Ganges Harbour, British Columbia, Canada

Bedwell Harbour 6/5/2019

We arrived at the Customs dock in Bedwell Harbour at about 9am. Check-in was via phone and was hassle free. Our wine and open liquor was declared as “ships stores” and is for personal consumption only. They were fine with this. Once we received and posted our clearance number on the boat, we were free to continue our travels to Ganges Harbour, on Salt Spring Island.

Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island

Ganges Harbour is a delightful, quaint yet bourgeois working harbour with good restaurants, supermarket, liquor store, bookstore and Mouat’s amazing hardware store.

Just about anything needed by the cruising community can be found here.

This was our first visit here and the entry was somewhat confusing with many small marinas, taxi strip for numerous float planes and working/fishing vessels.

We enjoyed the town and its restaurants. The Tree House Café was unusual and was built around a large tree which was growing through the roof.

Fresh, locally caught halibut was available at the fish store. This was Alison & John’s last evening aboard, so we cooked halibut onboard. All the fish lovers raved over how succulent, tasty and tender it was. You certainly can’t beat sea to table!

Next morning, we said our farewells as Alison & John boarded the bus to catch the ferry to Victoria while we cast off the lines and were underway for Vancouver. A great visit!

Matia Island #2

Matia Island 6/5/2019


The weather this morning was partially cloudy and cooler with possible rain showers forecast. Todays destination is Matia Island. We are hopeful that being mid-week and prior to high season that we will be fortunate enough to get dock space.

Today was our lucky day. Not only was there space on the dock, the place was deserted and we were the only boat there.

Once securely tied to the dock, we set off into the dense old forest to explore parts of the island that we had not seen. We followed the trail through the forest and across to the other side of this beautiful, small island, then back along the coastal trail.

Shortly after returning to the boat, we encountered a period of rain. Following the rain showers, the skies cleared and the water was flat calm.

Our day ended with another beautiful sunset.

Friday Harbor #2

Friday Harbor 6/4/2019


After all the activity and excitement on James Island, we departed unscathed, and headed back to Friday Harbor to pick up our new US passports prior to entering Canada.

The town was considerably quieter than the previous weekend so we took advantage of the lack of crowds as we walked the town.

We stopped for lunch on a patio, overlooking the harbor. The clam chowder and smoked salmon clam chowder were excellent.

Next morning we headed back to Matia Island, our last US stop before entering Canada.

James Island

James Island 6/2/2019


Our mid-morning departure from Friday Harbor delivered a calm and pleasant, two- hour run, south east to James Island. This was our second visit to James Island and the first for Alison & John. 

We neglected to time our arrival to coincide with slack tide. Upon arrival, the dock was almost full but a couple of small boats graciously jockeyed around to make room for us. Thankfully, they were strong young men who were camping with their sons and eager to help as we struggled to dock with wind and a strong 5 knot current working against us. Eventually, Alan was able to get the boat close enough so we could get lines ashore and cleated down and work the boat in. Mission accomplished, thanks to the assistance from shore.


Alison, John and I enjoyed a picturesque hike around the island, while Alan enjoyed a well-deserved nap.

This is where serenity ends! 

We were docked across from a 25’ Ranger Tug with a single, older man aboard.

 Late in the afternoon, the boat docked in front of the tug prepared to leave. The current was still raging at about 5 knots. 

The boat did not back out far enough or fast enough and crashed into the bow of the tug, waking the poor tug captain from a deep sleep. No-one was hurt but some damage was sustained. 

Poor little Ranger Tug! Not 20 minutes later another boat approached the dock to tie up behind the tug. We called to tell them that the current was very strong. They thanked us and proceeded to run into the stern of the tug. Again, luckily no-one was hurt. Damage was limited to a scrape or two and a couple of captains suffered bruised egos. The tug captain was quite nonchalant and said "too bad they didn’t hit me on the starboard side, since I already have dings that could be fixed”. It was like watching demolition derby.


Caution, if you choose to dock at this beautiful marine state park, time your arrival and departures for slack tide.

Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor 5/31/2019


Arrived in Friday Harbor to meet our guests arriving on the ferry from Sidney, BC.

Friday Harbor is a busy hub with ferries and sea planes coming and going. The town is trendy but still quaint and picturesque with numerous restaurants, galleries etc. 

King's Market is an amazing store for re-provisioning, offering groceries, adult beverages, clothing, sporting and marine goods.

We enjoyed dinner at Downriggers, a popular waterfront establishment overlooking the harbor.

Matia Island

Bellingham


We arrived back at the boat in Bellingham after a long travel day from San Antonio. We slept like babies and were up early so we could rent a car and do some re-provisioning at Costco & Trader Joe’s.

Bellingham is a busy port and college town. The old downtown area is charming. This day was their big Sea to Ski Race, one of the highlights of the year. It is a multi-sport team relay from the Mt. Baker Ski Area to Bellingham Bay. It was first run in 1973 and is held annually on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in Whatcom County, Washington. Many streets were closed off for the cycling portion of the race but with the help of Google, we navigated our way about.

Monday morning, (Memorial Day) the weather was sunny and just about perfect for our two-hour cruise to Matia Island in the hopes of securing dock space for a couple of days. 

Mount Baker, ever vigilant above the water was in full view today.

Luckily, much of the long weekend traffic had headed for home and we were successful in securing dock space.

Matia Island is another gorgeous place in the San Juan Islands. The silence, in the midst of the forest is deafening, drowned out only by the songs of the local birds. So pretty and tranquil.

A picture is worth a thousand words!

The day ended with a spectacular sunset.