Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Vancouver to Nanaimo 6/2/15

Our stay at Royal Vancouver Yacht Club came to an end and we headed west to Nanamio on Vancouver Island.  Nanamio is a harbor town of about 80,000 people.  Its roots go back to early 1800's as a trading post and growth accelerated when coal was discovered.  Mining and other natural resources were commercialized by the ubiquitous Hudson Bay Company.

Leaving Vancouver harbor we enjoyed a 1-2 knot ebb current, light winds and peaceful crossing.  Plenty of commercial traffic ranging from container ships, cruise ships, bulk carriers and barges all competing for the advantage of the ebb flow.
Nanaimo anchorage near Mark's Bay 

 Just across from the main city harbor is a floating restaurant called the Dinghy Dock Pub.  Getting supplies to the pub and others on the nearby islands is routine work for the suppliers.  Here propane and beer make an interesting combination outbound for the pub.


The towns we have visited in Canada have all paid tribute to the past with monuments, reenactments and other interesting events.  Nanamio has restored the Baston that originally protected the harbor.  The sally ports housed cannons but were never fired in anger.  They have been recreated in detail using plans from British war ships and cast in England.  At noon the cannon is fired to remind everyone of the heritage they all share.  The salute fires blanks but the range is a 6" cannon ball half a mile.





Float plans land all day long just in front of the harbor.  Right at the edge of float plane operation is long dock for fishing and crabbing.  Since the locals were throwing crab pots off the dock decided to try our luck.  In less than an hour we landed 4  crabs.  Could of had a few more but the crabs managed to get the bait bag out thru one of the openings holding the gate open.  Saw two crabs escape as the pot was being brought up.  The learning continues and will attach the bait bag to prevent the clever crabs from escaping.  Dinner was excellent and have at least broke even on this crab trap.  More crabbing as we get further north.


Canada is full of parks and the views from most are just amazing.  This park is just across from main harbor and has camping facilities with dozens of sites.  Saw a few more of the black squirrels we saw in Vancouver but did not have a camera to record them.



The trees a bit larger than Keela is used to seeing........


  BOX SCORE 4 HOURS  18 Gallons 34 Miles (Ebb current of 2 kts almost all the way)

No comments:

Post a Comment