Port Graves - Grave Robb'n

The WEASEL heads out ready for battle.

Curtis, remember him, asked if we could go cruising out to Howe Sound as he had only been in there once. He had also been missing a lot of sailing due to work and wanted to get out on the water. You don't have to ask me twice. I got the boat ready and as soon as he was off work we headed out.

"All of the other dogs laugh at me"

Our first stop was Bowen Island. It would be a quick stop over for the night so I didn't want to pay the $40+ for moorage so we were either going to anchour in Manion Bay or tie up at the Government Dock next to the ferry terminal. As the sun set we motored into Snug Cove and found a choice spot on the Government Dock.

I had never tied up to the Government Dock there before and it was decent. No power or water but otherwise it was a great deal at $13 a day. It was exposed to the ferry wake but that was okay and we slept well. As with most government docks I have encountered they are populated with "interesting" characters. This place was no exception. I met a guy who was running a sailing school out of his liveaboard which he anchours in False Creek. Rriiigght.

Dead dog.

The next day it was off to the Snug Cove Cafe for our morning breakfast and then we hit the road. There was decent wind and we were able to sail most of the way with a predictable dead spot at the NE end of Bowen. From there we caught the inflow and worked our way up around the point of Port Graves and ran down into the bay under white sails. After choosing our spot we bore up into the wind and dropped our anchour. From there we fired up the engine just to set the anchour. There is something very satisfying about sailing onto your moorings.

Kingsley & Curtis flying the jib dead down wind into Port Graves.

Port Graves.

Curtis and I spent the rest of the day exploring ashore around the RVYC land and Camp Atarban. They are putting in some rather choice building lots at the NW end of the bay that I wouldn't mind owning. After that we set our crab pot and rowed around the bay a bit. They were still hard at work stripping down the old HMCS Annapolis to make it into a artificial reef. While I am a big supporter of artificial reefs I am not keen on where they plan to sink it (Halket Bay). It is a tiny anchorage and it would effectively deny it to boaters. I think its current location is actually not a bad one as it would leave the small anchourage free and use up a tiny portion of Port Graves. Oh well.

The frigate HMCS Annapolis being stripped down to make a underwater reef.

Curtis reassuring Linda that he is still alive.

"I want my food!"

Later that evening Black Ops were performed. The details which remain highly confidential and only these sanitized images can be posted. Needless to say we are morons.

"I told you to deliver the pizza to my boat. How you get here is not my concern!"

"So what are you wearing....Oh I like that?"

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast with all the trimmings before heading out. We checked our loan crab pot and hauled up a nice sized Dungenness crab. Since we only had one and had just eaten we set him free and moved on. The wind was initially light so we motored off our moorings and headed out of the the bay.

I meet my intellectual equal.

Good eats I am sure.

I got a crab on my head.

Saying goodbye to Port Graves

We were able to start sailing off the point and made decent time running with the inflow coming from the west side of Bowen. As usual we hit a dead point at the NE point of Bowen and motor sailed through it after a valiant attempt at drifting around. From there we picked up the in flow on the other side of Bowen and made a series of epic tacks to get into English Bay. Predictably again the wind diminished as we got in English Bay and from mid bay we gave up and motored in.

All and all it was a excellent trip. Howe Sound is a great location that is easy to get to. As much as I prefer the Gulf Islands there is something to be said for a place you can easily weekend to. My next Howe Sound goal is checking out West Bay. I here the anchourage sucks but that is only part of the challenge. I imagine there will be a few winter visits to Howe Sound as well.