When the opportunity arose recently to join our good friends
Bruce and Maria Wallace on their 32-foot sailboat Escapade in the Pacific
Northwest there was no hesitation. We dropped all projects at the home front July
8th and drove by car to meet them at the marina in Bellingham,
Washington. Having been off a sailboat four years due to spine surgeries and
RVing, we were anxious to see how well I could/would adapt for an extended
period of time aboard with limited range of back and leg motion.
The Pacific Northwest islands off the coast of British
Columbia are indeed a boaters paradise in July and August. The weather is often
unpredictable, but brings sunshine, precipitation, thunderstorms, fog,
rainbows, and gorgeous sunsets. There are numerous lovely inlets, coves, and
harbors for anchorages both around the U.S. San Juan Islands and Canadian Gulf
Islands.
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| Pender Island anchorage in the Canadian Gulf Islands |
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| Checked out Pender's Poet Cove Resort and Spa thanks to the inflatable dinghy |
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| Dinghy ride from Escapade at anchor in Roche Harbor on San Juan Island |
All in all it was a wonderful two weeks exploring around the
islands together. Bruce, being an experienced old salt sailor, had cruised as a
skipper to French Polynesia, Hawaii, and southeast Alaska and navigated the
Northwest islands with ease. He kindly let me have his bunk in the salon for
comfort so I didn’t have to crawl up into the V berth. Maria managed the galley
like a pro making delicious fine dining meals for us all. JR helped Bruce as
crew up on deck. I focused on sightseeing and acclimating to being back on a
boat.
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| Takes about $400-$600 a pop to fill the fuel tanks on this baby |
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There were fresh crabs caught in the trap off the port side
during a few anchorages. An assortment of sailboats, tall ships, big yachts and
trawlers on the waters were eyed with envy. At Roche Harbor Shakespeare’s
Midnight’s Summer Dream was performed outdoors with a modern 1960s twist one
evening.. Runabouts in the dinghy to explore and to shore for happy hour appetizers
several evenings was fun, daily
DVD flicks aboard each night before bedtime provided great entertainment, passing
views of island evergreen landscapes and listening to a lot of dribble amongst
ourselves added to the good time.
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| Montague Harbor at sunset under anchor for the night |
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| Love to own this classic old trawler |
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| Overlooking Roche Harbor on San Juan Island |
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| Add this to our bucket list ! |
On terra firma, we all took in part of the lovely city of Victoria
on Vancouver Island for three days. Escapade was moored at the inner harbor
causeway right across the street in front of the grand Empress Hotel. Oh my,
how cool was that.
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| Relaxing in Victoria at the dockside watching water taxis, seaplanes, yachts |
The Parliament lit up at nighttime which was a thrilling
sight. Musicians could be heard along the docks and the sixty-two bells in the “Carillon” tower nearby rung out several times a
day, Touring the B.C. Royal Museum was interesting. and the best part there was
seeing an Imax film Canadian Rockies
Express about the incredible railway feat in building the CPR across
Canada.
In Victoria Bruce
and JR did the guy thing taking an exploratory dinghy run up the James River
while Maria and I took in the waterfront walkway scene. We
enjoyed an eclectic assortment of busker-style entertainment, like acrobats,
jugglers, mimes and browsed the numerous kiosks that offered portrait painting,
home-crafted jewelry, and native art.
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| Big Bucks for this yacht demands a full crew and cook aboard |
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| Sea planes come and go everywhere |
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| Early morning at Montague Harbor off Giliano Island |
The ten hour passage from Victoria to
Bellingham found Escapade fighting tidal currents, drizzle, and rain on the
last day. Manning the vessel JR and Bruce donned foul weather jackets topside
while Maria and I stayed below with the warmth of the oven heating a peach cobbler
for evening dessert. Two days of
poor weather in 14 days cruising was nothing to complain about really with such
good weather overall.
We
cleared U.S. Customs at Friday Harbor. The rest of the voyage provided a bit of
diversion amongst the increment weather with dolphin and whale sightings and a
chance to see several world class tall ships and yachts underway.
The speed
picked up to 7.2 knots as the currents changed in our favor. Luck was with us
as we managed to tie off at the last available space on the Bellingham guest
dock just before nightfall . The old salts had conquered a wet passage. Dinner
never tasted so good and the last of the wine was heartily consumed.
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| Sighting a double rainbow in the sky |
Indebted
to the Wallaces for their fine hospitality JR and I bid farewell and headed
back home to the Bay Area. It was another great adventure for us with a
different perspective of the Pacific Northwest. There is no question without a
doubt we will return there again either by land or by sea. The region has
always been one of our favorite places to visit. Life tends to bless us in our
travels with kindness from relatives and friends. Thank you so much Bruce and Maria for sharing
your boat with us aboard.
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| It is no secret that boaters find little bits of paradise in the Pacific Northwest |
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The speed
picked up to 7.2 knots as the currents changed in our favor. Luck was with us
as we managed to tie off at the last available space on the Bellingham guest
dock just before nightfall . The old salts had conquered a wet passage. Dinner
never tasted so good and the last of the wine was heartily consumed.
