Tsehum Harbor to Tod Inlet

Volume XIII: Tsehum Harbor to Tod Inlet On October 15th, Rikki-tikki-tavi and Juniata, each with his or her respective crew aboard, joined once again at Tsehum Harbour on the Saanich Peninsula of Vancouver Island. Rikki-tikki, I guess one could say, closed the circle, crossing the track he created upon entering Canada at Tsehum on August 4th. We were excitedly looking forward to some one-on-one time with Dave and Marcia, visiting and sharing experiences, before they had to leave Canada and we would tie Rikki to the dock in Montague Harbour. The weather was pleasant and partly sunny. We filled up the diesel tank and the water tanks at Van Isle Marina shortly before Juniata came in from Victoria to anchor nearby. We loaded two-plus months' worth of accumulated garbage into Darzee and took it to the marina compactor for proper disposal. Most of the islands do not have garbage disposal (at least not for free) so we consolidated our trash as we cruised and stored it in an ama. We recycled our glass and cans. That done, we visited with Dave and Marcia in Juniata's cockpit, soaking up the sun. As hunger pangs struck, we moved over to Rikki-tikki for a "dinner" of cheeses and smoked shellfish. It was threatening rain as Juniata went into the yacht club dock next morning. We motored over in Darzee that afternoon. Gerta arrived in her BMW to take us for a special dinner at a lovely shoreside villa on Deep Cove where she was housesitting. Everyone headed immediately for the big kitchen where Clark fell in love– with the stove. He was in seventh heaven, in ecstasy, cooking on an Aga. If that Aga didn't weigh nearly as much as Rikki-tikki himself, I'm sure Clark would figure out how to get one aboard! He was having so much fun– roasting, baking, sautéing. He even had time to throw together a beautiful tray of appetizers. I found a piano in the living room and plunked out a few classical pieces. Luckily for those listeners in the kitchen, the music scores available for me to sight-read were simple. It could've been ugly otherwise. I hadn't touched the keys in decades. I even enjoyed the music myself! Returning to Rikki just at dark, we started up our diesel heater to warm the boat but sleep was hard to come by. The wind and waves bumped and jostled us all night. It rained buckets. Gusts of wind shook loose glops of water from the rigging, which plummeted to the deck above our heads in unpredictable thumps. Our brains seem able to tune out steady rain, but not this random pelting. Each time we started to drift into dreamland, the noise would startle us awake. The wind calmed by morning but the day started out chilly, foggy and drizzly. The first time we were at Tsehum, we saw a crab boat pulling lines of traps out from under the dozens of anchored boats. We didn't see any floats marking the cables, each with several metal mesh traps attached. In the US each trap must have a float. In Canada, a crabber is required only one at each end of the cable connecting up to ten traps. When we told people that crabtraps were on all over the bottom of Tsehum harbor, nobody believed us. Well, the crab boat was out again! He pulled at least four lines of traps, harvesting crabs, and resetting traps under the anchorage. We wondered how many boats tangle their anchor in a trap or snag a cable. There are a lot of traps down there! When the crab boat was pulling a line of traps next to Rikki-tikki, I took several photos. Here's oneÐ taken through our aft settee window. There is an undersized crab teetering on the gunwale. Late morning, Rikki followed Juniata out of Tsehum, zigzagged through John Passage between Coal and Goudge Islands, down Colburne Passage, and across the very heavily trafficked Swartz Bay BC Ferries Terminals. The fog was pretty thick so we had turned on the radar. Clark watched the screen for approaching ferries as I steered Rikki-tikki at a brisk pace. There are lanes converging from three different directions! Just as we cleared the last terminal, a big Tsawwassen ferry loomed out of the fog from Gosse Passage to cross behind us. It slowly turned a 180û to place the car deck stern toward the terminal. Whew! We arrived in Tod Inlet about one-thirty and side-tied with Juniata, the only boats save a large trawler liveaboard that was here in August too. It was good to get out and walk the trails. We scrounged a few late blackberries and filled our pockets with apples, knocked out of the trees in an abandoned orchard. We discovered a lovely fern-lined canyon with tress upholstered in moss. Hikers had placed found items along the retaining wall– leather soles from old shoes, broken crockery, rusty iron farms tools, bottles and odd bits from the little factory-town settlement that was here when the quarry was active. The quarry, of course, became the famous Butchart Gardens, which is easily visited from Tod Inlet, either by dinghy from Butchart Cove at the entrance to Tod Inlet or by short trail from the head of Tod Inlet. Juniata and Rikki-tikki-tavi anchored together in Tod Inlet– makes visiting boat-to-boat very easy. The wide, maple leaf strewn path through the BC Park around Tod Inlet is used by locals for biking, walking the dog, and running. The residents are fortunate to have such a beautiful area just blocks away from their homes. We cruisers are likewise grateful for the easy access to stretch our legs and even catch a bus, if we want, to downtown Victoria! Needing a few provisions, we asked if there was a grocery within walking distance. An enthusiastic, helpful, friendly young man gave us directions, said it was an easy 25-minute route. Trudging along the road to Brentwood for twice that long, we finally found the store. Stretching our legs is one thing, but walking nearly two hours roundtrip for a few groceries is a bit much! I mean, do we really need coffee that badly? If another enthusiastic, helpful, friendly YOUNG person estimated walking time, we vowed to double it, then decide if we were up to it! Dave, Marcia, Clark and I gratefully lowered ourselves and our groceries into our dinghies and rowed out to our little floating homes, where we could just sit. And sit. Such is life aboard a boat! May all trails and roads be level, Clark & Nina