Eight March Days on Felix
(Story by Colin)
To celebrate the arrival of spring, I planned an eight-day outing on Felix around the Southern Gulf Islands. Four days would be spent with my Emily, and four with a friend from
the mainland. After rushing to get the whole boat scrubbed down inside and out, and packing it up to the top with everything from extra blankets, rain gear, frozen pancake batter, to flashlights, cameras, and lots of hot chocolate... we were off on March 18th.
Our departure was calm - glassy, almost - meaning there was no way we could sail all the way to Portland Island as planned, so we opted to motor to D'Arcy. D'Arcy, as we know from the past, is an excellent anchorage that you will never have to share... so long as the weather was settled. Fortunately for us, the weather was textbook "settled." After anchoring near the campground on D'Arcy, we went ashore to putter around, listen to the grunts of the harbour seals, and look for sea life. Back onboard, we cozied up under several kilograms of blankets.
Our first morning onboard was cold, but not intolerable. Coffee and hot chocolate didn't hurt. The wind came up just long enough for us to quietly sneak clockwise around the South end of the island, getting a few glimpses of a humpback feeding along the shoreline. The wind soon died, and we motored along up Sidney Channel. As we had neglected a cutting board, and not wanting to further damage Felix's gorgeous interior, we raised the sails as the wind came up to head for Sidney. After an hour at the dock, we were back on our way. As Emily was feeling the chill of the rainy weather, I was on a solo watch up around Coal Island - including getting the sails up. After an hour of good sailing, we lost the wind again, motoring north of Pym Island. As the sun got low in the sky, we got the sails back up on a perfect tack up to Royal Cove. Our first stern-tie was an immediate success, though a manual sounding showed less than 75cm under the rudder at maximum low.
We spent the next day wandering the trails on Portland Island - we had not only the anchorage, but the entire island to ourselves. Surprisingly, Parks Canada had removed the dock at Princess Bay, and yet Royal Cove was all ours. A day of sunny weather, reading, hiking, and puttering around in the dinghy ended with greying skies as we cooked spaghetti and got ready for bed. About this time, a mysterious trickle of fresh water was beginning to appear in the bilge.
On our final day of part one, we headed over to Wallace and anchored, going ashore for two hours to explore the island. I'd been ashore here before with Parks Canada, but it was nice having yet another island to ourselves. This would become a trend everywhere. Motoring back to Sidney was slow and noisy, docking in the early evening. After four days, the three dollars for a shower at Port Sidney no longer seems unreasonable. We walked up to Fish on Fifth to order, and walked down to the waterfront to enjoy the sunset's colours while eating the disappointingly small cod and massive salmon.
The following morning, Emily had to head back to work, but I would be staying on. However, when checking the bilge, it wasn't the mysterious trickle of fresh water any more - it was much less pleasant. Without too many details, bleach was used, and we now know how long one should go between pumpouts. On a positive note, we learned how to properly pump out, and again, well worth the money charged. My friend from the mainland showed up around noon, and the wind had picked up.
We managed to sail all the way from Sidney to James Bay on Prevost Island in about five hours on one tack, with a good run up Trincomali Channel. James Bay was by far the most lackluster anchorage, being shallow and entirely unprotected (even from the southeast, despite what geography would dictate). Luckily the wind died, and we headed ashore. Noticing a lot of splashing, headed up to a small bluff and witnessed quite the mating ritual on behalf of the harbour seals. By midnight we were ready to call the front desk to complain about our rowdy pinniped neighbours who were being rather vocal about their engagements.
The morning brought unexpected and strong Northerly winds. Opting not to try our luck in the dinghy, we raised anchor and headed for Saturna Island. With the sun out and the wind blowing, we made quick time, averaging about five and a half knots all the way. The wind through Navy Channel was somewhat fickle, always strong but constantly shifting. Near Truetworthy Bight, I looked at the chart, and noticed a discrepancy between official parks maps and the data on Navionics - a part of GINPR at Taylor Point. We needed lunch, so we decided to go for our most challenging but satisfying anchorage of the trip. The wind was southwesterly - not what you would expect as ideal for an unprotected anchorage open to Boundary Pass, but we managed to tuck just out of it. At Taylor point, we discovered an absolutely gorgeous ruined stone house that wouldn't have felt out of place in the Scottish highlands, and surrounding trails through beautiful sandstone boulderfields, leading to incredibly cliffs.
After a brief stop and some ramen, we were back underway to enjoy getting up-close and personal with Monarch Head. Narvaez Bay, like James Bay, was disappointing, but at least was safe and protected. We were briefly visited by the CBSA and RCMP the next morning for a border check, then headed ashore for a hike to Monarch Head. While the views were spectacular, we were somewhat drained from the underwhelming quality of Narvaez Bay compared to Taylor Point, and hauled up the anchor for Tumbo Island. We timed it right with the tides, and got to Tumbo via the Georgia Strait approach around two in the afternoon. At that point, our thermometer was starting to inch above fifteen degrees, and by the time we were moored on a buoy, it was getting too warm. Cabbage Island was still showing a lot of damage from a recent storm, with none of the campsites serviceable and the sign having been destroyed by driftwood. After rowing across to Tumbo Island - and finding the only suitable seeming spot to land a dinghy - we explored the entirety of that island. I get the sense that Parks Canada has plans for this island. The so-called "private residence" is boarded up and severely neglected. The hike was lovely. Lots of history, and great views of the North Shore mountains. We finally got a proper sunny sunset, and sat back enjoying some celebratory drinks having dipped our toes in the Strait of Georgia.
The sail back to Port Sidney was rough but fast - averaging over 6.4kts, with reading reaching up above 6.9kts at times. While it was grey and cool, it was a fantastic day of sailing with the strong southeasterly wind. We snuck between Domville and Brethour Island, finally poking through Byers Passage for no reason other than that it was there to poke through. Mooring at the marina, I said goodbye to my crew of one and reboarded to relax and have some good alone time with Netflix and some unhealthy food choices from Fairway Market after another all-too-appreciated shower.
The return to Oak Bay had Ben van Drimmelen, Greg Rooney and Anghus Ainslie join me... along with about a hundred other yachts, as we had inadvertently set off at the same time as an international race of some sort. Needless to say that we weren't passing anyone despite pushing six knots almost the whole way back. The wind was shifting around until we left Sidney Channel, were we set out on a starboard under heavy and consistent winds. We lost wind around Baynes Channel, necessitating motoring.
All in all, it won't be my last longer cruise, though I will definitely be getting some more warm clothing for sailing. Luckily we missed the spring snow by about a week.
A new boat for the co-op!
We bought "Rhumb Runner", a 7.6 m Kelt, on February 24, 2022.
Our 2021 Saturday Boat Work Parties and Co-op Sails (after each work party):
Jan to May cancelled, #74 June 19, #75 July 17, #76 Aug 21, #77 Sep 18, #78 Oct 16, #79 Nov 20, #80 Dec 18
