A nice sunrise this morning as we leave Nanaimo to go through Dodd Narrows enroute to Ladysmith Maritime Society Marina. It will be a good day!
Yes, Ranger Jeff, we leave around 6:30 AM, earlier than any of our days with you on the Desolation Sound trip. And you know the reason why. Slack tide and no current will be 7 AM and 2 PM, so we choose 7 AM.
First we must dodge a BC Ferry. Not knowing which of the routes it will go, we watch it constantly, and at a certain point, we make a guess. We see another boat nearby that agrees with us. And we are both safe.
Dodd Narrows is to the south, just a short cruise from Nanaimo Harbour, and we see a few boats also going our direction ahead of us.
As we get near, we hear a northbound vessel call "Securite" and we expect to wait a few minutes until she passes through the Narrows.
A pleasure craft named Allure responds and announces that there are half a dozen boats headed southbound, as well. Northbound says she sees us, and as there is virtually no current, she thinks we can all pass each other safely.
So we continue on, and all go through at low speed with no problems. We see Nest Egg ahead of us.
We meet the northbound boat.
We understand there can be tidal currents of 9 knots swirling through the Narrows, so slack is the best time to go.
Once through, we radio Nest Egg and learn that Stout is in the group, as well. They have nearby destinations for the night and then will return to their homes on Salt Spring Island BC.
It is a short cruise now on in to Ladysmith Maritime Society Marina, and we look forward to visiting there again.
After we are all settled in, we contribute our aluminum cans and glass bottles to their recycle program, which benefits the Purple Martin Restoration program.
As we enjoy the social dock at Happy Hour, a guy rows up in a small boat and asks, "This is Prince Rupert, isn't it?"
Others who know the joke laugh and explain it to us. We see the banner he picked up in Prince Rupert when he lived there many years ago. It says "Welcome to Prince Rupert."
Herb adds his own joke. He says, "We got a little lost coming back from Desolation Sound."
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| We got a little lost coming back from Desolation Sound |
Willie of Willie's Tug,
and Walldog, Willie and Jake
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