June 2-3, 2023:
This week I got to be a guest aboard the Beagle Spirit, which means that I get the honor of recording the week’s adventures!
I flew in from Austin, TX and was dropped off in David Lam park, where the Beagle Spirit was anchored just offshore in False Creek – right in the heart of downtown Vancouver. My dad and I spent the first couple of days hammocking on the boat and exploring the city, and the first thing I noticed: the sheer number of people out and about using all of the incredible parks. We had super fun collapsible bikes (Brompton) and were able to ride along the greenbelts and designated bike roads through lively Gastown and up towards Stanley Park at the end of the Vancouver peninsula. The seawall bike path takes you past the shipping lane, sea-plane airport, Lost Lagoon, a beautiful rhododendron botanical garden, and a totem pole park with artwork from the First Nations.
June 4, 2023
The next day was provisioning day: grab your bags and dingy over to Granville Island Public Market – the biggest permanent market I’ve ever been to. We did pretty well stocking up for a 7-day trip, but I thought my dad could use a little more practice navigating the maze of vendors and following Mom’s shopping list. Once we’d stored everything away (we even had to break into the storage space under the floor), we raised anchor in a very tight group of city boats and were off towards Point Atkinson where we’d pick up my mom from her Duke PT school 30th anniversary. This sail turned out to be very educational and the most boisterous voyage yet for the Beagle Spirit! You always hear about the dangers of wind against current conditions, and today we witnessed it firsthand: very close 8ft seas in only 17 knots of wind made for a very bouncy ride, but the boat handled impressively, never giving any cause for worry.
Once we’d picked up mom from Caulfield Bay, we sailed into Howe Sound around Bowen Island and anchored off Keats Island in Plumper Cove. Considerable winds bent up the channel, so it was a bit windy. Also a popular crabbing destination.
June 5, 2023
Very high winds up the Strait of Georgia prevented us from continuing up towards the Welcome Passage as we’d planned today, so instead we headed farther inland to Gambier Island and found a beautiful anchorage in Center Bay, Sunset Wall – aptly named as the sunset views were amazing. A note about this anchorage and the neighboring Sunset Cove: a very hard granite bottom shelf makes anchoring very difficult, and both require stern ties due to the tight squeezes! My first experience with a stern tie turned out to be very challenging, having to simultaneously position the boat close enough to the shore, pointed in the right direction, and paddleboard the stern tie to shore is no small feat! That task made us all want to go swimming, and here the water was miraculously warm – 66 degrees F! – so we promptly jumped in.
June 6-7, 2023
Today was our biggest sail day: 40 miles from Sunset Wall through the Welcome Passage and into Smuggler’s Cove! Conditions were ideal, providing exciting upwind and then relaxing downwind sailing where I laid out on the deck for some reading. I would highly recommend Smuggler’s Cove to any boater in the area: it’s almost completely hidden from sight from the Malaspina Strait, and the tight entrance opens up into a maze of tucked away coves that attracts a consistent crowd of both boaters and bald eagles! My mom and I found a cool interpretive trail with views towards the south. Just come prepared to muck through some very sticky mud and oysters!
We stayed an extra day to dingy over to neighboring Buccaneer Bay. We came in search of a reported lagoon good for swimming, but were slightly underwhelmed to find only ankle deep water. The wildlife here completely made up for it though: we caught crabs, found star fish, and saw another bald eagle! We downloaded a really cool app, Merlin Bird ID, which listens to the bird calls around you and identifies the species. We heard the Belted Kingfisher, Black Oystercatcher, Song Sparrow, and most of all, the American Crow.
June 8, 2023
Further north today into Pender Harbor, where we anchored just outside of Garden Bay. Pender Harbor is huge, and by total coincidence, we found our friends Jay and May, fellow Hallberg-Rassy 46-ers, on Present Moment here. My dad and I also embarked on a huge expedition: biking then hiking to the top of Mt. Daniels overlooking the entire harbor and farther out to Texada Island. It was a total of 1200 vertical feet up and only 1.3 miles, the steepest mountain I’ve ever climbed but totally worth it!
June 9, 2023
With my stay nearing a close, we made one more stop before heading back to Vancouver: White Rock Bay on Jedediah Island. We had to cross the Malaspina Strait and go around the southern tip of Texada Island to reach our small bay. While the rest of the week had been sunny and hot, today was rainy and very cold (see picture with umbrellas on the paddleboards)! Another stern tie required here, but we’re starting to get much more efficient at it by now. This island had an amazing hike through the old growth forest and to an old homestead and orchard planted in the 1800’s. Now a marine park, this island is home to wild goats and sheep which we saw grazing, lots of purple starfish, and crabs.
June 10, 2023
Today is the huge trek back to Vancouver and my final anchorage at Jericho Beach. We had to motor most of the way for the sake of time, the trip was 45 miles. Once we arrived, we took a dingy ride up False Creek again and to Granville Island for some souvenir shopping, dinner, and famous donuts.
The whole week was incredible fun, and I’m so glad that my parents are able to be realizing their dream on Beagle Spirit. I can’t wait to see where they go next and will hopefully be a frequent visitor!
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