We met Anne and Henri of Ariel X at Pender Harbour and spent the next 10 days getting an expert tour of the Desolation Sound Area and learning to use our prawn trap. After Anne and Henri went back to Vancouver we met up with Nancy and Phill of Forever Young and they showed us some of their favorite spots. For the last week we have been on our own, exploring more coves and bays. The last couple of days we have had some pretty severe weather but we are safely anchored, waiting for the storm to pass.

Now, for a little history: This area was named by English explorer Captain George Vancouver in 1792. He was tasked with surveying and charting the west coast from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Alaska. Although this area is extraordinarily beautiful, with soaring peaks, fjords and much wild life, George is quoted as saying “there was not a single prospect that was pleasing to the eye” – the old beauty is in the eye of the beholder thing, I suppose. Vancouver died at 40 of an unspecified disease, but he must have been supremely depressed to come away from here with that impression.

This area is largely undeveloped, although very popular with boaters. One very odd thing is that the water in the area is much warmer than southern waters. While we have been here it has varied from low 60s to low 70s. We’ve done a lot of swimming here, and we are having such a great time. It is truly a gorgeous area. The photos can’t do it justice, but I’ll let them tell the story. We are planning to head south in a few days, working our way back to Vancouver to get read to put Toga away for winter.

Anchored at Tenedos Bay

Sunset at Squirrel Cove

Mussels grow on trees here

Hiking at Roscoe Bay

Squirrel Cove dock

Roscoe Bay entrance

Side tied with Forever Young at Lagoon Cove, Pendrell Sound

Alfred Island sunset

Sad goodbyes

Ralph and Henri – pals!

Salmon at work

Beautiful sailing

Sailing Vista

Melanie Cove

Deer at Melanie Cove

Low clouds

Dinghy parking for Charlie’s walk

Outdoor chess game at Herriot Bay

More vistas

Rebecca Spit park

Von Donop inlet sunset

Beautiful, harmless jelly fish

Many jellies

Anne and Charlie kayaking

Delicious prawn feast

Catching prawns!

Bucket o’prawns

ArielX and Toga rafted together

Caught one!

Desolation Sound views

Entering Desolation Sound

Hiking at Lagoon Cove, Pendrell Sound

Hiking at Roscoe Bay

We left Madrona Bay at Saltspring Island after a rough couple of days of weather. Canada requires that we take the boat out of Canadian waters before 1 year passes. We had depleted ourselves of most food purposely, because the USA has a lot of rules about what you can bring across the border. We decided to go to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island, which was about a 15-20 nautical mile trip.

We cleared customs over the phone with no problem thanks to the Nexus program, which Ralph and I applied for and were accepted into in May. That program enables us to call into customs rather than appear in person, which saves a lot of time and hassle. We called Roche Harbor marina to see if they had space for us at the docks and we were in luck! We tied up and had a really nice stay there for 4 days (we intended to stay for 2 days). Roche Harbor is party central! All three of us had fun (Charlie especially liked the dog park). Every evening they do a flag ceremony, which includes a canon salute for old glory and several anthems. They have nice restaurants and fresh seafood on the docks plus a great little market right in the marina. We loved it and will definitely go back someday. We were kind of bummed out that we didn’t buy Washington fishing licenses because everyone was catching so many crabs! We were jealous.

We decided to go to Friday Harbor next because it is the “big city” of the San Juan Islands (in fact, the only incorporated town) and we needed to do some big grocery shopping and get fuel for the boat. We loaded up with water and did laundry at Roche Harbor, so that was out of the way. When we got to Friday Harbor, the docks were packed so we just anchored in one of the coves there for the night. We discovered that the property rules in Washington are different than California in that a property owner seems to own the waterfront down to the low tide line, rather than the high tide line. So, we did some trespassing on the beach and got yelled at. But we did see some otters, so it was worth it. The next day we had heavy rain in the morning, but by afternoon the weather was great. We did one round of shopping by taking the dinghy in to town. The next day we stayed at the day moorage dock and did another 2 rounds of shopping (important to note that we have to carry everything we buy). We filled up our fuel and headed northward to Jones Island.

Jones Island is a truly picturesque and serene place. It is a small island with bays on the north and south. We anchored on the north side and it was dreamy: wonderful kayaking and quiet. There was a really nice trail and we saw several deer. The next day we headed northward again, this time to Sucia Island. Another gorgeous place to love! We stayed there and enjoyed the beauty for two days.

The next day it was time to reenter Canada. We called in to Canadian customs, and although the process was a little confusing, we are officially checked back in. We spent a night at Montague and then headed for Nanaimo via Dodd Narrows. We are now at the Nanaimo Yacht Club, which is great! We were able to do laundry, fill water, grocery shop, etc. Everything is pretty handy here. We are preparing to head back across the Strait of Georgia to Pender Harbour and then northward to Desolation Sound. We have wanted to go there for so long, we are very excited. We are meeting up with our friends Anne and Henri of ArielX, who can show us the ropes a little.

Cute name for this service

Roche Harbor glory

Gardens at Roche

We miss you too!

Some of the bounty on our dock

Island beauty

Rain at Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor is a busy place

Jones Island, south side

Approaching Jones Island, North side

Jones island harbor

Sunset fro Jones Island

Kayaking buddies

Sucia Island

Breathtaking views from Sucia

Underway

Nanaimo Yacht Club

Delicious dinner

Prawns from Roche Harbor

Charlie is on dish duty

Anchored at James Island

James Island deer

Sunset at Sucia, looking east

Sunset at Sucia, looking west

Sucia moon

Made chile verde in the pressure cooker – it was great!

Moonrise at Montague