We decided to do something different for our August trip to Victoria—we added a few days in Vancouver BC at the Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival. Peter and I left Seattle and headed north on a blustery August day.
21 August 2019
Ewing Street Moorings to Drayton Harbor
We left our dock by 0600, as we had a long day ahead of us. We made good time; by noon we were off Deception Pass, at the north end of Whidbey Island. The birding was good. Among the highlights were red phalaropes and a parasitic jaeger. By 1930, we were anchored in the middle of Drayton Harbor (Blaine, WA).
We were one of the few boats in this large harbor. We could see the Peace Arch (border between the US and Canada) from the anchorage. We’ve visited this area often by land (Boundary Bay, Reifel Bird Sanctuary), but this was our first time in the area by boat.
22 August 2019
Drayton Harbor to Granville Island, Vancouver, BC
We planned another early morning, as the winds were expected to pick up later in the day. We raised anchor by 0620, and headed out of Drayton Harbor. We cleared customs via Nexus, and headed north.
Deltaport and Westshore Terminals, north of Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, is an interesting place to boat through; there were huge active ships everywhere.
The winds turned very gusty (with sustained winds up to 18 kts). We were taking waves on the port side or over the bow. Waves hitting the side of the boat entered the portholes and swirled around like a washing machine. North of the shipping terminal, we were in very choppy water. It was difficult to see and maneuver around the commercial fishing buoys, and the waves made the ride uncomfortable. As we turned and headed more north, our trip was a bit smoother.
We entered Burrard Inlet at about 1100, and we got relief from the waves. What an interesting harbor—full of small fishing skiffs, kayakers, large anchored freighters, cabin cruisers, and SUP paddlers. We cruised up False Creek to Granville Island and rafted to Deerleap.
We spent a few days in Vancouver. The hospitality was wonderful.
Gyrfalcon … 
… rafted to Deerleap 
View of Granville Island
It was great being next to Slim, Brenda, Peter, and Jimmy on Deerleap. It was fun being able to step off the boat and go right over to the market. Since we were rafted to another boat, we didn’t have too many visitors. The highlight of the show was rescue of a Barbie doll that a little girl dropped between the two boats.
26 August 2019
Granville Island BC to Parks Bay, Shaw Island, US
We left Vancouver early in the morning to get to Parks Bay to pick up guests. We cast off about 0710, headed out of False Creek and Burrard Inlet, and then went south in the Strait of Georgia.
By about 1100, we were passing Active Pass. Shortly after noon, we were off Patos, and used the CBP Roam app to clear customs. We headed east of Waldron, through Spring Passage (between Jones and Orcas), and anchored in Parks Bay. We put down the GFB and headed into Friday Harbor to pick up Jim and Lori who were going to travel with us the next few days.
27 August 2019
Parks Bay, Shaw Island to Salt Spring Sailing Club (Ganges)
After some early morning kayaking, we got underway. We had a great view of the Thea Foss as we headed up north. At about 1100, we cleared customs at Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island, and we were back in Canada.
Our destination was an anchorage off Salt Spring Sailing Club in Ganges Harbor on Salt Spring Island.
We did some kayaking and exploring. Later in the day, we met up with friends from the Canadian and PNW fleets of the CYA for a pleasant evening.
28 August 2019
Ganges (Long Harbor) to Cadboro Bay
After some morning kayaking, we took off for Sidney Spit for some day hiking. Jim and Lori were enthusiastic hikers, so we walked on most of the trails. Later in the afternoon, we headed to Cadboro Bay to anchor, with more kayaking.
29 August 2019
Cadboro Bay to Victoria Inner Harbor
We generally stay in Cadboro Bay the night before the Victoria Classic Boat Festival, since it is an easy, short run from there to Victoria. As usual, there were several other classic yachts anchored there as well. We left Cadboro Bay around 1000, and quickly ran into a fog bank. Fortunately it cleared rapidly and we had an uneventful trip into Victoria Inner Harbor, where we ended up on the main dock, bow in, portside tie.
The Empress Hotel 
Hors d-ouevres on the Pilot House roof
Peter, Jim, Lori and Nancy on the bow of the Gyrfalcon
After a few days in Victoria, Jim and Lori flew back to Seattle and home.
2 September 2019
Victoria Inner Harbor to Ewing Street Moorings
We left Victoria Harbor at about 0900. Normally we leave much earlier to be able to clear Customs in Port Angeles when the Coho isn’t in port, but we planned to use CPB Roam, so didn’t have to leave at the break of day. We made great time and decided to go to our home dock. At 1100, we were off Eastern Bank and by 1400, we were off Bush Point. We got to the locks at about 1700. Unfortunately, it was a very long locking through because the large locks were closed. We waited 3 hours. Finally we got through, but by the time we got to our dock, it was dark. Fortunately, our neighbors Andy and Jo were home and put on their outside lights so we could see our dock. It was a very long day, but we were happy to be home.
