The wind rose to about 16 kts. in the middle of Tuesday night, but when Walt went up onto Braesail’s deck to check the anchor, he found that all was secure and we both went back to sleep until after 7 am on another lovely morning. Walt had one phone conference at 8 am and another at 10, and between the two he found that he could purchase a new pair of computer glasses at an optician’s shop in Sidney, BC, and have them ready on Thursday afternoon. We therefore decided to weigh anchor and motor to Sidney once Walt’s second conference was over at about 11 am. I caught up my e-mail reading and blog entry writing and prepared the boat for departure.
Our picture-postcard-beautiful journey from Montague Harbour to the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club’s docks took place beneath a shining sapphire sky-table upon which immense mounds of cumulus clouds were heaped. The wind blew over our stern and the current carried us forward as well, and our passage was swift (we traveled at nearly 7 kts. during most of the journey) and uneventful. Walt and I took turns at the helm, and he made a quesadilla lunch for us while I was “on duty” and watching the many BC ferries plying the waters in and around Active Pass. We found a spot at the yacht club’s dock at about 1:30 pm and I was happy to have a little help with the lines from a man walking by on the dock. (Our Bellingham Yacht Club membership provides us with “reciprocal privileges” at many other clubs, including limited low-cost moorage and use of such facilities as restrooms and showers and dining lounges.)
Once we were settled at the dock, Walt hauled our folding bicycle out of one of the lazarettes and set off for the optician’s office in downtown Sidney with his prescription for computer glasses, and I spent considerable time calling about my change in charge card information and about the replacement of lost cards. We shared corn chips and a delicious mango-tomatillo salsa upon his return from his ride; he brought with him some puzzled leg muscles and a roll of aluminum foil for the roasting of vegetables.
Since Walt was tired and uninterested in cooking supper, we decided to walk along the dock and up to the shore to dine in the yacht club’s well-appointed restaurant (I enjoyed seafood chowder, an Indonesian combination meat/rice “bowl,” and caramelized apples served with vanilla gelato for dessert). Its setting among some huge sequoia, maple, Garry oak, and Douglas fir trees and its sweeping view out over the harbor were additional treats. As we were preparing to climb back aboard Braesail, a boater who was passing by began a conversation about living aboard boats, the beauty of Moody craft such as ours and their relative rarity in North American waters, etc. We always like chatting with our fellow travelers!
I wrote this post while Walt worked on insurance matters (his case is proving to be rather complex!), and we were ready to end our day at about 11 pm. I do so hope that the new spectacles will make his computer-based scholarly tasks less onerous!
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 