Saturday, Sept. 11th

Saturday morning started off overcast, but the rain had finally stopped after pouring down. The Harbour Authority provides three coin operated shower stalls in the public bathroom, so I grabbed a shower (1 loonie/3 min) before cooking up a thermos of coffee for the journey over to the Howe Sound. We motored our boats back over to the Granville Island Public Market dock and for some last minute provisioning and a quick breakfast. Loaded up, we headed out with a small amount of trepidation as the journey was exposed and the wind was blowing fairly strong.

Sailing on English Bay

Once under the Burrard Bridge, sails went up and the motors shut off. I began to play with my autopilot, and found that it would hold the course perfectly while I played with the sail trim. I set a course to take us fairly far out into English Bay, skirting the southern edge of bay near the Spanish Bank, in order to allow us to head towards the Howe Sound while crossing the traffic convergence zone nearly perpendicular. Giant super tankers dotted English Bay, and were the main hazard for sailing out along our course. Once out into the bay, the wind began to build, and I hove to and tucked in thefirst reef. Once reefed, the boat sailed along easily, and I could begin to enjoy the clearing sky. Once far enough out in the bay, I eased the sheets and sailed a broad reach toward the lighthouse at Pt. Atkinson. Sailing was easy with the wind aft of the beam, and nearing Pt. Atkinson the wind moderated enough to warrant shaking out the reef and switching from the small jib to the lapper. Changing the headsail was much easier with the autopilot holding the course, but the steep rolling chop near Pt. Atkinson made the job unpleasant. The wind near the lighthouse was very light, so we motor sailed past the point and entered the Howe Sound proper.

The wind freshened, and soon the motors rattle was quieted and the sky cleared to a glorious blue. Hamada moved along smartly on a broad reach as the grandeur of the Howe Sound opened up before us. In the distance I could clearly see the day's destination: Snug Cove on Bowen Island. The miles paid out with a hiss under the stern and we closed the tight opening to Snug Cove. Sailed were dropped and we motored on into the public dock right in front of the ferry landing. Grabbing the last side tie available on the protected side of the dock, we had made our first port in the Howe Sound.

After chatting with the crew of a Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft, we decided to have a look around the small town in the cove. The Snug Cove Marina filled most of the rest of the cove, and provided a public walkway over to a small park at the head of the cove. A rock concert was being held in the park which added to the festive atmosphere in the town. The town itself was quaint, containing a surprising mix of shops and restaurants. A fairly strenuous hike up a pathway led up to the Artisans Square, a small group of shops, galleries and restaurants with a great view of the cove and surrounding mountains of the Sound.

Dinner that night was cooked up on the new-to-me propane fired Magma BBQ, which worked out great. The night was capped off with a great sunset from the dock, and we retired to our boats, disturbed only by the hourly arrival of the ferry boat. Late that night at about 3am, I finally gave up on trying to sleep with the centerboard knocking, and crawled out on deck to winch the board back up. Something about the tide and wind must have conspired to make the board knock, as it never bothered me again during the trip.