June 22, 2008 Silva Bay to Vananda

The first float plane droned out of the bay on take-off at 0800 sharp.  The wake-up call of the north country.  Colleen and I ate a quick breakfast of cereal and made the boat ship-shape for the Strait of Georgia.  We found the Straits lumpy today, with a big sloppy chop rolling down from the north.  The motion of the boat is what I call “bucking a chop” and was uncomfortable for several hours, but it soon settled down at the turn of the tide.  The military torpedo testing zone, area Whiskey Golf, was inactive today and we were able to cut a route right down the middle of the strait.  We passed through an area marked “disused explosives” whatever that means.  A southerly breeze kicked up when we entered Malaspina Strait and made for a great sail in the sunshine.  It was here that Colleen enjoyed the first-ever hot shower aboard Silent Partner!  Our new solar shower heats up great on sunny days like this.  It was a major advancement in personal hygiene today, one of those things that I have to ask myself “why didn’t I think of this until now???”  All in all, we were out on big water most of the day, miles from land.  I always get a bit restless in these waters in anticipation for the tidal rapids and other challenges to navigation ahead.  Tomorrow we go through the Devil’s Hole, one of the strongest tidal rapids in the world.  I spent several hours today crunching numbers to figure out our timing through the channels leading to the rapids.  We need to take the right currents and arrive exactly at slack tide for a safe passage.  Now, if I can just remember what day it is, things would be a lot easier…  Our anchorage in Vananda catches a bit of wake from the commercial traffic in Malaspina Strait.  It is a neat little cove though, with a really cool lagoon.  We dropped anchor near the entrance to the lagoon and went rowing into the backwaters after dinner.  We found a very interesting old shipwreck in the swamp there.  I also found the king of fenders floating back there.  It is a big round orange float, referred to by some as “elephant testicles”.  Colleen didn’t share my enthusiasm for the testicle.  “That thing is going to stink up the boat, and where are you going to put it?”  I deflated the testicle and gave it solitary confinement in the dinghy.  It was an excellent find, and will come in handy in the future.

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