2
Author Archives: svcurtsy
Ganges harbour,Prevost island,Port Browning.
It is actually very comforting to visit these places where we have been before, you know where you want to anchor, where to tie your dinghy, this is at times a real challenge in Ganges, and what places on land you want to explore. In Ganges , the most important thing for me was the Saturday market, truly the best market ever!!! Just the vegetable stands alone are breath taking, so much choice, and everything is fresh and clean, and truly wonderful. I was after garlic particularly , i never seem to buy enough of it, this year again, i bought a dozen very big bulbs, right now, they are all gone!!! But we headed for the stands with the baked goodies first, and fresh coffee!!! Will and Trish’s boat, Shadowdancer II, was anchored near us, we knew they were here so we all met up later on in a very funky coffee shop, ( way too much coffee for me), and exchanged stories and memories already made on this incredible journey. Will and Trish have a car here on Saltspring island, so the next day they took us hiking up Mount Maxwell, where we had a most beautiful view of the island and the bays below. I think Gail enjoyed himself!! We left Ganges on the Monday , the 25th and headed to James bay, Prevost island, where every year we collect apples and plums in the old orchard. We dont know what kind of apples they are but they are firm and sweet, and make a doozer of a pie!!! We took Gail hiking up to the light house, a wonderful walk, where we could gaze down at our boats.
Artichoke dip.
NOT to be eaten when on a diet.
14 OZ. CAN OF ARTICHOKES, DRAINED. 1 CUP OF MAYO. 16 OZ.CREAM CHEESE. 1 SMALL CAN OF MILD CHILIS. 1 1/2 CUP OF GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE. CAN YOU JUST SEE THE CALORIES????? MIX WELL, BAKE AT 350 FOR 45 MINUTES, THEN BROIL FOR 5 MINUTES. i bought french bread, Gail had crackers, oh my goodness!!!!! is this ever yummy!! Just dont make every day!!!!
We left Nanaimo on the 20th of September, went through Dodd Narrows at slack tide, and anchored in Clam bay. WE went to Pirates Cove with Gail’s dinghy, going through the cut from Clam Bay to Pirates cove, high tide, otherwise you don/t make it!! Gail told us about these jalapenio poppers that were served at the pub, so thats what we ate and we drank cider, good times!!! but i must be gaining weight……..
September 15th, to Nanaimo.
We love traveling with Gail, he is not in a hurry, an excellent mariner, and fun to spend time with. WG, Whiskey Golf, was clear for transit that day, which means we can cut straight across Georgia Strait, or rather the Salish Sea!! Weather was good, sunny and quiet. Gail left later then us but i knew he would show up very soon, and pass us, he travels about 2 knots faster then us, so in Nanaimo he anchored in a good spot and left us lots of room behind him . Nanaimo is always a bit tricky, i really dont like anchoring there, but at least it was a lot quieter in September , in Summer it is totally crazy there. The forecast was for rain , wind, more rain, so we decided to hunker down in our boats, read good books, bake cookies, and only venture out if the rain stopped. I know, we are NOT tough mariners. HAHA!!!
Moving on…
We had a wonderful time in Comox, i spent time with Karen who also celebrated her birthday, for once i was there!!! We had dinner with Kevin and Petra, saw the whole family, really enjoyed ourselves. But, we needed to move on. We had stayed in touch with Gail from MV Cruzeiro Do Sul, and planned to meet with him in Pender harbour, at Madeira Park, we anchor in front of the harbour, good holding, and again,we get to use the wifi.
Smoke filled skies, again!
Many forest fires were burning in British Columbia, as soon as we sailed from Alaska into B C, we noticed the smoke which became more severe , the more we traveled South. Comox was no exception.
Comox.. oops! clicked “publish” too soon..
August 28th, Comox , felt like coming home….
We anchored out front , behind the break water, no boats there, funny actually, most boats all anchor close to the spit, as its shallow there i guess, but we have been anchored in front of the harbor many times, once during a good size South Easter, 35 knots, so we trust the holding there. Also , we can row ashore, even pick up the wifi, which helps a lot…. Every day, the fishing vessel MV Pacific Rancher comes in at 5 pm sharp, and we buy prawns from him, a huge bag full, for 30 dollars. I fried them in garlic butter…..We have family here, lots of family so needless to say we spent a lot of time with them, we had stories , they had stories, it was great, we walked to Filberg park, i love all the incredible plants and trees that grow there, definitely had my camera ready….
We moved the boat into the harbor, we watch for a good spot for Curtsy, there is no need to call in, just park the boat, tie her up and go and report. I needed to clean out the water tanks, drain them, fill again with a tbsp. of bleach, let sit, drain again and again and again. They sure needed it, i try to do this once a year. Bert cleaned the hull, it had that yellow cruising smile on it, i washed all the little curtains, things started to look nice again. It had been 5 months of travel.
The best thing about having a cat on board again…..
This little guy LOVES kayaking!!! And dinghy rides!!!!
svcurtsy 