Ladysmith to Nanaimo

August 23, 2024

(Side Note: We’ve been tied to mooring bouys the past several nights so – no internet = no blog. Once I get behind it’s hard to catch up.)

Another lazy morning except this time Annabelle joined us for oatmeal just like back home. Annabelle would often bop over in the morning and join us for breakfast. Always a special treat for us.

By 12:30 Chris and I said good bye to Ladysmith and headed north to Nanaimo. In order to get from Ladysmith to Nanaimo we had to pass through Dodds Narrow at slack tide which was at 1:25 this afternoon.

Since we were a bit ahead of schedule we poked our nose into Boat Harbor. 

This was the home of Julian Madson who in the 1970’s-2000’s owned the Argonaut ll and restored her to pristine conditions. Julian passed away just a couple of years ago.

We’d never been through Dodds Narrow before so it was a new experience and very exciting. All the boats had to go single file.

This is some of the landscape we’re passing by on the other side of the Narrows.

Then it was on our way to Nanaimo with Captain Chris keeping a watchful eye.

So many empty tankers just parked.

Once in Nanaimo we snagged a mooring bouy at Saysutshun Provincial Park on Newcastle Island just across Departure Bay from Nanaimo.

Once settled in and the rain stopped, Chris inflated our new dingy and we rowed ashore for a little exploring.

This 900 acre park has 22 kilometers of trails, historical sites, and camping. Here’s an interesting site. Read the sign below to learn all about the Wheels of Stone and how and why they were made.

Back on the boat we cooked our first big dinner onboad – rice with onions, garlic, bok choy and pistachios. Yum!