19 Sep 22

We were up at 08:00 to get ready for the day. John pulled away from the dock about 09:00. We went up to the top of the dock and had a last goodbye with Laurie, then we got away from the dock just before 10:00. After motoring all the way across English Bay, at Spanish bank we turned SW toward Porlier Pass and the wind was fine for a sail, so we shut down the engine and sailed on course 218 deg T, on a close reach, with NW 10-15. The wind freshened a bit over the next hour and I soon had two reefs in the main, but it never got higher than 15 kn and, as we neared the shore of Valdez Island, it died off a bit and freed off, so by the time we got to Porlier Pass, we were on a reach. We had a fine sail across the Strait of Georgia. The ebb helped us through Porlier Pass, but there was very little wind inside the Gulf Islands, so we soon doused the sails and motored the last few miles to Conover Cove, where we anchored with a line ashore at 15:20. I finally committed to hauling out at Latitude Marine in La Conner on 27 Sep, and cancelled haul-out and storage at Skyline; we will leave the boat at Latitude all winter, after they finish the work on her. John, on “Massilia”, rafted up to us about an hour later. We had Captain’s Hour and dinner aboard, and I played guitar for a few minutes afterward. After a quiet whiskey, we went to bed shortly after 21:00.

48-56.215’N, 123-32.651’W; Log = 27.6, Sum(2022) = 1124.4; Eng hrs = 2.2, Sum = 3093.8 

20 Sep 22

We slept in until 09:00, and awoke to a glorious, clear morning. It was so glorious, that we decided to just hang out here all day. We lazed about and read during the morning. After lunch, John and I went for a short walk to Panther Point (at the south end of Wallace Island), while Terri stayed on the boat (she is still not feeling too chipper; plus, the dust on the trails irritates her cough. We got back in time for Captain’s Hour and dinner and had a quiet evening and enjoyed our final whiskey in Canada, followed by another early night. While we were enjoying Captain’s Hour, a sailboat, “Sandpiper” sailed in and dropped a small anchor right in the middle of the entry to the cove. The captain (obviously, it was a charter cruise with 4 paying passengers who knew nothing about sailing) rowed his four passengers ashore, then came back and rowed a big anchor well out in front of his first anchor. He went back to the boat, pulled up the first anchor, then dropped it in the dinghy and rowed it out to the bar and the cove entry. Then, he went back to the shore to collect his four passengers. Back on the boat, he pulled up his big anchor, hoisted the mainsail, pulled up to his kedge, then sailed back out of the cove. Lots of work for the captain; apparently, either his engine does not work, or he promised the passengers a sailing holiday and was determined to supply it. Since the passengers were only onshore for a few minutes, we sort of think his head does not work either, so he rowed them in to use the outhouse above the dock. Don’t know for sure, but it was all very curious and entertaining; not to mention a lot of work for the skipper.