From Grace Harbour, we weighed anchor at 8:30am, our next destination is Campbell River, a 24nm run in sunny skies and light wind. I’m watching our projected ETA on the chart plotter so we can enter Discovery Passage after max ebb current of 4.6 kts.
We turn north at Cape Mudge and with over a three knot push we’re doing 10.2 kts. headed for Discovery Harbour Marina. After arrival I changed the engine oil and Ginny checked us into the marina and did some shopping. Dinner was on the boat and early to bed for me.
The next day was Canada Day (Canada’s Birthday), which was a busy day for us. There is a great supermarket close to the marina and we took on extra provisions so we will be well stocked for our trip through the Broughton’s.
We enjoyed an early dinner at the nearby pub and received a raucous serenade by a local Scottish Highland pipe band.
Canada Day is much like our Independence Day celebration with parades, a fair, and fireworks. We missed the parade but had a good time listening to some live music, checking out the vendor booths and watching the happy kids.
We had a wonderful view of the fireworks only about a 15 minute walk from the boat. There were a lot of oohs, awes, and whistles from the crowd of people lining the shore.
I made it to bed around 11:30pm, the latest I’ve been up in years, although well worth it. And as is not my usual habit, missed First Light (get it) the next morning.
The next day started out with a boat chore. The shower pump has been running slow which has been a minor inconvenience. I flushed the plumbing lines and installed a new pump and all is working fine now.
In the afternoon we visited the Campbell River Museum that covers north Vancouver Island history. The museum primarily features First Nations’ art and history and the logging and fishing industries. The museum also had a fascinating film on the blasting of Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows in 1958. The duPont Canada film can also be viewed on YouTube.
By late afternoon we were ready for an early dinner. We found an ethnic Indian food restaurant on our 45 min. walk back to the marina and enjoyed a fantastic meal.
Next we are going to transit Seymour Narrows on the morning slack. We are nearing neap tides and the ebb current in Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait will be moderate. On spring tides the current can reach 15 kts. in the narrows and passage must be done near slack. On the day of our travel the max will be 9 kts. Our next stop will be Port Neville, unless strong winds in Johnstone Strait send us to an alternate anchorage in one of the channels to the north.
Sailing First Light 