We were sad to leave Jedidiah as she is such a lovely and welcoming place, but we were anxious to feel the wind in the sails and see some new country as well. We left Deep Bay and turned into Sabine Channel to sail downwind in a NW 10-15 knot breeze. Texada is so beautiful here, steep and green. Our sails were full and happy all the way down to the southern tip of the island before we hit a large dead zone right at the point. We went from 5 knots to dead in the water about as fast as you can say "stop". We found some more wind a little further on and sailed in light breezes to Pender Harbor for a quick resupply of water and snacks.
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| A happy Bill Jones |
My only previous time in Pender Harbor was in 1999 on my kayak trip as I had used the post office there as a resupply stop. There were two ladies in the office back then who were so thoroughly kind to me and my wife in the way they dealt with us and my food. Just angels. So I will always have fond associations with this place. It was only vaguely familiar to me as we pulled into the harbor, with the most striking feature being the "little Venice" feel of the complex shoreline.
We had a nice short stop and were then on our way on this hot 80 degree day. Cape Cockburn is a bit notorious because in either strong NW or SE winds it is a choke point. On our passage the wind had died altogether and we motored all the way around the corner to Hardy Island.
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| Banning at the wheel |
The anchorage there is really nice with good options for the night. A stern tie is needed most places. Once we dropped our hook and tied up we were all in the water right away to swim. There are lovely granite rocks along most of the shoreline and many are steep and tall enough for perfect jumping. The entire group spent the afternoon swimming and jumping off these rocks and the water was the warmest yet. Truly bath water comfortable. The high jump was about 20 feet and Elliott and I were the only two to enjoy that particular spot.
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| Banning at highest jumping spot, Owen looking on |
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| Banning airborne |
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| Elliott airborne |
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| Ellliott diving off Aeolus, a favorite pasttime |
This was the last night of our trip together and we were making the most of it. The boys were playing Quirkel with Bill and Elliott was absorbed in a book while I cooked dinner. The evening was calm and warm. We were happy and exhausted from swimming, and all was right in our world.
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