Tuesday, December 29, 2020

A Christmas Cruise

The renovations are going fairly well but I needed a break, so decided on a week long sailing cruise up to Jedediah Island over Christmas. This island, which is north of Nanaimo and immediately across the Sabine Channel from Texada island is a provincial park. It is home to herds of sheep and goats and has some lovely hiking trails and a varied terrain of old pastures, rocky bluffs and many small bays.

I stopped on the way there and back at De Courcy island.

Under way just north of Maple Bay

The paper mill at Crofton

Crofton after the recent snowfall. The house I am renovating is under one of those little white roofs near the right side of the frame.



A peaceful anchorage at Pirates Cove on De Courcy island.  This cove is usually packed in the summer season. The mountains in the background are near Vancouver

One of the lovely lots on De Courcy Island



The video above is taken just north of Nanaimo rolling north to Jedediah with a following SE breeze.



Goats - these guys are hard to photograph, scattering as soon as they spot you. The video below gives a better idea.  





Farm house on Jedediah 


The island was purchased to become a park from its owners about 25 years ago. Daniel Culver's estate paid about 1/4 of the 4 million dollar + price tag.


Swamp Angel at anchor in Deep Bay at the north end of the island. This anchorage is peaceful even in near gale force SE winds


Make and Break one cylinder engine found near the farmhouse


A good name for this open air diner


The diner itself

I spent nearly 4 days on Jedediah, trying half way through to leave but getting my butt kicked back into the anchorage by high winds and unpleasant seas. I must have spent nearly 20 hours walking the trails and exploring goat and sheep tracks. I climbed to the highest point (Mt. Gibraltar) via three routes and found some stands of old growth firs and cedars I had not seen on any of my previous visits. 

Jedediah has a fine population of mosses

The goats and sheep appear to leave the moss alone although they eat pretty much everything else


These mosses are like miniature trees


And these mosses remind me of tiny ferns


Panorama from Mt. Gibralter looking at Lasqueti to the west with Bull Island in the way


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