All you folks who’ve been to Italy listen up! This small bay on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island is not GEN-oa Bay, it’s Ge-NO-a Bay. Get it right. Don’t annoy the locals.
Not that anyone around here is easily annoyed. Genoa Bay is a friendly place with a pub/cafe that brings people in from as far away as Victoria. No, it’s not a gastropub or particularly eat-local. It’s a pub with good food.
I love this place. Many people love this place. It’s what a small marina should be; well-kept, slightly funky, with a, let’s say, picturesque collection of local watercraft.
The cafe and it’s Guard heron.
How to make your sailboat seem large.
On our second day, the wind dropped and we hopped into the Zephyr and made the 1.6 mile trip across the water to Cowichan Bay. I remember, and I imagine my brother remembers, the excitement when our parents gave us genuine Canadian souvenirs: Cowichan Indian (as they were then known) sweaters.
The sweater business carries on, but the village is now given over to marinas, guest housing, restaurants and galleries. Not to mention an excellent bakery, and good ice cream.
The Zephyr: our new 15hp(!) dinghy.
The entrance to Genoa Bay is framed between the white and black masts.
Did I mention that it was low tide? A very low tide, actually.
Dinghy rides are fun but not much exercise. Tomorrow we will ride the short but hilly road to Maple Bay on our Brompton folding bikes. Don’t expect a Maple Bay post unless we see something really unusual.