7/21 Maple Bay

We are moored to the main dock at the end of the fairway, with a couple of smaller boats in the slips behind us. They were planning on leaving around 7 o'clock this morning, so we moved our boat forward a few feet last night to give them clearance. The first boat escaped with no problems, and with a little help fending off with a boat hook from our stern, the second boat was away as well. It was an interesting craft, built in 1928. It was so well maintained that it looked as if it were new. If you've ever read the book "The Curve Of Time", about a woman and her children boating in northern British Columbia back in the early 30's, you'd recognize this boat. It was built in the same yard in Vancouver.

I washed the salt spray off our front windows first thing this morning, figuring I'd beat the heat of the day. It was already pretty hot, and we were expecting a scorcher later in the day. In the end it wasn't quite as warm as yesterday, but I think it did eventually reach 80 degrees.

Our excursion for today was a dinghy ride around the harbor, with Barb and Trav in their dinghy and us in ours. The A dock of this marina is occupied by float homes, and they're very picturesque. We had walked the dock along their front sides, but the dinghy provided us with new views along the back, and also views of the lagoon behind the bay. The lagoon itself we'll probably do another day, as it was already shallowing with the falling tide. We also headed out into the main bay, and although our moorage was calm and hot, the wind and waves were picking up in the main harbor, requiring dead slow speed to keep the salt spray off the cameras. We went as far as Bird's Eye Cove Marina, the next establishment to the north. After some exploring around the new boat houses and shoreline, we returned to our moorage.

We followed the dinghy excursion with an early dinner at the pub. Trav, Erin and I all ordered the 2 piece fish and chips, while Barb had the chicken quesadillas. We had to laugh when our meals arrived, as the pieces of fish were huge.

We've made arrangements to rent a car tomorrow. The rental agency will send someone to pick us up and take us into Duncan, the closest town, where we'll do the paperwork and pick up our car. We plan on driving to the towns of Chemainus and Ladysmith, places we skipped during the cruise south. Chemainus is known for the many murals painted on the walls of the downtown buildings, and Ladysmith is billed as a "retro" town still in the 50's. Neither has very good access from the water. The cruising guides recommend taking a ferry from Telegraph Harbour to see the town of Chemainus, and Ladysmith is quite a hike up a steep hill from the docks, not an option for Trav's knee.

Erin and I went for a walk this evening down to the boat yard north of the marina and visited with Trav and Barb a bit before returning to the boat. It's now a pleasant evening in the harbor.