Fall has Arrived

Wed Oct 4th

Before heading off to Vancouver Island the Sunshine Coast Regional District, who supply our water, announced that the Coast had gone on to drought level 5 and implemented Stage 4 water restrictions effective Sept 8th. No outdoor use at all and heavy fines for those breaching the rules. Our water salvage tank which had kept the veg beds watered holds 800 gals and had run dry. It had rained while we were away but the water restrictions remained in place.

The day we returned Chapman Lake was down to 0%. The storm that came through over the weekend of Sept 23rd and 24th was sufficient for Chapman Lake to go from 0% to 100% within 3 days. At 34 ha in size and holding 680m litres of water it was not insubstantial rainfall. All water restrictions were lifted on Sept 27th and our water tank was again full.

Our last few days on Vancouver Island provided a further opportunity to watch the Orca from our apartment.

They are so majestic .... from a distance but up close they're something else!

East Sooke with the surrounding provincial park trails and access to the coastline is definitely worth a visit and whilst the main town of Sooke has some attractive spots, it's difficult to get down to, and walk along the water, unlike Gibsons. The blue circling on the map shows East Sooke Point where we stayed and Orca Alley runs between the Point at the nearby island.

We drove up to Port Renfrew on the Tuesday, which was an hour and a half north of East Sooke and the furthest you can drive up the West Coast in the southern region of Vancouver Island. If you wanted to get to Tofino further up the west coast, you'd have to drive 4.5 hrs and 340k across to the east coast and back across the island for a 'crows fly' distance of 120k. It drizzled the whole way to Port Renfrew and for our walk at the far end ... apart from one general store, everything was shut for the season.

Or warm showers or fresh water before
or after this point!

On the way back we stopped for a walk on Sombrio Beach and the Falls about 1km along the rocky/pebbly beach. We didn't make it to the Falls as the tide was coming in and was likely to cut off our return. Aside from that, the creek beneath the Falls was barely a trickle where it entered the beach so we presumed the Falls might not have been at their best.

The beach is a surfer's paradise and there were a number of surfers camping along the shoreline. There is no doubt the surf was pretty spectacular, but the the idea of spending the day in a sea water filled wetsuit and the night in a salt and sand encrusted sleeping bag did not spark any enthusiasm. I must be getting old.

The beach had 'long drop toilets' but no fresh water or showers and we passed nothing on route. Everything had to be carried in from the parking lot.

Fred thought this looked like a couple of
bears humping - she has a vivid imagination

Surf, sand and salt - no showers - even the waterfall was dry!

Our last day before heading back we walked along the 1km Whiffin Spit at Sooke, a narrow band of sand and rocks that protects the inner harbour. It's probably the best way to see the Sooke coastline. Unlike East Sooke the seabird life was quite varied and a basking sea lion was catching a lot of attention from the walkers. Jack was kept on the lead! Wildlife pics below.

Our journey back home was via Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, a more direct route than our outward journey. The drive and two ferries, with a wait in between, still took us the best part of a day to get home.

It meant a drive across Vancouver Island, but it gave us a chance to see more of the island. We can now tick off south Van Island.

Back home I spent the Friday polishing the hull of Fast Lane (a Martin or M242) as it was being taken across to Kitsilano Yacht Club the following day to be weighed, measured for the class certificate and dropped in the water, before being sailed back to Gibsons. As we could not get a dog sitter, and Fred was in Vancouver for the weekend for a knitting show and the Laver Cup tennis, I could not do the sailing. So I watched the rugby instead.

This last week, I've been in the workshop, Fred's been tennising and we are now stealing ourselves for Thanksgiving this coming weekend, our third in Canada. The North Van branch are over for five days, which some friends and their little'n joining us for a day, so an action-packed weekend ahead.

Last Sunday we raced Fast Lane for the first time. We came fifth out of ten which was not too shabby for a first outing, not least as I was helming. The boat is much smaller than the last one and sails more like a dinghy. Gybing and tacking with a cockpit full of crew and large tiller means I need to be more athletic, especially if I'm to helm again! I think we are going to have some cold and wet winter races!

The last few days, we've been watching Humpback Whales from our deck, a way out, but clearly visible with a pair of binoculars, breaching and blowing.