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(reminder....small photos can be enlarged by double clicking on them) NANAIMO TO VANCOUVER We awoke at 6:00 AM. It was flat as could be and whispering 3 knot winds. The weather report says: SE of Nanaimo the winds are light and rising to NW, 10-15 knots, early this morning with occasional 10-15 knot winds near Nanaimo and SE, 10-15 knots near Vancouver. Winds becoming variable, 5-15 knots near noon. Cloudy periods, chance of showers over northern sections. It looks pretty good so going to head out earlier in the morning than expected. We’ll be leaving the West coast of Vancouver Island for a while and crossing the great Straight of Georgia to Vancouver on what they call the Sunshine Coast.
The only thing stirring around here are the ferry boats coming and going and the harbor patrol just went out. The artist that paints in his skiff by the fish and chips joint slowly motors by, towing his artist’s studio, the skiff. He must be heading to the little fry joint to get set up for the day. I wonder if he sleeps in that boat and where the heck did he come from? Speaking of characters, yesterday, late afternoon, another local character that seems to live in an old beat up kayak (yes, a kayak) “sailed” by in his modified kayak with a make shift sail. I guess he wanted to join in the fun with the Vancouver Sailing Club that was showing off their talents and colorful sails yesterday.
An old couple just left in a cute little boat. I think it’s an Eagle style boat, kind of like a modified lobster boat. They are getting an early start we say. Larry yelled across the water to her a couple times to see where they are headed but I don’t think she heard him as she just shrugged her shoulders. She looks like she could be in her eighties but she’s stowing those fenders and lines with great skill.
HIS MAJESTY ISN’T UP YET We’d head out but the “HIS MAJESTY”, Ziggy, hasn’t risen yet. Zig is still sawing logs in the master stateroom on the bed with the electric blanket on. He loves to sleep in and he thinks today he will linger but when he hears us locking things down he gets up to see what’s going on. It must be terrible not to know things like he’s going across the Straight of Georgia today.
DECIDE TO HIT THE WATER Well, suddenly cruisers are leaving. So we decide to hit the road, or water I should say. I head out the channel as Larry takes in the fenders and lines as I hurt my thumb from the weight and strain of handling those big lines and heavy fenders. We’re not alone as we head out the harbor as three commuter float planes come out beside us and take off just feet away. As we head out the channel I see the sky over the Straight. It’s dark and filled with heavy clouds. I’m thinking there’s a forecast for rain later today but maybe it’s speeding up its schedule. The BC Ferry crosses over in front of me heading to Gabriela Island. He’s far enough away not to affect my path. I feel the volume of his wakes though they have diminished considerably to soft swells as he slowed down quite a bit on his approach.
EVERYTHING LOOSE IS STOWED AND TIED DOWN We’ve got everything battened down, always prepared for the worst. We think we’ve got today pegged as a good one to cross but you never know as the winds whip around in different directions from one side of the Straight to the other, and depending on the direction of currents, the two working against each other can result in an uncomfortable day. I’m glad as we make our turn after Gabriola Island to head in a southerly direction towards the rising sun. It’s always more cheerful heading towards a rising sun rather than the dark deep cloud filled remnants of the night. I can see to the North, at Whiskey Gulf, an ominous looking naval ship just quietly sitting in the straight. There’s a dark rain filled cloud bank there overhead waiting to burst. They must be having firing range practice today. If we were heading north we’d have to check to see if the area was clear and if not would have to take a detour around.
Way off in the grey distance is what looks like a teensy little tug pulling a huge barge heading North. Occasionally we pass a crab pot marker. Up here in the Pacific Northwest they are huge round balls and easy to see and few and far between unlike our experiences in Maine.
KNOCK ON WOOD I’m thinking, so far, knock on wood, this is a pleasant crossing. We’ve got about 12 knot winds off our nose and the seas are about 2 feet with quick intervals. Looks like the waves are coming from the East and the winds are coming from the NE. You can see that with a little more of all that combined, things could get nasty.
OVER CONFIDENT The first time we went across the Straight of Georgia we had our other friends from Boston with us, Tom and Greg. We were again leaving from Nanaimo and taking them to Vancouver to catch a plane taking them back home. You know, “we were on a schedule”. We had the luck of the naive that day. We just headed across and had a perfect day like we seem to be having today. The seas and weather could be absolutely identical to that day. I guess it gave Larry a false confidence about what the Straight was all about. I think he may have a completely different version about these past experiences but these are mine and I think I will always remember them each time we make this crossing or any others like it. We do have great respect for the sea, for its strength and its unpredictability. We never take it for granted and most of the times I’d say we are overly careful and precautious. I always get annoyed at people that slough the seas off.
BEAUTIFUL SKYLINE OF VANCOUVER We’re about an hour out now and we can see the magnificent skyline of Vancouver in the grey haze. We’ve been watching another little tug pulling a humongous load to our starboard. He’s heading down the Straight. Those guys sure have courage. We’ve had a easy crossing today and we toast the God that be. We’ll be arriving at the inner harbor at low tide. It’s not like we have to worry about depths of water as we did in the Caribbean as there’s plenty of depth around here, so much so, that the sounder goes off the chart and can’t calculate the deep depths. We are though wondering how the currents will be as we approach and dock. It should be OK.
WATER COLOR The water, as we are about 8 miles out from the Lion’s Gate, as they call it, has turned a light green. It must be from the spring run off from the river. It went from black dark water to a milky green. TRACKING SEA PLANES ON THE RADAR We were alone today out on the straight
except for the float planes running back and forth from Nanaimo. They look like
cute little scoters flying across the large open expanse of water. First they
go to Vancouver then just as quickly pick up another load and head back to
Nanaimo. It was so funny because we could track them on
PLACE IS PACKED We had originally thought we’d stay in False Creek over by Granville Island. We thought it would be fun to be near the Public Market, shops and restaurants but they were totally booked. We tried everyplace in the area but not a slip was available so we are going to Coal Harbor. We went there once before with Greg and Tom (mentioned above) and it was very nice except that they were redoing the whole waterfront. It was noisy because of the major construction going on but should be beautiful now. We’ll see. As we approach Vancouver harbor area. There are several ominous looking freighters anchored against the grey silhouette of the city skyline in English Bay. Off to our left is the shear face of Garibaldi Mountains and the welcoming lighthouse of Point Atkinson. Just beyond is the heavily settled area called North Vancouver. They seem to continually build higher and higher up the steep mountainside. APPROACHING LIONS GATE
We have the morning light in our faces graying the skyline and mountains into several shades of muddled grays but in the afternoon sun I bet this approach must be even more spectacular when you can see the true definition of the colors.
COSMOPOLITAN VANCOUVER
HOLDS ITS OWN AGAINST OTHER CITIES Vancouver holds it own against all major ports that we have come into with the Knotty Dog. It’s not as massive as NYC but as impressive in its own right with its beautiful setting amid these snow capped mountains. Panama City I thought was a sight for sore eyes, but different in that after taking weeks of passing exotic coastlines littered like gas pumps with volcanoes and Spanish speaking villages and ports, some guarded by barbed fences and machine guns and days of sweating in their humid temperatures, crossing hot seas. To finally reach the cosmopolitan city of Panama so out of place from it’s primitive neighbors with freighters and barges waiting patiently on the outside for their turn to come in. It was a lovely sight for sore eyes. Now the opportunity to come here to experience yet another place with a different set contrasts. We’ve got the chill of the north, as there’s still cold air blowing down the snow capped mountainsides and water temperatures, that just the thought of them, give you goose bumps and any duration in the water beyond a few minutes means sudden death from hypothermia. I told one friend who was afraid to come join us on a leg because she didn’t swim that “Well, hell, you don’t need to swim, if you fall in, the water’s so cold the hypothermia will kill you anyway in a few minutes.” afety plan in order. It was a scary learning experience for me. The depths of the water are so severe and steep, not like the nerve wracking, bead sweating shallows of the Caribbean, nor as crystal clear, but filled with different water life nevertheless. Here we see huge whales, orcas, dolphins and seals on our journeys to nearly every port. Eagles soar above on warm up drafts, so noticeable with their white stoic heads and anklets that can clutch an unsuspecting victim in their powerful death grip. But on top of all these wonders of nature we will step off on to the shores of one of the most sophisticated cities on the North American Coast today.
THE FASCINATING HISTORY AND PEOPLE What a wild country of strong adventurous hard working people that live here, so different from our easy going I-Pod jivin’, everlasting young, “beautiful people”, whose main obsession it weight control, exercise, fashion and the latest high tech gadget. This will be an adventure, rare and challenging.
MORE COMFORTS THIS TIME This journey will be so much easier in this boat than our lovable Grand Banks. I say “lovable” again because we loved that boat. It was courageous and sturdy and always got us to port safely. There will always be a soft spot in our heart for that boat. Now we have state of the art electronics, radar, Marpa tracking, satellite communications, double back up electronic charts, auto pilot, bow thrusters, stabilizers, water maker, washer, dryer, dishwasher, sub zero frig and I could go on, but most appreciated in some instances is our warm comfy pilot house. Still, I think the challenge will be there, even with all these goodies. It will be just a lot more comfortable with things like those perfect leveling stabilizers than our last trip up here. It will be such a comfort to be in these protected waters with these modern day gadgets. We have so much respect for all those who treaded these waters without any of these modern day gadgets. To think of Cook, Drake, Vancouver and many others, who plotted the charts we are still. It’s their information that they so tirelessly gathered that we use and it is just mind boggling. To think of them searching for a Northeast Passage with no idea of what was around the bend, no satellite messaging predicting weather options from buoy’s reflected by satellites 1000s of miles away or telling you wind wave conditions, directions and knots they are blowing. It’s all too amazing. To think of the Klondikers and others heading up these very same waters many times in the middle of winter in steamships and other sea vessels not designed for these waters and severe conditions and with nothing more than what they could carry slung over their backs. There weren’t marinas with power and docks along the way and supply stops. What kind of people were these? They were strong and courageous. The history of this land is a never ending mystery and amazement to me. Now the challenge is to keep all these instruments working and have the knowledge to know how to work them and most importantly read and understand the reports they will give us.
VANCOUVER
We settled into a nice slip at Coal Harbor Marina. Larry had to manage the power a bit though as their 50 AMP power was 208, not the normal 240 as in the US. So we had to use their 30 amp and had to be creative in managing the power so we were able to do everything we needed to do.
Right off the bat we were bowled over by a huge sailing yacht just one slip down from us on the end. Her name is Georgia and she was at one time the largest sailing yacht in the world. You can look her up on the web and see her magnificence. We were told she was, a couple years ago, the biggest sailing yacht in the world, and is now 4th or 5th. She’s about 159 feet long and is about the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. I’d love to see her out on the sea in full sail. The crew said they are cruising around the world and had worked their way up from Antigua and will now be heading some day this week to Alaska. Who knows, we may see them along the way.
WOW, WHAT A WATERFRONT! We were also bowled over by the new Coal Harbor Waterfront. It is magnificent! We were here 4 or 5 years ago in our 42 Grand Banks and the whole waterfront was torn up and we thought we’d go nuts listening to all the drills and banging as they were rapidly building the city a new skyline. Little did we know it was going to change the whole face of everything and become what we think is one of the most magnificent waterfronts in North America. The architecture and planning of the area is beautiful and I might say quite brilliant. Everything is new and carefully laid out. I can only compare it to a feeling of walking through a forest of gigantic sequoias but instead of old growth cedars or redwoods, they are replaced with beautiful glass and steel and the symbolic forest bed is mixed not with moss and ferns but beautifully landscaped levels and planes of sculptural concrete and planted beds with meandering waterfalls, fountains, and man made streams, much like the a creek meandering it’s way through a forest. During our entire stay I never tired of appreciating the brilliance and genius of the planning that went into putting this new face on the city. The architecture is state of the art. I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere where the design is so complete and satisfying.
MARINE BUILDING Of course they have left a few old treasures too like the Marine Building which is just as impressive though built a good many years before all this new technology and state of the art materials were available. It’s so worth taking the time to go see it. The detail, extensive labor and detailed design are something you just won’t see anymore. The inside lobby is a masterpiece that is well worth seeing also. There such attention to detail and now a days there just isn’t’ enough money and time in building budgets to allow for such labor intensive custom work. Every detail can be appreciated for its beauty and creativity.
We checked in to the marina and contracted with them to have the boat washed and then headed up to the center of the city to the Art Museum. Coincidently they were having a special Haida exhibit and during our weekend they also had the Aboriginal Peoples Festival. Since we are hoping we make it to Queen Charlottes this trip, it was right up our alley. So we headed off hoping to get some first hand knowledge of the First Peoples that we will meet and see their art and architecture on this remote island.
It’s a great museum, now housed so beautifully in the renovated Old Court House. The front steps no longer serve as the main entrance but serve as a make shift Spanish Steps as we witnessed on the spectacularly nice weather day, people had plopped themselves down on the steps to have lunch or rest or just watch the world go by. We had lunch just up the block at the Bacchus Restaurant in the elegant Wedgwood Hotel. It’s very clubby but has a friendly atmosphere as the windows of the lounge and bar open to the street. It was beautiful weather so it was a perfect place to be. Another great place to eat in that area is the Art Museum Café (if the weather is nice). It’s outside on the upper level, shaded by bright umbrellas and over flowing planters filled with flowers and light classical music fills the air. You can’t help but feel very uplifted. After lunch we walked around to the park area in the back of the museum to see the Aboriginal People’s festival. The famous Old Vancouver Hotel, now the Fairmont, which grandly still holds it’s own in this city of new sky scrapers, was the backdrop of the festival and the silhouetted teepees were grand against this old matron. We sat for awhile on the split log benches that they had set up for the festival and listened to some Haifa’s sing and dance and speak about their culture. They were dressed in their full native regalia, capes made of red and black fabric decorated with white buttons, not the historical decorations usually displayed with endangered abalone shells, or puffin beaks, or dental regalia as in the past. This is the modern day version I guess. We were so lucky to be able to see the exhibit and get a taste and introduction for what our summer destination will be.
THE BRAZILIAN BOYS When we came back the boat it was shining and sparkling. Everything had been cleaned and wiped down. Two Brazilian boys did the work. They were so soft spoken but worked hard and were meticulous getting all the dirt off and things wiped down.
JOSIE Josie was their boss and they are part of her crew. We grew to like her open friendly nature immediately. She at first seems a little rough around the edges but that’s because she’s a hard worker and that to her comes first. Also, I think it’s because she’s not a city girl originally. She still has that fresh friendly frankness of a country girl. One day we were on Robson Street looking for a liquor store (which is no easy task we found out for some reason in this city) and we heard a “Hey Larry is that you?” I looked around and it was Josie. I know Larry would not have recognized her as he only spoke to her for a second but somehow I had been impressed when I first saw her with her cheery attitude when she came by the boat to get work. I said “hello” and we talked to her for awhile. She told us where to find a liquor store and said the one the locals had been telling us to go to was out of business. (No wonder no one knew where it was.) The closest one was too far to walk and we needed a cab to get there. I wish we had bumped into her earlier as we’d been walking around at least two hours trying to find this darn liquor store. Each time we’d ask someone where it was they’d send us another block this way or that way. It was the most incredible thing. Then one day we were having coffee at nearby Bojanngles and Jose walked by and she’s so friendly she just immediately started talking to us. She has an accent that I’ve not heard before and asked her if it was Irish or what. She said Saskatchewan. (No wonder I’ve never heard it before.) She said “There is a bit of Labrador in there too.” She loves her work and takes pride in her work. She takes care of her workers too like they were a part of her flock. Ziggy liked her immediately and he’s pretty fickle. She said the dogs like her no matter what. I told her Zig is a little difficult at times and she began to tell me a story about an old grouchy dog in the marina.
OLD GROUCHY DOG She said there’s an old dog in the marina that someone owns and “He’s the meanest devil you’d ever want to meet. He’s 14 and will bite anybody that comes along.” She said yesterday evening, they were still cleaning a boat and she saw him swimming in the marina. He must have fallen in off the dock. She told one of the guys to jump in and get the dog but he was afraid of the dog because he was so mean she said. She then said “What the heck, I jumped in and got the dog.” She said he was so glad to see her and he just laid his head on her shoulder by her neck. She said “He was exhausted and I didn’t know how long he’d been in there swimmin’ around.” I thought to myself now this is a good person. Anyone that would jump into these freezing dirty dock waters is got to be a saint. She and the Brazilian boys did a great job on the boat and I would recommend them to anybody. She’s thorough and loves to clean and loves to makes things right. I love to listen to her talk about cleaning and how she does extra things just because she thinks they need to be done. I love her, she’s great.
COAL HARBOR WATERFRONT We so love Vancouver City. There’s so much to do and see and it feels safe. The Coal Harbor Waterfront is great. You can spend the day walking the length of it and there are several great restaurants along the way, interspersed by parks and fountains and well it’s just lovely. The other thing besides all that great architecture and design and walking paths is the view in the opposite direction to the beautiful mountains, lightly capped in left over pockets of snow from the winter. The parade of majestic ships coming and going in the harbor against that backdrop is pretty darn unique. Even the big cruise ships are amazing with the mountain backdrops. The harbor is busy. It’s a cacophony of sights in a constant change of motion with pleasure boats, the fire control boats, dinner cruises, the Paddle Wheeler Constitution, and crews on dragon boats and skullers and float planes all moving to and fro. I could go on and on describing it all. It’s just an amazing mass of activity. We had to move from our first slip space before we left but were rewarded with one with unobstructed view of the harbor, the old Royal Vancouver Yacht Club at Stanley Park, and the mountains in the distance. It was the best hotel room in the city by far. Even Ziggy liked the place as he seemed friendlier to the people and dogs and wanted to play with the dogs in the waterfront parks. He almost seemed like a puppy again. We walked all over the city and enjoyed the cultural mix, of Asian, Indians, Thailand, Koreans, and smelling all their delicious aromas emanating from their kitchens and small cafes. We even found a doggie deli that had little tables and upholstered booths for dogs. The city was full of festivals and activities, so much to do and see. It would be a great city to come and spend a whole summer as a base.
One day we took a cab over to Granville Island and the place was one big happening. It was filled with people here for the Jazz Festival, shopping, eating and well just enjoying the wonderful weather we had. They have the wonderfully amazing Public Market with great produce, cheeses, meats and salami, olives, breads, and well much more than I can possibly describe. The little ferries shuffle people back and forth between the city and the island so you have easy access between the two. The weather was great and everyone was out enjoying things to the max. We were told that you can pick up the waterfront walk there and ride bikes all the way around to the beach of English Bay and continue on all the way to Stanley Island and the waterfront walk at Coal Harbor. Now that’s a pretty amazing bike ride. If we had had more time that would have been a great thing to do. That will be put on our list of things to do someday. (Always have to leave something to come back for.) Well this area sure is prospering, to see three Ferraris, a Bentley, one Hummer and a couple stretch limos in one day, just in our marina neighborhood is a bit unusual I’d say. We are kind of enamored with the little Smart Cars though. They look like they have a good bit of leg room and some grocery bag storage in the back and can squeak into a space the third of a normal mid size car would take. We don’t see them in the states but we think they would be a great “get around town car”. This place is such a stretch from the Gulf Islands and Nanaimo as there seems to be a lot of money here and they are very sophisticated if you can call cell phones stuck on ears, I Pods cords hanging over shoulders. They is no lack for enjoying themselves and splurging on restaurants and shopping. Robson Street is filled with shoppers and you can find just about anything you need there. It’s a place of contrasts though as you see one or two funky little houseboats here in the harbor of flashy boats and expensive high-rise condos and penthouses.
CANNON FROM Every night though there is one thing Ziggy and I could do without and that is their nightly cannon shot. I guess it must be coming from the RVYC. It sounds horrendous and just echoes and vibrates throughout whole harbor and poor Ziggy is paranoid every night as it nears 9:00 PM. He begins to sneak around and finally goes deep below in the boat to hide. I wish they wouldn’t do that, or why does it have to be so darn loud?
HIGHLIGHT OF OUR VISIT THE JOHNSONS Well, one of the highlights of our trip was meeting some new people. The first were the Johnson’s from the Annapolis area. They have been reading the website for quite a long time now and send us the nicest emails. Sometimes just when I begin to wonder why am I writing this log and get a little exasperated because it is a lot of work, we’ll get a wonderful encouraging email from them telling us how much they have enjoyed it. That just spurs me on and so finally and ironically we happened to be in Vancouver the same time they were as they were heading north on a wonderful cruise to Alaska. We sent each other emails and though never had met face to face, had made plans to have them come down to see us on the boat. It was such a thrill even though they didn’t have much time to spend with us. We got to finally meet these lovely sweet people. The next day, their ship was scheduled to head out at 5:45 PM and we watched as three other cruise ships left and there’s didn’t leave on schedule. So we turned on Channel 12, the shipping channel, and heard that they had a delay in their departure schedule. They wouldn’t be leaving until 8:00 PM. By the way if you want to spend an interesting few hours just listen to that channel and you’ll here all the activity and coordination that goes on in this harbor. So we waited and hung around the boat so we could get a nice photo shot of them heading out the harbor. Have a great cruise Lynn, Loretta, and Linda!!!! So nice to finally meet you! Ziggy sends a big ARF!
JOHN AND CHERYL Our next highlight was meeting John Alexander and Cheryl Fortier. Last year they took their 1949 restored Chris Craft from Vancouver to Queen Charlotte Islands which is an amazing trip. We hope to do the same thing and have been avidly reading their great website: http://www.sovereign.cherylfortier.com
They were gracious enough to come by out boat and answer many questions we had about the trip. Larry and John have been emailing back and forth and we continue to do so as we head North. We are very grateful to them for all the great information that they have given us that they have gathered from their amazing journey.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST Last but not least I wanted to mention that we will miss the Blue Heron that was always hanging out at the marina. We could hear some really strange screeching noises the first few nights we were there. I couldn’t quite place this familiar but strange sound. Then when I saw him I knew where I’d heard that noise before. He looked like the same old Blue Heron that hung around the marina in Los Suenos, Costa Rica. Do you think it could be the same guy? Maybe, it was winter when we were there. Wouldn’t that be a kick? He loved to stand up on top of people’s Biminis and watch the goings on. Someday his neck was so crooked from a fresh catch that he was digesting that it was comical to look at him. On our last day on the outer dock he decided to come down and keep us company for awhile. He was a cute character and liked to strut back and forth on the dock beside us just to stir ole’ Zig up. It did the trick too but he was always too quick and escaped before Zig could get off the boat and run down to where he was. Clever old bird.
Well, we hate to leave this beautiful city what need to start this journey northward. We got lots of inspiration after talking to John and Cheryl so we’re good to go.
Photos of the City
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CHARACTERS
We can see Entrance Island. There’s
a light house and weather forecasting station there. It’s just a little rock of
an island with a few white cottages with red roofs plopped on the rocky
projections. As we head out past it, more into the straight, the water is a
little more confused with a jumble of wakes coming from different directions.
In the distance we see a huge BC Ferry coming from Vancouver direction heading
North. The Queen of the North has sunk now so it may be the only one heading
North these days. We’ll have to find out about that. 
GEORGIA
HAIDA EXHIBIT
VANCOUVER ART MUSEUM
GRANVILLE ISLAND
You might want to also check out Cheryl’s
wonderful paintings that you can access from that website also. 
