18 Sep 21

We got up early-ish with the intention of heading across the Strait of Georgia to Nanaimo. The forecast looked OK for the crossing, so we got away from the dock just after 09:00. Out of Pender Harbour, we turned left and headed SE straight into the wind; we motored all the way through Welcome Passage, between Thormanby Island and the mainland. To leeward of Merry Island, we unfurled the jib, put a couple of reefs in the main, turned off the engine, and headed south to Nanaimo. We sailed right across the Strait in just over 3 hours, on port tack all the way, and we were able to shake out both reefs before we got across. We were tied up in Nanaimo Marina at 14:50. John, single-handing “Massilia”, made it in about an hour and a half later. A good sail and a good day. We had dinner aboard; we have a lot of Granville Island lamb chops to get through before Thursday. 

49-10.047’N, 123-56.064’W; Log = 32.3, Sum(2021) = 767.1; Eng hrs = 2.9, Sum = 2866.0

19 Sep 21

Sunday was a lazy day, although we got in a brief grocery run and topped up on single malt whiskey. I also “Marie Kondo-ed” my three cockpit lockers, got rid of some excess cleaning chemicals and organized it all a bit better. John came over for a goodbye celebration dinner; he is flying back to Vancouver tomorrow so he can vote in the Federal election. We played guitar and sang until well past 22:00 and did some blind taste testing between Bruichladdich and Dalwhinnie; both excellent. Then we said goodbye to John until next season.