British Columbia Part 2: Nanaimo - Sunshine Coast

From Thetis Island we headed north along Vancouver Island's eastern coast to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island's second-largest community. Our main reason for stopping here was to pick up some boat parts we'd ordered for Mohini's water-maker and starboard engine, which were both in need of repairs before we headed into more remote waters. Our secondary reason, of course, was to eat as many Nanaimo bars as possible.

We ended up staying a few nights in Nanaimo, enjoying the city's waterfront boardwalk, shops, super-fun playground, and an awesome fish and chips joint called Trollers, which had some of the greasiest and most delicious deep-fried oysters we've ever tasted. We also happened to catch the annual Bathtub Weekend festival, which was a hoot, and, yes, between all that, we worked at our remote jobs and managed to make some progress on boat repairs and maintenance.

Here we are enjoying Nanaimo bars and river otters in Nanaimo:

The Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast is a stunning region of British Columbia's mainland known for rugged mountains cut through with deep, clear, saltwater inlets. Though technically not an island, it can only be accessed by ferry or seaplane and is an area we'd always wanted to explore further.

Little boy and his little boat; Little boy and his big boat

From Nanaimo, we sailed directly across the strait from west to east and anchored just outside of Smuggler Cove Marine Provincial Park, a picturesque wilderness park with aquamarine waters and abundant wildlife. Here we finally had our first experience of sailboat life in a remote setting without man-made structures or other boats, and spent a few glorious days watching oystercatchers and seals and exploring mossy hiking trails and driftwood-piled beaches.

We also experienced our first seriously rainy days in Smuggler Cove and learned a fateful lesson about what not to do when you're craving something warm and nourishing on an uninsulated sailboat in cool or cold weather. Under no circumstances should you make matzo ball soup in an open pot and allow the steam to infiltrate every square millimeter of your boat. Otherwise, you might end up with it raining indoors as well as outdoors, like we did. Since then, the slow cooker (which holds the steam in) has become our go-to cooking method of choice for cooler days!

Garden Bay Lake

Another reason we went to the Sunshine Coast was to meet up with our close friends who have a family cabin in the region. And so, from Smuggler Cove, we headed north to set anchor in Garden Bay near Pender Harbour. This is a gorgeous inlet with numerous protected bays and coves, soaring evergreen-carpeted peaks, and plenty of multi-million dollar vacation homes. Our anchorage was a short dinghy ride from the road that leads up to Garden Bay Lake, and we enjoyed walking along its tranquil shoreline, snacking on wild thimbleberries and blackberries as we went.

In the evenings, we watched glowing sunsets illuminating Mt. Daniel, the tallest visible peak in the area and, when we met up with our friends, we had the opportunity to see the same view in reverse. Hiking up Mt. Daniel involved an invigorating trek through groves of moss-covered trunks. The three kids kept pace up the steep switchbacks and scrambles until we emerged at the rocky summit where we could see the entirety of Garden Bay and Pender Harbour laid out below us. It was a breathtaking view and totally worth the sweat!

We decided to hang out in Garden Bay through the weekend and were fortunate to catch the annual Pender Harbour Wooden Boat Show, which kicked off with a boat parade led by a bagpipe band on yacht bow followed by impeccably maintained vintage wooden boats of all shapes and sizes. The festival itself was super chill, with some folk music, live theatre performances for kids, face painting, and a wooden boat building station. It was just our speed and the kids were in heaven designing their very own model catamarans.

On Sunday, we headed out for a day sail with our friends. Aside from delighting in their wonderful company and spotting humpback whales feeding en route, we were also fortunate to have them share some local crabbing and fishing wisdom with us. As a result, we were able to successfully trap our first 6 Dungeness Crabs and catch a wild Coho salmon, which was promptly fileted, grilled with homemade teriyaki sauce, and consumed with great contentment. So fresh.

Our next planned stop was the city of Comox, where we intended to complete some provisioning and maintenance (again) before heading north to the more remote wilderness near Desolation Sound.

To follow more of Mohini's adventures, read our post: British Columbia Part 3.