Departure Day Arrives

August 21, 2022

 

We had set a departure time for Sunday, August 21st at 06:00, and at 05:50 our two good friends, Ken and Shelly, came down to the dock to see us off.  They gave us a farewell care package of bagels and cream cheese with home-smoked salmon.  Delicious!  Ken read a beautiful send-off poem, and after final hugs goodbye they cast off our lines and we headed out into the morning fog. 

As we were just rounding Sunny Island and heading into Gunboat Passage a boat came planing up behind us.  More friends that came by to wave goodbye and take a picture of our boat as we motored along.   

We were anchored near Bella Bella by 10:30 and we had the afternoon to relax on board and get settled in to our boat-home once again.  It had been two years and seven months since we were last out cruising.  We had gone out on trips on the boat over that time, but living on board with a cruising lifestyle is a different feel.  It was exciting. 

 

Removable fish cleaning station that we designed and then made out of palette wood.

                                      

On Monday morning we had errands to run in Bella Bella.  I had my last scheduled doctors' appointment in Canada and the doctor was fantastic.  She spent two hours with us.  She measured my tummy, listened to the baby's heartbeat, we looked at the little guy with the ultrasound, and she answered many questions.  It is a funny thing, because although on the one hand medical care is harder to access while living in Ocean Falls, it is also much better than most people experience in many other areas in Canada.  The doctors that come up to the central coast from the Vancouver area all seem to truly care about their patients and they seem very genuine and willing to give us lots of their time.   

Tuesday morning was another foggy start to the day, but as we motored down through Hunter Channel and out through Sans Peur Passage the sun broke through, and it was hot and beautiful. 

Unfortunately, once we were outside the islands the fog came back in and we made our way along toward Calvert Island unable to see land.  When the wind picked up to 10 knots we turned off our engine and started sailing.  It was beautiful, out on the outer coast, sailing along at 5-6 knots over 1-2m swells. 

When we turned in towards Adams Harbour on the north-western corner of Calvert Island we put up our whisker pole and sailed down wind.  Only when we neared our anchorage could we finally see land again; we had been traveling in a fog bubble for most of the day.  And, even in the anchorage the visibility was so poor that we only caught glimpses of the beautiful beaches that we knew were nearby.