OH CANADA!
The last entry was leaving Sucia Island and our Blaine crew of friends to continue heading North to Alaska. We left early am and headed for Pender Island, Bedwell Bay. There are only certain custom check-in stops just like on land. Marine customs are even fewer and so it is your responsibility to enter and do your customs paperwork. When you go via plane it is lazy as you are herded through customs and cannot avoid it or miss it! In the marine world, you could technically go rogue but be aware of the consequences….
Stephen and I got to Bedwell Bay in about 2 hours and the check-in was relatively easy. We have been here before in the Summer of 2017 when we did a summer holiday in the Gulf Islands and up into Princess Louisa inlet. You dock your boat and only one person with the boat documentation and passports goes into the office. I stayed back and kept an eye on Soulstice. I did not mind as I am the one who usually is the paperwork pusher in our marine life.
I waited for Stephen and watched the dynamics at the dock. Other boats came and went. He came out with no drama. They do not even board your boat. We then proceeded merrily on our way until about 1.5 to 2 hours later I saw flashing blue lights on an RCMP RIBf ( rigid inflatable boat) headed straight for us. I was a bit intimidated thinking did we do something wrong? Eeek! The RIB pulled up beside Soulstice and I opened the gait on the lifelines and put a fender out. 2 armed and uniformed men stepped on board and asked for our documentation again. They asked us for the customus number we were given by Canadian Customs on Pender Island and verified our passports and boat documentation. They then asked again what we claimed regarding alcohol and other goods, we told them and also reported "ship stores" :). They were friendly enough. They even gifted us a crab measuring tool as we asked them if they knew what was the regulation size. They were not sure themselves and then showed us on the tool they had on their boat. It was an extra for them, so they offered it up as a gift that we gladly took. Canada divides up into multiple zones with different fishing/crabbing/shellfish regulations. Stephen did get a Canadian fishing license online and as he had 2 hand lines out when they arrived, they also asked to see confirmation of his license. Overall, it was a benign experience, and just more excited to have someone board your boat and cause a bit of a stir.
The rest of the day was spent motor sailing with plans to get to Preedy Harbor on Thetis Island. We had more daylight to go farther but we needed to time our passage through Dodds Narrows at slack tide. We would miss the evening time and so we knew we needed to pick an anchorage and plan to be able to make it to the Narrows by 0830am - the next slack tide. Navionics, our navigation software, gives us the tides so we can plan. It also has added AIS overlay which has been great as well! Before we need to go back and forth between Navionics and our other AIS software, Watchmate, to get the scoop on other vessels, but now we can do all that just with Navionics. Not everyone has AIS but more and more recreational vessels do and commercial boats have to have it. The information is invaluable for safety. It gives their name, course over ground, their speed, call sign, size, closet point of approximation, and time to the closest point of approximation.
It has been hard to rush by the gorgeous Gulf Islands and not spend more time on each and every one. This will be a future plan of mine, just to visit all the Gulf Islands and do some serious exploration. For now, though, we must keep to the plan which is to cruise North as fast as tolerable and the return will be more leisurely.
We made it to Preedy Harbor by 1730 and I decided to get a swim-step shower!! We had hot water because the motor had been running and I even washed my hair- luxurious! Preedy Harbor was a lovely spot. Large open bay with lots of swinging room, just as the guide book as promised. A rural scene with an expansive open plot of land with some trees and a resort right on the beach. The resort was not ostentatious but looked like someone’s lovely mansion with a well-manicured lawn. There were some other homes along the water’s edge. You always wonder who these lucky folks are and how long those homes have been in the family tree as they did not look brand new but well kept and loved on. A ferry runs several times a day. The wake is minimal. Kids were playing beach volleyball and you could tell they were having a fun summer night. Only 2 other boats were in the anchorage, one derelict-looking vessel that seemed unoccupied and the other a single-hander.
It was a quiet night until 2 am when the anchor alarm went off. The winds switched and sometimes our parameters on the anchor alarm are too tight. It was not a big deal but interrupted sleep due to weather changes/wind changes and currents are to be expected. We were able to fall back to sleep and felt ready for the early am departure. The morning sunrise was spectacular. Some photos below…
Inside view Soulstice from companion way
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