On the 22nd. of September, we decided to head to James bay on Prevost island, Darcee had mentioned that there were lots of apples on the trees in the old orchard.
So, away we went, again a beautiful, sunny day!! Its just a short piece to Prevost island, and we didnt have enough wind to put up any sails.
James bay is one of the best bays for secure anchoring, the bottom is black , very sticky mud, the bay is well protected from SE wind, but NW comes straight into it, you could easily stay in a big wind, as long as you have enough chain out and you are prepared to bounce up and down from the waves!!!
I love going there , the bay is surrounded by lovely walks ,one of them leads around the water and ends up at the light house.
There is a large eagle nest there and its a great spot to take photos of your boat down below!
on the right side of the bay is the Provincial park, with a primitive campsite, the site is situated on the old apple orchard.
The trees are mature, they have been there a long time, are in need of pruning, but boy do they still produce apples!!!!
They are just beautiful, green with a red blush, crisp and sweet!!!
Lots of folks had been picking already, but not all of them had a tall husband like i have!!! Bert is 6’4″,and could easily reach the big , beautiful apples up high!!
( he did use the boat hook, for the ones way up there)
We picked two bags, one for us, one for our friend Margo,and there still were enough for lots of other folks.

The outskirts of the orchard are surrounded by Hawthorn trees, this year they are loaded with berries, just tons of them, i believe there are so many because it has been so dry, i think these trees thrive on that.
The berries are a gorgeous deep red, and once the leaves are all gone, they make a wonderful decoration at Christmas time.
Part of the old forest is still standing,large Chestnut,Maple and Douglas fir, the island is privately owned but the owners are at least not cutting these trees.

We stayed one night longer in Montague, i love walking the beaches there, look at the old middens, and check to see how the big old Arbutus trees are doing.
usually , the odd one falls over, as they grow on the very edge of the embankment, and the soil is constantly eroding.
Here and there the pathway had disappeared ,maybe because of the many people walking there in summer, or because of the rising water table, the waves hit the shore hard when it blows a winter storm……

We left September 21st. a nice sunny day, not much wind, and headed for Dod narrows, and then onto Montague harbor.
Friends of ours, Darcee and Nick were going to be there too, on their sailboat Kyan II. We decided , once tied up to one of the parks buoys, to all head to the Hummingbird pub, catching the famous Hummingbird pub schoolbus, well, retired school bus, driven by an also now famous man!! He calls himself Tommy Transit, has written several books, and is a bus driver on a mission.!!!!!
This is his motto: Interational Inspirational Speaker inspiring people who work with the public to be AMBASSADORS FOR Change!!!!!!
Check him out on: http://www.TommyTransit.com
next time we are there, i will take photos and videos of his musical capabilities while driving the bus!!!
Its a tad scary actually, but the lad is famous here, or rather infamous, and i noticed all other traffic went well out of his way!!!!

We had a good time there, mainly too ,because we anchor away from all the other boats, more out in the open, and that way can put out a lot of chain, Bert put out 80 metres of chain, and it kept us very safe.
Nanaimo is becoming a fun town, i love the older area, where you can now sit and enjoy a coffee, or visit the wonderful 2nd.hand bookstores.
Grocery stores are within walking distance.
It is very busy during the day, water planes take off and land continually ,dinghies go left and right ,and little water taxis bring people to Newcastle island for camping and walking, or to the Dinghy dock pub, for a pint and a good lunch.

This is a beautiful boat, we were so grateful that she didnt hit the rocks.

The days are flying by, we are back in Brentwood bay, and right now the sun is warming the cockpit, its a nice 25 degrees in here, its quiet, and i have a Wifi connection that works well, now, what more do i want???
let me just step back to the day we left the dock of our friends, Doug and Martha, September 17th, weather predictions were good, not too much wind, tide in our favor, so away we went.
WG, Whiskey Golf, the navy exercise area was active so Bert planned a route around it.
Our goal was Nanaimo, and we made it there in 6 hours,average speed,5.5 knots, somehow the tide was not doing what it was suppose to, but it is always different in every piece of water at the Sunshine Coast.
We anchored out , well away from other vessels, Bert put out 7:1 anchor, a good thing, as we ended up in two hefty windstorms, one with gusts of 38 knots NW.
Thank goodness no one else anchored in front of us, but an hour into the storm, first a small sailboat started dragging its anchor, the skipper was on board, but had a terrible time ,trying to bring the anchor up, he ended up alongside a power boat, the people were on it and tried to fend off the little sailboat with fenders and boat sticks,still cant figure out why they didnt just tie her up alongside…..
As we are watching this, the large sailboat behind us, SV CHARLOTTE , a 52′ ketch, broke loose from her anchor, no one on board, and came right by us, driven by the NW wind.
We were debating what to do, how to help, when the owner, a lady, in her dinghy,

came speeding up to our boat and begged for help, Bert put on his PFD and away they went.
I kept a close eye on Curtsy, but we never did drag.
SV CHARLOTTE kept right on going, her anchor not resetting itself yet, Bert climbed on board, the owner started the engine, and Bert then tried to bring the anchor in, but there was just no way!!!!
From where i was watching, it seemed that the boat did not move anymore, and rightfully so, her anchor grabbed onto the telephone lines underwater, and there she stayed!!!
At least she was safe for now.
Bert came back to Curtsy, with some interesting stories about the boat, and ready for a cup of tea!!
The Coast guard was notified and i figure a diver would have to come out to undo the anchor from the cables.
We left the next morning and she was still there….