Nanaimo Again

It takes us about ten hours of running time to get from Gorge Harbor to Nanaimo. It’s not our favorite place as we are quite exposed and don’t have many places to run once we commit to the straight run down instead of taking the longer but more sheltered run down behind Texada Island. We had a good weather report, so we committed to the straight run down the strait. The weather report was a bit off and we had lumpy 2-3 hours with stiff wind with sloppy water and a rolling boat. After that, the ride was fairly calm, but with our radio apparently not working reliably we were edgy and eager to get to Nanaimo.

It was a relief as we came around to Nanaimo Harbor. As usual the harbor is the definition of chaos – varies ferries crossing the channels, sea planes landing, sailboats tacking randomly in front of us. However, we were prepared for it this time and had a reservation at the harbor so we were able to slide right in. Right after getting there Jeff made a beeline to find a part for the water heater. He came back with the part in hand and made a quick repair and the water system was fixed. It is great to have such a handy captain on board! Jeff made some calls around for a marine electrician to address the radio and starter button issues, but no return calls.

In the meantime, we enjoyed the big city and went out to dinner, did some grocery shopping and relaxed enough to decide to stay another day in Nanaimo.   Ian and Vikki enjoyed the bookstores and art galleries in town, while Jeff kept fiddling with repairs. We spent some time looking at charts and decided we would head to Montague Harbor on Galiano Island after we left Nanaimo. After that was decided we headed to bed enjoying a last night tied securely to a dock.

Feather Dusters at the dock

Nanaimo skyline