Thunder Bay! Our staging point for Princess Louisa Inlet. I had in mind a remote, secluded little bay; rarely visited by anyone but the occasional boater. The reality is that the shore is lined with small cabins and a boat ramp or two. It does offer protection from the wind and is probably popular with the yachties when summer gets into full swing. For now it is nice to have the bay to ourselves, even if we do have to share it with the locals.
Tonight we have lasagna and green beans in mind with warm bread and good company. Simon and Garfunkel are serenading in the background.
I drifted to sleep last night, imagining Canadian mercenaries drifting silently up to the boat in a small skiff and cutting our dinghy free. I wondered whether we'd be able to buy another in Campbell River, and berated myself for not securing the dinghy with a steel cable and padlock. In the bright light of day it all seems a little silly. Fatigue and darkness take the mind in funny places - not that we won't secure the dinghy with lock and key at times along the way.
Crossing the Straight of Georgia yesterday was a mixed bag. We exited Silva Bay at a leisurely hour anticipating having to make way against the current in Georgia Straight. This was by design as it would give us wind and current flowing in the same direction: a little slower, but much more comfortable. The winds were predicted to die down in the afternoon for our crossing from Nanaimo to Malaspina Straight.
The night before, I dug out the book and recorded the coordinates of the corners of the Canadian Military exercise area (WG, known locally as Whiskey-Golf). Then I ploted the corners as way points and plotted a course around the area on the chart plotter. A typographical error in the book for the coordinates made me use Bob's iphone to pull up the coordinates on the internet. (123deg 47'70" is not a legal coordinate and should be 123deg 47.70'). Later we saw that various sources plot the boundary of WG differently as well (see images).
Entering the Straight of Georgia that morning we were hit by 14-16 knot winds dead ahead and 3-4' chop (a very good thing the 2 knot current was not opposing) that gave us quite a ride, but not much opportunity to do any sailing. I tried that game 25 years ago and found reference points on land stayed stationary.
As the day wore on the chop and the wind moderated and we glided north of Nanaimo toward the way point that would take us around the corner of Whiskey Golf. Ten minutes or so after rounding that corner we were hailed by the Canadian Coast Guard on channel 16 informing us that we had entered an active military area and asking us to depart the way we had entered. They told us we could transit the straight by going around the Balinas Islands.
We complied of course, but reviewing the material afterward in the Douglas book shows 2000 yards of clearance inside the islands that we should have been able to use. The chart shows the boundaries through the middle of the Balinas Islands, so that's the source we should have used. Live and learn.
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