Captain's Log

North 10 kts, dimminishing and veering Southeast < 5 kts.

Had a lovely sail to Willows Beach and back. Thought I might be able to get close enough for Barnucka to notice me, however he had his head up his ass as usual.

I used up all the wind and dropped sails off Flower Island.

Motored over to Willows beach to charge batteries and lub engine. I grabbed a mooring buoy and took Skully to Oak Bay to see if B was around.

He wasn't.

I spent two nights at anchor, off Galiano Island while the smoke continued to build, obscuring everything. Not wanting to breath the smoke, I retired below deck to consider my options. Kevin wouldn't be available for another two days and wanted to meet up at Pirate's Cove. That's another 6 hours motoring in near zero visibility. What would you do? I decided to haul anchor and head for Cadboro Bay!

I couldn't see anything and the smoke just seemed to get thicker the farther South I travelled. I was worried about meeting up with a BC Ferry so I turned on my 'Marine Traffic' app so I could see all ships in the area with AIS. Brilliant.

It was a quick trip with the ebb tide. Visibility was near zero as I passed Zero Rock. I could see it on the chart plotter but I motored right past it and could not pick it out.

Very disorienting.

Cadboro Bay

I wanted to catch Tom before he left for work at 13:00, so I hauled anchor and left Princess Bay for Ganges Harbour just after 07:00. The smoke from Washington State forest fires continued to build, carried along by the South wind and making navigation interesting. As I rounded the Southern tip of Portland Island via Shute Passage, I looked to my left and noticed a freighter in the distance, which isn't unusual because they quite often anchor In Satellite Channel waiting to get into the Port of Vancouver. As I watched the freighter in the distance, I couldn't tell if the damn thing was moving or not. So, I pulled out my phone and checked 'Marine Traffic'. Sure enough, the 'Draught Slayer' was indeed underway and travelling toward me at 11 Kts! Since I don't have radar and in fact, recently lost my radar reflector, I was potentially invisible to ships in the area. Well, if not invisible then, certainly challenging to see. So while I couldn't do much to increase my own visibility, I would use the 'Marine Traffic' app to navigate the BC Ferries routes and avoid being run over.

Arriving in Ganges Harbour just before 10:00 I was soon anchored securely and on my way to wake up Tom on Byway. Tom put on some coffee and we enjoyed a short walk through Ganges. Before hauling anchor, I 'grubbed up' at Thrifty Foods and was soon on my way to Galiano Island.

Ganges Harbour

As I had not yet visited Sidney Spit this year, I thought I'd start off there. I spent two nights, hiked for a total of 4 hours and met some people who recognized Trouper 2. I was just driving by in Skully when they gestured to me. It turns out Wayne Smith and his wife, Christine thought I was someone else (Buck) but in talking, it turns out Wayne knew dad very well and even borrowed his band saw for a year while he built his sailboat. They are members of Capital City Yacht Club and Wayne remembers seeing T2 in the dirveway on Olivia Place. WOW! Small World.

On my first hike, I walked the beach just South of Trouper 2. I had noticed a boat up on the beach on my way down the day before. So I walked for about an hour along the beach before reachhing the wreck. There wasn't much left, so I set it on fire and continued on my hike. I had never walked along the lagoon before. I don't recommend it barefoot. I didn't mind the mud squishing up between my toes but the spear grass was a challenge.

Later that day, or maybe it was the day after, (Who can keep track?) I walked the meadow trail. It was bliss until I discovered some very disturbing forensic evidence. (I've been binge watching 'Criminal Minds' so I have considerable field work expertise.) Like a scene out of the AMC television series, 'Lost', there was a large pen at the Northwest corner of the upper meadow. Clearly there had been humans imprisoned here at some time in the past.

As I neared the enclosure, I stumbled into a grizzly scene. What lay before me could only be described as a 'kill pit.' In it were the remains of some poor bastard who had tried to escape and ran head-on into a massive ant hill. The bones are all that's left...

I enjoyed my visit to the Spit and realized I'd been visiting this special place for more than 50 years. Still haven't found a fucking brick  stamped with 'Sidney Brick Co'. Oh well.

Sidney Spit

Click for chart view

Main sail. North wind 5 - 10 Kts. Sunny. Flood tide.

Quick sail under main alone while kids attended Crafty Camp.

No wind. So I decided to embrace a day trip to Willows Beach in what has become all too familiar; bare spars and stowed stay sails.

So I dropped the hook in 12 feet of water, in a flood tide and was soon on my way to check on Barnucka in Skully. Unfortunately he was not there. So, I headed for Willows Fish and Chips for a cheeseburger and fries. They rock! I had some fun with them. Due to the social distancing thing they have a note affixed to the order window to 'Please speak loudly so we can hear you from six feet away". So when the nice girl at the counter asked if she could help me, I yelled; "I'D LIKE A CHEESEBURGER AND SMALL FRIES PLEASE." The other covidiots cast their judgement upon me.

Thank god I was wearing my new T-shirt: It's black and has a picture of Keith Richards on the front with the text; "KANYE WEST?" above, and;"NEVER HEARD OF HER" below. The dissaproving covidiots immediately realized they were in the presence of El Pirata and fled for the hills.

I enjoyed my late lunch in Estivan Village, and returned to Willows Beach where Skully was patiently awaiting my return to the beach. I was soon back aboard T2, where I realized that anchoring just off Willows Beach by myself was, well probably creepy. I left.

Willows Beach

The good news about my Sunday Sail in Cadboro Bay, is that I flew my Genoa for the first time in ages. Not so good news, there was almost no wind and within an hour it had dropped off to none.

Still it was nice to get out.

Sky was grey, wind was calm. Slack tide (or damn close) for Dodd's Narrows.

I snuggled up to shore on the East side of Birdseye Cove. It's deep. So I had to get close to shore to drop the hook.

I kept worryinig about drifting and going up on the shore because it was only about 50 feet away.

As it turns out, I needn't worry. I almost couldn't free the anchor upon departure.

Montague Harbour.

Not Montague Harbour. (I was anchored in the the Northern  Bay, adjacent to Montague Harbour.) I got up late, had coffee and then worked for UVic for a couple of hours. It's amazing what you can do with only 1 bar of cell service. Unfortunately my laptop battery only lasts a couple of hours so I had to run the engine for 3/4 hour to charge up. I went to shore and walked to the general store at the Marina in Montague. It seems they are Covid paranoid. They moved their general store down to the gas dock. They had also posted a number of signs;

• Stay out
• Closed
• Go Away
• We hate off islanders.

Brutal. Decided to head to Ruxton on my way North. I was there once before on Sea Jay, our Thunderbird back in the day. I remember shucking oysters from the rocks. You couldn't take a step without stepping on an oyster. Can't wait to see what it looks like after all these years. So, after getting back from my walk, I had lunch and then took Skully to Montague for a block of ice. Then, I was on my way. Motoring up Trincomale channel with a following sea and a South wind. I was travelling with the tide so made good time. I dropped anchor in Herring Bay. The wind turned and came from the North which was NOT in the forecast. It was quite lumpy all night but T2 held fast and all was well until the wind finally dropped to zero and then it was so quiet. All you could hear were ravens.

Ruxton Island

Herring Bay Ruxton Island. A beautiful spot indeed. There were only three other boats in the bay when I arrived and they all left this morning. I was alone in paradise. Didn't last long as another boat dropped anchor while I was below preparing breakfast. Even though the wind subsided, it was cool so I lit a fire in the wood stove and fell asleep for an hour or so.

I awoke before low tide at 1300 hrs. Made breakfast and was soon travelling to the South Island per recommendation from DFO. In short order I had collected a dozen oysters for dinner. I tried to get clams but my extensive excavation revealed only a handful of the tasty critters. I abandoned the clams and brought my oysters home. Dinner tonight.

And so, while I did manage to get my fill of oysters, it was a far cry from the way I remember it 40 years ago. But then again, what isn't a far cry from four decades past?

In returning to T2, I completed a circumnavigation of Ruxton Island. There are many homes on this Island and few beaches. So while it's tranquil and silent, it's not suited for a long stay. I plan to leave tomorrow for my exciting transit of Dodd's Narrows and a few days at Newcastle Island.

Tonight? Dinner and bed. The life of a drunken sailor.

The highlight of the trip for me was fresh oysters. As it turns out, I only had one feed. In retrospect I should have just stayed there and got fat on Ruxton oysters. Out of an abundance of caution I struck up a conversation thread with a Biologist at D.F.O.

From: doug thomson <letsrock@shaw.ca>
Sent: Monday, July 6, 2020 2:13 PM
To: PAC CSSP / PCAM PAC (DFO/MPO) <DFO.PAC.CSSP-PCAM.PAC.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca>
Subject: Ruxton Island oysters

Hi!
I’m heading to Ruxton Island in Trincomale Channel here in B.C. If I eat the oysters there, will I die?
Thanks
Dt

Sent from my hardened biohazard bunker.

The risk is higher on the North side - closed for biotoxins - the South Side Subarea 14-4 is open for littleneck and Manila clams, mussels and oysters.
There was a plankton bloom in Departure Bay - not a big one but enough to close around Mudge Island and Pylades Channel.
Stuart Channel and Tricomali Channels are still Open - Subareas 17-4 and 17-3

Dan Clark, Shellfish Management Biologist Dan.Clark@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Cell 250-668-0700

I slept in and had zero motivation. I could have left early and hooked up with Tom on his boat in Ganges Harbour but the tide was against me until 11:30 so,
fuck him. Instead I enjoyed coffee, bacon and eggs. Once the dishes were done, I pulled up anchor and headed for Ganges. I needed a few things at the store despite the fact that I would miss Tom.

On the way there, I hugged Pender Island after exiting Bedwell Harbour and was treated to an amazing nature program. Ravens, eagles, seals. Fish jumping, eagles hunting. Breathtaking really. Is that how you spell breathtaking? Looks weird.

Lunch at Oystercatcher Bar and Grill, Saltspring. Had their 'famous' clam chowder and a cold beer. After lunch I hit Thrifty Foods for a few essentials. Such as flour, eggs and breadcrumbs for my greatly anticipated oyster feed. Next stop is Ruxton Island.

Ganges Harbour has a lot of boats at anchor. Not a great harbour during a South wind. After grubbing up and taking on refreshments, I hopped back in Skully and was soon under way again. This time to my overnight destination, Galiano Island.