Montague Harbour is a popular anchorage in the Gulf Islands, and not without good reason. This popular anchorage offers a wide range of activities right at your footsteps. The long standing iconic Bakery Boat may be gone, but with a freshened up Marina over the last few years under new ownership, Montague is a lovely destination. Saturday Go For a Walk and Explore the Beach Take your tender to the dinghy dock and go for a lovely walk along the…
The Broughton’s is a great cruising destination in the summer, offering beautiful west coast scenery off the northern part of Vancouver Island. Cruising in the Broughton’s one can feel a little more isolated, as you’re sailing around with fewer boats feeling a little small amongst the huge surrounding wilderness. Sailors can always find a twist on the traditional pub crawl, meaning that when all the random boats head to the few marina’s for the night, the marina’s turns into defacto pubs. Boaters…
You’ve just woken up from your afternoon siesta, relaxing in the cockpit with a drink and a few happy hour nibbles, pondering what to make for dinner. Do you do roasted sausages with a spinach salad and maybe new potatoes, pasta tossed with parmesan, peas and bacon, ….hmmm, no wait, ….pizza! After being inspired by boating friends fancy flat bread, dinner tonight was definitely going to have to be pizza. Typically, it seems making pizza dough takes hours, requiring far…
Feel like you have to choose between going cruising and live music concerts, think again! This summer you have back to back weekend concerts in August to fill your concert needs. Start in Desolation Sound for the weekend of August 5th, head up through the rapids and sail to Shoal Bay and then start to head home and stop in Pender Harbour. So here’s the deal: August 5th – Dinghy Concert in Prideaux Haven This event has been growing in popularity…
Boating plans for the Canada Day long weekend? The summer weather on the west coast has finally arrived, our proper summer cruising season is here! Looking around the local waters there’s some great boating destinations to celebrate the long weekend, and further extend your weekend to celebrate Independence Day. Here’s some options I found to help you pick your celebration destination of choice, such a hard life us boaters have: June 30th Sidney BC Fireworks ‘Sidney Days’ kicks off on…
In a previous post, Hidden Robertson Lake Part I, I mentioned along the trail heading back to our tender we met some local Cortes hippies that gave us some island insight. At the time, I was nodding in agreement that the place sounded nice, but really, once we were on our way I thought ‘a lovely person’, but that was pretty much useless information. …so you want to know what she shared? The women was welcoming us to the island…
As I approach the summer cruising season, I start to think about what new recipe I will be adding to the galley repertoire. We may not be planning an offshore trip, but inshore sailing doesn’t mean that you’ll have a grocery store nearby either. Sure I can plan a food provisioning trip, but the more options I can carry on the boat, the less reliance I have on little grocery stores that may only get new stock once a week. This…
Having a sailboat really can add stress to ones life in the summer that non boat owners just don’t appreciate. Non boat owners approach a weekend starting to plan out a hike somewhere, or picking a cafe to go for a relaxed breakfast, while sailboat owners are looking at the weather assessing the sailing conditions, tides, and having to select an anchorage that offers the hiking, and food festival and music festival that fancies them. This added weekend stress is…
When I first started sailing, spotting any kind of wild life on the water was super exciting. I’d scan the water to catch a glimpse of a seal or a porpoise, or scour the sky for eagles. Now, it’s the times we bring guests aboard that I’m reminded how spoiled one can get when having a sailboat. I will say though that spotting porpoises on the water still gets me excited. Those special times they decide to play with your…
Winter Cove on Saturna Island is one of my favourite anchorages in the Gulf Islands. It offers beautiful views, a walking trail in the marine park and it’s only a short dinghy ride to the public dock in Lyall Harbour. Saturna Island can sometimes feel a little more out of the way than other Gulf Islands for a weekend destination, but depending on your home port, it can be a shorter trip than going to Salt Spring Island. As you approach…