A Sailing Adventure with a bit of History

After what felt like ages, it was finally time for a sailing trip. Usually every year we take off for a month and sail north up the coast as far as we can go, before having to come back to reality. This year, we only had a few days due to work, a haul-out, and an untimely bout of food poisoning. Montague Harbour Marine park is a sweet little spot that we always enjoy going to and decided to head there to relax. The weather was sunny, with a crisp breeze that danced across the water. With the strong flood tide, we cruised at a good 9knots (16.2km/h) the majority of the way Northbound.

This was coming out of Enterprise Channel looking South at Trial Island Lighthouse.

We alternated between moments of quiet reflection, soaking in the scenery, and lively conversations about random topics. During the trip I played with my camera deciding to shoot in black and white, allowing me to explore new techniques and deepen my connection with my trusty sidekick, a never ending journey.

Trincomali Channel looking North.

Passing Sidney Spit, it was busy as usual with boats anchored and the beaches with people enjoying the suns warmth. As we headed up Swanson Channel we started having some fun going over the massive ferry wakes as the B.C. Ferries cruised by. Always a hit with the kids, and the kid inside us. Turning into Trincomali Channel is always stunning to see when the sun is going down.

When we arrived in Montague Harbour, we had anchored in a nice little spot away from the parks moorings as it tends to be quite busy over there. Bonus, we had a pretty sweet spot for the sunset which is one of my favorite downtimes. There is nothing like floating around peacefully with a calm evening watching the colors of the sunset as it makes its decent.

Sunset in Montague Harbour.

Montague Harbour Marine Park is the oldest Marine park in British Columbia that is rich in Natural and Cultural History. With having 89 hectares, it is a diverse Marine park that offers places to anchor your boat, or tie up to a park buoy. Camping for Kayakers as a stopping ground on their journey, or daily hikers and adventurers. The park was originally used by the Coastal Salish people that dates back over 3000 years ago! Several middens (refuse heaps) still present from centuries of castaway shells from harvesting. Over time, they have been crushed down by waves, and turned into the sandy beach that is present today.

Montague Harbour

On the first morning of being anchored, I woke up early to enjoy my coffee as the sun rose over the hill, something I thoroughly enjoy. Especially being able to listen to the Purple Martins morning chattiness as they fly around. The calm and quiet of the bay, watching boats pull their anchor for their early morning departure. I do love these tranquil mornings.

We met up with our fellow sailing friend Kris and his son in the morning and decided to do a run over to Miners Bay, Mayne Island, BC with his skiff. With only seeing it at a distance while riding on a BC Ferry, it was something we were all looking forward to. Kris had been through the pass before, and let me say, it was a lot of fun! Way better in a skiff than a ferry, that's for sure! Active Pass was named after an American Survey Ship, the USCS Active which was the first steam vessel to navigate the pass back in 1855. The First Nations call it, SKŦAK.

Pully system Dinghy tie up (not our dinghy)

When we got into Miners Bay and tied the skiff up, the first thing I noticed was how they had this really neat way of tying up dinghy's if you were to stay a while. Due to the consistent ferry and other big boat wakes, I could only imagine how rough it would be with any type of boat tied to the docks. They had a pulley tied at the top of the Warf with a weight on one end of the rope, and the other end tied to the dock. All you needed to do was pull on the line, tie the dinghy up to the loop that was in the middle, and then release the connected line. This way the dinghy floated freely instead of bashing against the dock. Brilliant idea!

We wandered up and onto the main road to the Historic Village the remains the Commercial Centre of the Island. There was an old Trading Post building where you could buy food and other necessities. When entering the store, an employee walked by us informing us that it was free freezy Friday for the kids, which was a huge hit! The people were friendly and there was a really nice vibe to the place.

Miners Bay Trading Post, Mayne Island, B.C.

We decided to walk further up the road and see what else was around. We came upon a random hanging guitar with a stool that was right beside the pizza joint. The guitar only had 3 strings on it, yet it called for anyone to give it a strum. As we kept walking up the left hand side of the road, we came across a very small white building that had MUSEUM written on the front. We found out it was originally the Plumper Pass Lockup built in 1896. None of us had no idea the history Main Island had until we started checking things out, while listening to what the young lady had to say about the history of the place. It was pretty fascinating. Even the kids asked a lot of questions! Here are some of the things we learnt. The First Nations people have been amongst the Gulf Islands for over 3000 years. The WSÁNEĆ people, and one of the bands from WSÁNEĆ the Tsartlip First Nation still plays a vital role with the islands Heritage and Culture on Mayne Island.

Before the World War ll, the Japanese Canadian settlers had settled on the island and played a huge part in the community at that time, until they were taken away to the mainland during the war. We never had the chance to check it out, but there is a Japanese Garden near Dinner Bay dedicated in the memory and legacy of the Mayne Island's Japanese Community. I have heard that it is worth checking out!

There were so many neat things to check out in that little building, yet what intrigued me in the museum was the large display of photography by John Aitken, with one photo that really caught my eye which I posted below. Then going down a rabbit hole I leant more about him and became more intrigued. John was born in November 4th, 1873 in Scotland and immigrated when he was in his teens to Halifax, Nova Scotia with his siblings. They made there way to Vancouver Island in 1890. John was living in Sooke, B.C. and that is where he met his wife Ellen.

John Aitken was known for his documented images from the Klondike Gold Rush in the 1890s. Documenting his journey to the Klondike that included photos of the Chilkoot Pass. After returning from the Gold Rush, and later his wifes passing in in 1909 he moved to Miners Bay, Mayne Island B.C. and settled down with his kids. While running a store in Miners Bay, he continued photographing events, Active Pass documenting shipping, commerce and the social life on Mayne Island, BC. John Aitkens photos were all on glass slides and are with the DeRousie family. It is said that there are potentially more photos/stories about John and Ellen that are still out there!

Before leaving we stopped in for a little break at the Mayne Island Brewing Co. This place is a little gem that is nestled in the forest that is kid and pet friendly. It was the perfect little spot to get out of that hot sun for a bit and enjoy some refreshments. Though brief, the trip to Mayne Island, B.C. was unforgettable. If you ever get the opportunity to check it out, it's worth it! Especially for the history as there is so much of it there and amongst the islands!

We spent a total of 3 nights in Montague Harbour Marine Park. Every time we are there we always get ice cream from the little shop up from the marina. Being that it was our last day there, and the outboard unfortunately having issues, with determination, we rowed the inflatable dinghy to the dock for our traditional ice cream adventure! While we ate our ice cream, we decided to check what the weather was supposed to be for Sunday. A Gale warning was set for Juan de Fuca East Entrance. 30-35 knots predicted for the afternoon, which meant it could be a wild ride rounding that corner coming out of Enterprise Channel. With not being able to dock at our marina between 9am and 2:30pm due to low tide, we had to figure out what we were going to do and when in the morning we were going to leave. We would also be riding the ebb all the way down as well. It was either a 3 am wake up with a 4am departure to make it into the marina before 9am, or a 8am wakeup and deal with what ever weather comes at us.

We decided to sleep and departed at 8am with the warmth of the sun, and very little wind. Riding the ebb we were cruising at a good 8-9 knots most of the way back to Victoria, B.C. As we passed Sidney Spit, we realized that we could have left at 9am at the speed we were doing. As we entered Baynes Channel, we knew that we were going to be too early to go into the marina. It had been the fastest we had made it South from Montague. It was so calm out in the Juan de Fuca Strait that when we exited out of Enterprise Channel we headed out towards Race Rocks and put up the sails. We could feel the wind crisping up, but slowly. The wind was light only being 11 knots, (19.8km/h) which is not much to push the 42' full keel sailboat Spirit Wind. It still moved the boat slowly, making it a relaxing 2 hours before we headed into the marina.

Getting into the marina at 2:45pm, the docking was so smooth and quick, that it almost felt like we never went anywhere. A short yet sweet sailing trip. Hopefully there will be another one come August! Thank you Captain Andrew for a fun few days aboard Spirit Wind.

There is definitely something to be said being on the water. Some days it's drifting, somedays it's smooth sailing, and sometimes, it's a wild ride! It's also that feeling of being free! :)