What feels like our eternal search for wind continued as we left Billy Goat Bay on Helmcken Island bound for Waiatt Bay and the Octopus Islands. No wind again but a lovely day. One thing about Billy Goat Bay is there is a lot of kelp. We pulled a lot of it up on the anchor and caught a bit on the way out with the rudder. A brief pause once we were out, a burst of reverse that chopped up the kelp and on our way again.
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| Dawn @ Billy Goat Bay |
Had a good push of tide with us so we made great time down Johnstone Strait. The currents around the Walkem Islands were intense with lots of eddies and whirlpools. We did hit 10+ knots through there however so all good. We turned into Okisollo Channel and slowed down to try and get closer to slack tide at the lower and upper rapids near the NE side of Quadra Is. We went through about 2 hours before slack with the current running with us. We followed the advice in the cruising guide (and watched a local who went ahead of us) and stayed close to Quadra Is. through the lower rapids. Lots of unsettled water on either side of us as we shot through but the channel close to shore was calm, fast, but calm. When we turned the corner towards the upper rapids, it was a different story. It is noted that there are dangerous rips and overfalls and they're not kidding. We went straight east towards Grant Island from Cooper Point, following a channel of flat water. The rips and overfalls were incredible but we stayed well away. A bit of turbulence when we got abeam Hole in the Wall, but again, no issues so on we went to Waiatt Bay. Anchored in more or less our usual spot just outside the marine park boundary, launched the dinghy and went to explore the cruisers shack. Cathy and I had been here in late May and it was interesting to see how much had been added since then.
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| Waitt Bay Sunset - Octopus Islands |
We left Waitt Bay the next morning to catch the tide turn through Surge Narrows. On the way to the narrows, we passed a couple of large launches going quite slow and they ended up following us through. I guess they figured if a 40 ft sailboat could go through a 65 foot Norhaven could as well! We anchored in Heriot Bay briefly to make it easier to get to the store and stock up on meat and veggies, then off down into Drew Harbour to anchor for a couple of nights. Noticed Tatoush was there so stopped by and invited them for happy hour the next day. Paul and Suzanne came by the next day and we had a nice catch up on where we'd all been. Really nice couple!
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Drew Harbour Sunset
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Next stop on the run south was Lund. We left Drew Harbour early enough to try and arrive at Lund around check-out time, 11:00, in hopes of getting a spot on the docks. It was a drizzly kind of day, no wind, as usual, but we did get onto the dock. We did stick out a bit as they misheard our length and thought we were 30 ft., not 40. Ended up with one boat rafted to us, no issues at all for us as they were happy to have us leave around 08:00 the next morning. Mother and daughter sailing together from Desolation back towards Seattle. On a side note, many years before in the early 2000's, we went into Powell River and looked for a boat to raft up to. We were summarily snubbed by everyone and instead of push the issue, we left. I did say then that if the situation was every reversed, we would welcome another boat to raft up with us. It was nice to have this come around!
The weather cleared by early afternoon and it turned out to be a lovely day. Had lunch at the bakery, and picked up a cinnamon roll for breakfast!
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| Boardwalk in Lund |
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| Lund Evening |
We left the next day, just after 08:00 and we weren't 100 meters from the dock when the engine quit again. Pulled out the headsail, and with current with us, managed to get safely out of Lund Harbour. It was easier to do that than try and get back to the dock. Checked the fuel tank again, no issues. Checked the fuel filters and found the port side Racor was fouled. Changed that, primed the filter, bled the system and got going again. A giant pain but that wasn't the end of it!
We motored down Malaspina Strait to Pender Harbour and into John Henry's Marina. We'd managed to book that the day before while in Lund. Beautiful new docks, decent general store and the added bonus of garbage and recycling, which was welcome as we hadn't been able to deal with any of that since we left Port McNeil.
The next day, I started the engine early to let it run and good thing, it stalled again from fuel starvation. Bled the system once more, got it running and off again to try and get to Gibsons by 11:00 to get a chance at a dock at the Harbour Authority docks. With the engine issues still plaguing us, I wanted to be at a dock. Managed to snag the last available slip at the Harbour Authority so had lots of time to explore around Gibsons and try and sort out the fuel issues. There was a Friday night market that evening so we stopped there for some music and gin tasting! We're loving the growing craft gin community in BC and bought a lovely bottle of "Joker Gin" from the Bruinwood Estate Distillery. No real luck troubleshooting the engine but I narrowed the issue down to the dual Racor system. There is a small air leak that that is causing the engine to lose its prime. Decided to wait until Bowen Island to try and fix it.
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| Closed due to Staff Shortage! |
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| Gibsons Harbour Authority Marina |
Got the engine started Saturday and headed out towards Bowen Island. We sailed, motored, sailed, motored, and finally, after round the north end of Bowen we turned the motor off and tacked our way to Snug Cove. A bit of a discussion about or reservation (made it in May) but got it all sorted out. With our arrival at Bowen. I temporarily fixed the engine issue by taking entire Racor system out of the fuel circuit. I had enough pieces on board to build a fuel line hose mender so all good. We love Bowen Island and Union Steamship Marina, we always have a good time there. Cathy and I had a couple of walks, and generally relaxed. Got the boat sorted after Jan and Tony left for NZ on Tuesday and get ready to sail across to Nanaimo the next day and hopefully resolve the fuel issue once and for all. I ordered a new RACOR fuel/water separator from Harbour Chandler in Nanaimo, a single unit, not dual (dual unit was going to cost upwards of $2500!!), this should fix the issue!
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| Sunset over Unions Steamship Marina - Bowen Island |
