It was an overcast day with showers June 27 when the first of two boats, a 44-foot Hunter Passage 42 sailed by me, departed from Port Gardner Bay. John Lund on a Freedom 32 cat sloop departed about two hours later, both boats destined up Saratoga Passage for an overnight stay at Cornet Bay, a State Park on the east entrance to Deception Pass. Our sail plan was to rendezvous with two other boats further north on our cruise to the Discovery Islands. AMEE fleet was made up of four boats; Colin Banks and Shirley Fox on a 34 foot Creelock sloop from Anacortes, me from Mukilteo, Bob Barker on a 27-foot C&C sloop and John both from Everett. Southerly winds prevailed, unusual for this time of the year, making it a pleasant running sail to Poets Cove on North Pender Island where we obtained Canada Customs clearance. We joined up with the others of AMEE fleet in Pirates Cove. Continuing on a running sail through Dodd Narrows at the top end of Trincomalli Channel then on to Nanaimo, BC where we anchored for a few days. A very busy harbor with ferries and water taxis transiting passengers between islands and floatplanes and boats coming and going. It was a special day for us to watch the sailboat race held each Wednesday afternoon sponsored by the Dingy Dock Pub, a floating restaurant on Protection Island. About thirty boats were all jostling for start position and finish by class. Discovery Island group includes 6,000 islands including East and West Thurlow, Cortes, Quadra, Texada, Lasquetti, and many others each with their own points of interest. A Google search includes a web site that describes the group and interesting information about each of the main islands. We consumed a large number of oysters that we shucked ashore and brought back to the boat for dinners each night. The largest oysters, the shells the size of dinner plates, were in Rebecca Spit. All were fresh and sweet tasting right out of the shell or poached in butter and milk. I captured pictures and movies of our trip including a bull Orca whale that swam beneath our boat, spectacular scenery, Indian art, Eagles up close and personal picking up fish scraps and so much more. Our best sail, a ten, was when we crossed the Strait of Georgia from Smuggler Cover to Nanaimo about thirty miles. We were on a beam reach starboard tack in 15 to 18 knots of wind in five to six foot seas. Belle-Vie clipped along at a steady nine knots all the way with about 20-degree heel. Patti left a permanent bend in the helm guard where she hung on for dear life. I'm still picking the bugs out of my teeth. Many of the islands have small community associations consisting of less than 20 homes, some staying just for the summer, others living year around. All were very friendly and fun to visit with and share our experiences. At Blind Bay I took pictures of an 800+-year-old living Cedar tree that is 18 feet in diameter at the base. In Squirrel Cove we watched an Indian woman cook salmon the traditional way on cedar planks over burning coals. She then served up a salmon dinner for us that was to die for. So much was covered during our seven-week cruise. Patti joined me in Campbell River for a week and half of the cruise until we reached Friday Harbor. Fair weather held for the most part. Our biggest mishap was when Bob barker could not pull his anchor up in Cortes Bay. He was about to cut his anchor loose when I offered to retrieve it. Belle-Vie had the muscle and displacement to break it away saving Bob a considerable sum of money. AMEE fleet is already talking about doing this cruise again next year. Count me in.
