This week we were the privileged guests of Kay and Brett aboard the Beagle Spirit in the Gulf Islands. Our original trip was scheduled for September but had to be cancelled because of illness. We quickly developed Plan B which was slightly shorter than the original plan but turned out to be a marvelous adventure!
We left Boise on a rainy morning and after a short flight to Victoria met Kay and Brett at the Port Sidney Marina where the sun was shining brightly. It was a perfect day for our first look at the Beagle Spirit and we were impressed! Everything looked clean, sparkling and in perfect order. The Hunts gave us a quick tour, a few safety tips and helped us move into our quarters. We were all excited to go and promptly set off.
Our destination this day was Princess Margaret Marine Park on Portland Island, and we arrived after a 2-hour cruise. This island was gifted by the people of British Columbia to Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret in 1958. In 1967 Princess Margaret gave the island back to the people of BC to be used as a provincial park. It is now one of the jewels in the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. We dropped anchor in a beautiful little bay, set a stern line and headed out in the dingy for a short hike on the island. It was a great day.
Our next day brought foul weather with a steady rain. We also dealt with a balky windlass and couldn’t raise the anchor until Brett gave it a few hard cranks with the manual crank. K & B used new headsets, fondly referred to as “marriage savers”, to communicate during this task while Brett was on deck and Kay was at the helm. The headsets were a great gift from previous guest Ed, Brett’s father, who thought they would be useful. The windlass was already scheduled to be replaced in a week or so, and we were glad it held out for the rest of our trip. After we were underway, we sailed and motored 11 miles to Montague Harbor on Galiano Island. Brett and Joey took a rainy ride in the dingy to pay our mooring fee and explore a campsite on the island. We buttoned up inside for the rest of the day with books, games, and puzzles. This also provided time for us to learn all about the radios, electronics, navigation tools, engine, power generators, freshwater maker, and other systems on the boat. The newly installed Starlink internet provided a movie for the evening. As with every day, we marveled at the great meals produced in the small galley.
Over the next several days we anchored at Pirates Cove Marine Park on De Coury Island, Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, and Annette inlet on Prevost Island. We took hikes, explored the tidepools and mudflats (oysters!) and enjoyed using the kayak and paddleboards. We saw seals and sea lions, and one morning had a friendly sea otter who used our dingy as a comfortable perch.
Most of our anchorages were remote, but we did spend one day exploring the charming small town of Ladysmith. If you ever visit, we recommend the Fox & Hounds Brewpub, The Worldly Gourmet Kitchen Store and Old Town Bakery (sticky buns!) Another point of interest was a huge barge offshore carrying hundreds of large logs and a crane. The logs were downloaded and pushed to a containment area in the water by a fleet of small speedy tugboats. We think they were to be transferred to a train from there. The operation took two days and was interesting to watch.
Our best day for sailing had steady winds at 10-15 knots and did we have fun! Joey took the helm for quite a while and held a steady course sailing to windward and downwind. She had us heeled to 18 degrees at one point. Kay and Brett were in their element doing much tinkering and adjusting to optimize our sail setup. We had about a 20-mile downwind leg where we ran wing and wing. It was spectacular!
The last day was a quick 12-mile motor to Van Isle Marina near Sidney where we caught a cab to the airport. What a great trip. We can’t wait to come back again!
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