Baywolf Visits a Few Gulf Islands

Richard Parker
Aug 26
5 min read

Wednesday August 20

We left our home dock at the end of the day and arrived at Russell Island around 7:30. Our planned destination for this trip was to be Tumbo Island on the East side of Saturna Island. We were excited to see the otters and have a walk to the South end. It's one of our very favourite places to spend time on the water. Staying the night at Russell Island would break the trip into two shorter segments.

We shared the anchorage on the North side of Russell Island with about 7 boats. One of them was a beautiful 48' Tollycraft named Tortuga. The weather was warm and the sunset was amazing.

After smokies, cauliflower salad and a few games of crib, it was an early night with plans for Tumbo and an early departure. We didn't launch the dingy and go to shore this visit.

Thursday August 21

As planned, we raised the anchor at 7:30 and quietly motored away from the anchorage. The new anchor windlass worked perfectly and with the planned "down" button on deck and a change of chain, it will be even better. It was a beautiful, calm morning and we didn't increase our speed even when we were clear of the other boats. We motored at 5 knots, sipping fuel and coffee and enjoyed the early morning (Holly, not a morning person, enjoyed it too!!!).

About an hour into our 3.5 hour transit, we received a phone call from fellow boaters, Mark and Wendy and had a discussion about the forecasted winds. They had been on the water for a few days already and planned to meet us at Tumbo. In Northerly winds, that anchorage can be pretty uncomfortable. Holly and I have been chased away a couple of times because of the bumpy ride while tied to one of the 14 BC Parks mooring balls.

Change of plans; we decided to try Medicine Beach which is at the far end of the bay between North and South Pender Islands. It's been on our list for a while and this was the perfect time to check it out! Mark and Wendy would meet us there the next day.

There are a number of things that make this spot worth adding to our favourites list. It's protected from anything other that a South wind, it has great muddy holding in 20 feet of water, the shore provides access to a few trails through a rare and protected salt water marsh (there is a bench!), it's well past the noise and activity at Poets Cove marina and it's close to the canal that goes to Port Browning. We launched the dingy, Freya, and went to shore. Just a few minutes up the road from the beach, there is a coffee shop, a liquor store and a small grocery outlet. What a great resource for boaters that might be thirsty for a Fat Tug IPA (that would be me!).

Back to the boat for steak on the BBQ with all the support dishes that goes with it. It was a calm evening and we were pleased we decided to change our plans.

Friday August 22

We woke at a more normal time and enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs! A treat for us as we have been skipping breakfasts for a few months. We took a ride under the bridge to go and see the boats at Port Browning! It was a short 15 minute ride. We have enjoyed the pub/restaurant and hot showers here before. We have also camped there in Vincent!

A little bit of swimming and relaxing was on the agenda when we got back to Baywolf. Later that day, Mark and Wendy arrived and anchored their sailboat, Disconnect, a short distance from us. We enjoyed having them on board for drinks and charcuterie.

That evening, we joined Mark and Wendy on their boat for dinner. We were treated to steak skewers and freshly caught salmon! After lots of story telling and laughs, we motored back to our boat in the most amazing show of bioluminescence we have seen. The light show caused by the dingy and the propeller was incredible!

The weather has been so perfect that we decided to throw back the bimini and sleep under the stars up on the flybridge. I tried counting the stars but lost track after the first trillion or so! The seat that folds out into a bed wasn't the most comfortable but good enough that we slept up there the next night as well! How often do we get to enjoy weather like that!

Saturday August 23

Today was a play day! Mark paddled over with a second inflateable paddle board (with a seat and kayak paddle) in tow and we went to explore the bay. The first thing we did was circle SV Seahawk, the 200' sailboat that anchored out in the middle last night. What a sleek and fast looking boat. It was launched in Italy and had the styling to support that! We also played in the current under the bridge!

Mark and Wendy picked us up at noon in their fast dingy and we zoomed over to the pub at Port Browning for lunch. When we got back, we inflated the dragons, Marigold and Beauregard and stayed cool floating behind the boat.

Mark and Wendy left and we spent one last night at this very accomodating anchorage. Boats came and went but we were never bothered by noise or by people anchoring too close! There is lots of room.

Sunday August 24

After our second night up on the flybridge under the stars, we raised anchor and motored on our way. We decided to go around the bottom of South Pender and then head north through Plumper Sound to our lunch destination at Lyall Harbour on Saturna Island. We were disappointed that we didn't see whales but the calm winds and gentle sea state made for a very pleasant journey. We had a look at the warf and moorings at Sage Hayward Vineyards and plan to visit on a future trip. We anchored at the very end of Lyall Harbour and used the dingy to get to the pub/restarant at the top of the ferry terminal ramp. It's a great spot with outside seating under umbrellas and has pretty good food. There are a few stores and art gallery's here and more close by. We are thinking of a weekend trip in Vincent which would allow us to travel the Island a bit more. Too soon, our trip was at an end and we enjoyed a long an enjoyable transit back to our home dock.