Written by Dave Siever, June 2019
Our adventure began aboard the Audrey Rose, a 2010 Bavaria 45. My shipmates were Cynthia and Perry Kerson and Mari Swingle. Cynthia is a professor at Saybrook University and very active in the neuropsychology community. Mari is the author of the best-selling books “iMinds,” and “iMinds second edition.” (http://www.drmariswingle.com/). Perry is an accomplished boat captain with years of experience running a salmon fishing charter and racing sailboats.
Here are some pictures of the Audrey Rose, which I named after my mother who passed away a couple of years ago.
The night before I made my way from Nanaimo to Vancouver to pick up my guests, I spent the night at Gabriola Sands Provincial Park on the north-west side of Gabriola Island, where I was treated to the most spectacular scenes of sunsets and seascapes.
In the morning, I set sail on a blustery 18 knot day with the wind abeam. This means I was able to sail straight to Vancouver without tacking. What a view of the Vancouver skyline!
The good people at Yacht Sales West arranged for me to have an amazing slip with front row parking at the Granville Public Market on False Creek.
After buying breakfast and provisions at the Public Market, my shipmates and I set sail from the Granville Island dock. We sailed in stiff winds (and record time) over to Gabriola Island. We took some beautiful pictures of the boats in the bay while spending the night in Page’s Marina. Notice the pastel colors of the clouds! We had a pleasant walk through a rain forest, where we happened upon a large Sasquatch park bench. That evening, Mari and Cynthia enjoyed sitting on the back of the boat sipping local wine and dipping their feet in the ocean.
From there, our route took us into the inner passage and we sailed by Valdez Island. There are many wild and crazy formations on the west side of Valdez, which were likely caused by gas bubbles when the island was formed millions of years ago.
On the way to Montague Harbour, the winds picked up to 22 knots (40 km) which is great for sailing! Perry and I got the Audrey Rose heeled over really well!
We spent the night in Montague Harbour on the south-west corner of Galiano Island. Galiano is renowned for it’s world-class dining. Cynthia and I rented a moped and trekked across Galiano to the local general store to restock our provisions (aka more wine).
We got back to the Audrey Rose in time for a parting drink with Mari before she caught her float-plane ride back to Vancouver.
From there Cynthia, Perry and I cruised over to Ganges Harbour in the beautiful art town of Ganges on Saltspring Island, where we barbecued jumbo shrimp.
The next morning, Cynthia and Perry boarded a ferry back to Vancouver and I sailed back up to Nanaimo, where I spent the night and then headed home to Edmonton.
I was so fortunate to have been able to host our first Mind Alive sailing adventure with such a hard-working and fun crew! We want to thank Cynthia for contributing several delicious meals to our journey. I am looking forward to our next trip in the fall!