We headed out at 0845 toward Pender Harbour. The harbour we just left indicated 6 knots of wind. When we arrived at Grief Point it was gusting to 20 knots right on the nose. Then we hit a quiet area where the swells were 3 metres and the wind was only 2 knots. That was short lived. Before long we were in winds gusting to 25 knots, 3 metres+ seas and all on the nose. If we sailed all the seas would be on our beam and not a comfortable ride which would take twice as long as we would be tacking down Malaspina Strait. We made a conscious decision to take the short route and keep motoring. Any boat motoring the opposite direction would and did have smooth sailing. We passed many who waved and were taking much less beating than we were.
It was a very rough ride to say the least. At one point with the wind and the waves I was sure we were going backwards! Need I say more???
Our three hour trip took six. All was fine - we laughed, joked and talked about how we would do things different next time. Winston on the other hand did not find the rough seas amusing. He stuck to the cockpit floor like glue. Rest assured he was comfortable with bedding and extra coverings. He had been suffering from a sensitive ear. After picking up some earwash in Courtenay and using it dilligently his ear did not clear up.
Now you have to understand our gentle and sensitive little Winston. If he thinks he is going to be hurt he in on the defensive. Walking into a veterinarian office is usually not high on his priority list. Once in Pender Harbour and tied securely to the government dock, I immediately went to the office to phone the local vet. Once at the vet I warned him that Winston did not like the thought of pain and probably would not settle down in the office. Well, knock me over with a feather - Winston loved this guy. Nuzzled up to him, let him check his ear and all was a piece of cake. That was the best vet ever for us! Suffice it to say, he now has some medication for his ear and all will be well in a couple days.
Another interesting tidbit about Pender Harbour. Last year, Ron noticed that it is now the home of my father's former fishing vessel - Island Derby. It does not look the same. Last year when we were here the owner was not. Lo and behold he is aboard today. Naturally, I walked over and introduced myself and properly announce that my father used to own this boat. He was rightly excited. He promptly gave me his phone number to pass along to Dad. Let me say that this fellow is a character. Let your imagine to the rest. I did manage to get a couple snapshots.
For those of you who do not know (and I will try to keep this short) there is a portion of the Fraser River called Derby Reach - pronounced Darby Reach. My great-great grandmother had a farm there called The Derby. It was the first unofficial capital of British Columbia. The powers of the day didn't like the location so they moved the capital to Fort Langley. My grandmother was the first May Queen of Fort Langley. The family farm was called Derby. My great-uncle had a fishboat on the Fraser River called Derby Gal. When my father (a nephew) built his fishboat he aptly named her Island Derby because of living on Vancouver Island. Island Derby now lives in Pender Harbour. The first sailboat that Ron and I purchased, we named Derby Lass in keeping with the tradition. As you know we have strayed from tradition to something more whimsical. Just tonight a dinghy of people went by and all we could hear was Ta Daa.
Tomorrow morning we will listen to the 0400 weather report and make our decision whether to head to Gibsons or stay put for an extra day.
Mother Nature calls the shots!
Momma Dougan - thank you so much for the telephone call tonight. I had a great laugh and enjoyed hearing of your sailing experiences on Tapas!
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