Saturna Island

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Geo: 48.7931, -123.167

Saturna Island (September 3rd 2015)

As we motor towards Saturna Island, Janet and I decide to deal with our abundance of blackberries. We go into the galley, wash the berries and put them into a large pot with a little water and sugar to cook down into what we hope will be a yummy syrupy goo.

Picking blackberries (and blueberries) is a childhood activity I remember very fondly. Though John is six years older than I am, I remember being with him when we lived WAY out in the country and us picking berries in the summer heat. Our mother made the best blackberry jam ever - and that is a task I have taken on myself. Every year my brothers get homemade blackberry jam from me. But, alas, here on the boat there are no canning jars and John left his bargain store pressure cooker in my suitcase back at the hotel. hahaha!

As the boat rocks, I am happy about the little metal sticks that get screwed around the sides of the pot on the stove to keep it from sliding off the burner. I don't know what it is officially called so I call it the 'pot sticker." It is hard to stand steady when the boat is moving, so we're happy to know the pot is stable.

Speaking of 'boat stuff", have I told you about the "head?" That's the bathroom on a boat. Imagine an airplane bathroom, but with enough room to turn around. To use it, you do what you do in a bathroom, and women are instructed to use an absolute minimum amount of toilet paper. When you are done doing your thing, you pump this lever up and down until all your "do" is out of sight down the pipe, then you switch a little lever and pump the first lever 12-13 times more. This brings seawater into the pipe and pushes everything through the pipe to where it belongs. Now switch the second lever back to where it was.

THIS is why, whenever we were on land, neither Janet nor I passed by a single porta-potty or outhouse even if we didn't have to go. Sometimes we'd go in just to make sure we didn't have to go. LOL

Saturna Island is a pretty island with nice views of Winter Cove, where we anchored, and one very nice, gentle path that lead to the site we had come to see - the "boat pass."
The trail is mostly flat, very wide and so nice to walk upon. Al explained why we were going to the 'boat passage' but I've forgotten his description, so when I get to the end, my mouth completely drops open. Holy mackerel!

"Boat Passage" is a narrow passageway that boats can pass through only at certain times because of the VERY strong currents. I am hoping my brother John will comment and add some facts to this description. Suffice it to say, that the currents were amazing and all over the place. Clearly visible from where we stood on the rocks above we could see whirling eddies and what almost looked like whirlpools further out. Anyone trying to come into Winter Cove right now would be sunk for sure - or at the least very wet and frightened. We sat for a long time...all of us on different rock perches - the water was mesmerizing. The video below doesn't capture the strong, true movement of the water, but maybe it will give you an idea.

The day was sunny and pleasant which was quite a change from all of the previous days of our trip! We slowly walked back to the Ibis, notice that I said 'walked' as opposed to 'hiked' as this trail was so gentle. The sun shone through the tree leaves dappling the ground and I almost forgot we were going to have to get back into that dinghy!

It is our last night on the Ibis. We had a nice dinner of salmon (with lemon and dill), mashed potatoes, steamed beans and for dessert, a cheesecake topped by DELICIOUS blackberry syrup! (The blackberries cooked down beautifully and really were good).
John and Janet shared a bottle of wine they had purchased from a vineyard before the sailing trip and we toasted their anniversary, Captain Al, and our adventures together.

Tomorrow is the last day of our sailing trip. We will be sailing from Saturna Island back to Victoria, to Oak Harbor Marina. It is going to be a long sailing day and we are a little anxious about crossing Haro Strait again after our perilous journey out. But for tonight, we sit up above, watch the sunset, look at the stars and finish the wine.

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Comments

[jkutzik]

This reminds me of a place we saw on our cruise up the St. Lawrence seaway! Fascinating waters.

[tom]

I love the pics and vid with this entry! The boat at sunset is really beautiful!

[wjohnsmithii]

Well, Jane, I'm not entirely sure how the flow works at Boat Pass. I know with the tides going in and out, there are currents flowing between the islands at some times, and not so much at others. That's why we had to study the current cha
rts every day to figure out when we could go the direction we wanted. Presumably there is a time (or two) each day when the flow through Boat Pass stops, the reverses and flows the other way. I think boats have to hit that slack water time just right to go through there! -- John