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We left Anacortes Labor day after noon with the hopes of making it up to Stewart island by dark. The wind was slight and the seas were flat when we pulled in and tied up to a buoy in Prevost Harbor, a State park with a dock and a "2-holer" out house. There were 5 or 6 other boats there camped out for the night. 2 were elaborate cruisers with fisherman and all the fancy gear. We stuffed a frozen turkey leg into our "back up" crab pot, ensured the rope was tied securely and dropped it over board. 2 hrs later we pulled up 3 red rock crab and retrieved the only slightly damaged turkey leg.
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| With the crab pot and turkey leg secured in the dingy we continued North, checked into customs and surprisingly make it up to Dodd Narrows just as the tide was beginning to come in. The trick with passing through Dodd Narrows is to do so at a flat tide due to the minimum clearance. With much of a tide in either direction, the eddies will grab control of the rudder and churn you side to side possibly bashing you into the rocks. A large commercial troller was coming through from the other side swishing ,swashing in the rip tide eddies at full throttle. His stern ,bearing down, pushed an enormous wake of white foamy water out of it's way. We made the decision to pass through. David was bow-side and Brian at the wheel. No, the women were not down below biting our nails to the quick, but we were rather silent as the guys navigated around the rip tides and through the narrow channel at nearly full throttle. If we had been thirty minutes later, we probably would not have attempted it. |
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As we Made our way North, there was a noticeable change scenery. After crossing the 24 mile wide Georgia Strait to reach Main land Canada, the islands of rolling hills of grass were replaced by jagged granite ridges 1, 2, and 3,000 feet tall with cedar trees wedged in the cracks and crannies jetting out at unbelievably obtuse angles . Fisherman's Bay at Pender Harbor was our next destination. With 13 knts. of wind directly behind us we were able to sail straight up the channel and right up to the dock. As we dropped the Main sail, the Harbor Master came out to take a line . He complemented Brian on his smooth maneuver and shook his hand! After 3 days at sea, the availability of a hot shower was a real treat, or so I thought it would be. For the price of a Loon, ( $1.00 Can.) you get 3 minutes. The men's and ladies shower rooms were separated by the thinnest wall board imaginable. I mean, I could hear Brian flip open the shampoo bottle!. He dropped in his loon first and I heard the water splash on and his blissful whistling of Dixie. I got all prepared to rub a dub dub: stripped down, shampoo and soap box open, and deposited my Loon. I stepped into the shower stall and only the slightest of dribbling of ice cold water was dispensed. I stood there shriveling up and dang near completely inverting myself while listening to Brian humming along. Shrieks and shrills not withstanding, it only lasted 3 minutes.
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