Salt Spring Island
Salt Spring is one of the most popular of the Gulf Islands, easily reached by ferry and home to a diverse community of folks, with a heavy artistic and craft bias. There seems to be some bi-polar nature to the island, the influx of second home money having led to a lot of very wealthy […]
Photos from the Painted Turtle Guesthouse
Remember the Painted Turtle, the Guesthouse with the amazing coincidence? Well, here’s some photos from our stay, mostly of the ‘greatroom’ where we could all sit, relax, play, make food and generally chill out before getting some sleep and off to meet Ty Dewi the next morning. We’d highly recommend the place to anyone.
Nanaimo photos
Catching up a bit here, some photos from a couple of weeks back when we first explored Nanaimo. There’s lots of history and activity here, and the more I explore the town the more I like it, it is a proper little city with all the services and stores that go with it, but most […]
Anchored on the runway
Float planes are a regular part of life out here, with so many islands and sheltered, flat water everywhere. Here in Ganges we were careful to anchor well to one side of the channel so they have plenty of space, but clearly they go wherever they feel like. We’ve had planes pass both sides of […]
Sartorial elegance as ever
I’ve always wanted an excuse to buy one of these shirts. Ever since I was a kid, visiting friends’ farms in Northumerland and watched the lads working on cold mornings in thick padded plaid shirts, I’ve spent at least a tiny moment of every cold morning wishing I was a little bit warmer. And now […]
Issieism
We’re off to a place called Pirate’s Cove today. I tell the kids that. There’s a little discussion about pirates, how they still exist in some parts of the world and so on. ‘But there’s none here, and there never were anyway’, I tell them. ‘No,’ says Issie, ‘it’s too freezing cold.’ I must say, […]
Gesa’s sixth sense
Call it a sixth sense, call it paranoia, but Gesa has a useful knack of knowing when something’s not right. We’re in a little village called Ganges, a harbour on Salt Spring Island. It’s an interesting link to our old home, for the boat used to be kept close to the old HMS Ganges training […]
TyDewi Heads Down to Ladysmith
TyDewi sets off on her first sail (motor) from Nanaimo to Ladysmith. It is a three hour trip, with only the Dodd’s Narrows to add a little excitment into the journey. Once through here however, the scenery is breathtaking. Kayakers take advantage of the calm, warm weather, seals pop their heads up for a peak, […]
Back Aboard TyDewi
Within minutes back aboard, the kids just got right back into their usual routine: dressing up, play-dough, computer games etc. Clearly the 530am wake-up was just a bit too much for Issie, and she soon fell into a deep three hour sleep. After loading up the boat with provisions and returning the rental car, we […]
TyDewi is Offloaded in Nanaimo
After a month on the high seas, Ty Dewi is reunited with her crew. The ship collected quite a few more yachts when it stopped in Mexico, so we were among many like minded sailors, keen to get their boats off and safely afloat again. Although some had engines stop etc., we got off without […]