Life: At Portland Island, BC

Perhaps it's human nature to find security in confinement. But with the sunset at my back, baby seals surfacing to check out our dinghy, and a bottle of Bordeaux wine waiting for us on the dinette, why am I not a full time boat bum?

In her obscure, but interesting book, Voyaging on a Modest Income, Annie Hill espouses the same philosophy as many wealthy entrepreneurs: the best income comes from assets, not wages. As she set out to become a boat bum 30+ years ago, she reflected on her disinterest in being what she called a "wage slave," i.e., someone working a job they don't like in order to purchase things to distract themselves.

Over the past few years, The Admiral and I have dramatically curtailed our need for stuff so that we can pay off the mortgage early and contribute to our savings so that we have asset-based income. If this blog suddenly stops in about ten years, we did it. Until then, stay tuned for more posts...

Anchorage: Prevost Island

We've been to Prevost Island once before. Last year, on the day that Seattle had its record high of 106 degrees, we tried to escape the heat in Montague Bay by taking a swim in very cold 64 degree water. That worked for a little while until our 88 degree pilothouse started roasting us again and we had nowhere to hide. So, we made a run for anywhere-but-Montague at sunset (and witnessed a beautiful sunset to boot). After a quick read in the cruising guide, we picked a very small cove on Prevost's Southern end despite a warning about exposure to ferry wakes. With our shallow draft, though, I can nudge way back into a small cove, which makes up for our small size making us very susceptible to movement. When morning came, we hadn't been disturbed by a single wake, so we made a mental note to come back some day. And so we did. Parks Canada describes Prevost Island:

National park reserve lands are located on both the north and south shores of Prevost Island. The majority of the island, however, remains in the hands of the descendants of Digby de Burgh—the man who bought the island in the 1920s. They continue to farm and raise sheep on the island. The island is largely unchanged from what would have existed a century ago, and contains large cedar and arbutus groves.

We anchored in Annette Bay for the evening, then motored to James Bay the next morning. The little National Park beach has a clean composting toilet and some pleasant trails to walk, which we've come to think of as the centerpiece of a good anchorage. So we've made another mental note to come back again...

Anchorage: Telegraph Harbour, Thetis Island, BC

Copyright © 2005 Telegraph Harbour Marina

Though we think of "defection" as something that is to the US, we had a desire to defect to Canada when we visited Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island! As you can see above, the harbor is in a beautiful nook between Thetis and Kuper Island, and the facilities and grounds of the Telegraph Harbour Marina are outstanding and very casual-resort-like in their feel.

Which brings me to a digression: The Admiral knows that my real motivation for anchoring out is cheapness - yes, I know that boating is inherently un-cheap - and I found a new way to extend that for this trip. In bays like Telegraph Harbour, the magic combination of extremely well-protected harbor with a marina that doesn't span the entire harbor (as it usually does when the marina exists only because of an artificial breakwater) is a sure-fire way to skip transient moorage charges. Plus, we don't feel bad, since we're likely to spend an equivalent amount at the marina on coffees, ice creams, or anything else that allows us the chance to get off the boat and wander the grounds.

Anyway, back to the main story: In addition to the wonderful Telegraph Harbour marina, the Thetis Island Marina is also reachable by rowed dinghy and has a pub with great Canadian beer. We found the two marinas coexisted perfected since Thetis Island Marina served beer in the evenings and Telegraph Harbour Marina served fresh scones in the morning. No destructive competition! From either marina's dinghy docks, you can enjoy beautiful walks with stunning views in all directions. Our favorite view, as seen at right, was looking Westward toward Vancouver Island with its dramatic mountain peaks indicating that these waterways are about as fjord-like as can be found in this part of the world. In short, this is a destination highly recommended by Cap'n Will and the Admiral.

Marina: Port of Nanaimo

The Jenny G set a new Northern-most port reached this year: Nanaimo, BC. Although we'd been there once before, by BC Ferry from Horseshoe Bay, nothing compares to approaching a new port in your own vessel.

Reaching Nanaimo from the South means transiting Dodd Narrows, which is certainly built up as a dangerous passage, but we didn't have too much trouble since the Jenny G is an outboard-powered planing hull. Look carefully in the lower left hand corner of the photo at left and you can see a standing wave that's just broken against the Jenny G's port bow. Fortunately for us, the current was with us, so we were making about 9 knots at 1200rpm when this photo was taken (1200 rpm usually gets me 3-4 knots with no current). I can see how the yacht crowd with sailboat-style displacement hulls would fear these currents, but the passage is still a few hundred feet wide, so make your own evaluation of the danger.

The port itself is nice, although plan on waiting a long time for a slip assignment if you don't already have reservations. This aspect of their operation definitely needs improvement. However, the fuel dock is great and we found the bathroom/shower facilities to be in excellent condition. The port is protected by an artificial breakwater that extends beyond the natural land protection, so views from the boardwalk back to the marina and town really made the Jenny G seem like she'd arrived in a fashionable place (though she looked a bit unfashionable with the raft looking like a big blue hamburger patty sitting on the pilothouse roof!).

Copyright © 2009 Gina’s Mexican Cafe

Our favorite part was wandering around town and finding a little Mexican place that served great food called Gina's Mexican Cafe. They have a review posted outside the door and we took a chance that was well worth it. Highly recommended if you want to wander a few blocks past the tourist area densely concentrated around the port.

Overall, Nanaimo isn't a destination in and of itself, but it's a great halfway point for a Gulf Islands tour or the jump point to more exotic portions of the Inside Passage like Princess Louisa Inlet. Ahh, there's always next year.....

Maintenance: Adding a Shoe Bungee

Admittedly, this was a little project, but the Admiral and I have always been puzzled as to why we need so many pairs of shoes for boating. Doesn't matter if we're out for the day or a week, we apparently need to compete with Eva Peron.

So, after a quick primer on YouTube on how to make your own netting, I produced this handy little bungee net to go against the hull between the dinette seats. Now, all our shoes are tidy and out of the way!