the reverse curve of time

~ From Nate ~

It’s a really nice feeling to wake up at an anchorage and know you don’t have to go anywhere that day. No pulling up anchor, no stowing everything on deck (and by everything, I mean everything, in both that all items must be put away and that we have brought a lot of stuff).

I suppose bringing Grasshopper behind the Crow might’ve tipped you off to that. I’ve always envisioned a small fleet/flotilla, and now it’s finally come to fruition. Really, in ways beyond what I’d ever clearly dreamed as one whole… these boats are funny pieces that came to me in their own ways at their own times, but now come together to make a wild combination of capabilities.

Case in point: while today was a nice layover at the same North Bedwell Harbor anchorage, the Crow big-hook-and-chilling in the breeze, Coop and I still wanted to explore. So while Julia relaxed on the deck, writing and making friends, we hopped in Grasshopper to play our second amazing Gulf Island disc golf course in as many days.

Mayne Island is about 10 miles north, with an incredible park at Dinner Bay. A Japanese Internment Memorial, a playground and field, a beautiful Japanese garden… oh, and a unique and interesting disc golf course. Like yesterday, short hole distances did not correlate with easiness, and incredible carvings and wood art lined the tees and holes.

You could theoretically take a BC Ferry from Pender to Mayne, but it would come with the requisite cost and time. In Grasshopper, we made it in 35 minutes on maybe a half gallon of gas. We cruised up the coasts of each island, in awe of the cabins, mansions, dock engineering projects, and the tree-lined peaks reaching ever higher – that addicting expansion directly correlated with North. The water is usually 100+ feet deep right next to shore, allowing great coast hopping. As we rounded the last rocks, swooshing back and forth in the converging currents, Coop realized this was the same bay we tucked in the first night of the Race to Alaska in 2016 with our friends Bill and Ben. It was dark then and I hardly remember it, yet here we were, puttering Grasshopper into the beach a few yards from where we anchored, and a few hundred feet from Hole 1.

We were prepared to use the inflatable SUP (we brought everything!) to get into the beach, but it was so calm that we gently drove GH onto the sandy beach, walked a stern anchor out, and tied the bow to a log up the beach. As the tide rose, so did Grasshopper, suspended between the two anchors. Perfect! I was worried bringing our version of everything would feel overwhelming, but the Crow has stepped up to mothership status brilliantly and the medium and small boats behave well, are gentle on the Crow, and are tons of fun. We have yet to raise the lug rig and sail on Sweetpea, but we’re just getting started.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember that; we’ve had six days jam packed with as many experiences, meetings, and moments of joy than I’d hoped for the entire trip. And the next two weeks will continue to be an overwhelming wave of reunions, crossings, and things we can’t begin to fathom. The BC coast always has surprises in store.

Today’s forecasted heavy rains never came; just a few drops, but overall a nice respite from the recent heat. Tomorrow calls for a moderate SE breeze. If that proves out, it could be a beautiful reach to the Sunshine Coast to see our dear friends/adopted family for a night before crossing back over to Comox for another reunion. Hoowee. Fingers crossed we can have a beautiful sail and Grasshopper doesn’t chase the Crow down in the following sea. We have stuff for that.

No pictures for now – the 2 hours starting today aren’t worth much time other than to say that Verizon squandered the little goodwill they’d built with me and our data situation is as constrictive as our BC friends often complain about. We’re still taking pictures, they’ll just show up later.