Putting 'Sailing' into Spring Break Sailing

Monday was upon us in no time at all, and after tying up some loose ends on the dock we were ready to set sail! Our plan for our first day was to head up to Telegraph Cove on Thetis Island, with the intention of going north around Salt Spring Island to spend our second night at Montague Harbour. Of course, in true sailing fashion our time of departure was delayed when our engine wouldn’t start. Ha! After a bit of troubleshooting we narrowed down the problem to the key itself, and thankfully not the engine as Brad was able to jump start it. With that in mind, he raced to Canadian Tire to get a new switch while I stowed everything down below so we’d be ready to leave when Brad returned with our quick fix! …funny enough, after Brad installed a new switch to bypass the key, the issue seemed to resolve itself and the key worked just fine for the entire week. Boats, I tell ya! 

We eventually got off the docks and set sail in intermittent winds to Telegraph Cove. It was a great first sail with lots of sunshine and enough of a breeze to make 6 knots. The 10 nautical mile sail went by quickly and we got ourselves situated in Telegraph Cove before going for a walk on shore. It took Brad no time at all to curse the oars on our dinghy and wish for our outboard motor. We’d brought it home in January to get it running again and flying out for spring break meant no outboard until summer time. Boo! Paddling it is. 

Telegraph Cove is a quiet little spot with a pub on one side of the bay and a campground on the other. We met the owners of the campground while we walked on-shore, and felt so welcome after chatting with him for a few minutes. He told us that they have lots of live music in the summer and we promised him we’d be back! After a delicious dinner on board Ocean Spirit, we called it a night and set a plan to head for Montague Harbour the next morning.

Fickle winds early on Tuesday were unforgiving and we learned the hard way that Ocean Spirit and Splash were anchored too close together. Although they’re very close to the same length, Splash weighs more than Ocean Spirit and on anchor, we move differently in the wind. We tossed out some fenders when we got butt-puckering close to one another, and thank goodness we did because the winds eventually blew us into one another. Thankfully both boats were just fine, but our nerves were rattled so we pulled anchor quickly and took off for Montague sooner than later! Our sail was a little more than 15 nautical miles away and we got lots of practice bringing the sails up and down, as the wind was similarly intermittent to the days prior. The sun was shining and warm, and we arrived in Montague Harbour by 2pm to snag a mooring ball. We headed to shore for a weenie roast, and then enjoyed a walk and some sunshine on the beach. Montague is one of my favorite anchorages because it has a beautiful clam shell shoreline and lots of walking trails. We were spoiled with hardly any other boats there, and we had to remind ourselves that it might not feel so quiet in July! We made plans in the evening to check out a new spot the next day -- Tumbo Island.

Beach bum at Montague Harbour

It isn't hard to understand why I love this spot!

Cheryl and Ocean Spirit!

The best bosun!

Splash's shiny and buffed side. No pics from the port side, pls. Ha.

Cinni was wondering who forget to pack her a hot dog?

A game of Catan to finish the evening!