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☀️The sun rises over the Montagne de la Sainte Victoire, formerly called the Sainte Venture and Santo Venturi mountains in Provençal Occitan.
🌄The Sainte-Victoire massif is a popular destination for hiking, climbing, paragliding and other activities
"Take Nothing but Photos, Leave Nothing but Footprints"
#montagnesaintevictoire #saintevictoire #masaintevictoire
#igers_sudprovence #igersaixenprovence
#igersprovence
#departement13 #laprovence
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#southoffrance #lesud #regionsudpaca #maregionsud #provence #myprovence #nature #tourisminprovence #picoftheday #jaimelapaca #mountainlovers #maprovence #paysdaix #ig_myshot #lovepaca #paysage #pacatourisme #landscapelover #sunrise #goodmorning
I sat up on the bow of the boat, sunny and warm and with a great view, for our passing under the huge Alex P. Fraser Bridge.
getting closer to the ocean
sitting on the bow of the boat, Ma Provence. Jeremy in the background leads us across the Strait of Georgia to the Gulf Islands.
sailing in Canada
It was the first time I'd ever seen these animals, a smaller relative of Orcas. They were incredible numbers of them swimming all around the boat and jumping out of the water. They were fascinating to watch. Such a treat!
The salmon were running so the porpoises were probably feasting on all the fish. Yum!
the bed in my cabin on Jeremy's sailboat. It's tight quarters on a sailboat but there was room for me to stand, my own door to the head, two windows and my own bed. I did have to sleep with the door open as I'm mildly claustrophobic. I slept like a champ.
Anchored in North Cove on Thetis Island in the Gulf Islands of Canada
Dinner wasn't one meal on a plate but a series of different snacks ranging wildly in low brow/high brow qualities. First we had some hummus and naan followed by halibut cheeks wrapped bacon with instant noodles on the side (classy non?). To drink...New Glarus Cherry Beer driven from Wisconsin to Oregon than over the border to Canada. I go to great lengths for my New Glarus. It was the perfect tart to cut the bacon grease. Bacon on the boat is sublime, akin to bacon in the forest. Yummmmo!
a stout fishing boat came along and offered us a tow back to Steveston. Thank you thank you thank you! Jeremy offered them money but they refused. Apparently if you don't bring up the issue of money (in exchange for a tow) the person who tows you can put a salvage claim on your boat and attempt to take it as their own. uhhhhh no
Jeremy had a called a marine towing company to get a quote...over $600 for a tow and god knows how long it would take for them to get to us. You're far better off flagging down a boat headed in your direction and asking for a tow. The Linda Tracey is the best! Boaters tend to take care of one another.
both popular on the boat. Approaching Porlier Pass between Galiano & Valdes Islands in the Canadian Gulf Islands
Gina bought me this great shirt at Buffalo Exchange. Of course I had to wear it on the sailboat.
Canadian Gulf Islands
in Steveston, the last town along the Fraser River where the river pours into the ocean. We got a tow back here and docked at the government harbor (thank you Canada) for the night and next morning until the boat could be fixed. damn
Sara and I sit around the boat while Jeremy goes to a local marine supply shop with Pat (a friend who came up from Blaine, WA to help work on the boat) to buy a new fuel filter. They would replace the fuel filter only to discover that wasn't the problem (though a new fuel filter is never a bad idea). The reason the boat won't go...it's out of fuel! Sheesh! The fuel gauge is broken and the previous owner had said it used 1/2 gallon an hour. However when Jeremy moved the boat from the States up to Canada they motored hard and it burned the fuel far more quickly than going at a lower rpm. We filled up the 25 gallon tank, Jeremy apologized again and again and then we were off. On his long list of winter boat projects...fix the damn fuel gauge. Gauges are good.
in Lighthouse Bay on Galiano Island not yet through Porlier Pass. There were several of these old houses, slowly rotting into the salty sea.
Porlier Pass was a crazy bit of ocean with wacky currents, whirlpools and churning water. We had to time our passing through here with the tides as it rips through at 9 knots, faster than the boat can go at full speed. Don't fight the tides.
I'd never seen Dall's Porpoises before, they are similar to Orcas but smaller. As we crossed the Strait of Georgia we came upon tons of them. They surrounded the boat and swam all around us. We stopped the boat to hang out and watch them. It was fantastic to watch them jump out of the water and listen to them sucking in air through their blowholes. Wow!
Mt Baker in the distance
The Fraser River is definitely a working river full of barges, tugboats, huge flotillas of logs and supertankers the size of small cities. This was part of a bunch of barges that seemed to be rotting away into the river.
that's what she said anyway. The difference between the wheel and a tiller is great. The wheel is better.
going down the Fraser River towards the Pacific
we're going east instead of west as we get towed back to Steveston. It's hard to go anywhere in a dead boat.
passing under the Alex Fraser Bridge our way back to the marina after our weekend of sailing in the Canadian Gulf Islands
the boat suddenly died in the middle of the Strait of Georgia. Yikes! We were towed out of the shipping channel by another sailboat and then had to wait for a boat heading in to ask for another tow back to land. I know almost nothing about motors and even less about boats so I wasn't much help. Jeremy checks out the engine trying to determine what the hell is going on.
motoring through Sand Heads, almost to the Strait of Georgia and the Pacific Ocean.
sailing in Canada
Sara and Jeremy checking out the maps as we decide where we want to explore as possibilities for dropping anchor for the night.
about to go through Porlier Pass in the Canadian Gulf Islands
It can't always be flaming orange. Sometimes we get the quiet sunsets. Still lovely, especially when seen from the deck of a sailboat. Yes I'm very lucky.
North Cove of Thetis Island in the Canadian Gulf Island
The fresh water from the Fraser River is mixing with the salty ocean. We saw several bald eagles perched along the water's edge. The salmon were running and I was hoping to see an eagle devouring a salmon but no such luck. On our return we would see seals eating salmon. whoa
The forests of British Columbia float away on barges. Why you'd chop down a huge tree only to chip it and make cheap building material is beyond me.
the view from my cabin on Jeremy's sailboat, Ma Provence. Looking across North Cove to Thetis Island and Vancouver Island in the distance. My own cabin! What a treat!
we got to experience some nature in it's gory glory on our return trip up the Fraser River. The salmon are running and the seals were out hunting and feasting. Here a seal skins a salmon and eats him up. The seagulls descend and hope to get some scraps.
It's a terrible photo but it's the best I could manage.
some of the life lines on the sailboat against the suspension wires of the Alex Fraser Bridge. I'm going to go look up Mr Fraser to see why he has both a river and a bridge named after him
We were motoring through the Strait of Georgia when the boat suddenly died. The middle of a major shipping channel is not really where you want to be bobbing around with no power. There was almost no wind so we couldn't sail to safety.
A sailboat coming through towed us out of the channel at least. They were heading out to the islands, where we had been headed also, and they needed to catch the tidal push to get across the Strait before sundown. We would have to wait for another boat heading in to get a tow back to land. Damn!
The BC ferries run to the major islands in the Gulf Islands. On the sailboat we get to check out the little islands too.
After a long day (which started off very frustratingly for Jeremy especially) we found ourselves in the North Cove of Thetis Island as the sun set.
sailing in the Canadian Gulf Islands
Sara takes the wheel while Jeremy prepares the sails so we can turn off the motor and enjoy the sweet quiet of sailing.
crossing the Strait of Georgia to the Canadian Gulf Islands
Our third bald eagle on our trip. They loved these towers along the jetty at Sand Heads. Approaching the Strait of Georgia and the Canadian Gulf Islands
The second bald eagle we saw. We're moving again! With a boat full of fuel we motor out past Sand Heads and into the Strait of Georgia again. Nothing's stopping us this time.
sailing in Canada
Crossing the border into Canada was a drag and the wait was long but c'est la vie. We were even treated to seeing a girl get out of the car in front of us and throw up. eeks! Not the best thing to do moments before talking to the border guys.
In New Westminster, British Columbia where Jeremy's boat (Ma Provence) is docked in the Fraser River.