For the full story, see The Admiral's Martini Musings page.  It took two tries, but we managed a safe and exciting transit offshore for the first time.

Our first stop in the Broughton Archipelago was Monk's Wall.  This is a picture of Xena standing in front of what's left of part of the outpost.  Bryan and I are each pictured in the archway of what we believe to be either a home or a main traders building.  So many artifacts have been found and continue to be found and set aside on a log they're running out of log to put them on.

This is the highest point we've been before and were looking forward to returning to explore more of the land.  We missed the cruisers cabin last time so made a point to visit and leave our mark this time.  We signed in for our HAPS crew that couldn't make it this year but were here with us in 2023.  It's an amazing little hidey hole that has plenty of room and good protection from the wind when needed.  Xena loved the plentiful beach exploring time even with her booties.  If you're ever in the area, look for our sign!

We finally got the kayaks wet and went to explore the town and pick up some provisions.  Xena wasn’t thrilled, but she’ll adjust with time.  The ferry wake scared her.  It was blazing hot so the paddle felt nice.  No burns today, we’re max protected.

Next we headed to Hornby Island and Tribune Bay to check out the Hawaii of the mainland.  It was wonderful.  Warm water, sandy beach, no oyster shells, and sun.  The anchorage wasn’t too bad and we were able to hit the beach two times to play with Xena and stretch our legs.  We ran to the nearby shops and I got a panama hat because I am really not a boho beach hat kind of girlie but I burn!  Good purchase.  I think Bryan and I are ready for some quiet anchorages and far away little hidey-holes. We’re people’d out.  We love being around our friends and meeting new people, but the craziness of tourism and cities is a bit much sometimes.  We prefer the quieter experiences and are looking forward to finding lots to explore in the coming weeks.  We came…We saw…We enjoyed.  We out!

The first thing we think about when we know we’re headed to Nanaimo is dreading how crowded it is and this year is no different.  We lucked out with a pretty good anchorage spot, but craziness began shortly after.  Xena and I ran Bryan to the city via dinghy to take a bus to north of the city looking for supplies to build Xena a swim step for the boat.  After returning to the boat, standing on the bow cleaning the salt off the windows, a little sailboat came flying in uncontrollably and nearly took out several boats and avoided capsizing by some power I wish I had.  The gentleman began screaming for help and it became clear he couldn’t pull his sails down and was alone on the boat with no control of the boom swing.  Here’s where it gets interesting.

Our trip to Clam Bay lasted a few days longer than expected, but it was all good.  We met up with our HAPS club again and had a great time with our last HAPSy hour of the season while we wiped out the local pizza joint.  Pizza was great…gluten free crust should be avoided.  The company and surroundings more than made up for it.

On our first stop in Montague Harbour we met up with our HAPS sailing club for the first time this year!  Potlucks, doggies, and lots of sailor stories ensued and we loved every minute of it.    We met some new friends (Tom & Debbie) and were missing some old (Kim & Court).  I wish we could hang together longer this year.  Let’s start planning next year immediately : )

This trip has been in the planning stage since we bought the boat in 2021.  We knew we wanted to head south at some point, but never thought we could get it done so fast!