From Campbell River Through Seymour Narrows and on to Blind Channel

We were the only boat going north through Seymour Narrows. We entered at slack tide but still maintained 8.9 knots. We arrived at Blind Channel in 3 1/2 hours.

We dock at the end of the rainbow . . .

Blind Channel Resort

The dining room was built by Edgar and Annemarie Richter owners since 1969. Annemarie's whimsical paintings decorate the walls. She passed away in 2003 but her talent and creativity live on through her lovely paintings, mosaics and wall hangings which adorn the restaurant.

Lou and I enjoying our dinner.

Chicken and Local Prawn Gumbo

Fresh Homemade Bread

Pork Schnitzel with Spaetzel

Red Cabbage

Carrots Almondine

Chicken Stuffed with Fresh Herbs in a Tomato Coulis served with Spaetzel

Red Cabbage

Carrots Almondine

Bavarian Chocolate Mousse mmmmm!

Louie on the dock after dinner.

JUNE 22 GORGE HARBOR TO CAMPBELL RIVER

The snow capped peaks of Desolation Sound are visible as we round Cape Mudge on to Campbell River. We find moorage at Fisherman's Wharf Public Dock. Our fees are about $11 per day instead of $67 at the other marinas. We like the authenticity and color of the tugs, fishing boats and a variety of well used pleasure boats.

We are back among the "Big Guys".
Louie handles the lines as I dock the boat behind a huge fishing boat.

Campbell River Saturday Market is rained out as ominous black clouds dump buckets of rain.

"Crabby Bobs" offers a variety of fresh fish, prawns, crabs and octopus for sail on Fisherman's Wharf.

JUNE 17TH PENDER HARBOR TO LUND

We departed Pender Harbor at 10am and motor sailed north for 6 hours arriving in Lund at 4pm. The wind was blowing a steady 12 knots but it was not until we came to Grief Point close to Powell River that we put up the Jib Sail. We ran a constant 7.3 knots until we reached Lund.

AHHH! It is great to put up the sails!

WE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN . . . .

We should have known when we saw the prawns swimming in schools that resembled dollar signs.

Lost: 2 prawn traps, weights, line and floats = $140.00
Prawns purchased from commercial prawners= $35.00
Prawning in British Columbia = PRICELESS!!!

Seventh Heaven docked on the floats at the entrance to Lund.

Prawn boats line up to ship their live catch by float plane. They were nice enough to sell us some for $7 a pound. Inexpensive considering our loss.

We picked up a lovely passenger along the way.

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!

It is all worth it! Louie is obviously in 7th Heaven.

THE ONLY GOOD MOSQUITO IS A DEAD ONE!

Only female mosquitos bite because of their need for protein. On her proboscis, she has 4 sets of serrated teeth that surround a pair of fine tubes, one for dripping a pain suppresor and one for sucking blood. She stabs the skin with her sharp snout and saws in with her four knife like tools to draw blood. She shoots in saliva laced with anesthetic to escape notice and a anticoagulant to keep blood from flowing. Then she sucks blood. In 90 seconds she sucks enough blood to nourish 100 eggs. During her adult life, 2 weeks to a month she only bites 1 to 3 times. I HATE HER!

JUNE 13TH FROM NANAIMO, ACROSS GEORGIA STRAIT

We spent the night at the docks of the Nanaimo Port and departed the next day at 8 AM. It was a magnificent day, clear skys, smooth seas and calm winds. We motored about 5 hours to Pender Harbor. Volcanic like clouds seemed to flow from Texeda and Lasquiti Islands.

We arrived in Pender Harbor and had a great lunch at the Garden Bay Pub. The weather was warm and sunny on the deck.

This is another example of the wonderful characters one meets along the way. The "Phat Buoys" a group of 8 friends from England, Ireland, Canada, Australia and US get together and charter a boat in different parts of the world for one week each year. One of the members writes a book each year of their adventures. We enjoyed a lovely evening of stories, wine, music, dancing, poetry and laughter on their 50 ft Beneteau. Next year they meet in Norway.

Louie returns victorious winning the wager of a bottle of wine from the "Phat Buoys". The bet was which crab bait attracts more crabs: rotten chicken or fresh chicken.

Louie: Fresh Chicken 3 crabs

Phat Buoys: Rotton chicken 2 starfish

CLASSIC CANADIAN COAST GUARD ROLL OVER BOAT CIRCA; 1929 - 1960

Classic CG - MLB (Coast Guard Motorized Life Boat) is still being used in third world countries. This example is moored in Telegraph Harbor on Thetis Island.

NEXT STOP: GANGES ON SALTSPRING ISLAND

We picked up our dear friend Alex in Genoa Bay.
We head for Ganges to attend the Saturday Market and visit with Michael who is stationed there with the Canadian Coast Guard. The market is full of wonderful organic produce, locally made cheeses and a variety of arts and crafts not to mention the local characters.

Michael returns from a distress call to Ganges Harbor.

Good coffee, good cheese and good vibes.
What more could anyone ask for?

We had a wonderful day on Saltspring tasting wine, cheese and ice cream!

The animals on Saltspring are as interesting as the people. This pair of Border Collies ran out of sheep and decided to herd the chickens.

The duck is just "Head over heels"

The flowers are exceptionally beautiful.
This most unusual duck looks as if it were painted.

The sun sets in paradise at the end of another perfect day . . . .