First summer crew!

After our first few days out with Eric and Cheryl we touched back down at the marina to re-provision for our very first summer crew -- Frank and Jordyn! A whirlwind 16 hours was spent on the dock doing laundry, hitting up the grocery store, giving Splash a good wash down, and topping up our stock of ice and cold bevvies. The next morning we were up early to make our way 30 nautical miles north to Nanaimo where we would be meeting Frank and Jordyn the next day. Unfortunately, the winds weren't in our favour and it was mostly a slow crawl north. Although we weren't in a hurry to get there, we did have to reach Dodd Narrows mid-afternoon to transit through at slack tide. With this in mind we motored a few times and after a mid-day raft up for lunch we slipped through Dodd with zero issue and into the hustle and bustle of Nanaimo. In previous years we have enjoyed the mooring field/anchorage off Newcastle Island for our final night on charter, so we planned to do the same for the night. Unfortunately the mooring field was packed so instead of grabbing a ball we opted to drop the anchorage on the outskirts to make sure we had lots of room. After taking the dogs for a walk and getting ready to tuck in for the night we had a polite visit from the harbour authority who informed us we'd need to move before mid-morning the next day or we would be in the way of the float planes landing. Oops! Haha.

The next morning we squished Splash in a little closer into the anchorage to avoid becoming the newest cast of Mayday and headed into the city to grab a coffee while we waited eagerly for our guests to arrive! Frank and Jordyn (Bragg Creek, Alberta) are long time friends of ours and we were super excited to share our sailing life with them! As soon as they got to the boat we did a quick orientation (where to find the beer and lifejackets), and pulled the hook to begin our sail across the strait to Smuggler Cove!

We had a bit of wind getting out into the strait but things petered out and we did a final motor to reach our destination. We tossed the SUPs into the water and headed for a shoreline meander! Lhotse and I paddled (well, I paddled and Lhotse impatiently played passenger before totally jumping ship), much to the entertainment of nearby anchored boats. I guess people aren't used to seeing a paddle boarding Rottweiler in a hot pink lifejacket? Ha. On the way back, a big motorboat hollered across the water at me to ask if Lhotse would like a hot dog. "Sure!" I said, so we paddled over. When we got close, Lhotse jumped off the paddle board, they tossed the hot dog towards her, and she caught it mid-air like Shamu. I'll be sending her audition tape to Sea World right away!

The next morning we continued our journey and headed up Agamemnon Channel towards Harmony Islands. The sun was HOT so we stopped mid-day for a swim! Our main sail was a bit sticky coming down, leaving us a bit nervous and puzzled as to what might be going on with the halyard inside the mast. When we anchored, Frank jumped at the chance to go up the mast (probably because the alternative would've been hoisting Brad up the mast) and after a topical investigation, he was still unable to pinpoint the problem. We felt a bit worried... if we couldn't resolve the issue it would mean taking our mast down ($$$) and also giving up the rest of our summer plans. We decided to think on it for the night and come up with a better plan the next day.

World's most hectic water taxi service... but at least you get service with a smile!

Beauty day heading to Harmony Islands

Pulling into Smuggler Bay

Frank's first (spoiler alert) trek up the mast

A lovely sunset at Harmony Islands

A rainy morning heading at Harmony Islands before heading to Texada

Brad spent some time snorkelling at Smuggler... for my sunglasses!

Splash in the big city

Morning coffee in Nanaimo #matching

A nice stern tie at Harmony Islands

Grateful for friends like Frank!