Day 2: Ganges to Nanaimo

Today’s timing was dictated by Dodd Narrows, the first tidal rapid we have to negotiate. Dodd was slack at 1:19 p.m. and it’s roughly 28 nautical miles from Ganges to the entrance to Dodd Narrows.

The group was up early and eager to leave, so we left earlier than we needed to. I warned people that we might end up killing time at Dodd, but they were unconcerned. Sure enough, many of the boats killed some time, but we all made it through easily enough. A couple of the large boats entered about an hour before slack, and they were surprised by the velocity of the current. Dodd Narrows has a laminar flow; that is, even when the current runs it runs smoothly. It is a relatively safe rapid to “cheat” with but a good learning experience for participants.

With a brisk afternoon northwesterly blowing, the run from Dodd Narrows to Nanaimo was bumpy. This section requires running with beam seas for a time, and it wasn’t comfortable. Nobody seemed concerned, though.

Time in Nanaimo was busy. Kevin Monahan arrived at the boat, and he’ll be aboard until Ketchikan. Kevin is a retired commercial fisherman and Canadian Coast Guard skipper. He’s written several books, including Local Knowledge and The Radar Book. He’ll be fun to have aboard and I’m sure I’ll learn a whole lot.

I also caught up with George and Carolyn on their C-Dory 22 Kerri On, Jay and JoLee on their C-Dory 22 Hunky Dory. They came over to my boat for a drink in the evening and we had a nice visit.

The weather forecast for crossing the Strait of Georgia tomorrow looks a bit marginal. The 20-knot northwesterly we experienced today looks like it will continue for several days. We’ll get up at the crack of dawn and see what’s happening.

33.89 nm today

77.94 nm total