Shortly before noon on Friday, April 22, after Walt had procured some lovely baked goods, we left the delightful Union Steamship Company Marina (named after the company that operated Bowen Island as a holiday resort until the middle of the 20th Century) and motored for around five hours under a sunny sky bordered by billowing whipped-cream clouds. There was almost no wind, but the hues (nearly all- possible blues!) and textures of the sea were fascinating to watch as the surface changed from smooth satin to finely-pleated organza to watered silk. At one point the boat scattered a dark spill of small black seabirds who were enjoying a banquet, and at another we passed a cluster of white rocks (aptly named the White Islets) down the sides of which plump sea lions dripped.
We anchored easily and safely at low tide in Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park on the Sechelt Peninsula (NO problems with the windlass!) and tied a line from Braesail’s stern to a chain set in an onshore rock to keep the boat from swinging around. When Walt was climbing up the rocks to attach the stern line, he observed a good number of sea stars, of which you’ll see a purple specimen in the center of the photo below.
We savored a restful evening spent reading and writing, and I watched the sunset from the cockpit–no photo ever adequately captures the beauty of the reality!
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 