Sail Tsehum Harbour
I'm not completely certain that my sail Tsehum Harbour took me four and a half hours against the ebb tide or if I forgot to turn off my chart plotter when I arrived. At the start of the trip my Tiller Pilot wasn't working. But with a few file strokes to the 12 V power socket, it was fixed and has worked fine ever since. A relief as it's incredibly tedious having to hold on to the tiller all the way to Sidney.
I hugged the coast in an attempt to mitigate the ebb tide and managed to average almost 4 knotts. There weren't many boats at the Spit. It was an overcast, Friday morning. The trip was routine and somewhat boring. Would have been different had I been under sail. My plans had shifted from leaving the night before to staying on the boat in Cadboro Bay and leaving in the morning. I slept in, had bacon and eggs and managed to leave at the crack of 9:30. Realizing I had to pick up the crew around 1300, I left the sail cover on and motored for the next 4 hours or so.
After fueling up at Van Isle. Marina, I picked up Kevin, Paul and Tom. We loaded their gear and set off to pick up Eric at Villages Bay, Mayne Island.
Sail Tsehum Harbour
Sail Glenthorne Passage
We left Tsehum Harbour later than anticipated to sail Glenthorne Passage. I had arranged to pick up Eric from Villages Bay on Mayne Island at 5:35 when his ferry landed. I was going to send someone to pick him up in Skully (our dinghy). Due to the lateness of the hour, I decided to detour to Villages Bay, pick up Eric and then head for Prevost Island and our destination that night, Glenthorne Passage on the West side of the Island.
When we arrived at Villages Bay, which is basically just a ferry terminal, it seemed like every ferry in the fleet converged on the bay all at once. It was crazy. There were ferries coming and going to and fro, up and down... Chaos. Once Eric's ferry arrived, I dispatched Commando Kevin to retrieve Eric. With the fifth and final crew member on-board, we left for Prevost.
Glenthorne Passage on Prevost Island has been described as the warmest swimming in the Southern Gulf Islands. Considering the inclement weather and the fact that it's late May, no one was in a hurry to go for a swim. The anchorage is very protected from all but a direct hit from the North. It's long and deep and large. We motored to the very end and dropped anchor by a dock, just off the 'beach'. Basically a muddy landing, covered in oysters. In fact there were oysters all along the rocks on shore as the the ebb tide would reveal. There are, of course, the obligatory 'Shellfish Closure' signs all along the shore. But who knows how long they've been up. And whether they're valid.
While the anchorage itself is very nice, there is absolutely no trespassing on shore. There is a small marine park on the Northwest tip of the Island but that bay is exposed. I took Skully on a quick trip down the adjacent inlet and it was the same there. No trespassing. There were a few floating homes in the bay but little else.
So we stayed on board Trouper 2 and spent the night 'catching up' and being loud.
Sail Glenthorne Passage.
Paul and I wore the same shoes. The others say they didn't get the memo.
Commando Kevin leaves T2 to pick up Eric in Villages Bay, Mayne Island.
Kevin enjoys a smoke while relaxing at anchor in Glenthorne Passage, Prevost Island.
Enjoying some late afternoon sunshine in Glenthorne Passage, Prevost Island.
On our way to Prevost Island after picking up Eric.
Chef Paul in the galley preparing the hamburgers for dinner at Prevost Island.
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Sail Princess Bay
We awoke to an overcast sky with light to moderate drizzle. Everything in the cockpit was soaked (cushions, life jackets, etc) but the cabin was warm and dry with my Cubic Cub stove performing wonderfully. We figured out the draw problem by cleaning the vents on the spark arrester above deck. We would spend the first part of the day at anchor in the rain before we left to sail Princess Bay on Portland Island.
Braving the inclement weather, dressed in rain gear from head to toe, I shuttled Eric ashore so he could 'take care of business', before heading out to explore the passage and a neighboring inlet. Glenthorne Passage is a very nice anchorage but with no shore access and five guys on T2, we decided to move on to Princess Bay.
We motored rather than sailed as It's just too damn crowded with all 5 of us aboard. We arrived at Portland Island at 1600 hrs. There were only a handful of other boats at Princess Bay. The wind calmed down to nothing and the night was peaceful and calm. The trip was uneventful. We grabbed a few beverages and hit the shore for a couple of hours before returning to Trouper 2 for steak dinner. On the way back to the boat, I pulled the crab trap and we enjoyed fresh crab as an appetizer.
The party didn't last as long as the night before and soon we were all sawing logs as the fire slowly died in the wood stove. Tomorrow is our last day on this cruise. Portland Island remains one of my favorite Gulf Islands. Tomorrow the boys are planning to hike the perimeter trail and I'm going to shell beach to do some beachcombing for the kids. There are all manner of interesting rocks and shells on Shell Beach.
Sail Princess Bay
Climbing aboard after exploring in Skully.
Trouper 2 at anchor in Glenthorne Passage, Prevost Island.
Pit toilet waiting room at Princess Bay, Portland Island.
Princess Bay, Portland Island.
Tom and Paul with product placement at Princess Bay.
Eric examines the petrified remains of an alien pod.
Red Rock Crabs make a great appetizer!
Paul enjoys his steak dinner at Princess Bay, Portland Island.
Tsehum Harbour
Today marks the beginning of the end for the guy's weekend as we prepare to sail to Tsehum Harbour. Eric handled breakfast prep this morning. Some kinda scramble. It was satisfying. Upon checking in with Tania, I was told to take the day and 'we'll see you tomorrow'. Wow! Great. No pressure. After breakfast we headed to shore. I dropped the guys off at the dinghy dock and then motored around to Shell Beach. As the boys hiked across the middle of the Island, I collected shells for the kids and was soon joined by Tom and the rest of the boys. We enjoyed the sunshine and some cold ones.
When the time came to head back to Trouper 2, the boys walked the trail while I pulled up the crab trap. I caught a trap full of red rock crabs but couldn't be bothered to cook them all up so we let them go. We hauled the anchor and were soon at Tsehum Harbour. I off-loaded the boys, the garbage and our empty beverage containers. After a quick wash down, I was on my way back to Cadboro Bay.
Tsehum Harbour
Shell Beach, Portland Island.
Paul and I in Princess Bay, Portland Island.
The end of another Guy's Weekend. "What did you guys talk about?"
Off loading Trouper 2 at Fisherman's wharf.