On the Move Cruise
Southern Gulf Islands to Hornby Island
Join the RHYC Fleet as we cruise flotilla style north into Canada. We will stop at several anchorages and a couple marinas on our journey north. There will be places to swim, raft ups, pubs, and fun for all ages.
You are welcome to join for any or all of the cruise, and to cruise at your own speed. The itinerary below is subject to change based on weather conditions or the whims of your Fleet Captain.
SPACE IS LIMITED TO 10 BOATS. In order to keep the group size manageable, the rafting simpler, dinner reservations possible, etc. we are limiting this cruise to ten boats. If the cruise is full you can be put on the waitlist (or we may be able to fit you in for part of the cruise, so please reach out)
Cruise Itinerary:
Sunday 8/4:
Following the Colors cruise at Roche Harbor we will cross the border and clear customs at Bedwell Harbour. If you want to stop at a Canadian grocery store you may want to consider clearing customs at Port Sydney, running to a store, and then joining the rest of the group at Bedwell Harbour. I am waiting to hear back about moorage but there are two marinas and plenty of room to anchor so this stop is tbd on what exactly our mooring plan is at this point--options are anchoring in Bedwell Harbour or getting moorage at either Poet's Cove or Port Browning. Port Browning and Poet's Cove are very close to one another if you take Pender Canal between North and South Pender Island. I am reaching out to determine our mooring plan and will update registrants as I know. 10 NM Cruise.
Monday 8/5:
We are spending a 2nd night at this location so everyone has a chance to enjoy it after crossing the border and clearing customs. Both Poet's Cove and Port Browning have swimming pools, Poet's Cove also has a hot tub. Both have pubs/dining so we will likely do a group meal at one of the marinas. There is a disc golf course nearby on North Pender Island (Pender Island, Disc Golf Park if you have never heard of disc golf look it up, it's basically competitive frisbee golf). North Pender also has a unique transportation system (the "bus stops" are hitch-hiking stops). There is also a winery on nearby Saturna Island with wine tasting and a bistro that we may plan an outing to. (Sage Hayward Vineyards)
Tuesday 8/6:
We will cruise from the Penders up to Galliano Island where we will anchor. At Galliano Island we will take the famous Pub Bus with Tommy Transit up to the Hummingbird Pub (all ages). If you haven't met Tommy Transit this will be a highlight of your trip--ask around if you haven't heard of him. 13 NM Cruise.
Wednesday 8/7:
We will depart Galliano Island and cruise to Telegraph Harbour, we will need to make moorage reservations here (details on making reservations to be provided shortly). 15 NM Cruise.
Thursday 8/8:
Some will choose to stay at Telegraph Harbour for a 2nd night while others will depart Telegraph and go to Nanaimo for the night. There is limited moorage in Nanaimo but the distance from Telegraph to Hornby is too far for slower boats to comfortably cruise in a day so slower boats should plan to depart Telegraph while faster boats will depart Friday morning. The cruise from Telegraph to Nanaimo/North takes us through Dodd Narrows. Telegraph to Nanaimo is 18 NM. Slack on 8/8 is at ~7:30 AM and 12:50PM.
Friday 8/9:
Depart from Telegraph or Nanaimo and head to Tribune Bay on Hornby Island (https://hornbyisland.com/), contingent on the wind forecast. Tribune Bay has REALLY warm water and a white sand beach. Swimming here is very pleasant. We will have a beach potluck picnic. There are small vendors and a full co-op grocery store on this flat island as well. Hornby Island is also served by BC Ferries if you have guests looking to join you to continue further north to Desolation Sound (or Comox is also a short distance away and makes a great stop for picking up guests).
At Hornby we will anchor in Tribune Bay and enjoy the warm waters and sandy beach.
If the weather (wind out of the South--Tribune Bay is wide open to Southerly winds) makes Hornby untenable our backup option, which could also be affected by wind, is to proceed across Georgia Strait to the Sunshine Coast and anchor in Garden Bay. If the wind forecast makes Georgia Straight too rough we will instead stay in the Gulf Islands, potentially heading instead to Ganges and/or Butchart Gardens (tbd). Nanaimo to Tribune Bay on Hornby is 36 NM. Telegraph to Tribune Bay is 52 NM. (backup options are similar distance). Leaving from Telegraph will take us through Dodd Narrows-slack is at 1:30, current is about 3 knots against us at noon, for power boats entering Dodd Narrows at NOON on 8/9/24 will be ideal before the rush of slower boats and tugs with logs enter closer to slack.
Sunday:
The Cruise ends Sunday, I will personally be cruising fast (~19 knots) back to the San Juans while others are likely to head north to Desolation Sound or wherever the wind may take them. Tribune Bay direct back to Roche Harbor is 81 NM.
This is a no-cost cruise except for your moorage, fuel, food, etc. All boat sizes are capable of joining. Fuel is available along the way. Those who do not have water makers can take a limited amount of water from me at any time. You will need a capable anchor. It is not expected that we will stern tie, but we may choose to stern anchor so if you have a stern anchor please bring it.
Register soon, space is limited to 10 boats so that the group doesn't outgrow the size of anchorages/marinas/restaurants, etc.
Please let me know if you have any questions!