No room at the dock?

Sunday, January 21

We breakfasted on “Bennies” (Eggs Benedict) on Sunday morning, and, with the boat’s batteries beginning to run a little low, we decided to leave the dock at about 9:30 am. Chatterbox Falls was flowing at full force once more; avalanches came crashing down the cliffs, leaving behind scars on the faces of the rocks and a great deal of floating wood debris on the water’s surface, thus producing quite a slalom course for the person at the helm to navigate; and many of the cataracts along the inlet’s shore now consisted partly of crystal ice and partly of leaping water. There was almost no wind over our stern, so we motored over calm seas and past snow-powdered, vapor-veiled cliffs for over six hours in mostly rainy, foggy conditions with Walt, Martin, and Karen down in the main cabin, Hans at the helm, and me up with him in the cockpit, periodically wiping the moisture off the windows to improve visibility. Snacks of carrots, crackers, and tasty dips sustained us during our travels through the rain and cottony mists.

Walt was at the helm when we arrived, after a somewhat soggy trip, in the complex of bays forming Pender Harbour. He made a wrong turn in the descending dusk and steered Braesail into one of the bays in which we did NOT want to dock, and so had to back the boat around and motor on into Madeira Bay Resort. Tucking Braesail into a tight space at the crowded Government Dock was tricky and necessitated the pulling forward along the dock by Martin and Hans of a relatively small boat and the hoisting of our dinghy in Braesail’s stern to clear sufficient space behind us–Walt accomplished this with his usual masterly skill!

Once we had moored safely, Hans and Martin walked to a nearby grocery store to buy some provisions, and upon their return, we enjoyed our customary afternoon snack time, on this occasion with cookies and cocoa and tea. A supper of hearty chicken soup and biscuits was most welcome at the end of a long, damp day!

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