Nanaimo was a busy center of activity; always the boats cruising in and out, seaplanes taking off and landing with frequency and Sunday being a day for families to enjoy one last weekend before holidays are over and school doors open once again. We took an easy walk along the waterway with a great cold coffee treat. There has been a major addition since we were here last year, a long pier for walkers and fishermen alike. A very large play area for children and a sectioned off swimming area have been added- unless it was a weekday and the children were still in school, not having an adequate excuse to be there!Pat treated me to dinner just a pier away from our boat, Penny Palapas. It was getting cool so while waiting for our meal to be served, I hopped back to the boat to grab a sweater. On my way back, I was stopped by someone asking if I was ‘Sue?’. A wonder has it that it was Bill, (we met while staying at Pirates’ Cove last summer). He invited us to come over and visit them on Emma. Needless to say, Brenda and I had a marvelous time continuing our conversation from last year and filling in a year’s worth of living. She was putting her sewing machine away – yes she keeps herself occupied with sewing quilts while living onboard! (They live half the year on a 32 foot Nordic Tug.) Meanwhile Pat sat on the next level and was enticed with the Garmin version of navigational equipment! He’s happy with the Raymarine that was on our boat at the time of purchase, but still prefers Garmin. Then we all sat for a time and they demonstrated how easy, convenient and compact the Verizon wireless communication setup is! BBX, expect a call from us when we return. We have not been happy with the difficulties we are having connecting with family and friends via the internet. The phones are working much better which is wonderful for me, I love hearing my daughters’ voices and hearing what is going on with them. 
Before 7 AM we were leaving the Nanaimo dock and heading out. From within the bay it looked as if there was a bit of fog hanging out in the Straits. The tide was in our favor so we made a left turn and exited down and out through Departure Bay. It was fun to pass by marinas, and various businesses related to the waterway. 
Flying overhead seaplanes were leaving with regular frequency. Not having to work around the congestion of anchored boats, planes’ taxing about, ferries and other boats, Departure Bay was tranquil and scenic. The winds were 9+ knots so we believed we were going to have an easy passage across the Straits of Georgia.
I should have Pat tell his version and then follow it with mine! Not having a wide range of “mariner’s terms” under my belt I would describe the water as lively. Not robust by any means. It “felt” different to move through than the Puget Sound, even with strong 25 knots. There seemed to be more energy, more strength as the waves slapped Liberté from all directions. We motored for a short bit – until we passed a chain of rocks/shoals beyond Departure Bay.
Then the sails went up and out. It did make for a smoother passage compared to motoring. The boat went into her groove, but at a more distinct 30+ angle heel and it was constant. After 45 minutes I finally told Pat that I had found my “pucker level” for tolerance. This was getting tiresome to be stretched out in the cockpit, legs extended, knees locked just to keep comfortable. Comfortable? Not at all! The sky above Nanaimo was blue with some fluffy white clouds. Across, on the other side where we were heading, the sky had an ominous appearance. The sun was breaking through, shooting rays that could almost deceive one and look like bursts of rain in places. Besides the rather foreboding appearance of our destination, there was not another boat on the horizon in all 360 degrees that I could see. It gave me a lonely sense of ‘being’ out there. I was not afraid, but the fact is I am a “Pollyanna” when it comes to sailing. I want a comfortable 15 degree heel at most and if I were to ask for my cake and icing too, 70⁰-75⁰, sunshine, but overcast is OK. Married to a sail racer, I have to learn to come to terms with his way of sailing. I am going to work on going into my own zone through meditation, sooner rather than later. A half hour before we made the turn towards Smuggler’s Cove a couple sailboats were seen in the distance heading south and one along the coastline. The short version is that we reached Welcome Passage in 2.5 hours; the shortest trip ever for Pat. He was thrilled with Liberté averaging 7+ knots and winds not exceeding 18 knots. He did reef thinking that would take a bit of heel out of the boat. Perhaps 2 degrees, but that was all! I do enjoy a gentle 15 degree heel but the rail in the water, spray breaking over the bow and coming all the way back to the Captain at the helm was not my form of vacation fun. Welcome Passage was the best choice after crossing. I had not been to Smuggler’s Cove and the tides again were good for finding our way through the maze of twists and turns. There were a couple times Pat was moving Liberté forward and it left me puzzled; it did not appear to have a place deep or big enough for us. Prior knowledge is helpful when navigating through here. We did our first stern tie-up in the back cove.
With no dingy but just the kayak, the challenge to take the line ashore and scramble out of the kayak, without puncturing or flipping it was entertaining from the stern and safety of our big red boat. Yesterday was a virtual dead calm in here which made for a wonderful passage to paddle in the evening through every nook and cranny. Trust me, there were a couple places we tentatively worked our kayak over inches of water. We could have actually gone on to Secret Cove had I been a big-water explorer. It took us two hours just to explore this area.
This afternoon we wandered ashore and followed excellent groomed trails around the area. There are 400 acres in this park. There was one trail that took us in the direction that ended in a parking lot. To get there we passed a real wetland rich with vegetation, fireflies darted over the thick, soup-like water heavy with mosquitoes or a similar insect wiggling along the surface. Cattails were scattered about and nearing the end of their cycle. Tall trees ranged from alder, arbutus, pine, fir and cedar. Some of the trees were quite large, I doubt if they are old growth. There was old growth turned nurse trees cultivating a new forest on them. The parks department has built raised walkways throughout this section, some with many steps to provide four feet above the surface. After re-tracing our way back to the starting point, we went out another direction which led us to the entrance to Smuggler’s Cove. Along the way a discordant song permeated the air sharply. I was trying to convince myself it was a Great Blue Heron; however it sounded more like a Gibbons monkey. You know those little fellows who fill their jowls with air and creates sounds like we heard. Whatever it was, we did not see the creature. Our three hour hike was wonderful exercise for our bodies and a visual treat on top of that. It would be easy to say that Smuggler’s Cove is our new favorite place to come and spend time here.
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