Saturday, July 4: Day 31: Heading back to Lund
From Midnight Noises to Boardwalk Treasures
I awoke at about 5:20 AM to use the head and could hear our chain moving along the bottom.
"What was that noise?" I wondered, panicking slightly that the keel might be hitting a rock.
Greg reassured me that it was just the chain dragging across the seabed. A bit of wind had come up—not much, just enough to move the boat around a little. He had only put down about 60 feet of chain, so I guess a little movement was understandable. I went back to bed, but I had trouble getting back to sleep right away.
"What should we do?" I asked him. "Rest," he said. "Oh, you’re not worried?" "No."
So, back to sleep I went! I awoke for the final time around 7:00 AM, which meant I still managed to get my solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep (and my Apple Watch verified it). Time to get up!
I got our morning coffee and breakfast going, and we ate. Then, we hopped into Big Mack to head back to the marina store. I had my eye on some felt baskets that I was unsure about buying yesterday, but I’ve since decided I could really use them. I’d like to use at least one to store my pearl necklaces; a friend of mine does that with hers and I always thought it was a great idea. The small ones were $9.99 each, but you could buy a nested set of four ranging from small to large for $32.99. I opted for the set—a much better deal, and I know I’ll find a use for them! They are beautifully made in Nepal under fair trade.
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While I was there, I also picked up a small notebook to keep in my purse and a cute pen with a daisy on top for the boat's navigation station. While I was using the facilities ashore, Greg snuck upstairs to the restaurant and was caught eyeing the delicious-looking cinnamon buns. I had a feeling I might find him there!
Galley Rules and the Passage to Lund
We headed back to Big Mack with my purchases and Greg’s cinnamon bun in hand.
As soon as we stepped back on board, I tackled the breakfast dishes along with a few left over from last night. When we were underway a couple of weeks ago and had things loudly banging around down below, I made a strict vow to myself: I will never leave our mooring or anchorage until the dishes are completely done. When all the dishes are clean and tucked into their proper places, they don’t move around nearly as much because they have each other to lean against. At least, that’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it until I’m proven wrong!
Greg brought up the anchor, and we slowly motored out of the cove, heading back toward Lund. The sun finally started shining through what had been a very cloudy morning; this was incredibly welcome.
There was very little wind to work with. Right now, it’s sitting at 6.9 knots right on the nose. We are motoring anyway because we need to charge our house batteries; we haven’t had much sun the last few days, so the solar panels haven't been keeping up and we were down to 55% this morning. (Starlink uses a lot of battery and when the sun isn't shining not a lot of power is going into the battery if any.
As we motored through the Copeland Islands, we thought about our poor sailor friends who lost their keel here. Greg checked the updates and saw that the sailing community has raised $2,000 so far on their GoFundMe page to help them out. It was only at $650 when we first saw it, so that was heartwarming to see.
Now, my mind is completely on getting moorage at Lund. Will I be lucky enough to secure that same perfect spot on the breakwater dock? I’d also love to pop into Nancy’s Bakery while we’re there since we missed it last time, as we really need to provision some more bread.
And, of course, I am so looking forward to our dinner with our friends tonight!
A Power Outage and Boardwalk Treasures in Lund
We tied up at the Lund marina around 2:00 PM. I didn't manage to score the same #1 breakwater dock as last time, but there was plenty of room on the #2 breakwater dock, which I managed to saddle up beside quite easily. There was one powerboat on the dock already, which ended up behind us. (Yes, it truly is behind us!) We moved back just in front of them to leave plenty of room for another boat to moor ahead of us.
After we shut down the engine, the boater behind us let us know that the power had gone out in Lund. A tree had fallen and caught on fire halfway between Powell River and Lund, leaving a huge chunk of the area without electricity. He wasn't sure if it was back on yet, so we quickly hopped into Big Mack and motored over to the dinghy dock to investigate.
Our first stop was Nancy's Bakery to secure some bread—we definitely didn't want to wait until they were closed like last time! Unfortunately, they were already completely out of fresh bread. We decided to get a quick bite to eat instead and resolved to come back first thing in the morning to try again.
Afterward, we headed upstairs to Pollen Sweaters. I ended up walking out of there with a beautiful new colored pullover sweater featuring a neat button-tab neckline. Because these pure wool sweaters are so incredibly warm, having those buttons at the neck is perfect for cooling off a bit if you get too warm. Of course, it’s strictly for cooler weather, but I love it!
I mentioned to the shopkeeper that we were hoping to take our friends to The Boardwalk for dinner tonight. She looked out the window and noted that because their "Open" sign wasn't lit, they had likely used the morning's power outage as an excuse to just stay closed for the day. Imagine that—sounds like someone was looking for a reason not to come into work! We were so looking forward to showing off their award-winning fish and chips to our friends.
Ice Cream Consolation and "McDonald's for Cats"
Since our friends hadn't arrived on the Sunshine Coast yet, we decided to comfort ourselves with some amazing craft ice cream from Sassy Mack's. We took our cones for a walk down to The Boardwalk just to confirm they were definitely closed. They were, so we happily commandeered their empty outdoor tables and chairs to sit and enjoy our ice cream in the afternoon air.
On our way back to the dinghy, we stopped by the marina office to settle up for our moorage and then popped into the grocery store behind the hotel for three specific items: feta cheese, a can of Habitant Pea Soup, and canned cat food. (We only have 10 cans left on board, which is exactly a 10-day supply!)
Out of our list, the store only had one thing in stock: the cat food. It wasn't the premium quality stuff we normally buy Artemus at home, and it was half the price of his usual brand. We headed back to Lil' Ollie with my new sweater and the emergency stash. Greg fed Artemus his new dinner as soon as we got back, and let me tell you, he was all over it. When we later told someone how fast he gobbled it down, they laughed and said, "Oh, that brand is basically McDonald's for cats." I completely agree!
Dinner and a 93-Year-Old Dinghy Legend
Around 5:45 PM, we got changed for dinner and rode back over to the dinghy dock to meet up with our friends—Donna, Brian, and Brian's 93-year-old mom, Sheila. These are the same wonderful friends who recently recommended that incredible Thai restaurant just up from the marina in Powell River. Because The Boardwalk was closed, our only other option was the local pub, so we all walked over together from the parking lot.
We had a lovely meal catching up, and afterward, Brian said he was hoping they could go over to Lil' Ollie. Greg wasn't sure how that was going to work so I suggested he dinghy Brian and Sheila over to see Lil' Ollie. I wasn't sure how it was going to work out either, given that Sheila is 93, but she is incredibly spry for her years! She insisted she could handle it, and she absolutely did.
As they were motoring toward our floating dock, Brian spotted the dock stairs at the far end. They realized exiting Big Mack at the stairs would be so much easier than a mid-dock scramble. Meanwhile, Donna and I walked the length of the long dock to meet them there at the end where another ladder was so Greg could come and pick us up. The ladder and stairs setup was a total stroke of genius—it made getting to and from the shore a complete breeze!
We all enjoyed a wonderful, post-dinner slow shot of tequila with a splash of fresh lime on board to toast the evening. Afterward, Greg escorted the three of them safely back to the long dock by the ladder.
It was a truly a perfect ending to another great day on the water!
We had such a great time with you both!
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