Cowichan Cultural Center, Duncan

September 16th: While moored at Maple Bay, we traveled to nearby Duncan where we spent the day and toured the Cowichan Cultural Center. We were given a private tour by a member of the tribe who told us stories, myths, and the meaning of the carvings on the totem poles. Fascinating! The Cowichan Tribe members knit unique sweaters

Maple Bay Marina

September 16th: We spent 2 nights at Maple Bay Marina - a very pleasant place with some gigantic floating boat enclosures and some great permanently moored house boats.

Sailing from Gabriola to Maple Bay

September 16th: This was a 30 mile, 5 hour motoring trip from Gabriola Island to Maple Bay Marina. (No wind.) There was time to catch up on reading, as Donna and I took turns navigating the boat. There is picture here of Pilrig Cabin on Gabriola Island. The cabin is on property that was once owned by Donna's aunt and uncle's family. We have many fond memories of staying in this cabin many years ago.

Walks on Gabriola

Fun on Gabriola with Bruce, Hillary, and Family

September 12 - 14, 2008: We spent two great days with Bruce and Hillary Reid and their two boys Ian and Tim at their vacation home on Gabriola Island.
Bruce is Donna's cousin. Lorna and Norman, also cousins, were able to join us, too.

The view from our bedroom which overlooks Plyades Channel and Gabriola Pass was stunning. Donna got up before sunrise to enjoy the view.

We had a great family reunion as well as some very enjoyable seaside walks. Thank you Bruce and Hillary for your gracious hospitality!!

Telegraph Harbor, Thetis Island

September 11: A warm, windless day so we motored 2.5 hr. to Thetis Island's Telegraph Harbor. The approach to Thetis and the harbor has many treacherous shallow areas. All of a sudden, our depth sounder was indicating 5 feet in an area the chart said should be at least 25 feet deep. Also, there were some pretty threatening rocks in the area, too. We tried to anchor out, but there were so many bouys and other boats around that I was afraid we would swing into if the wind shifted. It was also very shallow. We ended up in Thetis Island Marina.

Princess Cove, Wallace Island

September 10, Sailed to Wallace Island and anchored in tiny Princess Cove, which is part of a British Columbia Marine Park. Because of limited swinging room (believe me, this boat is a real swinger), we tied the stern of the boat to shore. That's me in the dinghy tying our stern line to a shore chain that had been installed by the park service.

Wallace island is about 3 miles long and very narrow. It is almost entirely in its natural state, except for a small private in-holding, and a few primitive campsites for kayakers. The place abounds with bird life, as we saw several blue herons, and heard exotic bird calls that sounded like steam whistles. We watched an otter dive for its crab breakfast this morning and then return to its burrow just above the high tide line.

Donna and I hiked about 5 miles on Wallace. Along the way, we came across a cabin that had been part of a long-gone resort. The place was festooned with pieces of decorated driftwood that boaters had left - an interesting tradition.

We now have a new camera, thanks to Norman, who bought one for us! It is now residing permanently in a waterproof case, just in case.