Tuesday, August 14, 2012

And We're Off!


And We’re Off!  (Written Monday, August 13, 2012)

After a morning of final preparations and business communications, we finally untied mid day.  It was a beautiful day and the water was flat.  Our first leg consisted of a 4 mile run to Blakely Island Marina as Connor and I were having a nasty craving for a chili cheese dog and a malt.  The way the crab has been washed down with salt and butter, this could be the perfect ending to my pre-cholesterol pill life.
After Blakely, we pushed the throttles down for about a 45 minute smooth ride to Poet’s Cove Resort to clear into customs.  This was one of two times in all our years cruising up here that we were actually boarded by a customs agent.  They were mostly interested in guns and alcohol, which I am also somewhat interested in but for different reasons, I think.  It turns out I forgot about my two little bottles of home-made Dolphin Cove wine and Val forgot about her Kahlua, Baileys, and Vermouth she uses to cook with.  Of course, they did a thorough search of our boat and then gave me a firm scolding but were gracious enough not to take our Nexus status away (or our booze)….oops.


After finally clearing customs, we took the little cut between North and South Pender Islands and then throttled up for about 40 more miles through the Gulf Islands.
By 5:30 or so, we had the anchor set in a little cove somewhere in the northern Gulf Islands and had a chicken roasting on the grille.  As thankful as I am for our little Magma grille, anyone who uses one knows your food will either be raw or completely on fire…there’s no middle ground with these babies!  Keep a fire extinguisher handy!

It was a perfect sunset and the layered mountains proclaimed God’s glory exquisitely.  Even the seals seemed to be rejoicing frolicking around the little islets surrounding our boat.

The days are getting shorter already.  As I write this blog, I would guess the sun will set by about 8:30 tonight and it wasn’t that long ago and it was around 10PM.  The nights are really getting cooler too.  Val is writing a letter.  Connor is on shore brushing Lucky and Tanner, a nightly ritual for them…it really keeps the shedding under control.  If he missed a few days, the hair gets so bad it actually plugs up my scuppers!  A big black dog and a white, wet boat…not a good combination.  (Actually, it is!)  When Connor gets back, it’ll be our nightly game of his choosing and then we’ll all succumb to the gentle roll of the sea beckoning us to our berths.

The boat has been working great with no problems whatsoever, thank God.  The forecast looks good for our run up the Strait of Georgia tomorrow.

Hoping this finds you all well.