We were very excited to have our son, Andrew, and his new wife, Eliza, along with puppy Ozzy, join us for a week on the boat. Ozzy is definitely a boating dog as he was a very relaxed passenger! We departed from Gore Bay and headed for Oak Bay, setting anchor in a spot very fittingly called Retirement Bay. Our friends from Good Idea joined us so we started with docktails on their boat. Heather and Eliza went over by kayak, which was a little challenging due to the wind. Our second day was beautiful! Heather and Cam kayaked around the bay, each of us with a dog on the front. They seemed a little jealous of each other and traded places twice. Unfortunately, we didn't see the second switch coming so Frodo, who is NOT a water dog, ended up in the water! Andrew loves to fish and he caught seven Pike, but was not able to keep any of them due to size.
Sunday, the weather was not so nice. Other boats were coming in for shelter when we noticed a sailing vessel had run aground on the rock at the entrance. It took five dinghies to get her off with four pulling her back, and the fifth racing around to create wake. She finally floated free just as the heavens opened up. The weather improved on Monday, but we stuck around for a combined birthday celebration for Heather and Dave. This was our final farewell to the crew of Good Idea. We will miss them.
Next, we moved onto Croker Island, which is part of the Benjamin Islands group. We anchored and tied to shore near the entrance. This was a great spot for kayaking, swimming, and running on the beach with the dogs. One of the unique things about the beach at Croker is that there is sparkly sand! Everyone in the anchorage was invited to the big rock for happy hour and we enjoyed visiting with four other couples. Eliza and Heather found a huge patch of blueberries. We had a blueberry pancake feast with lots of Canadian Maple Syrup the next morning!
The next day we noticed JEMA, a looper boat captained by a former client of Cam's, anchored in the Benjamins so we dinghied over to say hello. We had a nice visit and tour of their boat. This was their very first boat and they bought it specifically to do the loop - very adventurous!
After we returned to the boat, we noticed the wind and wave direction had changed a bit so we decided to relocate in the anchorage. The anchor felt different coming up and then we heard a bang. We tried again and suddenly saw that we had pulled up a log that was about 15 feet long and 12 inches in diameter! Yikes! Cam backed the boat into open water and then Heather took the helm. Andrew tried to help with the dinghy but he couldn't get close safely. Cam lowered and raised the anchor while Eliza poked at it with the boat hook until it finally slid from sight. We have been told that the trick is to secure a bow line and then loop it around the log. Then lower the anchor and that will release the log. Next time!
The winds were forecast to pick up so we headed back to Gore Bay a day early and used Andrew's car to spend the afternoon in Kagawong at the Bridal Veil falls. We took turns swimming and getting a back massage under the water fall. After that, we enjoyed a walk through the town stopping at the Bah-lou-bah candy store, Chocolate Works, and Wild Creations, an art shop. What an enjoyable visit with our family!
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