thetis Harbour where we anchored for the night. Nice and calm all night.
Saturday, August 2nd - Thetis to Roche Harbor, San Juan Island
We made our way to San Juan Island, 4 hours in total. Beautiful day, blue skies and calm seas. Arrived San Roche Harbour around 4:00 and waited to get a slip at customs for about ½ hour. Finally one of the customs brokers saw that we were waiting a fair time to get a slip big enough for Eagle, and came out and had someone move their small sailboat. Once tied up, Scott was in and out in 10 minutes flat. Of course, the customs broker asked if we had any lamb on board, to which Scott advised we did and she said to use it up that night, which we did. She also waived us through with Kara Lou and said ‘Next time….we had to make sure she had rabies vaccinations’.
Illegal immigrant alert!
Also we noted that we weren’t allowed to have raw almonds, which we did, and no soil or plants, which we do. Well the plants won’t be leaving the boat for sure. Next time we’ll know better and Lou will have her shots.
We went into Roche Harbour for their flag ceremonies Saturday night, after lamb stroganoff. Lots of people about…quite a lovely place.
Sunday; August 3rd - Roche Harbor, San Juan Island
We slept in late again, and then puttered around the boat. Finally went into Roche Harbour and walked around an amazing Sculpture Garden called Westcott Sculpture Park. It was an acreage with different sculpture througout the many acres. Very enjoyable.
In the Westcott Sculpture Garden
Had fish and chips at the local café, and then back to Eagle to wash Rendova. Scott donned full rain gear to take the pressure washer to clean her top to bottom, which took a good hour.
We went to a Shakespeare production of the Tempest put on by the local San Juan Theatre, which was in a beautiful spot in the middle of a forest under the stars. The play was really well done, the singing fabulous, and all the more understandable for me because I had Scott the interpreter sitting beside me explaining everything that he thought I may have missed.
Monday, August 4 - Roche Harbor to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
Beautiful and sunny, we left Roche Harbour at 9:00 am and meandered over to Friday Harbour just around the corner. It took us just over an hour. After checking out the situation for anchoring, Scott was a little worried about how deep it was, and called in for a spot at the Marina. Unfortunately they didn’t have any spots at the time, so we put out an anchor anyway. We put out 80 meters of chain in 20 meters of water, and she stuck just fine.
Off we went for our bicycle adventure. I told Scott about cycling to American Camp (15 years ago), and told him how great it was. When Scott saw that it was 6 miles to the camp, he said ‘no way, I’m not doing 12 miles on a bike’. After much cajoling I said we can turn back at any time, we set off in the intense heat. Lots of farmland, but very arid at this time of year. Finally, after an hour we made it to American Camp. At the other end of the island is the British Camp. Lots of history between these countries and their fight over this island, which ended up being sorted by making the division at the 49th parallel. Then the decision was given to a German judge to decide who the land would belong to and it was decided that the Americans won. Anyway, the view at
American Camp looked right out to Mount Baker. Again it was arid but beautiful. So now the big, hot ride back. We rode slow and stopped a few times, one time finding a grassy trail to lie in for 10 minutes. After an hour we were back in Friday Harbour, snooping through stores after a rest and a very large iced cappuccino.
Yes, it's HOT!!!!
We ate dinner that night at Downriggers right on the waterfront. Lots of action in Friday Harbour, with the ferry coming and going, sea planes taking off and landing, and tons of big, and very expensive boats everywhere. Dinner was fantastic….I had a marinated flank steak that was to die for….we’re going to try to do a similar one on the barby.
Dressed for dinner in our posh tender
After dinner we took Seka over to see a boat called Teal, which Scott said was the boat the one of two boats he was down to before finally choosing Island Eagle. Teal is a beautiful classic 78 foot wooden vessel made with solid beams of first growth timber. When we sidled up to Teal, a lady came out and before you know it we were inside with glasses of wine in our hands. We found out they had just bought her 6 weeks ago. It’s a dream come true for this couple who now have their 48 foot troller up for sale.
Tuesday, August 5 - Friday Harbor, San Juan Island
My gosh, we didn’t do a heck of a lot today. We walked about and shopped. Bought two American Flags to fly for courtesy Scott says. Of course, I couldn’t keep Scott out of the book stores, so we have a bunch of new additions to the library, including a large coffee table book entitled the ‘Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest’, a book on how to be perfect at anchoring, a book on boating tips for the womenfolk…Scott wanted me to have that one, and some new fiction. Later we ate at a grill up top open to the view of Friday Harbour…didn’t catch the name. I had grilled oysters and Scott had Halibut. It was quite so so, just for future reference.
We stayed anchored in Friday Harbor tonight.
Wednesday, August 6 - Friday Harbor to Silva Bay via Bedwell Harbour
We left Friday Harbour about 9:00 am and headed for Bedwell Harbour on Pender Harbour to clear customs. After waiting a half an hour for a spot, we finally got a long length of dock to ourselves and docking went like clockwork. Scott went up with our passports and came back 10 minutes later saying the officers were going to board us. We gathered up all our receipts, and the officers came alongside the boat but didn’t board. Apparently Scott has been tagged from a previous trip through the border when he didn’t declare some magazines he bought for GST and PST, so he figures they may stop him a few more times before that tag is lifted.
A nice gentleman helped us tie up at the dock and has a vessel called Wells Gray, similar to George’s boat in Nanaimo. He told us there is a West Coast Workboat gathering on September 16. Sounds like fun…something to think about for future.
We are now in Silva Bay. Tad, Cari and James, and his brother Sid are coming over in an hour for some apple crisp.
Tomorrow we’re off to False Creek Vancouver. We thought for a second that we would have to go back to Nanaimo to fill up the water tanks, last filled in Nanaimo 10 days ago, but when Scott checked we have more than enough water.
Thursday, August 7 - Silva Bay to False Creek, Vancouver
Nice evening in Silva Bay with everyone aboard for dessert, beer and coffee for a couple of hours.
Tad came over this morning at 8:00 to talk to Scott about plans for the new multi purpose tender. Multi purpose because it has to be 1) fast, 2) long 3) capable of carrying many people 4) capable of carrying a scooter, 5) must have a side opening door, 6) a good fishing vessel for Buster, and 7) has a cover in case of bad weather. We thought about heating it, but too much hassle apparently.
Anyway, Tad drew up a preliminary sketch and will come up with a design shortly. It sounds like we’re lucky for him to do this for us because he said he has more than enough work.
Tad and Cari are organizing a Rendezvous for vessels involved in the Raid and also graduates of the Silva Bay boatbuilding school, on August 26. Bummer that Scott has to be in Denver that day, but apparently it will become a yearly thing.
We crossed over the Strait of Georgia today and made it here in 3 hours from Silva Bay. We are anchored in the same place in False Creek in front of Science world. No one in sight but a couple of beater boats. Most others like to anchor up by Monk McQueen Restaurant which is quite busy. It’s free to anchor this year…last year it was $13.00 a night…pretty amazing.
Anchored in front of Science World, Vancouver
We’ve just shopped at Granville Market and like last year picked up some great food. We found a local farmer that specialized in Heritage Tomatoes and although tomatoes aren’t Scott’s favorite, amazingly that’s all we had for dinner. I sliced them up, drizzled olive oil over them. On the purple one I added fresh oregano and basil plus some goat feta, and on the yellow one, I added fresh basil and feta. The tomatoes plus hot fresh bread ended up being a great meal and all we needed…except of course the bottle of Mateus. All is well in our world!
Dinner “Eagle Style”
Friday, August 7 - False Creek, Vancouver
We didn’t move from False Creek today. My girlfriend Barb Aasen, from highschool in Coquitlam BC came to visit us on Eagle. Barb lives in Australia and is here for a couple of weeks because her father just had a major operation and she wanted to be with him. Luckily everything went like clockwork and he’s recovering just fine.
Terri & Barb in Seka / Tak, Leslie & Terri on the foredeck
Barb left around 3:00, and we quickly cleaned the boat to get ready for our next visitors. Another girlfriend Leslie Heffelfinger and her partner Tak came aboard around 6:00. Scott picked them up at Monk McQueens Restaurant. We had a dinner of grilled sockeye salmon purchased from Granville Market marinated in my special teriyaki sauce with star anise.
Later, we decided to take a cruise out into English Bay which was a thrill for Leslie and Tak. The awful part was pulling up the anchor from False creek because up came years of toxic waste mud on the anchor chain that smelled quite foul and made a mess of the deck. We need that salt water washdown….Scott is going to order one from Princess Auto shortly.
Saturday, August 9th - False Creek, Vancouver
Yet another day in Vancouver. Today we went to the Granville Island Hotel for breakfast. We wondered through the stores, and then headed back around 2:00 to get ready to go to my brother’s surprise birthday party in Richmond. We caught a ride from friends of my bro’s girlfriend Teresa to Richmond. Teresa had quite a spread of sushi and seafood. We met some really nice people and my brother’s martial arts master, Tim. Also, Tracy Dodds, a childhood friend of mine came with her brother Andrew and his wife Candace. I hadn’t seen Andy for 33 years.
Birthday Boy Bob
Sunday, August 10 - False Creek, Vancouver
Still in False Creek. We decided to stay another day. We went into Granville Island and walked up to West Marine to get a light for Seka. I also took Scott to Siegals Bagels for lunch….renowned for their wood oven bagels. The weather was cool and cloudy…we were going to go for a bike ride but went back to the boat mid afternoon and relaxed. We were going to go out for dinner, but as I was in bed comfortably reading my book we decided to cook up some sausages and stay in for the night.
Queen Of The Ship
Monday, August 11 - False Creek to Pender Harbour
We left Vancouver early and cruised around First Narrows to see the downtown highrises and the cruise ship terminal. There is still a lot of industry on the waterfront here.
Vancouver Waterfront
We then headed north and at Bowen Island we pondered about going up to Squamish. The mountains are supposed to be beautiful, but upon further investigation found out that the port in Squamish isn’t that great because it’s a very busy working port with a lot of effluent in the water.
Cruising around Bowen Island / Sechelt ferry passing very close astern
We decided against it as we were half way down the length of Bowen, so decided to cruise around Gambier and Keats and have a look. We then continued on to have a look at Gibsons.
We were going to tie up, but at the last minute Scott decided it would be too difficult and since I’d been there already a couple of times we decided to give it a miss and continue on our way…destination Pender Harbour.
Tuesday, August 12-Pender Harbour - overcast
We just hung around Pender Harbour today. We walked up to the grocery store and stocked up, then explored around the many nooks and crannies of this beautiful harbour. Scott had some work to do, and the new internet connection is working perfectly.
The view from Scott's office / Island Eagle in Pender Harbour
Wednesday, August 13 – Pender Harbour to Powell River
Sunny and calm seas today. Arrived Powell River after 3.5 hours without any problems whatsoever. We docked on 6 dock at Westview Marina right by the ferry. They’ve built a breakwater around the marinas so it’s well protected. It was very easy to get to this dock... it’s definitely the right dock for Island Eagle.
View from Dock 6
We looked at a waterfront property right beside the marina. An old diving shop, 3 stories right over the beach with a view to die for. Very noisy though from the ferries and also on the main highway from Vancouver to Lund. Scott said Powell River doesn’t sing out to him. I also noticed a boat in the harbour which I have sailed on many times, and I had a nice meeting with the new owners.
We dined at the local Mexican haunt which I’ve been to several times… great margaritas!!!
Thursday, August 14 – Powell River to Cortez Bay, Cortez Island
Off to Cortez Island….4.5 hours from Powell River. Beautiful, sunny day. Although there were boats around there was lots of room and we had plenty of room to swing the middle of the bay. Pretty low key…not much happening besides outstations for the Seattle and Royal Vancouver Yacht clubs. We took Rendova around to Squirrel Bay on the Northeast side of Cortez. There’s a small store and restaurant which a couple we met said was very good with fresh local food from Cortez.
On the way to Squirrel Bay
Friday, August 15 – Cortez Bay
We lazed around most of the day, reading etc. Scott started to install the automatic shutdown system for the fire extinguisher so that if it ever discharges it will automatically shut down the main engine, generator, and fans. About 3:00 we decided to go exploring in Rendova to the other side of Cortez. We went to Gorge Harbor , but first had to make our way over the very shallow shoals that went out from Sutil Point about a mile to a red marker. Absolutely a big boat wouldn’t make it through. No problem in Rendova, but we took it slow. Entered Gorge Harbor through a narrow passage with high rock cliffs on either side…beautiful. The bay opened up into many small tucked away areas. Also a nice wharf at the Gorge Harbour Marina with a store, restaurant and gas dock. We met a couple, Don and
Carole, with a beautiful 37 foot Bill Garden designed trawler (if you have his book Yacht Designs, this is the “37 Foot Troller Yacht”).They invited us aboard for a visit, and it is a very, very impressive wooden boat. Truly beautiful.
Left - Sunrise in Cortes Bay Right - Herself, 37 foot Bill Garden Troller Yacht
Next destination was Manson’s Landing. What a beautiful spot. It has a lagoon on the one side that can be entered with small boats only. A beach spit separates the area and the water is crystal clear. This is a place that I could spend a lot of time and Scott agrees.
Half way back to Cortez Bay, just off Sutil Point, the Rendova ran out of gas. Although the gas gage read ¼ tank, she was empty (of course what Terri does not mention is that she suggested that we gas up in Gorge Harbour but that I said we still had plenty of gas – Scott) So we paddled her to shore…thank goodness we weren’t that far. Scott didn’t want to radio for help because it was our fault. So we anchored Rendova in some rocks on shore, and proceeded the to start the long walk back to Cortez Bay, which I figured was about 2 -3 hours of hard slogging on a large boulder beach. After ½ an hour we decided to cut up a steep cliff to someone’s property. Unfortunately, no one was home, so we started walking on the dirt road. After 15 minutes a vehicle came a
long and a nice chap picked us up when we stuck our thumbs. Mark, a carpenter on Cortez, went out of his way and drove us all the way to Cortez Bay, which would have taken us at least a couple of hours to walk. There weren’t any other cars on the road so I think we were pretty lucky. Once at the public wharf, we asked for assistance to get us to Island Eagle, and a fellow from a sailboat transported us separately in his two person dinghy.
Scott paddling Rendova
The tide was dropping, so Scott got Seka in the water to go rescue Rendova. He told me to stay on the boat, although I thought he may need my help lifting Rendova in the water, but he insisted I stay. We figured he would take a couple of hours with the distance he needed to go and the speed of Seka, plus getting Rendova off the rocks.
This is where the evening took an even crazier turn. I was already worried about Scott, so I decided to unwind and plugged in a movie turning down the volume so that I could hear the radio in case he called me. After about 15 minutes into the movie, I heard a couple of thumps, got up , called for Kara Lou, and then my first instinct was to look overboard, and there she was on the starboard side of Island eagle, swimming around in circles at the hull. I called her, but she continued frantically circling, at the same time letting out the most horrible howls. So, I leaned over the landing on starboard but realized that I couldn’t reach her even if she did swim over to me. At that moment, I started to panic and started calling for help, but no one heard me…I’m sure generators drowned me out, so
I forced myself to get control of the situation. I grabbed the deck brush and started pushing her from mid-starboard around the stern and then to the ladder. THANK GOD we had the new ladder built. When Kara got to the ladder, she managed to scramble up to the second step and then I climbed down. She wouldn’t let go of the rung, so it took some time to coax her to release her claws. She was in shock, as was I….she’s never been in any water.
So I got her inside and she and I spent a couple of hours drying her off. I suppose I should have rinsed her because her fur now is limp and greasy, but it doesn’t matter. I have no idea how she fell in, but I think she must have been fooling around on the railings. Hopefully she’ll never do this again.
For sure I’m going to devise something in the way of high density hard foam floats for both sides of the boats, because if I wasn’t there, Kara may have drowned by just sheer exhaustion, not being able to pull herself on anything.
In the mean time, Scott kept calling me on the radio to let me know his status. I didn’t tell him about Kara until he got to Island Eagle. When he finally pulled up in Seka with Rendova in tow, I was so relieved that everyone was okay. That was a night that doesn’t need repeating!
Saturday, August 17 – Cortez Island to Comox
Excellent crossing of the northern Straight of Georgia today with beautiful sunshine all the way. All together 3.5 hours. We’re having dinner with Dad, Christine, Leslie, Adrienne, Kieran, and Cole just like last year, except this year they’re bringing the food including a barbequed turkey. Tomorrow we’re heading for Nanoose Bay and dinner with Carol and Russ Eagle.
Sunday, August 17 – Comox to Nanaimo
Last night in Comox my family came aboard and brought along barbequed turkey, potato salad, homemade tea biscuits and apple pie. Fantastic. We didn’t do a thing except make sangria, Leslie even brought the flowers. It was great to see everyone.
Walt, Terri, Christine, Leslie, Adrian, Cole & Kieran / Beautiful flowers from Leslie / A table full of great food.
The boys Kieran and Cole were that much bigger from last year and just a joy to have on board. Scott took everyone for a ride in Seka and Kieran (age 4) managed the tiller all by himself.
Out for a ride in Seka
We left Comox around 11:30 am and plotted our course for Nanoose Bay…ETA 5:30. After talking to Russ, he informed us that Beachcomber Cove was really close to them so we checked it on the map and it showed some anchorage and was an hour closer. By the time we got there, Scott heard the weather forecast was for 15 to 20 knot winds out of the NE, so that would have blown right into this bay and potentially blown us on to shore, so after some discussion we decided to shoot for Nanaimo. Finally arrived at 7:00 pm, and then drove to Nanoose for a wonderful dinner of stuffed salmon ‘a la Russ’. Mui bueno!!!
Tomorrow, as Scott says, we have “house pests” (House guests is what I said – Scott) coming aboard. Devon, his friend Glen and Scott’s brother Courtney are flying in mid–day, and I have a ton of stuff to do.
Monday, August 18 - Nanaimo
Scott Nattrass came over early, he’s back from visiting his boys in France. Scott N. took Scott W. to his friend Tony at Tony’s Machine Shop in Lantzville to try to machine the windless again….the chain is still slipping. Also a stop at End of the Roll to deal with the forward carpet issue which was cut off the grain.
The boys from Toronto and Courtenay from Winnipeg arrived by float plane to Nanaimo from Vancouver mid day today. I ran around grocery shopping etc. and Scott took out the Hurricane heater for the second time in 4 years. This time there appears to be a leak in the main heat exchanger. It took him an hour to get it dismantled, and he said it was the hardest hour he ever spent. We dropped it by the Shipyard and hopefully the company will hopefully replace it or at least fix it.
Scott Nattrass joined us for hamburgers so we had a full saloon tonight, with Scott, Scott, Courtney, Devon, Glen and me. We fell exhausted into bed before 9:00…it felt like 11:00.
Devon and Glen in the hamock
Tuesday, August 19 – Nanaimo Harbour to Montague Harbour, Galliano Island
We left Nanaimo around mid-day for destinations south, but first Scott gave the boys a quick bit of instruction on chart reading and calculating currents.
"And right here is where you make the captain walk the plank"
We went through Dodd's at near-slack, and then the boys when down to the galley to whip up a batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies. They know the way to keep the captain happy! Afterwards Courtney and the boys turned to that old Welch standby -- Trouble!
A tense game of Trouble
Because of the reports of high south-east winds this harbour looked just right…it’s just beside and north of Montague Harbour looking over a beautiful white shell beach. The boys took Rendova for a ride and then took Seka to the beach for a walk and then Scott and I took Seka in later for a walk about. Scott and Courtney hung out on the back deck, Scott was doing rope work and drinking rum, he says that makes him a real sailor. There was quite a blow overnight, but all was secure. Scott didn’t seem the slightest worried or he would have heard his GPS making noises. I laid awake for a while because of the racket, but finally dropped off.
Wednesday, August 20 – Galliano Island to Browning Bay, Pender Harbour
Chilly this morning, but beautiful. We departed through Montague Harbour, where Scott saw Mareva, the other boat he almost bought. And Courtney saw a Diesel Duck, which is the boat of his dreams.
Mareva / Diesel Duck
We initially thought that we might stop in Miner Bay on Mayne, but we decided that the anchoring looked a bit exposed so we continued on to Browning Bay. It’s calm, but we’re expecting some 10-15 knot winds tonight from the south. We should be okay. The boys went off in Seka to do some grocery shopping and marshmallows for ‘S’mores’!
Browning Bay is pretty low key for now. The new development just up the road includes a grocery store, a couple of nice restaurants, book store etc. amidst willow trees and gardens and looking across the road to a beautiful field. For now.
Thursday, August 21 – Browning Bay, Pender Island
We decided to spend another day and night in this bay. During the day Devon and Glenn took Seka over to Beaumont Marine Park through Pender Canal and climbed to the top of Mount Norman….total elevation 271 meters.
I really wanted to go for a bike ride despite the dark threatening clouds, so we loaded the bikes into Rendova. Scott tried not to grumble too much. By the time we made it over to Poets Cove in Bedwell Harbour, the skies let loose, so we ran for cover inside the resort and then decided to walk up the road to some galleries. Along the way we found a gallery owned by Wendy Munroe, (www.wendymunroe.com), who has a house and gallery on 6 acres. I loved her style of painting boats, landscapes and flowers. After visiting for a while, she offered us some transparent apples from her tree.
A giant rock on South Pender Island / Scott & Terri in full West Coast mode
The weather eventually cleared up when we got back to Rendova, so we decided to go over to the beach at Beaumont Marine Park, but only after indulging in some french fries at the resort (and they were really, really good).
Cool striated beach / Beautiful Seka
This beach here in the marine park is very cool due to sandstone formations rippling from past shifting of tectonic plates. (add picture of beach) This bay in particular would be a nice one to anchor at because of the proximity to the park, but I must say that looking over at Poet’s Cove Resort is a little disheartening. It’s been overdone and I wonder what the locals think of a beautiful spot on their island being taken over by this hoity-toity resort. Oh well…progress I suppose…
Friday August 22 – Browning Bay, Pender Island to Cabbage and Tumbo Island (Gulf Islands National Park Reserve)
We arrived around noon to these beautiful islands just north of Saturna Island. The sun was shining and from here we could see Mt. Baker looming in the distance and small islets with seals sunning themselves.
Scott & Terri, just hanging out / Island Eagle framed by driftwood
Devon and Glenn explored Cabbage Island and Scott and I went over to Tumbo and explored for a couple of hours. This island reminded us a little of Sidney Island and of Jedediah, two of our favorite places. The small beach at camp bay had quite an array of beautiful tumbled stones so I grabbed a few to add to my herb garden:
Stones from Tumbo Island / Terri's herb garden with rosemary, dill, parsley and chives
It was perfectly calm overnight, and we all went to bed early. We’re heading off early for the market at Ganges on Saltspring Island.
Saturday August 23 – Ganges, Saltspring Island
The market in Ganges is always fun. Tourists and locals mingle to purchase fresh produce, sample local cheeses and check out Saltspring arts and crafts.
We sent Devon and Glenn on a quest to find the vendor who makes mini donuts on the street, Courtney perused book stores, and Scott and I checked out as many vendors and stores as we could fit in before we were exhausted and had to head back to the boat for happy hour. We were going to have a bite to eat at one of the fancy beach-front restaurants but after a 15 minute wait for iced tea we just decided to have come Chinese dumplings at one of the market stalls.
Our anchorage was perfect that night…we’ve found a perfect spot away from most of the boat traffic. As luck would have it Mareva was moored right beside us and Scott went over to say hi to her owners.
Sunday, August 24 – Saltspring to Vancouver
We awoke to a very rainy day and also a pair of swans and their 4 large cygnets visiting Mareva. It took some time but I finally enticed the family over to Island Eagle with some left-over corn bread. They were so beautiful!
Swans and cygnets in a feeding frenzy / Scott loads Seka in the rain
After we loaded the boats we headed off for Vancouver. Scott had to fly to Denver the following morning, and Courtney and the boys were flying back to their respective homes.
The trip across was a bit windy and rough and to avoid any discomfort of seasickness, I snuggled up in the master stateroom with Kara Lou and watched a Streetcar Named Desire with Marlon Brando. What a nice way to spend a couple of hours. When else do you get to spend two hours in the middle of the day in bed watching a movie? I find the bottom of the boat more stable then the wheelhouse when I’m feeling a bit queasy, so as long as the Captain doesn’t need me, that’s the best place for me.
Upon arrival Scott and I took one of the tenders in to Granville Island and had dinner at the Keg. After that we had a good long walk up 4th avenue, where Scott found an amazing magazine store full of obscure titles. Just what we need I thought…more magazines. For anyone who really knows Scott they will understand. For others, let’s just say that it is Scott’s only addiction…magazines…thousands of them. (Scott says: OK, it’s true. But it really was a great store, I discovered Make (www.makezine.com) and The Comic News (www.comic-news.com))
Monday, August 25 – Vancouver
We had a day to hang out in Vancouver. Courtney and the boys went off to Granville market, and Scott and I went to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Unfortunately, two floors were dedicated to Anime and other video culture, which I just couldn’t seem to muster up any interest in. So we checked out the other floors which included Emily Carr and other Canadian female artists, as well as a Chinese Artist Zhang Huan, which was very interesting.
We walked all through Yaletown and along the new waterfront. I think they’ve done an incredible job of turning over this industrial waterfront to a very beautiful place for people to live and walk.
I made nachos for the boys when we returned to the boat and then ordered pizza in. Everyone had to get up early, so it was early to bed, but first we had a very special presentation for Glen, an official "Island Eagle" crew shirt:
Glen in his shirt / Devon at the wheel
Tuesday, August 26 – Vancouver
Scott flew off for work in Denver and Courtney, Glenn and Devon flew home. I stayed on the boat all day and cleaned a bit, but mostly lazed around…it was delightful. Scott returned about 10:00 and fell fast asleep…no doubt after taking two three-hour flights and doing a two hour intense demo to customers in Denver.
Wednesday, August 27 – Vancouver to Nanaimo
We crossed yet again without a hitch. The forecast was for 15-20 knot winds later in the day, so we left early and it ended up being a beautiful day and crossing. We tied up to Townsite Marina, in Nanaimo after 4.5 hours of cruising. We are done for this year.
Final stats for the summer:
Engine Hours: 120
Final fuel readings:
Port 2500 litres
Starboard 1875 litres
Total of 4375 litres
Start of year 6250 litres, for a total burn of 1875 litres.
Distance covered 641 nm, for a burn rate of 2.9 litres per nm. Not bad for a 100,000 pound boat. Standard cruising speed was 1350 engine RPM (300 shaft RPM) for a speed of about 7.4 knots. Fuel burn includes about 30 hours of genset time.
Thursday, August 28 – Nanaimo
Cleaning, packing, and more cleaning. We had Suzanne and Mike over for dinner tonight. Last summer we went to their wedding which they had their ceremony and reception in a large campsite just south of Nanaimo…very nice. Suzanne is very entrepreneurial and presently has a booming business selling Isagenix (www.taketimetoday.com).
Mike and Suzanne
Friday, August 29 – Nanaimo
More cleaning, putting stuff in the ‘free stuff store’ at the marina gate.
We went for dinner at Stephanie Dancevics. Also present were Tony and Cindy who live on a catamaran that Tony designed in the same marina as us. Tony has also just designed a 16 ft sailboat which he is planning on single handedly sailing down to Ensenada, Mexico in 6 weeks. Tony’s got all the details at www.ideaintegrator.com/boats
Saturday, August 30 – Nanaimo
Today, we had Brenda and Gordon Bamford over for lunch. We were supposed to take them for a small cruise around the harbour, but it was a little too windy, so we had a very enjoyable visit on board instead.
Later, I cleaned the lower decks, put the herbs on the dock for everyone’s use. Roberta said she’d fertilize them in the spring and keep them watered. Cleaned out the fridges and gave away a lot of food.
Scott made a huge checklist for leaving the boat and completed most things before we fell exhausted into bed for an early rise of 6:30 to catch our plane back to Toronto.
Sunday, August 31
Drove down to Victoria with no problem and checked in early. We discovered an excellent restaurant right beside the Victoria airport, Spitfire’s. Got to Toronto about 8:00 and were good and happy to be home.
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