Spring 2010 Cruise: Recap!

We are once again back home in Coldstream! We were either at or on our boat "Kozad" for the better part of eight weeks.

Some of you have asked that we provide an overview , together with a map to show the areas we have cruised!

Therefore, we will summarize our cruise with the aid of a map so that we may outline the areas we have taken visited this spring!

Map of Cruising Locations

The following is a summary of our cruising dates and locations; the areas are referenced on the map:

25 April: arrive at Kozad; provisioning, cleaning and organizing prior to departure.

Location A: Portside Marina, Brentwood Bay, 25th April to 1st of May
Location B: Ganges Public Marina, Saltspring Island, 1st to 9th May
Location C: Montague Harbour Marine Park, Galiano Island, 9th to 10th May
Location D: Silva Bay Marina, Gabriola Island, 10th to 13th May
Location E: Boho Bay, Lasqueti Island, 13th to 14th May
Location F: Harmony Islands Marine Park, 14th to 15th May
Location F1: Chatterbox Falls, Princess Louisa Inlet, 15th to 18th May
Location G: Pilot House Marina, Pender Harbour, Sechelt, 18th to 21st May
Location H: Newcastle Island Marine Park, Nanaimo, 21st to 22nd May;
Location I: Dungeness Marina, Cowicahan Bay, 22nd to 28th May
Location J: Newcastle Island Marine Park, Nanaimo, 28th to 29th May
Location K: Ford's Cove Marina, Ford's Cove, Hornby Island, 29th to 30th May
Location L: Comox Bay Marina, Comox, 30th May to 5th June
Location M: Discovery Harbour Marina, Campbell River 5th to 10th June
Location N: Comox Bay Marina, Comox, 1oth to 11th June
Location O: Ford's Cove Marina, Ford's Cove, Hornby Island, 11th to 14th June
Location P: Ladysmith Marine Society Marina, Ladysmith, 14th to15th June
Location Q: Chemanius Municipal Dock, Chemainus, 15th to 16th June
Location R: Otter Bay Marina, Hashi Cove North Pender Island, 16th to 17th June
Location S: Friday Harbour Marina, Friday Harbour, San Juan Island, 17th to 20th June
Location T: Anchor Cove Marina, Anacortes, Washington, 20th of June, depart 25th for home.

You will notice that we frequented Marinas more than we anchored! In fact we only anchored out a couple of nights! This was not our initial plan, but rather as a circumstance of weather and commitments to family and friends; this combination changed how we cruised this trip!

The weather, in particular severe wind conditions, restricted our plans immensely! We therefore were limited in where and when we could travel! This kept us on the dock more often than planned and for longer periods of time! The winds also kept us from going to Desolation Sound and Lund this trip! No complaints, just more opportunities to cruise the area again next summer.

After we arrived in Anacortes, we had to return to Victoria to pick up our vehicle, so we took the Washington State Ferry to Sidney, B.C. on the 21st June. We visited with our son Jim and friends Garry & Joanne then returned via ferry to Anacortes on the 23rd June.

The plan was to do some work on Kozad while we were in Anacortes; but Craig's back has been not very good on this trip and was causing him a lot of pain and restricting what he could and could not do! So the decision was made to forgo the work and instead we played tourists for a few days; exploring Anacortes, lunch in LaConner and some relaxation!

We left Anacortes on the 26th June and stopped in Vancouver, arriving home on the 27th of June.

Our current plans are to be home in Coldstream until the 13th of July at which time we fly to Toronto for a visit with friends, Ken and Carol! Then we meet up with our three children and drive to Niagara Falls area where we have two family reunions to attend.

We are then back in Coldstream until the first of September; then we have a wedding to attend on the Sept. long weekend in Victoria.

We then hope to be back in Anacortes so we can get out on Kozad in the fall; exploring the South Sound area including some time in Seattle!

June 2010: Anacortes, the final leg!

We left Friday Harbour for Kozad's new home at Anchor Cove Marina in Anacortes!

This has been our longest time out on Kozad and we have both truly enjoyed the experience; so much so that we do not want to leave the boat!

We are seriously considering moving up to a larger boat; we love Kozad but would like to spend 4 to 6 months on board! A few more feet would be nice; don't they call that two footitis!!!!

On our way to Friday Harbour we saw a large 65' motor yacht who was loosing diesel fuel out of the side of the boat! It was like a red waterfall pouring down his hull! Craig tried to hail him on the VHF, Channel 16, but there was no response as the skipper was obviously not monitoring his radio! We were so busy trying to call him that we did not get the camera out, so no picture unfortunately!

We saw a beautiful classic 1920's cruiser!

Anchor Cove Marina
Situated on the Guemes Channel along the North shore of Anacortes

The entrance to Anchor Cove Marina

Little boat amongst large new neighbours!

As usual, one of the first things Craig does is clean the boat!

Having covered moorage is great; while Craig was washing the boat it was raining outside!

We caught the Washington State Ferry to Sidney, B.C., the day after arriving in Anacortes; this was so we could pick up our car which we had left with our son Jim! We once again stayed with Garry & Joanne our close friends who live in the Sidney area on Vancouver Island.

Garry & Joanne
over the past 4 years had made many trips to the Portside Marina
in Brentwood Bay to keep a watchful eye on Kozad!

Craig & Jan with son Jim!

Ian, Jim & Luke!

This crew of University/College Students, live together in Victoria
Jim, Luke, Ian, Sean & Peter


This is a beauty, the boat is nice also!

MV Wells Gray
This is a retired 53' Fisheries Patrol Vessel
We were invited on for a tour by the owner!

One of our favorite past times is walking the docks!
This is a beautiful 60 plus motor boat!

We were fortunate to connect with Bill and Darith who are also Willard owners living in Anacortes! They invited us to their home to meet, and we had a great evening visiting and sharing diner at the Adrift Restuarant!

Bill and MV Quest
1984 Willard 40 Pilot House
Anacortes Marina

MV Annabelle
Another W40 which is moored with MV Quest

Anchor Cove Marina


The marina is very private with secure gate and restricted access!

Nicely Landscaped and Well Kept

Kozad where are you????

Kozad under cover at Anchor Cove Marina

We had to have Kozad's mast cut so we could fit into our new slip!
Who would think it would cost so much to cut a piece of wood in half.

We were planning to work on Kozad before leaving on Saturday, 26th June for home! But Craig's back has been very bad for the last 5 weeks; something to do with kicking the soccer ball and throwing the Frisbee with our nephews Brandon and Dillon in Duncan! Somehow he thinks he can do things he can't, must be a man thing!

So, we are planning on some quiet time when we will play tourists and explore Anacortes before our holiday ends!

We have had a great time on the water, the only complaint is the weather has been unseasonably cold, wet and windy. It obviously has not been that bad, as both of us are feeling somewhat sad and a little depressed that we are having to leave Kozad for our Coldstream home!

We do though thoroughly love our new marina and the Anacortes area. New adventures and a lot of exploring await our next trip on Kozad!

June 2010: Chemainus to Friday Harbour

Our first stop after leaving Chemainus was into Otter Bay! This is a beautiful spot, set in Hyashi Cove on North Pender Island. The marina has been totally updated; includes new landscaping, washrooms, laundry, a nice store/restaurant and even boasts two heated swimming pools.

Otter Bay has a Flag Deck over the Break Water
Flags displayed from all of the Provinces!

Kozad alone at Otter Bay
Jan was surprised by 6 otters who wanted to come and visit her on the dock!

Otter Bay Marina

Marinas in the Gulf Islands are down approx. 60% due to the poor weather.

Heated swimming pool for family & children

Adults only pool is close to the beach.

The plan was to stay a second day at Otter Bay; but we awoke once more to overcast, cool and wet weather. So off we went to Friday Harbour! We raised our US Courtesy Flag and headed off to clear Customs, we were inspected by an officer; then we pulled into one of our favorite slips near the very end of G Dock at the Port of Friday Harbour Marina.

Kozad at Friday Harbour, one of our favorite San Juan Island stops!
This is a busy harbour with lots of traffic from State of Washington Ferries.

Large pleasure boats come into this marina!

We met Richard and Mary Anne, our Friday Harbour Willard Friends,
for an early dinner at one of the great water front restuarants!

Terry and Ted, whom we met cruising in the Gulf Islands in May,
took us to Snug Harbour where they keep their boat Ciao Bella.
They have just bought a second boat, a 37' Hershine Trawler.

We toured the local Lavender Farm
They were also kind enough to invite us for a fabulous lamb dinner at their home.

Classic Cab, Friday Harbour

There were large shrimp swimming off the marina dock!
Honest, this guy is alive.

One of Jan's favorite thing to do is visit the local farmer's market!
We bought some wonderful canned smoked tuna; delicious!

Jan enjoying one of our sunny days!

June 2010: Ladysmith to Chemainus

This leg of our journey was definitely the shortest we have done so far; 6 miles, one hour! This is our first trip to Chemainus by boat; a very nice town with a lot of murals painted on the buildings.

Chemainus Harbour
The ferry goes to Thetis & Kuper Islands
The marina is just behind the ferry!

Nice view from the new City floats
I meant the harbour, although Jan is also very nice!


Kozad on the Chemainus Docks

Chemainus is famous for the painted murals on buildings found throughout the Town


Paddle Wheel Park
The band stand is just to the right behind this display

After dinner we went for a walk to the park and had live music at the Band Stand

The Twilight Shuffle
This is an annual 5K run event; along with costumes!

Old Growth - I meant the tree stump!


Not many of these around anymore!


This building housed the Fire Hall and RCMP Detachment in 1974
Craig worked here, sometimes, from Ladysmith
The detachment entrance was just in front of the black Pick up!

June 2010: Campbell River to Ladysmith

We decided to start heading south as the weather is still unsettled. There has been one weather warning after another; this means we have one nice day and then 3 to 4 days of wind, clouds, rain and cold!

Red Again.....
Does this look familiar!
We have been experiencing these severe wind warnings constantly
since started our boating on the 1st of May!

The forecast for the next four days showed severe wind warnings from the NW with speeds varying from 10 to 35 knots; so the decision was made for us! We were to work our way south!

Don & Judy

When we were in Comox, Don & Judy invited us to join them at Ford's Cove on Hornby Island! So we cruised 3 hours south and stayed Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights on the Ford's Cove dock! Joining us there were two other couples from the Comox Yacht Club; Marv and Lynn on their 38' Bayliner MV Silver Cloud and Kelly & Brenda on their 46' Maxxum! We need a bigger boat!!!!!

Kozad, Whiteshell along with two other Comox Valley Yacht Club Boats
Ford's Cove, Hornby Island is a great place
and there is a wonderful store here for provisioning

This is a fire hydrant on Hornby Island!

Jan did lots of hiking; my back has been acting up of late and had me resting and not walking anywhere. Drugs are a wonderful thing! We had extreme winds on Saturday night and had to make sure we were securely tied as winds were out of the NW blowing up to 35 knots!

Purple Martin repopulation: the number is the year (2001) and bird family ID

Jan did lots of hiking and this was a campground on Hornby Island

Don and Jan got out for some fishing: unfortunately no Salmon were caught!

This dive boat was moving picnic tables to the break water!

The tables were for the remote control sailboat races!

This sailboat was on the grid with a little bit of growth!

We went for a walk to a pottery shack!

We came across a small herd of goats! Too cute!

We departed Ford's Cove on Monday at 0600 for Nanaimo; we were lucky to hit an ebb tide with a NW wind on our stern. This allowed us to average 6.5 knots and were able to get to Dodd's Narrows at noon for slack current; which kept us steaming south to Ladysmith. This was a long day and we travelled 8 hours and 54 miles! By vehicle is definitely faster.....

SV Trofast
We passed this 30' Willard Horizon without Mast or Rigging
Apparently he got tangled in some marina pilings?

Ladysmith
Craig's first posting in 1974

Ladysmith was Craig's first Detachment when he left RCMP training in 1974

The right half of this small building was the Police Office.
Craig was posted here for 6 months before being transferred to Campbell River.

Ladysmith Maritime Society Community Marina
This was a great stop!

Just off of the dock a sailboat had sunk!
Hazard to Navigation

Kozad docked behind a 1928 tug: MV Leslie Ann, a beautiful vessel!

MV Leslie Ann

MV Leslie Ann


Beautifully Restored