A funny thing happened to me on my way to Russell Island. The long and the short of it is, well... I ran aground in Oak Bay Channel. It was foolish and stupid and obviously, I should have known better. I was on my way to the marina for gas, water and ice and basically ignored the depth on the channel marker. Immediately realizing that I had a three hour wait until the tide came back in, I deployed my anchor and rowed to the dock for the stated provisions.

It must have been quite a site. Shuttlecock was resting perpendicular to the channel just metres from the marker. As the tide continued to ebb, she took on quite a heel and I could actually reach over and touch the eel grass (that I was supposed to be protecting by not anchoring in the area).

Despite my obvious plight, a woefully misguided sailor (yeah, even more misguided than I) motored right past me, gave me a wave and immediately went aground. Fortunately for him, he managed to free himself and spent the rest of the ebb tide anchored off the channel. I could say something catty, like why didn't he go around via the South, breakwater entrance but then....

The weather started getting rough, my tiny ship was tossed.

If not for the fact I was sailing alone, my Captain rank was lost.

While this aquatic drama played out, I noticed a large floating camper (power boat) dragging anchor and heading past me, out of Oak Bay. There was a strong South Westerly blowing which was propelling the stinkpot toward the jagged cliffs of Cattle Point. At this point the Coast Guard tried to contact me. As I only had a hand-held VHS radio, I couldn't reply so another boat (Ocean Pearl) reached out and relayed my message that all was well and that I was waiting out the tide. I did raise the issue of the dragging vessel and they soon arrived to take care of that. Apparently the coast guard was besieged by frantic landlubbers worried about what the $%#@&! was going on in Oak Bay Channel?

Are you going to Russell Island or not?!

At precisely 14:05, I was free and able to resume my trip to Russell Island. The wind in Haro Strait continued strong (wind warning posted) throughout my entire journey. By the time I reached Russell Island the port side windows were covered in salt spray. I arrived barely a half hour before Kevin and Di arrived on Comber, along with their faithful cat Scupper.

Navionics track

Diane prepared a lovely Chicoutimi featuring Brie, smoked Gouda, and a selection of fine smoked meats which we enjoyed aboard Comber. Kevin and Di had arranged to meet friends at their property on Pender Island at 10:30 the next morning so, after a 9.5 hour slog from their home on Passage Island, the evening ended early.

They pulled anchor at around 0830 the next morning (Thursday) and rather than make the long journey into Ganges harbour, on my suggestion, they motored over to Fulford Harbour, where they managed to find what they needed on route to Pender. I, on the other hand, had not stepped foot on Russell Island before, so I led a shore party (just me) to explore this tiny jewel in the Salish Sea.

Like most islands in the National Gulf Islands Park Reserve, Russell Island was privately owned before becoming a park. In 1886 William Haumea (a Hawaiian or Kanaka) bought Russell Island from the Crown. A brief history is available on the park website.

After the initial shock and dismay at finding the only pit toilet on the Island closed, I... made other arrangements.

Following a delightful morning hike along the park trail, I returned to Shuttlecock, brewed some coffee and was soon underway. Next destination, the familiar anchorage at Sidney Spit. All mooring buoys were taken so I dropped the hook not far from the dinghy dock. After the traditional walk to the end of the spit, I grabbed my cooler, some snacks and a six pack of beer and rowed over to Gina's Beach. Gina and I enjoy lounging in the shade, to the far right of the pier. About half way to the campsite.

After a few hours I decided to return to the boat and bar-b-que some chicken to share with Kevin and Di for dinner. They arrived after 1800 and we had chicken and chicoutimi on Comber. I slept in until 10 the next morning. Kevin arrived alongside in his dinghy shortly thereafter and updated their plans to leave immediately. They had many social engagements in and around Victoria, so would be heading there to prepare.

I spent the remainder of the day hiking the Island, and when my overnight plans with Gina fell through, I decided to head home to Cadboro Bay early the next morning on the ebb tide.