9/3 Nanaimo

We thought we’d lost one of our crew this morning. Our cat Tribble went missing while we were sipping our morning tea and chai. She has a few favorite places around the boat where she can hide or take her naps, and she usually takes a nap in the morning after prowling around the boat half the night. She was there sitting on the top step of the ladder when I got up and started a pot of tea. When Erin got up she wasn’t there, but we assumed she was napping out of sight. After about an hour we looked where we thought she was, and of course she wasn’t – nor was she in any of her other spots. We searched the boat from stem to stern, and no cat.

We had opened the side doors and, although we hadn’t seen her go out, we thought perhaps she’d gotten out on the dock and was wandering around. Although curious, she’s a very timid cat and easily spooked, not only by strangers, but by any object that isn’t in its proper place. We weren’t sure what she’d do if she were to get onto the dock – run or hide. We hadn’t heard any splashes, but of course our worst fear would be that she decided to take a walk on the water.

Our search up and down the dock was fruitless, and we returned to the boat fearing the worst – that she may have gone overboard. We had already searched through the cupboards but Erin, remembering a story that our friend Craig told about their cat getting into some remote places, began pulling out the drawers under our bed. That revealed no cat, but as she was leaving the stateroom she thought she caught a glimpse of something gray. Turns out Tribble was back behind the drawers, and once Erin opened them was trying to get out by climbing over the back panel of the drawer. We’re not sure quite how she ended up there. She may have crawled into the roll-out storage tray in the galley that I had opened to retrieve Erin’s tea. I didn’t think there was access through all the bulkheads to the stern of the boat, but perhaps there are.

Looking over at Protection Island from Newcastle

Our initial plan was to leave Nanaimo today and head south towards Cowichan Bay, but last night Caleb, a friend of ours who was up north boating, sent an email asking if we were still in Nanaimo, as he would be heading south and crossing the Georgia Straits ahead of an approaching blow, arriving sometime today. We decided to hang out in Nanaimo another day to visit before heading south.

We got another email and a voicemail around 11:30 this morning from Caleb – he was at the dock at Newcastle Island, across the harbor from us. Although we’ve been to Nanaimo many times, we hadn’t done any exploring at Newcastle Island, so we decided to head over there in the dinghy to visit. We tied the dinghy in front of the bow of Caleb’s boat, the Wooka, and found that Caleb’s friends Gavin and Karen were also there in their boat. We had met them a few years earlier, when Caleb and Laura and Gavin and Karen rafted their boats on either side of us in Princess Bay and we had dinner. Gavin and Karen left later that evening, but Caleb and Laura stayed for the night. Early in the morning a strong wind blew in and for the first time we drug anchor. We managed to extricate ourselves from that predicament, and even rescue another boat – but that’s another story.

Looking out towards Georgia Straits

We were glad to see Gavin and Karen again, as well as Caleb. Laura had already returned to Seattle earlier. Newcastle Island is a Provincial Park and it, along with Protection Island, forms a barrier between the Georgia Straits and Nanaimo Harbor. There is a dock for both moorage and for a passenger ferry that regularly travels across the harbor between a couple different docks in Nanaimo and the island. On shore near the dock is a dance pavilion that was built in the 1930’s. It was lined with old photographs and displays of some of the island’s history. It once was a sandstone quarry and provided material for the construction of the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. There are also several old coalmine shafts on the island, many going deep below sea level and under the town of Nanaimo.

Caleb and his dog Sheila out on the rocks

We decided to walk one of the trails along the beach over to the other side of the island to check out the views. And, everywhere you look there is an incredible view. The day and weather was perfect – the predicted windstorm had yet to arrive and we had blue sky and sunshine. We made a mental note to ourselves to come here and moor our boat the next time we’re headed north. With a short walk, you can be on the other side of the island and see for yourself what’s happening out in the straits. Today they were flat calm – the calm before the storm – ideal for crossing in either direction.

coal mine entrance, welded shut

Along the way we came upon one of the old mineshaft entrances. From a distance it looked like an old metal tank standing upright. Closer up, we could see a steel door in the side. The door had been welded shut with lengths of rebar. Coal was discovered here over 150 years ago, and in fact Newcastle Island was named for the English coal-mining town of Newcastle.

After two or three hours of both trail walking and beach sitting, we headed back towards the dock. The nearby dance pavilion also houses a café, and we all got ice cream cones there and spent some time enjoying them before going our separate ways.

Enjoying some ice cream cones

The predicted windstorm that sent Caleb, Gavin and Karen scurrying across the straits before its arrival has now arrived as I type this. We’re still safely tied to the dock behind the breakwater with both Newcastle and Protection Islands between us and the straits, but we are recording wind gusts of up to 25 mph at the moment. It’s supposed to subside by morning, but if it doesn’t we’ll probably stay another day.

Nothing exotic for dinner tonight – it was a purge the refrigerator of leftovers type of evening.