S/V Margo

18 July 2013 – We drove to Vancouver, BC in a rental car on  to meet the owners of Umiak, a 48+2 Diesel Duck, in order to bring her back to Olympia. Accompanying me are Paul Kurosu and Kathy Lewis. I’ve known them separately for a few years but they had never met one another until we picked Paul up at his house in Normandy Park. They hit it off immediately and we’ve had a great time so far during this trip. We had a tiny hotel room in Vancouver.

19 July 2013 –  We went aboard Umiak  and departed Vancouver for Nanaimo at 1417 arriving in Nanaimo at 2000. We had NY strip steaks on the boat for dinner and had a relaxing evening until turning in.

20 July 2013 – Departed Nanaimo at 0707 to make it through Dodd Narrows on the slack tide. Entered Dodd Narrows at 0805 slightly before slack and exited the south end at around 0810. We tied up at slip C-3 in Ganges Marina at 1224. We went to the farmers’ market and browsed the booths. Kathy bought a top/dress then we went to a little tavern and had a Grandville Isle Pale Ale. Yumm!! It was then nap time.  Got up, cleaned up and went to dinner at the Tree House Café. Met a nice couple, Charlie and Christie(?) and their cute four year old daughter who invited us to join them at their table for dinner. The band was fantastic, “The Fabulous Flakes”. We danced a bit before heading back to Umiak. Left my business card with a self professed groupie in order to get more info on the band.

May head to Friday Harbor tomorrow to see Mikki and Chon Pierccionni before heading south to Port Townsend and beyond.

A lot has happened since my last post of 9 July.

I delivered a Seahorse Diesel Duck 46-2 (52′) steel trawler from Olympia to Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island. Two friends, Chris Davis and Kathy Lewis, came with me and were a big help. Chris is a pretty accomplished mechanic as well as a fellow Coast Guard certified Master.

We had a few anxious moments while taking Umiak from Olympia to Tacoma on 17 July. The engine quit at the north end of the Tacoma Narrows with an incoming tide carrying us toward the rocks at Point Defiance.  Whew!

We departed Tacoma at 0530 on 19 July 2012 and arrived in Friday Harbor that evening. We departed Friday Harbor around 1000 the next morning (20 July) and stopped in Nanaimo, BC, Canada that evening. After clearing customs we had dinner at an interesting restaurant cantilevered over the harbor. Kathy and I went exploring that evening and found some interesting places that had live music and adult beverages. We also met a lady eye doctor from Portland, OR who was staying in the same marina. Her husband opted to hit the sack and she wanted to go dancing.

We departed Nanaimo on 21 July and made it to Deep Bay, a small fishing village off the Georgia Strait. It is a Purple Martin sanctuary. It was a nice respite from somewhat rough conditions. We had dinner in the little general store.

We made it to Comox the next day and had an absolutely delicious late lunch lunch in the Blackfin Pub. I had two soups that were to die for. I highly recommend a stopover in Comox and a meal at the Blackfin Pub ( http://www.blackfinpub.com/ ) for delicious food with wonderful service. Be sure to stay in the channel while crossing the bar at Comox. We approached from the south via Baynes Sound but crossed the bar while departing the Comox area heading north.

Arrived Fisherman’s Marina, Campbell River, BC. on 23 July;  No room at Discovery Harbour Marina. We rafted to a large fishing boat since space there was also limited.  Nice people at this marina with very clean showers and the prices were much better than at Discovery Harbour. We had dinner at Sushi Mong (988 Shoppers Row, Campbell River, BC V9W 2C5 Canada, 250-287-7066), consisting of some of the best sushi and sashimi ever, superbly and traditionally served by the couple who own the restaurant. It is also priced well. Cannot say enough good about this place.

We moved to Discovery Harbour Marina, a very nice and fancy marina, after fishing for a few hours. No real luck fishing…  

We departed Campbell River and arrived at the Blind Channel Resort on the 25th of July. It’s a nicely tucked away and very protected marina/anchorage. We visited with some people from TYC. Kind of a pricey spot but they only have a short season to make their income. They are very helpful and have a nice restaurant.

Departed Blind Channel Resort at 0915 on 26 July making for Port Harvey Marina.

Arrived  Port Harvey Marine Resort at 1506.     

This marina is owned and tirelessly run by George Cambridge and his family. We met Carl Lothrop who came in later than we did in his 42′ Krogen “Bolero”. He had his sister aboard along with some temporary crew, some of whom meet him at various ports in BC.  He was kind of lucky about catching crabs, we caught two HUGE starfish.

There are a few trails for short hikes to stretch your legs as well.

The restaurant has a limited menu but really good food, also cooked mostly by George. He makes the best cheesecake! If you bring a red shoe to the restaurant, desert is free; the name of the restaurant is The Red Shoe.

Me (Jerry), Kathy and Chris on our way to Dinner at the Red Shoe

Departed Port Harvey at 0910 on the 27th of July on mirror-like water continuing on into Johnstone Strait. One thing we noticed was the lack of wildlife and birds on this trip. That has been the only real disappointment so far.

We spotted several groups of kayakers along Johnstone Strait. Some were tandem and others with single paddlers, all seemed to be heading North mostly on the West side of the waterway.

Exited the Johnsone Strait and entered the Queen Charlette Strait at 1230. Shortly after, at 1242,  a few Dall’s  Porpoise played along the bow for a few minutes. That certainly made our day!

We docked at E  dock, Port McNeill at 1422 next to a sailboat from Poulsbo Yacht Club, former members of Tacoma Yacht Club.  Very nice moorage and helpful people here. We hit them at a busy time.

An eagle perched atop the main mast of the sailboat next to us. It wasn’t easy to dislodge him/her and they can make a heck of a mess of your boat if allowed to stay there.

We departed E dock, Port McNeill at 1323 and went fishing a bit south of the port. No luck fishing so turned North for Port Hardy.

Tied up on B dock, Port Hardy at 1729 between M/V Paragon and M/V At Ease and across the dock from M/V Orient Express from Roche Harbor. We went to dinner and turned in fairly early

29 July 2012: I made reservations at the

quarterdeck Inn then we cleaned Umiak inside and out. Hugh, Elena and the boys arrived at the gate to the marina at 1930. We helped them load Umiak with all their supplies then Hugh and Elena took us all out to dinner at the Port Hardy Inn. We had several Chinese dishes family style. The food was good and we got to know one another more. Hugh,  Elena and the boys headed for Umiak after dropping Chris, Kathy and I off at the hotel.

30 July 2012: I met Hugh and Elena at 0745 with all my gear then we dropped Elena off at the grocery while Hugh and I went to the Budget Rental office to add me to the rental agreement and insurance so that we were covered for the trip down to Victoria. We picked Elena up at the grocery at 0830 then loaded those supplies onto Umiak.  We took pictures and bid one another farewell.

Picked up Kathy and Chris at 0905 and headed south for Victoria. We arrived at the loading area for the Victoria Clipper at 1515 where we bought tickets and checked luggage. Turned in the rental car at 1600 and got a ride to Santiago’s Restaurant for dinner. Really good food! We checked in at US Immigration at 1735, boarded Clipper IV at 1830 and it backed away from the quay at 1850. We docked at Pier 69, Seattle at 2136.

NOTE:  We found that the Canadians are not eager to provide internet access. Most of the ports we stopped at had much the same excuse, “We’re having problems with the WIFI.” Phone access is surprisingly good most places but one must make arrangements with their provider before heading North in order to hold down costs. I highly suggest one does NOT use data access on their phones. I learned that very expensive lesson in 2008 with a $1299 phone bill after one week in Victoria.

I will be entering information on the return of Umiak from Vancouver, BC to Olympia later.