Port Renfrew, BC, Canada, 25-SEP-2018 – The motor from Bamfield to Port Renfrew was easy and calm. The wind, by our measurement, was 1 knot from the east.
We’ve made it a standard practice (SOP) to put up the mainsail whenever we will be in ocean swells. The difference, when the swells are abeam or in the confused waters near the shore, is remarkable.
We motored against the current for almost three hours and then picked up a favorable current that carried us into the strait of Juan de Fuca. The current in the strait ebbs from the east at 1.8 knots and floods from the west at 0.8 knots, so it is best to pay attention. Additionally, as most sailors know, when the wind is against the current, the waves will build. The strait is known for its moods.
Jennifer picked Port Renfrew as our stop. The inlet is big, almost a mile across and looks like poor protection in some winds. The thumbnail crescent anchorage we mapped out looked exactly on the chart as it was. We decided against it. We were a little gun shy last night. We give the strait its due.
At the end of the inlet, where a river flows in, is a very new marina. The breakwater is very tall with a small opening facing the end of the inlet: wonderful protection from anything. At $1.38 per foot, it is as much as Cow Bay in Prince Rupert.
There is a brand new building for drinking and eating. A note here: I don’t call the the building a restaurant because it doesn’t have a kitchen. Instead there is a food truck – a trailer, actually – next to the building, but unattached. The food truck has plants and gardens planted around it, so it can not be moved, but is not part of the building. I’m certain there must be some health code or building code that is being circumvented.
North of the marina is a sand beach with beach houses – cottages in Canadian. The beach houses completely occlude any access to the beach except for access by climbing down from a dirt road leading from the marina. At first, I was very impressed by the furniture and other things on the beach and then I realized the beach was treated as a private beach because access is generally prevented.
Beach front property in this part of BC is amazingly expensive. In Bamfield, we saw a tiny lot, 50 by 100 feet, maybe, with a building that needed to be torn down and a new house built on pilings. The asking price was $450K CAN.
Here, in Port Renfrew, the houses are very well kept with brand new siding and expensive breakwaters. It is a beautiful place.
Because it is a a straight line from the end of the inlet to the strait very, very large tree stumps drift on to the beach. They make the beach exotic and very Vancouver Island.
On the walk back, Jennifer and I discussed the oil change I’ve been wanting to do. Jennifer asked how often do I do one. The information I’ve read, much of it from the manufacturer, Yanmar, varies from 50 hours to 150 hours, with most consensus centering around 100, which is what I have settled on.
This morning, I was shocked to see how much we have been motoring. It was been 130 hours since I changed the oil in Prince Rupert. Yikes, on multiple counts.
Jennifer has gone for a walk. It is 8.45am. I’m going to start the engine to heat the oil, and then change it. We’ll shove off at 11am. We’ll catch the end of the ebb working against us and then the flood carrying us to our next stop. We’ll get to Victoria tomorrow.
