Gulf Island Tour

We are up to catch slack tide (5:46) at Gabriola Pass.  The first challenge is getting out of the Silva Bay Marina (no wonder we like to anchor out).  The wind is blowing and the fairway is very narrow.  We try twice to make the corner but can't get the bow to clear and still miss hitting the dock behind.  A lovely gentleman walking the dock offers to hold the bow line and help pull the bow around.  That little bit of help does the trick.  We are soon working our way out of Silva Bay and arrive at Gabriola Pass perfectly timed to pass at slack water.

Our distance to travel today is short.  I have drawn a scenic route to Telegraph Harbor (the narrow inlet on the map).

We nose our way into this shallow cove that has two marinas.  We are not yet a low water and in places we are down to 11 feet.  There is a small passage that would allow a kayak into Clam Cove to the east - and I think that might be fun.  We take a tour of the cove and decide that we would rather continue on our journey before low tide makes it too difficult to navigate.  We consider our options and decide to head to Ganges on Salt Spring Island for lunch.

We anchor in the harbor with dozens of boats and deploy the dinghy to go to shore.  This is a busy harbor.  Small seaplanes are continuously landing and pleasure craft seem to continuously come and go.  In Ganges we take a stroll through town and then find a sign about free admission to the museum.  Two small issues.  Neither of us reads the part of the sign that says the museum is only open Wednesday thru Friday -  and it is a kilometer out of town.  The good news is that we get in a nice walk and find fresh local strawberries at a roadside stand.

Salt Spring

Poets Cove

We have lunch in the pub, dining on a local lamb burger and local brew.  A short stop at the grocery store finishes our on-land activities.  Back at the boat, we consider again our options.  Staying at anchor in Ganges Harbor is a reasonable choice but the commotion is almost overwhelming for two people who have been boating in the remote reaches of Alaska.  We pull the anchor and head to Poets Cove for a beautiful setting and a quiet night on the hook.