Look at at map of the Gulf Islands in Britsh Columbia, Canada. You will see a pant’s load of islands and even more places to anchor in and around those islands. I’d guess at least seven to eight pant loads. That is a lot of choices. That is lot of pants, it’s actually more pants than I even own. So to say choosing a place to go is overwhelming is not an exaggeration.
We’ve been through here before, back in 2008. We didn’t really stop and check anything out that time. We were in a hurry to get further north to meet up with friends. And then on the way back south at the end our vacation we were running out of time so we sorta blazed through again. And truth be told, we had sorta planned to blast our way through on our way north this year as well. But as we were sitting at anchor in Bedwell Harbor after clearing customs. We realized we had a lot more time to spare this time around….alot more time. And could not come up with a good reason to be moving so quickly.
We sorta decided to stop in Montegue Harbor or possibly Ganges to check them out, but a chapter in one of our guide books made a really good argument for Wallace Island.
We anchored in Princess Bay on the northwest side of the island. Its a long, narrow bay and the guide books indicate that stern tying to shore is the way to go. After the business of making sure the boat will be where we parked her (aka, Anchoring) and lunch, and a nap. We took the dinghy to shore and went for a hike.
Near the top of the list of things that I really like, is randomly finding things purposely left by others. If they put a date and a name on it, even better. When we were living in Colorado and hiking all the time. I loved finding cairns on the top of peaks with an old coffee can buried in it. Inside the coffee can would be an old notebook or two, with names, dates, and a short note about who/what/where.
As we were hiking around the island today, we came across an old ass cabin. The outside of the cabin was absolutely covered with pieces of driftwood. Each piece of wood had a boat name on it. And names, home ports. And Dates!
As we were looking at all the names, I spotted a boat name I recognized. s/v Eagle, which belongs to friends of ours, Tom & Jeannie. They were here, according to the chunk of driftwood, in 2011. They are now in La Paz, Mexico. Which is where we will be later this year.
S/V Eagle
We thought it was just the outside of the cabin was covered with alot of driftwood, the inside was out of control. It looked that little old ladies house down the street from where you grew up. You know the one. The one that your mom would not let you eat anything she gave you to take home. Lot of cats, not all of them alive.
Here KITTY KITTY!!
Anyway, as we were looking at all the names and places. We spotted another friends boat.
S/V Pearl
And a boat we don’t know, but somehow wish we did….or maybe not. Could go either way really.
Blame it on the cats.
We also spotted our arch nemesis’s boat…..BELLA STAR! Now we have a mission!
First we had to find the perfect piece of wood. Then write up a list of what we wanted our piece of wood to say. It had to be something deep. Something profound, something that would echo through the ages. Painstakingly plan out how we would write it. What font to use……..?
Actually, fuck all that. We sat on a log, drank a beer and carved something into the nearest piece of wood we found. Add some beach bling and tada….!
The fruit of our labors.
Take that back to the cabin and find the perfect spot to hang it.
Ahhhhh, perfect.
Just jokes Bella Star. :) This is the final spot.
Top billing of course.
A lot of you people reading this will never understand just how much the creative process can really drain a person. So after a long afternoon of searching/carving/writing, we car jacked the first (only) vehicle we found on the island and drove it back to the where we had the dinghy beached.
Hold mah Beer and watch this!
I don’t even feel bad about it.
We kept Danika’s driftwood sign discreet so that sort of thing wouldn’t happen. Glad you guys are having so much fun.
You guys kill me! Love the way u write. We love Wallace island! Next time we’re there we’ll look for the bit of history you’ve left for us poor cold weather dwellin suckers. Have a blast!
Hi you two,
Sunday morning 5-26-13 we are doing our Sunday morning check out Tawn and CB. Message to CB – love the 10 minute update. Don’t change it. This way I know where you are at at all times. It’s a Mom thing. Explain the dingy-I thought you sold your’s. We were wondering how you would be getting to shore. Love the web site and we appreciate the updates. Makes our life seem so much more adventurous. I guess we were ready for armchair cruising. luv you
If you get to Montague harbor ride the bus to the Hummingbird Tavern. Good pub and a great bus ride.
A simple and inlneligtet point, well made. Thanks!
Ale, Jakube,pÃ…â„¢eložil jste to dobÃ…â„¢e. Jen já jsem puntiÄÂkář.A nikdo z vás se nechce stát moudrým, klidným, uvážlivým?Nikdo nemá na toho hada chuÃ…Â¥?VždyÃ…Â¥ je to vánoÄÂnàpeÄÂivo, co prodávajàv Toskánsku a zvlášť v Umbrii v pekárnách a cukrárnách.
If you drink your vodka straight I would steer clear from Smirnoff, perhaps the black one is slightly better but other recommendations are:Stolichnaya Elit or Ketel OneQuite mild vodkas, Ketel One is especially popular in the US so still “mass produced” but from a tiny distillery in Holland, and the Elit version is just slightly better than normal Stoli, which I would favour any day over Smirnoff.As for rum, may I recommend Santa Teresa, a south American favourite but barely known over here.
עכשיו ×ÂÂת מב×ÂÂסת. ל×Ââ€Ãƒâ€”©×•×•×ª ×ÂÂת ×Ââ€Ãƒâ€”ª×’ובות שלי לטוקבקינבישר×ÂÂל ז׆פוי ומעליב ולניפ×Ââ€.×ÂÂבל ×ÂÂנחנו בענייני סרקזנ– נדמ׆לי שסרקזנ×Ââ€Ãƒâ€”•× ×›×œ×™ רטורי ש×ÂÂת מכיר׆×Ââ€Ãƒâ€”™×˜×‘. לנצריך זכוכית מגדלת כדי למצונכמ׆עקבות בכתיב׆שלך. ×ÂÂולי לכן ×ÂÂני × ×Ââ€Ãƒâ€” ×†×œ×§×¨×•×ÂÂ?
We have been watching you in the Nanaimo anchorage. We are in the tall round tower in the middle of the harbor. Eric Anderson, our nephew, told us to watch for you. Contact us if you wish. Bob
Love your writing and your sign! Happy sails to you!
Andrew, th82#&at17;s really nice!! We all seem to have a soft spot for XMB. This entire situation is so very sad. I hope they get something sorted out soon, myself.
Of course you had to make your wood is slightly thicker and longer than ours. You’ll probably use up two planks in Hotsprings Cove. Glad to see you found the truck right where I parked it! Good luck to anybody trying to get it running again,.. we might have done some damage to it when we drove it around the island hootin’ and hollerin’.