Friday, December 27, 2024
Everyone was feeling somewhat sleep-deprived early on Friday morning, as people do when they know they have to rise too early and therefore don’t sleep well in anticipation of that unwelcome event; Martin and Hans left the marina in Snug Cove aboard Sagres at about 7:30 am, and Walt, Karen, and I departed on Braesail about an hour later. We were treated to a bright sunrise and, once past Bowen Island, we had almost no wind.
Both sailboats motored comfortably, and at one point, when they were relatively close to one another, Martin texted from Sagres that we should try to transfer some of the cookies I’d baked from Braesail to Sagres. I packed cookies into a Ziploc bag and put the bag into another small bag that could be tied shut, and we pulled our boats within inches of each other, with Martin at Sagres’ tiller and Hans reaching toward Braesail with a boat hook. Karen stood on one of Braesail’s cockpit benches, reached toward Hans with the cookie bag, and decided it would be easier to toss the bag into Sagres’s cockpit. This maneuver accomplished, Braesail motored on toward Porlier Pass with Sagres following behind.
On our way through the pass, we heard the barking of sea lions and then saw that the rocks around the base of a signal light near shore were blanketed by the furry, noisy, fishy-“fragrant” creatures. We also noticed that the water near the rocks was roiled by numerous small, dark dorsal fins, perhaps of dolphins or small whales engaged in “bubble net feeding” (a cooperative hunting technique used by whales to trap fish). Sea gulls swooped above the splashing water and the now-roaring sea lions, probably hoping to find a few fish themselves. What fun it was to watch!
At a little after 1 pm, we anchored Braesail in lovely Princess Cove on Wallace Island (scene of great “two-boat” Labor Day meals in 2023). We dropped anchor in a spot as close to another sailboat as we thought would be safe while leaving room for Sagres to raft to us, but within a few minutes another sailboat came up and anchored behind us, informing us that they thought we had anchored too close to them! Walt reminded their skipper that the “rules of the sea” stipulate that it’s “first come, first anchor down stays down”. I hope no problems will arise!
It wasn’t long before Sagres and her crew entered the cove, and, with plenty of fenders out on the sides of our boats, the rafting process was quick and easy. After a snack lunch, Walt, Karen, and Martin took long naps, Hans did some reading, and I wrote blog posts. Karen and Martin produced a delicious pho supper, and we ate more orange cake and cookies for dessert. I cleaned the dishes and the galley, and did some planning with Martin for a possible trip to Palm Springs in mid-February to attend some of the annual Modernism Week events. Rain was falling quite heavily as we prepared for bed–Saturday’s two-hour trip for our two boats will be to Ganges Harbour, and we are hoping that the rain will disappear by mid-morning, as the forecasts suggest.
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 