July 1, 2024 marked the end of a countdown to my impending retirement. Mike, retired in April and had to patiently or perhaps impatiently wait for my big day to arrive so we could start our fulltime cruising goals. As I write this, I have truthfully only been retired for one week, I don’t think I really feel retired. I don’t know how I am supposed to feel but I am excited for what comes next!

While anchored in Bedwell Harbor we took our dinghies to Port Browning and walked into their little town for a few grocery items. To our surprise there was also a nice cafe, nursery/pet supply store, nail shop, liquor store, boutique, hardware/houseware store and probably a few others we didn’t get to see. We enjoyed a takeout lunch and then made our way back to our boat and enjoyed a beautiful summer sunset.

The next morning before departing Bedwell Harbor we decided to go on a short hike. What was to be just an easy out and back hike to a lake turned out to be much more technical than expected, traversing steep inclines and declines along the mountainside with our three pups. We eventually made it all the way around the lake which was very scenic and we were proud of ourselves for not turning back, a thought that popped into my mind several times!

We arrived at Salt Spring Island, with the plan of provisioning at the famous Saturday Market. While the market was great and had vendors of every sort; handmade lotions, soaps, clothes, pastries, jewelry, and the like there was very little produce so we arranged for the free shuttle to the local country store.

Later we learned that they also have a Tuesday Market and that’s when all the produce and farmers come out. None the less we came away with a few unique treasures. I scored a wooden puzzle of Vancouver Island and Mike bought some hand distilled gin. The captain loves his martinis after a long day of cruising!

Our next two stops at Lady Smith and Snug Cove were just short one-night stays as we made our way farther north. In Lady Smith we stayed at Oyster Bay Marina which is formerly the Lady Smith Community Marina.

The Marina host suggested dinner at a local Spanish tapas restaurant not too far away. What a great suggestion, their coconut margheritas were amazing and the corn fritters, pork tacos and calamari were delicious. We were seated out on their patio under large pine trees and amongst a beautiful patio garden setting. On our walk home, we encountered at least 10 wild bunnies grazing in the fields, it was a good thing the dogs were left on the boat! This facility is planning many significant updates for the future, and we definitely look forward to going back someday.

Our last stop was at Union Steamship Marina in Sung Cove. Years ago, we found a large fender with a phone number on it, turns out it belonged to the owner of this Marina, who generously sent us free moorage coupons if we ever made it to Union Steamship. We had always wanted to go, but never had enough vacation time. Ahhh another reason to love retirement!

Well, it only took 6 years, but we made it. This marina is now one of our favorites. It has a cool island vibe and feels like an adult summer camp! There were a lot of open grassy spaces for our dogs, live music, ice cream, marina store and chandlery all tucked into a charming little cove! We watched a local fast pitch softball game with some of the locals, hiked to the top of Dorman Peak and came away with some cool t-shirts! Fun-Fun-Fun!

Unexpected Challenges

Of course, with all that fun we did not escape a boat tribulation. While in Bedwell Harbor just as we had finished pulling up the dinghy, our Airtex crane suddenly stopped working. We had just had some repairs on the crane so we were really dejected when this happened. Mike tested and tried everything he could think but to no success. Fortunately, we were able to phone a friend, namely GOAT James Knight, owner of Yacht Tech aka Mr. Nordhavn. He helped us trouble shoot the problem and provided a temporary fix while we order and await parts. Turns out that one of our relays was bad but we could jump it.

We are now off to Pender Harbor near Egmont, BC where we will pick up our buddy boat’s parents and then head on to Princess Louisa.