NW EXPLORATIONS - PT 1

Sixteen years ago we completed the Great Loop aboard Sea Venture, our 37-foot Mainship.  Ever since then Captain Frank has been itching to charter a vessel in the Pacific Northwest.  After much planning and many other travel adventures, we are now ready to do it!  On May 9^th we will embark on a three-week ‘Mother Goose’ charter with Northwest Explorations from Bellingham, Washington to Ketchikan, Alaska via the Inside Passage.  This Inside Passage is the waterway on which the Northwest Indians lived their daily lives.  We will travel 793 miles of this waterway, most of it in the protected waters of British Columbia. Joining us are fellow ‘loopers’ Bill and Vivian Wood.  This will be their third charter with Northwest Explorations on the Inside Passage so it must be an awesome experience!

 

In 1792 George Vancouver was chosen by the British Royal Navy to lead an expedition to the Pacific Northwest. He was to be a diplomat and an explorer tasked with charting the coastline of the area as far north as Alaska’s Cook Inlet and looking for the elusive Northwest Passage to the Atlantic Ocean.  He charted the intricate, rugged coastline with great accuracy.  His scientific observations of the local flora and fauna as well as his detailed reports concerning the native peoples he met along the way are of great historic significance.  We are excited to cruise these same waters.

 

Just days before our scheduled departure we happened to look out our apartment window and espied the Lazy W northbound on the Elizabeth River!  Was Frank ever excited!  He raced down to Waterside Marina to greet his long, lost boat (actually not so long, lost since we sold her just about one year ago). He returned to the apartment looking forlorn.  He grabbed a beer to drown his sorrows and then explained to me what had befallen his beloved boat.  Apparently while southbound this fall, the owner and his paid ‘professional’ captain ventured out in gale force winds off the coast of North Carolina.  Being fair weather boaters ourselves, we found this folly quite appalling.  As they neared Frying Pan Shoals off Cape Fear in the dark, a rather large wave hit the boat so fiercely that it tore the dinghy Cassiopeia and its mounting davits off the aft transom of LazyW.  Unfortunately, Cassiopeia was lost at sea.  Fortunately, the entire transom did not break free and LazyW and her crew survived. While LazyW and Cassiopeia are very sea worthy vessels, no one, especially an experienced ‘professional’ captain should have taken them out on the water in those conditions.  As our boating friend Alan remarked, “No one loves them (the boats) the way we did.”

 

 

On May 9^th we met up with Bill and Vivian at the docks of Northwest Explorations.  Bonum Vitae, the 52-foot Grand Banks Heritage Motoryacht that will be our home away from home for the next three weeks, was all ready for our arrival.  And what a beautiful, spacious yacht she is!  She had recently undergone a $250,000 renovation and she looked much newer than her 20 years.  She was a replacement for our original chartered boat, Grand Adventure, which had been removed from the fleet upon her sale.  We were certainly not disappointed by this upgraded vessel.

 

 

Bonum Vitae was equipped with every amenity needed for a comfortable cruise.  Three beautifully appointed staterooms could sleep six, all right maybe only four adults and two very small people.  Two private heads with showers, a well-equipped galley, a laundry room and a spacious salon with enough comfortable seating for ten people – what a yacht.  And the folks of Northwest Explorations stocked her with eco-friendly cleaning supplies, dozens and dozens of fluffy, snowy white towels, plenty of sheets and blankets for the chillier days ahead.

 

 

Frank was thrilled when he encountered the engine room with plenty of headroom.  Bonum Vitae is powered by two Caterpillar turbo-charged engines each rated at 660HP!  Stabilizers!  Bow thrusters! State of the art electronics! A heated, enclosed upper helm! A water maker capable of making 53 gallons/hour!  A monster-sized windlass capable of easily hauling up the 99-pound anchor and stowing it in the bowsprit – this deckhand won’t have to struggle with it!  We were all in seventh heaven.

 

With a length-overall of 63 feet 8 inches and a beam of 15 feet 5 inches, Bonum Vitae was just a bit bigger than our 43-foot Lazy W – just a bit!  The captains wanted to practice handling this big girl so Jordan from Northwest Explorations came aboard Thursday and, after a giving us all a crash course on the ac/dc systems, Frank got to take her away from the dock for a short ride out of the marina and back to the dock.  Frank exclaimed, “She handles like a dream.”  Friday afternoon was to be Bill’s turn at the helm but time ran out before he had that opportunity.  I guess Northwest Explorations trusts that we know what we are doing!

 

 

Saturday, May 11^th was a momentous day – Ashley, our granddaughter, turned 7 AND we left the docks in Bellingham!!  After two days of orientation, provisioning and familiarizing ourselves with each other and the boats, it was fair to say that our group of boaters was anxiously awaiting our early morning departure. All the Northwest Explorations staff were on the dock before 8AM to see the flotilla off on our adventure.  With temperatures in the 50’s, hazy blue skies and calm winds and water, Arctic Star, Discovery, Patos and  Bonum Vitae idled patiently in Bellingham Bay waiting for the lead boat Deception to begin our 75-mile journey north bound for Ganges on Salt Spring Island.

 

 

 

A Mother Goose cruise is so unlike any cruising we have previously done.  Jordan on Deception plans it all from departure time to end of day.  We no longer have to spend hours poring over charts, charting our course, entering waypoint after waypoint in the chart plotter, anxiously checking and rechecking weather, winds and tides, deciding on a marina stay vs. an anchorage. Each evening, Jordan delivers the next day’s detailed cruising plan.  It seems all too easy and we must admit we kinda miss some of those chores.  We are putting our day-to-day cruising plan in the hands of Jordan, a twenty-something captain who began his career with Northwest Explorations when his grandfather hired him on as an eleven-year-old garbage boy.  His job then entailed getting in the dinghy each morning and collecting the trash from the boats in the flotilla.  Now he ably commands a flotilla of boats captained by crews of folks old enough to be his parents/grandparents.  We obediently have our boats ready to get in formation and follow his lead at whatever time he deems appropriate.  And we solemnly swear to follow his mantra “Turn where I turn not when I turn” whenever we cruise in tight formation through narrow passages.

 

With Deception leading the way and the snowy slopes of Mount Baker behind us, we were on our way!  Hannah was on the radio whenever she spotted pelagic cormorants, harbor porpoise, black oyster catchers, pigeon guillemots and bald eagles.  She also pointed out the red-barked, broad-leafed evergreen madrone trees along the rocky shores of many of the islands in the San Juan Archipelagos. Bill and Vivian are avid birdwatchers so we had our own naturalists aboard scanning the water for birds.

 

 

As we approached Pole Pass the currents increased. The flotilla gingerly made its way through while obediently mimicking Jordan’s every maneuver and staying in close formation with just a boat length separating each Grand Banks.  We would repeat this close formation again as we made our way through Johns Pass just before entering the Gulf Islands, British Columbia’s version of  Washington state’s San Juan Islands. 

 

Approaching Spieden Island

One of the islands in the San Juan Archipelagos is Spieden Island.  It is notable in appearance as it is half covered in trees and half covered in grass.  In the 1970’s it was a big game hunting preserve named Safari Island.  Two taxidermist brothers purchased the island and populated it with several species of exotic animals and thousands of birds imported from around the world.  Hunters were invited to fly in and pay for the privilege of hunting there.  Lions, tigers and monkeys were among the trophy animals that could then be hunted, stuffed and taken home. The hunting preserve didn’t last long as local residents were outraged at the ‘sport’ of driving around in vans and shooting these animals.  There was also concern that stray bullets would hit the nearby heavily-populated island of San Juan.  Today the island is owned by the founder of Oakley sunglasses and is still home to some Sika deer from Asia and Mouflon sheep from Corsica.

 

                           Clearing customs at Poets Cove Marina

 

First order of business after entering the Gulf Islands was to clear Canadian customs at Poets Cove Marina in Bedwell Harbor on South Pender Island.  The crew of Deception assisted each boat with docking and the captains talked via phone with the customs agents who issued each boat a clearance number.  Our departure from Bedwell Harbor was delayed due to an engine alarm issue on Discovery.  Vivian and I admired from afar Poets Cove Marina and all its advertised luxury amenities – hot tubs, a spa, and a Eucalyptus Steam Cave (whatever that is). 

 

Discovery’s engine issue was not completely solved but she was able to cruise on one engine to Ganges on Saltspring Island, our first overnight stop.  Ganges is named after HMS Ganges of the British Royal Navy.  The town was once a summer fish camp for First Nations people.  Non-native inhabitants who ultimately settled here include ex-slaves fleeing the California gold mines and Hawaiians displaced by the Hudson Bay Company. Yes, the Hudson Bay Company! A trading post was established in the Sandwich Islands where Hawaiians were allowed to buy goods on credit and then found themselves deep in debt. They then became laborers sent to Hudson Bay Company properties in North America to pay off those debts.  In the 1960’s Ganges became a popular destination for young American men dodging the Selective Service System.

 

We arrived at Ganges Marina in the late afternoon.  We had avoided bringing much wine and beer into Canada so it was time to stock up and finish provisioning since the next four days would be spent at anchor.  The crew of Bonum Vitae enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the Oyster Catcher Restaurant before calling it a day.  We all slept well that night.

 

This sign at Ganges Marina tickled our funny bone!

 Jordan’s cruising plan of the day had us departing Ganges at 7AM on Sunday, May 12^th for a 62-mile cruise to an anchorage at Madeira in Pender Harbour.  It was a breezy, overcast morning.  We continued our cruise through the Canadian Gulf Islands, scanning the waters of Trincomali Channel for signs of porpoise and harbor seals. Between Saltspring Island and Galiano Island a beautiful bald eagle sat atop a channel marker just as an osprey would perch atop a buoy in the Chesapeake Bay.  Dozens of tawny-colored Steller sea lions basked in the sun along the rocky shore line of one of the islands we passed.

 

 

Brodie rode aboard Discovery for troubleshooting for the first two hours then got back aboard Deception when Discovery was deemed cured.  As it turned out, he wouldn’t be aboard for long!

 

As most boaters know, boating plans are set in jello.  May 12^th proved this to be true.  As the flotilla exited Gabriola Passage, the port engine of Arctic Star died.  Brodie, our flotilla mechanic, transferred over from Deception to assess the problem while the remainder of the flotilla idled amidst the Flat Top Islands.  The diagnosis was not a good one – the engine was covered in oil!  Arctic Star needed repairs and so the flotilla diverted to Nanaimo, the second largest city on Vancouver Island, for the night.
 

 

 

Nanaimo harbor

 

Nanaimo harbor was bustling with activity – mighty BC Ferries plied the waters which also served as runways for float planes! 
 

We wandered aimlessly through town before returning to Bonum Vitae to host the first flotilla happy hour (24 people!!!).  The crews of Arctic Star and Deception were a bit bummed out after determining that Arctic Star would have to be replaced and it would take at least a day for a replacement vessel to arrive from Bellingham.  While most of the twenty plus boaters we hosted had a wonderful time getting acquainted, it seemed that no amount of camaraderie would bolster the spirits of the crew from Arctic Star.  Perhaps if we had come in July when Nanaimo hosts the Annual World Championship Bathtub Races we would have been able to get a smile out of them…

 

While in Nanaimo, Bill and Vivian introduced us to Nanaimo bars, a no-bake, sugary, sweet three-layer dessert bar – a wafer/coconut crumb base, custard filling, and chocolate ganache topping. Who knew that this popular British Columbia confection would become the subject of controversy?  Well, it has!  This April, Canada Post released a stamp depicting the Nanaimo bar and critics quickly pointed out that the base-to-filling ratio is all wrong!  Crazy Canadians, eh!

 

 


The advantage to bareboat chartering is that we are free to cruise off on our own and that is exactly what we chose to do.  While the crew of Arctic Star and Deception had no choice but to stay in Nanaimo until a replacement vessel arrived, the crew of Bonum Vitae and Patos saw no reason to stay and decided to move on.  Discovery stayed behind.