Monday, January 15.
The shivery, clear, windless weather continued, and we motored for about six hours to Pirates’ Cove on DeCourcy Island, where snow powdered the forested banks, frosted the distant peaks, and lined some long, floating logs.
We cleared Canadian Customs by phone on the way to the cove, and numerous pieces of floating wood debris were the only obstacles to our progress. We anchored in the sheltered water, again as the only boat present, but found our energy levels and the fading light to be inimical to extensive photo-shooting, so we enjoyed a lovely dinner, some productive planning time, and a restful sleep.
Tuesday, January 16
On we motored for about two hours on another cold, quiet day to the city of Nanaimo on the east coast of Vancouver Island. We passed easily through the Dodd Narrows at slack tide as we approached the city, and moored easily at the frosty Nanaimo Yacht Club dock.
I showered and made sure that Braesail’s cabins were ready to receive Martin, Karen, and Hans, who were to arrive by ferry from Vancouver around 6 pm. After a taxi brought them to the docks, we loaded all the gear and food that they had brought with them onto the boat and stowed everything safely, Martin and Karen then rented a car and did the shopping that remained for them to do, since considerable amounts of snow were predicted to arrive overnight. We stored the newly-purchased food upon their return and enjoyed a supper of hot soup, everyone settled into their cabins, and we all retired to enjoy a silent, shivery night.
Wednesday, January 17
We awoke on Wednesday to a fluffy four-inch blanket of wet snow, as had been forecast, and spent a peaceful day at the Yacht Club dock, reading and visiting and napping and doing a last bit of grocery shopping when it was safe to do so. As temperatures slowly rose and the snow melted, we checked wind and weather forecasts and formulated our plans for the next portion of our trip.
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 