Galiander
Travels
-
2010
Desolation Sound and the South
Gulf Islands
June 22(Tue)-27(Sun):
Galiano Island
to Lund
Jun
28(Mon)-29(Tue): Lund to Heriot
Bay
July 7: Heading back
home
July 7(Wed) - July
8(Thu): Heriot Bay
to Whaler Bay
July
18-21: Wallace Island
July 25-27: Ganges
and Russell Island
June 22(Tue)-27(Sun): Galiano Island
to Lund
We finally departed Whaler Bay on June 22, catching the afternoon slack
water in Active Pass. Our neighbour, Virginia, came down to help us
throw of the lines and took this picture.
It was a lovely day and we had a nice uneventful power trip to Wallace
Island where we raftd up with Leslie and Jacque on "Iris" for a couple
of nights and spent a day hiking to Chivers Point at the North end of
Wallace Island.
But we were anxious to start moving North. We want to be at Quadra
Island by the 30th and the winds were favourable. So Thursday, with
light southerly winds, we gave ourselves lots of time and had a
wonderful lazy sail to Dodd's Narrows, waited for slack and scooted
through to Nanaimo where we cleaned the boat (lots of fresh water at
last) and provisioned.
The weatherman was calling for Northwest winds dropping to light by
noon so we set out promptly and enjoyed a brisk beat into the
wind until about half way across the Strait of Georgia; then we powered
the rest of the way to Secret Cove on the Sunshine Coast. We
rendezvoused with "My Girl" and enjoyed a delicious dinner together on
the Upper Deck restaurant. "My Girl" also a Catalina 34, is
captained by a great musician guitar player who we enjoy jamming with.
The following morning at 7am we went out to catch some strong South
East winds heading North. It was a fast, long, not always
pleasant sail North, but we went a long way and are now happily nestled
into Lund for a couple of nights. Desolation Sound is "right next door"
and we are a day's travel from most of the popular playgounds.
After three moving days we were both exhausted and had a long and
needed sleep last night.
We plan to move to Quadra Island over the next two days. The SE winds
continue to blow so it should be a good ride.
John & Eleanor.
Jun
28(Mon)-29(Tue): Lund to Heriot
Bay
It is raining in Heriot Bay as I
write this. Southerly winds continue to blow but lightly. Eleanor and I
will be dining in style at the Heriot Bay Inn tonight and taking time
to smell the flowers. Our laundry is done. We have some small amount of
provisioning to do then we are ready to enjoy the Desolation Sound
area. But where is our nice weather?
Originally the forecast for Monday was for pretty strong winds and we
planned to stay in Lund another day. But the morning dawned with light
winds and no strong winds in the forecast until the afternoon so off we
went for the short (3 hour) run to Gorge Harbour on Cortez Island, an
uneventful power sail all the way.
But soon after we got settled the wind started to build, reaching 20+
knots in the anchorage. We reset our hook in a more comfortable
position and had an uneasy afternoon until the winds died. Gorge
Harbour is very well protected but somehow it seems to be a bit of a
wind magnet.
The run to Heriot Bay Inn this morning was easy, the winds were light
but we managed to sail about half way. It is good to be here. We are
winding down - the passage from Galiano to Desolation Sound was
probably the fastest we have ever experienced, but it took it's toll.
We are tired and looking forward to some "down time".
Tomorrow, we are looking forward to seeing Doug and Kathy and
our two little munchkins, Michaela and Maile. We will be enjoying
the
July 1st celebrations at Rebecca Spit with them. Hope it doesn't rain.
After that we may go across to Von Donnop Inlet on Cortez Island. We
will see....
John & Eleanor.
July 7: Heading
back home
We had a wonderful visit in Comox and a great family birthday party for
Eleanor.
We will be back on Galiander tomorrow (Tuesday).
Arthritis, anxiety and stomach problems are taking it's toll on
John.
We have decided to start heading home when we have good weather
opportunities, of which we seem to have some for the next few days. We
will take a break and then consider going out for shorter trips in the
South Gulf Islands.
John & Eleanor
July 7(Wed) - July 8(Thu): Heriot Bay
to Whaler Bay
Here is Eleanor, doing what she really likes to do on her birthday -
enjoying her grandchildren.
Our plan was to go to Tribune Bay on Hornby Island on Wednesday, not
half way home. Then on to Silva Bay on Gabriola on Thursday and then
have a short day on Friday to get home. Things didn't quite work out
that way - actually worked out a bit better. Wednesday morning at 6am
we headed out from the Heriot Bay Inn docks in dead calm conditions to
catch the southerly ebb tide. As predicted the North West winds
were there to assist us so it was mostly a motor sailing trip, but a
pleasant and easy one. We pulled into beautiful Tribune bay about 5pm.
Tribune Bay has to be one of the most beautiful anchorages on the
coast. 
It is perfectly
protected in North West winds. This picture taken to the South shows
how
exposed it is to southerlies. What a view! The forecast for
Thursday was North West winds again building to 15-20
by late afternoon. So we left even earlier on Thursday morning, at
5:30am and got a lovely lift from
the ebb tide. We powered along happily waiting expectantly for the
Northwest winds to come along and assist us about the same time the
flood tide started to oppose us. And the North West winds did build,
but only so
briefly and then instead of continuing to build as the afternoon
progressed, they
died. We were making such good time though, that we decided to carry on
home. We approached Whaler Bay about 6:30pm in seas that were as flat
and calm as those of Tribune Bay in the above image....
That was a long day but was I happy to be home!!!!
After a couple of weeks rest and some medical consultations we will
plan on some short hops around the
south Gulf Islands.
July
18-21: Wallace Island
Wallace Island is a three hour trip from our dock in Whaler Bay. About
an hour through Active Pass and then two hours North up Trincomali
Channel. It is one of our favourite places to stop at during our trips
North and South but rarely has been a destination in
itself. The above picture is taken from the South point of
Wallace Island (called Panther Point) looking South down Trincomali
Channel. On the right is Saltspring Island. On the left is Galiano
Island. 
Way
down there in the misty
distance centre left sits Montague Harbour. In the middle farthest back
sits the North part of Pender Island. The conditions as we came up were
about the same as in this picture. We did get a bit of assist from the
wind for part of the trip so it was a motor-sailing crossing. No
excitement at all, which was just what we were looking for.
And we really lucked out! There was a spot on the little dock in
Conover Cove just tailor made for Galiander. There was actually
a boat behind us when we pulled in so it was a bit tighter than this
photo shows. We were surprised at how few people were camping but it
might have been partly because of these cute little critters! 
Wallace Island is currently suffering from an infestation of raccoons.
They are particularly clever at prying their way into compartments on
boats where food is stored or into containers that campers are using.
On a boat across from us they found a small
gap into the engine compartment and pried the lid off a rubbermaid
container where they enjoyed a loaf of bread and a bag of potato chips.
Fortunately they didn't do any damage.
We spent two nights on this idylic Island. Our friends Bruce and Marion
had come over from Montague in their kayak for a few
nights so we explored the trails together. John had an energetic two
hour hike to the end of the island and
back again. Everywhere we go it is beautiful.
Bits of history are still left including an old life boat and a truck
probably used by David Conover, author of a fascinating story about
Wallace island entitled "One Man's Island". You can read more about the
history of Wallace Island, and view old pictures of Wallace Island at
the web site for the book; "www.dconover.com".
His
site
has
a
good chart showing the location
of Wallace
Island. There is also information on wikipedia
and
at
the
Provincial
Park
website .
It was nice being on the dock. There was lots of comings and going. A
home made boat, an 18 foot Alaska,called "Hornpipe" stayed right behind
us. It is a very
small one man craft that can be sailed or rowed. Alex joined us for
supper and turned out to be quite good on the harmonica so needless to
say we had a pleasant musical evening.
The trip home proved as uneventful as our trip to the island, warm and
pleasant.
The above picture looks North with Saltspring on the left and Galiano
on the right. Wallace Island is right in the middle.
This trip was a gentle way to return to cruising.
July 25-27: Ganges
and Russell Island
Whaler Bay is located on the
Strait of Georgia side of Galiano Island at the entrance to Active
Pass. In order to get to most of
the South Gulf Islands cruising area it is necessary to go through
Active Pass. This restricts our travel to when the tide is flowing in
the direction we want to go. Our exit from Whaler Bay is also
complicated by the fact that it is very difficult to leave during a low
tide. In addition a strong North West wind can make it very difficult
to get off the dock. Our ideal time to leave was early in the morning
but the North West winds had been blowing very hard in the mornings. On
Saturday we cancelled our trip. But then on Sunday decided to get up
really early based on advice from our wharfinger that the winds don't
really get going until 7:30 in the morning. So there we were Monday
morning at 6am. Eleanor gave the stern a really good push and we
powered backwards away from the dock out into the clear in a modest 10
knot NW wind. We were on our way and by 9am we were occupying a truly
wonderful spot on the public docks at Ganges Harbour on Saltspring.
We stayed
two nights - enjoying friends and the dock scene - which change
constantly.
We said fond goodbyes to Ganges fairly early on Wednesday and powered
around Saltspring to Russell Island which is near Fulford Harbour.
Russell Island is part of the South Gulf Islands
National Park. This was our first visit to Russell Island and it is a
real gem. The anchorage, which is between Russell Island and Saltspring
Island, is exposed to the North West but was calm and tranquil the day
we visited. That is Galiander in the middle of the picture below - the
sailboat with the blue sail cover. Saltspring Island and Fulford
Harbour are in the background.
The
hiking trails are marvelous and the old homestead is staffed by
descendants of the original settlers who were Hawaiin inter-married
with First Nations and Europeans. 
Parks Canada is doing a
good job with this site.
At 3pm we lifted anchor and headed out to catch the
flood tide home.
Our trip was capped by something we don't experience very often. As we
approached Active Pass Eleanor noticed a bunch of whale watching
boats and a pod of Orcas. We all entered Active Pass about the same
time, carried along by a nice 4 knot current. By the time we got
through Active Pass we had shared it
with with three ferries, a tug and tow, a pod of
Ocras and about five whale watching boats. We arrived home feeling very
pleased indeed. 
We are about to depart on a trip to pick up Eleanor's sister on the
Sunshine
Coast and go to the Okanagan to visit Eleanor's Dad (who is 101 and
still living on his own).
Return
to
John
and
Eleanor
Coulthard's home page.
