Another Look at Nanaimo -- 6/13/2105

With Saturday comes good news of good boating WX and Nit-Sea-Moose prepares to cast off in search of an island to spend the week end.  Herb helps release her lines and we see them off.

Willie's Tug looks lonely.

Our treat for the day is a look at Ladysmith and Nanaimo from on land, when Patrick and Gail invite us to go for a ride with them in their car.  No, it's not Sapphire, the brightly sapphire colored truck, it's Patrick's sedan. 

From Salt Spring Island they drive to the ferry landing at Vesuvius and cross to Crofton, south of Chemainus and Ladysmith.

In the past we have walked into town for shopping, and have great memories of the towns from the water, but today we get a different perspective, seeing areas in the countrysides surrounding the city centers.

After we tour the residential areas of Ladysmith, Patrick drives us north through Nanaimo and beyond.  We stop at Neck Point Park just past Departure Bay for a viewpoint.  I love the deep blue color of the water below the cloudless sky and get a tiny peek at the Strait of Georgia.  A good eye can see a very small speck on the horizon, which is actually a large ship.  Almost colorless is the driftwood appearing weightless on the rocky beach in the foreground. 

A look to the right shows us Shack Island, which has a bit of history of its own. It  is a T-shaped, exotic slice of short bluffs and beach amidst the shallow waters that separate Pipers Lagoon from Neck Point.    Years ago when it was a long rowboat journey from downtown Nanaimo to these prime fishing grounds, shacks were built as week end shelters.  They now appear to be rustic and abandoned, but are still used by descendants of the original owners.

I peer over the edge of the lookout railing into the clear transparent water below. Ah, the rocks!  So perfectly laid out and painted benign colors of tan, brown, rust, white and shades of grey.  I'll bet the water is cold.

With Gail's knowledge of the area, she points out to me the direction we took in the past when Patrick led the group of Ranger Tugs to Desolation Sound.  One route we took was from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.   Just to the left of center is where our heading would be, as we crossed the Strait of Georgia.

Those were the days...and memories were made.

Willie of Willie's Tug,
   and of Walldog, Willie and Jake
   Saturday, June 14, 2015