A long sleep helped my intestinal discomfort a great deal, and Walt and I rose quite late and prepared to leave Westview for Buccaneer Bay on another very warm morning. I took the last of the garbage bags up to the dumpster, encountering on the dock on the way a tall, stately, calm heron who escorted me almost as far as the ramp to the shore before flapping away. I took the Sea Walk (enjoying some blackberries as I went!) to the fuel dock and store to buy chipped ice while Walt filled Braesail’s water tanks. We were under way by about 11:30 am, and motored through a world of blues: ocean, skies, hills, distant mountains, and still more distant mountains. At one point, the wind rose to about 10 kts. and moved around to Braesail’s stern, but as Walt was getting the huge spinnaker sail and its lines out of one of the lazarettes, it dropped again and moved toward the bow of the boat, making spinnaker sailing (“running before the wind”) unfeasible. As a result, we continued to motor, with Walt and me taking turns “on watch” at the helm while St. Brendan the Navigator (the autopilot) kept us on course and Walt made sandwiches for a late lunch.
By about 4 pm we’d arrived at Buccaneer Bay Marine Park on North and South Thormanby Islands. Here we found a large expanse of water ringed by impressive white cliffs, several houses, some rocky wooded bluffs, and long stretches of white sand beaches on which umbrellas were opened and people were sunning after dips in the “refreshingly” cool water (about 70 degrees F.). We cruised around the bay and found a good anchoring spot in relatively deep water, let out nearly 200 ft. of chain and a bit of rope once the new anchor windlass was coaxed into dealing successfully with the place where the chain and rope joined, and settled in for an afternoon of napping (Walt), reading and writing (me), and more reading (Walt). I enjoyed watching people splashing around in the water, rowing various small craft, zipping around in speedboats, water-skiing, paddle-boarding, kayaking, and generally making the most of a fine late-summer day in a gorgeous place.
Walt and I discussed plans for the next few days’ travel during our customary chips and dip (corn/chili salsa this time) “happy hour” and later shared an excellent pork chop dinner. With my blog posts completed and the cabin tidied up, we found our way to bed on another placid night bathed in the light of the sinking half-moon.
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 