Remember my comment about knowing when to stay and when to go? We had a hard time deciding on the day we planned to cross the Strait of Georgia. So we started by taking a short walk on Gabriola Island to stretch our legs and try to assess conditions on the water.
In the end, no amount of studying and re-studying various weather models told us what we really needed to know. They all agreed that a steady northerly running 12-15 knots, gusting over 20 had been blowing for the past twenty-four hours or so. That, in itself, wouldn’t pose a problem. The question was: what had a day of wind blowing over a huge body of water done to the waves? There was one way to find out.
We said goodbye to the nice folks at Page’s Resort and told them if we didn’t like the look of things, we’d be back.
As we exited Silva Bay heading north, we were immediately hammered by fast-moving waves that broke over the pilothouse. Turn around and return to port? Not a chance. To turn, you’d have to put yourself abeam to the waves, then have them dumping water into the cockpit. This seemed unwise. So I kept the bow pointed into the waves, telling myself that they would lessen as we got away from shore and into deeper water. After all, this was just 12 knots of wind, right?
Fortunately, I was right. I’m sure we could have managed to turn around at some point, or altered course to Nanaimo. But the waves did diminish from concerning to annoying for the next three hours.
We dropped anchor in Pender Harbour, a popular waypoint along the Sunshine Coast. By this time, the wind had dropped to nothing and the day was warm. I grabbed a beer and a deck chair. No photos.
We set out the next morning on calm seas and under sunny skies heading north along the coast to Lund. I snapped a few photos along the way.
We arrived at Lund after an easy five hours of sun and following seas. We found overnight space on the dock and took a walk.
Lund is literally the end of the road. Highway 101 begins here and runs all the way to the tip of South America.
There’s not a lot to Lund. The hotel and its restaurant have never been more than adequate. But you can buy fresh seafood off the boats, there’s a superb bakery featuring cinnamon buns, and a decent small restaurant. And the people are nice.
Nice
Hey, you two – did you miss ‘The Laughing Oyster ‘ in Lund? Great seafood – but a bit of a hike uphill from the dock.
It’s enough of a hike that I don’t consider it to be in Lund. We’re heading to the other side of the peninsula today, so may visit then.
Glad the waves didn’t stay ‘concerning’. Love the photo with the totem pole through the trees.
I love that passage. For many many years we sailed ithe Georgia Straits, dropping anchor on Galiano Is. Yes , the headwinds and cross winds can be daunting. Two summers we sailed up as far. As the Queen Charlottes!! We didn’t turn on the engine much !!
Enjoy all the adventures up there!
Barb
I try to never mow my lawn into the wind–although the waves of grass have never been concerning, only annoying!
I loved the Totem Pole (picture).
I strongly recommend a murder mystery that concerns the death of a Totem Pole carver in Alaska, an amphibious car, and locals of islands near Sitka. It is the 4th and final book of late Oregonian writer Vince Kohler, who died an untimely death of a stroke. It is called Raven’s Widows. If you want to know more, just ask! If you want to know less . . . well . . . too late! Looks like a fun trip, you two!