Chatterbox Falls July 5-8, 2008

Follow a highly customized 28' Tollycraft on an adventure to Chatterbox Falls.

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Egeria Bay at Bedwell Harbor and Poet's Cove Resort. Nice home on Ainslie Point at the West end of Bedwell Harbor. Narrow channel between North PenderIsland and South Pender Island once known as Indian Portage. Just West of Dodd Narrows the shoerline of Gabriola Island is interesting and unusual.
Proceeding along Northunberland Channel, I liked the clouds over Nanaimo's forest products industrial area. Looking over Nanaimo Boat Basin to Newcastle Island and Protection Island from the Warfinger's office on the Promenade. Tied up at Nanaimo's Fisherman's Wharf. Anacortes to Nanaimo

The adventure begins at 9:30 a.m. on the morning of July 5, 2008. Ray Robinson and I left Cap Sante with the goal of reaching Nanaimo with a quick stop at Bedwell to clear Canadian Customs. We topped off the fuel tanks at Nanaimo and stretched our sea-legs on the Waterfront Promenade. We thought of spending the night, but there was plenty of daylight left and the Strait of Georgia looked calm enough for a safe passage to Pender Harbor.

That completes the the first leg of our adventure: Anacortes to Nanaimo. 83.7 miles in 4:08 hours (including a short stop at Bedwell) with an average speed of 20 knots and a max speed of 37 knots. I might mention that "Puget Sound Thunder" sports a 310 hp Volvo diesel turning a duoprop setup. With a top speed approaching 40 knots, she's not for the inexperienced or faint of heart. She reminds me of the Porsche ad: 'Kills bugs fast'.

Entering the Strait of Georgia....looks reasonable.... Splish Splash....Rock and Roll !! The windsheild washers worked very well. The crossing went fine, largely due to Ray's excellent boat handling skills.
Charles Island and Williams Island Pender Harbor is a big place with lots of docks and boathouses and little marinas. There is alot more to explore in Pender Harbor than our time would allow. We decided to tie up at Madiera Marina for the night. It looked a little salty but it had clean showers and good prices.
Pender Harbor is a beautiful spot. It's a short walk to a grocery store and a coffee house....but not much else. It's a longer walk to the Grasshopper Pub, where Ray and I enjoyed the view along with a great burger and a couple of the local microbrews. And here's Miss Mic, by the side of the road, in memory of two seafaring men: Bud and Gordon Kammerle Fancy meeting Bilbo Baggins here, I expect Frodo and Gandalf will be along any minute....
It's hard to imagine a nicer place. Hey, I could live there! Nanaimo to Pender Harbor  

And so ends the second leg of day one. Nanaimo to Pender Harbor 36.1 miles in 2 hours for an average of approx 18 knots. We have arrived at a beautiful location on the northern end of British Columbia's Sechelt Peninsula, part of the "Sunshine Coast". I'd love to spend more time getting to know this place; it's unusual in that there is no single large marina/resort complex. Instead, there are several small, friendly facilities that are so genuinely homestyle and salty.....it's gonna charm the brass right off your binnacle. I can't wait to go back.

If ya enjoyed the pics.....the adventure continues on page 2.

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