 Sunday afternoons, during the peak cruising season, is a great time to acquire a vacant slip or adequate swinging room. After the weekenders depart, and the local shindigs have ended (Saturday farmer’s market in Ganges, for instance), the lucky few reap the benefits. But if you can cruise during the shoulder months, April and October, many of the popular cruising spots are pretty quiet all week. Pulling up to Ladysmith Yacht Club’s guest dock Sunday afternoon was quiet as a church mouse. The following morning we found out where all those mice worked, at the nearby log mill, from four in the morning till midnight. A little noisy at times but entertaining during our short stay none the less. Sunday evening we walked the 40 minutes into town and dined at the Fox and Hound, an English pub recommended by Randy V. (Thx!) and lucky for us, still open. Maybe we should have grabbed a flashlight for our walk back to the boat that night since most of it was unfamiliar territory and in pure darkness. It turned into a bit of fun and misadventure.   Monday afternoon, after Erika finished up her work day, we made another trek into town to top off our boat pantry, flashlight not required. Repeating Monday morning’s wake up call, Tuesday morning’s 4 a.m. log mill steam whistle, followed by their industrial clamor of cranes and conveyors, stirred us out of our bunk. When in Rome? After lunch in the cockpit, Erika returned below for another hour of work while I set off to explore the marina. There are a couple marinas that are adjacent and, therefore, more convenient to Ladysmith’s downtown resources, but we preferred the rustic, less populated surroundings of Ladysmith Marina, oh, and the reciprocal club benefits, of course. On the other hand, aside from the constant hum of the mill, the sleepy setting might just be seasonal or even temporary. There are rows and rows of silver metal, king-sized, monolithic boat sheds taking up the marina’?s prime water-estate. Also, a large construction site adjacent to the marina points to expensive housing developments in the very near future. Whether its busier in the summer or will become busier year-round, we’ll find out another time. Next stop, Thetis Island. - Keith 
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 Free to sail Canada, but hoping to settle somewhere before Erika’s Monday morning meeting, we chose to run up a series of narrow channels to Ladysmith, B.C. Ladysmith, about 30 nm from Van Isle Marina, would take us about 5-6 hours. We departed about noon, winding Jomo through the small archipelago just south of Shute passage. At one point between Fernie and Goudge Islands the depth instantly dropped from 20 ft to 11 ft and narrowed to about a boat length. Of course, a trawler wanted to transit the same water near the same time. Slow is pro. ;) Entering Colburne passage, you will always be giving way to one or more of the BC ferries that frequent Swartz Bay.  Leaving the busy ferry routes off our stern, we entered Satellite channel, over one mile wide and much less traffic, especially this time of year. The wind was light so we continued to motor-sail our way North, along the west side of Salt Spring Island and into the steep and narrow fjords of Burial Inlet and Sansum Narrows. Although the currents can run near four knots, we encountered a favorable 1-2 that day. If you haven’t experienced these waters, I would highly recommend it. We would return the same way a few days later and enjoy this area under full sail.  Speaking of sailing, as we left the narrows and entered the wider Stuart Channel, the wind finally filled in, but from the North, our current heading. No worries, we were making good time. Up went the sails and the back and forth commenced, across the channel, from Penelakut Island to Chemainus, up to Thetis and finally laying the inlet to Ladysmith. We doused our sails, fired up the diesel and motored past town, eventually securing Jomo along the Ladysmith Yacht Club guest dock, our temporary home for the next couple of days.
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AuthorA UCSC graduate in Marine Biology, Keith holds a 100 ton USCG Capt. License and is an ASA/US sailing certified instructor. Archives
November 2024
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