The Adventures of Ka'sala

Pender Harbour to Vancouver - July 13 

We enjoyed ourselves at Pender Harbour Days.  On the Friday evening there was a boat parade and water craft of all kinds showed up to participate.  A beautifully restored fish boat carried a group of pipers who led the procession around the bays and coves of the harbour.  Row boats, dragon boats, sailboats, fish boats, classic runabouts, etc. fell in line behind.  

Piping the Parade - Pender Harbour Days

Dragon Boat - Pender Harbour Days

Hand built classic wooden boats

Lovingly restored troller

We left Pender Harbour July 11 on a forecast of southeast winds 5 - 15 knots, but as usually happens, the weatherman didn't quite get it right.  We ended up moto-beating into the wind and into the tide for most of the way to Gibsons.  We saw 24 knots of wind speed, but it averaged about 20.  Ka'sala handled herself well and, with the exception of the occasional hobby horsing in the choppy seas and a rain shower or two, the crew was comfortable as well.  It took 8 hours to go 30 nautical miles.

We stayed at the Public dock in Gibsons.  This is a well equipped, very busy place - a collection of commercial fish boats, live-a-boards and transients.  We were lucky to find a spot.  Soon as we sorted out Ka'sala we headed out to explore.  The tiny village along the seafront is very touristy with lots of gift shops and cafes.  Of course, it is most famous for the long running TV series The Beachcombers, are there is plenty of paraphernalia from that show to satisfy anyone.

Everything you wanted to know about The Beachcombers but were afraid to ask!

Love that Town Site Breweries Tin Hat IPA!

We had pretty good fish and chips and GREAT Townsite craft beers at Molly's Reach.  While we were there several Canadian navy vessels arrived - 2 training cadets and two dive boats - for some shore leave.

Canadian Navy Vessels

We were up early the next morning and were rewarded with a classic, lovely sail all the way to Vancouver.  Flat seas 10 to 15 knots and sunny skies - we even flew our drifter all the way down English Bay.  We are now tied to the dock at the False Creek Yacht Club who have generously reciprocated our Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club membership.  We will be here until Monday, July 20th before heading to Victoria.  While here we intend to catch up with friends, do a great deal of bicycling, see some Bard on the Beach and generally have fun in one of our favourite cities.

Sailing into Vancouver

Ka'sala's Berth at the False Creek Yacht Club -Granville Street Bridge and Market in background