Alaska 2016 | Day 104 | Pender Harbour to Vancouver

After months in wilderness and small towns, we headed for the city.

I'd previously only visited Vancouver by boat once, and that was for a single night. This time we'd have several days to explore the city.

The Strait of Georgia cooperated and we had a smooth trip down. As we neared Vancouver, traffic increased. English Bay was filled with huge ships, which we weaved through as we headed towards False Creek. Once in False Creek, avoiding the dozens of dinghies, kayaks, paddleboards, and boats of all descriptions demanded my full attention.

Approaching Vancouver

Unlike Seattle, Vancouver has excellent urban anchoring. False Creek is well protected, shallow (20-30 feet), and has good holding. In the past it was choked with squatters and liveaboards, but now a permit system limits stays to 14 days of any 30 day period during the peak season. Permits are free and easy to acquire online. We anchored at the head of False Creek, between the B.C. Place stadium and Science World. Super cool!

Urban anchoring, at the head of False Creek

After anchoring we took the dinghy to one of the dinghy docks (there are five or six throughout False Creek...basically anywhere the Aquabus Ferry docks) and walked to Granville Island. Granville Island is kind of like the Pike Place Market on steroids...about a million food vendors selling everything from bagels to cheese to pate to fancy butter to fresh produce. Really delicious.

Wandering around the market at Granville Island

We'll spend the next few days wandering around Vancouver...

47.33 nm today
3122.40 nm total