We have been very busy, getting the boat ready, so i did not get a chance to write till now.  Mostly we have been visiting with friends in Pender harbour, who all said; “Welcome home” !!!!!!     Dave and Jen from Fishermans marina, let us tie up to the dock, its not very busy yet, so good to see them again, and Rosie,the best dog ever, who looks just wonderful.  Dave has been working on the new deck in front of the cabins, what an awesome job, beautiful construction, it definately wont blow over !!!   The whole week we were there, the weather was great, very warm, 25 degrees or higher, so a good chance to bum around in the dinghy, get supplies in Madeira park, meet friends there for coffee, and just have a good time!!       We were asked out for dinner , 5 times in a row, i was slowly getting used to that, not having to cook, not good!!!!!      So, evening no;6, we invited Lou and Brenda over for dinner.   The next night we headed to the Garden Bay pub together with friends for the movie night with dinner and i fine pint of dark beer!!    The movie they showed was ” the Quartet”, make sure you see this one, what a wonderful story, wonderful actors!!!!

We had a tremendous day for sailing on the 3rd.   Wind NW, 10-18 knots, a beautiful day.   The boat had a nice heal of 15 degrees, all the sails out, she did very well, her skipper had a very big grin on his face!!!!

On May 1st , we sailed almost all the way to Heriot Bay, South wind, we figured there should be a spot on the big (almost 700′ ) dock, but it looked chock full, there was still one spot behind MV Cosmo, and the owner helped us in, telling us to put the boat very close to his, as he told us there would be a very large fishing boat docking in front of us.    The fishing boat never did show up.        The Tru Value grocery store is a short walk away, along the beach, they basically sell everything and the vegies are very fresh.       On the way back, we stopped at the pub, and had a pint of dark beer, did that ever taste good, and a good dinner, did not taste like pub food at all.         The Next day, we travelled for 10.9 hours, a very long day to say the least, no wind, no sailing.      A family of sea lions lay on the rocks on the Mouat Islets, the adults a soft brown color, the babies almost black.   We decided to head for Little Bull Passage, usually there is no one there, and its good holding.   Four goats greeted us on the shore.      They are feral goats and are all looking very good and healthy.          We did not go on shore, it was quite late and we were hungry.     The Indian Paintbrush is blooming, red splotches of color every where between the rocks, this is such a beautiful Island.

Left in the afternoon, slack at about 3.30 pm, to go through the Yuculta Rapids.  Nice NW wind blowing, Bert put the sails out, main and Genoa, and we sailed all the way!!!    First Calm Channel, and yes, it was calm, past Raza Island to Cortes Island.        We anchored in Von Donop before, and like to go about halfway in, to the left stands a large Douglas Fir with an eagle’s nest in it.      The last time we were here, i went ashore and checked under the tree, and found a most magnificent eagle feather!!      We arrived in the evening, so no one seemed to be home, but in the morning, one of the parents flew in, the other one sitting in the nest, i could just see the white head!!     We checked under the tree but didnt find anything, no bones, or dinner remnants.        Its a beautiful spot to anchor, i recomment it highly!!!