They say to do one thing a day that scares you...I did

It’s a gorgeous day out among the islands as we make our way from Mayne Island over to Salt Spring, with hopes of having lunch at Rock Salt Cafe in Fulford.  Its been a week of learning and exploring, and although there come times when it’s a little scary, it’s an adventure.

Yesterday we decided to make our way to Mayne.  At the speed R’Dream will go, it took about five hours from the time we left Ladysmith until we reached our destination.  We cruised steadily except for a short break to make some lunch in the middle of the Trincomali Channel.  It was so different to look at that side of Salt Spring Island, that we love so much, from the water.  Completely missed detecting the Salt Spring Spa, but did catch Fernwood dock, and the old plant that sat beside the house we rented for the winter after Shane passed.  So much healing happened along that Channel…my whales, my walks, my blue moon.  I will never forget the time spent there.

We had some lessons in how active Active Pass is while on our way to Mayne.  It sure lives up to it’s name, as the turbulence threw even this boat around pretty good.  The cruising speed of 8 knots we’d done at 1500 rpm all the way from Ladysmith dropped right down to between 2 and 3 knots.  Really eye opening for a pair of prairie sailors!

The real fun began when we arrived at Miner’s Bay.  The dock was pretty full, with only one spot that we didn’t fit perfectly into.  It had yellow paint, indicating it was for emergency or taxi vehicles.  There was a good 6 feet of yellow clear, but our tail end covered about 3.  We moored and went to ask someone how critical that was, but the lady at the Springwater Inn said we’d best move it. 

By the time we got back out to the boat and untied, the one other mooring option that had come up was taken, darn.  That meant we had to go from mooring ball to mooring ball, and use our dingy and oars for the first time. They say that you should do one thing that scares you every day…the thought of that scared me!  But we didn’t really have a choice.  Our friend was on her way down to meet us for supper, we had to get organized.

That was when we first found out how many mooring balls are marked private!  We snagged 3, but by the time you were close enough to read the weathered writing, it was only then that you realized it wasn’t available.  We finally did find one, but learned a lot about the technique and style required to actually tie up to it.  A lot of lessons in a very short few minutes, ones we’ll hopefully remember for next time we have to do that.  

Cecil got us secured, and lowered the dingy.  I grabbed my life-jacket and got it on quickly, knowing Mom was likely looking down in a panic.  Somehow we managed to do it completely backwards, so that I had the paddling seat, but he got to do the paddling…Lucky me!  We could hardly stop laughing as we made our way back to the dock, our friend looking on wondering what on earth we were doing, having told her we were already saving her a chair!   We made it…not at all gracefully, but safely.

After a great dinner, visit and tour of other potential mooring spots on the island, we paddled back out to the boat.  All went well, as we settled in for what was left of the evening.  My ‘office’ view being a glimpse of the ferries that were making their way in and out of Active Pass for some of the last runs of the night.  It was glorious, and peaceful yet exhilarating at the same time, knowing we’d managed…not quite as we planned, but we managed. How lucky we are to have this opportunity to even try this long-held dream on for size.  Life is so very good to us.