Golden Years

After returning from La Paz, Mexico, Leslie and I made a brief stop in Golden followed by a brief stop in Vernon to repack suitcases with foul weather sailing gear before heading to Sidney for 2 weeks of sailing on the west coast; a week sailing around Salt Spring in the Canadian Gulf Islands followed by one week in the San Juans Islands, USA. Ladysmith and Butchart gardens were highlights in the Gulf Islands. The Ladysmith Maritime Society marina is home to the largest Purple Martin colony in BC. After spending the winter in Brazil, the Blue Martins had returned to Ladysmith for the season. Purple Martins were first observed nesting there in 1989. Several nest boxes were installed in 1990. By 2002, there were 75 nest boxes and 35 pairs nested that summer and produced ... read more

We embarked onto "Makin Memories", a 41 foot sailboat from Sunsail in Tortola, BVI and sailed across the Sir Francis Drake Channel to The Bight on Norman Island where we tied on to a mooring buoy for the night. Often referred to as "Treasure Island" by the locals, the island is thought to still hold buried treasure. The restaurant, aptly named "Pirate's Bight", is 5 star. After snorkelling at the Caves in the morning, we sailed for 3 hours into a 20knt breeze only to find there were no vacant mooring buoys in Manchineel Bay on Cooper Island. We decided to motor north to Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. Within sight of the marina, the engine died a slow death. Now under sail and with the assistance of a couple of passing fishermen, "Makin Memories" was ... read more

Sailing in the British Virgin Islands in November. The 60 islands compromising the British Virgin Islands are all volcanic except for Anegada, a low-lying coral mound. Anegada is the northern most island of the BVI archipelago and separates the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea. Anegada is the second largest of the British Virgin Islands, but it is also the most sparsely populated of the main islands, with a population of 285. Anegada lobster is a specialty in the BVI, with local fishermen providing most of the lobster catch for the rest of the British Virgin Islands. The Wonky Dog grilled the best lobster I have tasted. Anegada is known for miles of white sand beaches and the 18-mile (29 km)-long Horseshoe Reef, one of the largest barrier coral reefs in the Caribbean. The reef has ... read more

Chatterbox Falls; About Time We chartered “About Time”, a Catalina 425, from Cooper Boating on Granville Island, Vancouver to sail up to Catterbox Falls on the Westcoast of Canada. We drove to Vancouver on the wettest day of the year, the day Vancouver was drenched with more rain in a day than they had received all year. A strong low-pressure system in the Pacific delivered 40 knots winds from the NW. Not great for heading up the Sunshine Coast in a north westerly direction. Granville Island has an extensive market where we could gather provisions for our week-long trip. Fresh fish is a specialty. We stowed the provisions in the rain and decided to drink scotch on the boat instead of venturing out into the rain to find a restaurant. We spent a happy Friday night ... read more

Dunedin is the old name for Edinburgh and explains why Robby Burns has a place of honour in the Octagon in front of St Paul’s cathedral and the town hall. However the railway station is the most impressive building and deservedly the most photographed. I normally stay well clear of churches but the organ being played in St. Paul’s was magnificent.... read more