Garden Bay, Pender Harbour

We woke with a beautiful blue sky and warm weather.  The forecast is for winds 10 – 15 from the NW, so our hope is that we can sail back down Agamemnon Channel on our way to Pender Harbour.  At first, things were not too promising as we came out of the marine park into Hotham Channel, but as we motored toward Agnew Passage, the entrance to Agamemnon, we could see that winds were picking up.  We shared the relatively narrow passage with the ferry from Saltery Bay on its way into Earl Cove and as we rounded the corner, the wind was blowing at 12 knots.  Unfortunately, as seems to be our luck it was right on our nose.  After some debate, we decided to go ahead and raise the sails and beat up against it.  Part of our decision was based on another sail boat that was already reaching back and forth and in the spirit of sailing we had to join in the fray.  It was a lot of work, but a whole lot of fun.  We tacked back and forth as we made our way up the relatively narrow channel.  We were only able to stay on each tack for about 2 – 3 minutes before having to come about.  Janet was at the helm and Paul was working the lines.  The fun continued for several hours until we were nearly out of the channel and our stomachs were telling us that it was well past lunch.  We dropped the sails, ate lunch and made preparations for entering Pender Harbour.  We dropped anchor in Garden Bay near the head of the harbor. 

Today is our wedding anniversary (31 years), so dinner on shore to celebrate was on the agenda.  We took the dinghy over to the marina past a huge sailing yacht with what seemed like an endless number of people.  Perhaps a good way to enjoy sailing the Salish Sea, but we both agreed it was not for us.  We had a great dinner and headed back to the boat where we collapsed from the long day of sailing.

Captain Janet at the helm.

Mega yacht!

And their toys!  They had two of these, plus
 an assortment of other water toys.