Newcastle Island, Nanaimo, BC, 16-MAY-2025 – I haven’t been in the mood to write recently. I’m sorry. I’m also afraid to write how well things are going.
We moved out of Point Hudson on May first to Mystery Bay on Marrowstone Island, where we discovered how much we left behind, which was just as well since we hadn’t finished cleaning the house for VRBO rental.
Jennifer has always wanted to tie up to the mooring balls at Fort Worden, so we did. These balls are exposed to the strait and very rocky. We stayed for a few minutes and then offloaded the packing materials we’d taken stuff to the boat in and rowed to shore. We cable-locked the dinghy to a large piece of driftwood (unnecessary, but we did it anyway) and stayed at the house for three days, cleaning, etc.
Then back onto the boat, heading north to the San Juans.
First thing we noticed, when we left the marina on May 1, was that the engine did not need bleeding, and hasn’t. Can’t explain, and I won’t search for a reason. Until two days ago, the weather has been clear skies and sunshine. Jennifer wore shorts at certain times of the day and sunscreen most days.
We stayed in WA state parks and used our marine pass for buoys and docks. We’ve broken even.
Customs people at Bedwell Harbor were the customs people I know, though the phone in Hamilton, Ontario was very busy so I didn’t speak about anything but business with the agent.
The signs at customs dock in Bedwell are all warnings about docking only for official business and the like: we needed Canadian dollars. I asked: Is there an ATM nearby? The customs officers weren’t sure. They conferred on where it was, but wasn’t anymore and then suggested I go out the gate to the hotel and look in other places. I should also be sure to leave the gate open because it will lock if it closes and they might be at lunch when I get back.
I walked up the three flights of stairs to the reception area. The hotel is what I think of as a boutique hotel, where you sit at a desk to sign in. I asked if there was an ATM, the very nice young woman named… darn I’ve forgotten, said no, but how much did I need? I said, a hundred. She replied she couldn’t do that. I said forty would do, she offered $60; I could use my debit card, which I did.
I came back to the office, closing the gate along the way and spoke to the officers once again. I told them about the ATM and the woman who gave me cash. They said thanks, they’ll be able to tell other people. The first officer I spoke with had a Dutch surname and was the man I met when I was here seven years ago. He had said yes, he’d been here a long time and that there were other Dutch people working here as well, recapping the conversation we’d had the first time.
The man on the phone asked how much alcohol we had on board. I said one beer, to which the man responded, one beer? Yeah, well, we didn’t drink it the night before. The Dutch officer asked the same thing and received the same reply. Just like last time, when I recounted this to Jennifer she said we also had wine on board. I said, what? Don’t you remember? No. A bottle of wine. Seven years ago it was three bottles.
I got grilled, well, a light toasting perhaps, on marijuana and mace. Did I have any marijuana? Any gummies, any vaping? No. He asked did I use marijuana? No. He looked at me, puzzled, and then went on to weapons: No. He accepted that, and then Mace? No. He asked about pepper spray: No. Then Mace again. I said I had bear spray. He asked did it have a picture of a bear on it? I said I had no idea. I bought it in a store and it came in a leather holder. Did I understand the difference between Mace and pepper spray. I said, no. He said you don’t know anything about this, do you? I said no.
On the way back to the boat after getting the $60, I stopped and asked the other officer, the officer I dealt with was heating a cheese sandwich in a toaster oven, about marijuana. It’s legal here, isn’t it? Yes, it is. Then why the questions about bringing it over? Well, each country does their own accounting and don’t want it mixed up. Fair enough. I added that it was federally illegal in the US. If the US Coast Guard finds any, they’ll confiscate your boat.
Conover Cove: we were the second boat there on a lovely day. By night fall the dock was full and one boat was rafted up. All Canadians, except us, all locals and all very nice. We stayed two nights, met lots of people and received great advice. In hushed tones, people would talk to Jennifer about politics.
We spent time at the shack where boaters leave carved pieces of wood with their vessel’s name, date, sometimes the crew names and sometimes a slogan of some sort. The shack’s been cleaned up since we were there last year.
We stayed two nights in Conover.
We’re eating a strange diet; I have been shy about inviting people to dinner. I’ve got to break through this. I like having people aboard, talking and getting to know them and their histories. We’re eating mostly very low carb, so no white food, generally, nor beans or other carbs, except when we go out, then it is no holds barred. We need to stop that also. We used to share a main course and do need to return to that. It is way too much food.
Two nights in Conover and then on our way again. The days get mixed up. Eventually, we arrived in Newcastle Island, where I started writing this a week ago. Did we spend three nights there? I think so.
We found Theo on Eelyus, who was becoming a regular presence in our life. He was docked in Nanaimo, all alone on a big boat dock. We spoke for a bit by phone and agreed to meet for dinner after a walkabout. Jennifer and I took the last (4:30 pm) ferry across to Nanaimo. Theo would drop us off back at the island after dinner. There was no way to pay for the ferry, so we got across free.
We walked around the downtown, up into the hills and looked down upon the traffic. Nanaimo is 100,000 people and the fifth fastest growing metropolitan area in Canada. It seems like it is a retirement city with health care services-people moving in to service them.
Theo picked up dinner at a very good, and authentic, according to Theo, Greek restaurant, and we learned Theo’s history. I asked his advice about a couple I know who are deciding which school to send their child to. One parent wants a school that is close; the other wants the best school in the city, no matter the commute. Theo said that school wasn’t that important: he stopped after grade six, but he’d done everything he could to put his kids in the best schools he could find. We looked at him. He shrugged. Schooling wasn’t necessary for him, but he wanted his kids not to need to work as hard as he had.
After dinner we walked over to Theo’s dock and told him to come over to Newcastle. He did the next day. After we got him docked, he asked how much did it cost: CA$2/meter. He said, ‘‘okay – per meter? I paid CA$157 per night.’’ It would be under CA$30 here.
Next time: who shows up, who doesn’t, strange instrument readings and many small tasks.