Wednesday, July 1: Day 28: Canada Day in Prideaux Haven

Canada Day in the Haven and Digital Tightropes

Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦

We woke up this morning to a beautiful, quiet anchorage and a decision to make. Our friends pulled up their anchor early this morning and set sail for Cortes Bay on Cortes Island. While we are definitely planning on heading that way next to meet back up with them, we’ve decided to stay put in Prideaux Haven for one more day. I am in deep need of another day of pure rest, and staying behind gives me the perfect opportunity to catch my breath before we move on tomorrow.

My main mission for this bonus day of rest is to finally finish my TOPS spreadsheet and successfully sign on to the bank to grab our current balance. I ran into a massive digital wall yesterday, and I highly suspect it’s because I unchecked my browser’s "Don't Allow Cookies" setting a few days ago and then re-checked the box.

Technology is absolutely fantastic when it works, but one really has to walk a strict tightrope sometimes with all the intense security features there are nowadays! By locking out the cookies, I accidentally locked myself out of my own accounts. Hopefully, with a little setting adjustment over my morning coffee, I can coax the system into letting me back in. 

A Tech Victory and an Open Spreadsheet

Update: Victory is mine! I went into my MacBook's privacy settings, toggled that stubborn cookie block back off, and the bank's security wall let me straight in without a single protest. I was able to verify our current balance, pull the exact numbers I needed, and completely finish up my TOPS spreadsheet. There is truly no better feeling on a boat than checking a nagging administrative chore off the list and knowing the books are perfectly balanced!

With the digital chores officially behind me, the rest of this beautiful Canada Day is ours to enjoy. The sun was out, the galley was clean, and it was time to explore. 

Exploring the Coves (and a Muddy Artemus)

Around 2:00 PM, Greg, Artemus, and I hopped into the dinghy, (Big Mack) for a grand tour of the area. We spent nearly two hours motoring through Prideaux Haven, Melanie Cove, and Laura Cove, eventually weaving our way out to the Salish Sea and back to where we are stern-tied.

Our first stop was at the head of Melanie Cove, which opens up into a long, wet expanse of sand and shells. The tide was actively flooding, so we had to be mindful of how quickly the water was rising. Greg, thankfully wearing his rubber boots, dropped Big Mack's wheels, rolled us out of the water, and got us secure.

Before I could even step out, Artemus decided he simply couldn’t wait. At 17 years old, you'd think he'd wait for the valet service, but he leaped right over the side, immediately getting his legs wet and his paws thoroughly muddy! It wasn’t the easiest terrain for a stroll, but we managed to make our way up to the treeline. However, our little shore excursion was cut short when we spotted a "Do Not Enter" sign at the park path—they are rightfully letting the native vegetation recover, so there went our walk!

I managed to snap a couple of photos while we were on shore:

[Photo: View from shore showing Melanie Cove anchorage. If you look closely, you can see the corner of Big Mack near the right edge of where the water ends.]

[Photo: A close-up of where Big Mack is tied up. This gives a better view of just how rough the beach was, making it tough for Artemus to walk on. Greg ended up picking him up!]

[Photo: Looking out at the other side of the shore while the tide was low.]

We turned right back around to Big Mack. Greg handled the heavy lifting again, getting us out deep enough into the water so he could raise the wheels and get us back underway.

From there, we toodled down Melanie Cove into a different, slightly more intriguing arm of the water: Laura Cove. It was beautiful, dotted with several other boats anchored and stern-tied to the shore.

With only a light breeze blowing, we decided to venture out into the inlet, tracing the same path we originally took to enter in Lil’ Ollie. Along the way, we spotted another Merganser duck proudly swimming with her twelve ducklings (though I didn't think to grab a photo this time!).

By now, you might be wondering why we've started calling the dinghy Big Mack. It actually ties right into the history of how Lil' Ollie got her name. The original owners of our mother ship were a wonderful couple named Malcolm and Olive. Olive's nickname, of course, belongs to the big boat. So, we thought it was only fitting to nickname our small boat Big Mack after Malcolm! The name isn't painted on the hull, but it's what we call him now.

[Photo: Cruising the calm, open waters of the inlet with just a slight breeze in Big Mack.]

By this time, Artemus was completely tired of this excursion. He was used to getting out to shore and then, soon after, going straight back to the mother ship. He stopped sitting up on the pontoon of Big Mack watching the shoreline and instead slouched right down onto the floor to endure the rest of the trip back:

[Photo: A very pooped Artemus patiently waiting to board Lil' Ollie again.]

The Canada Day spirit was in full swing out on the water. We passed a fleet of dinghies fully decked out with mega flags and festive decorations, honking their horns and shouting "Happy Canada Day!" to everyone they passed. We happily shouted it right back.

[Video: Dinghies decorated for Canada Day in a parade around Prideaux Haven]

Celebrations and Familiar Faces

I also realized I forgot to mention a wonderful surprise from when we first arrived here. While we were busy anchoring and stern-tying, I noticed a familiar navy-colored hull across from us. It was Sea Change! This is the beautiful sailing vessel that transited Malibu Rapids with us and whom we crossed paths with again later in Princess Louisa Inlet. The couple aboard are currently living on their boat and planning to stay here for several weeks. We had wondered if we’d bump into them again in Desolation Sound, and here they are!

They had Sea Change looking incredibly festive for the holiday, so on our way back, I made sure to snap a couple of photos. Here is one of them:

[Photo: Sea Change decorated for Canada Day!]

Wrapping Up a Perfect Day

Now, dinner is calling. Greg is working his magic in the galley, whipping up spaghetti with a homemade Italian sausage tomato sauce, and I’m putting together a fresh Greek salad to go with it. We'll have a glass of red wine to finish off the delicious Italian/Greek meal.

A successful tech rescue, a muddy kitty, a wonderful... scratch that, adventurous dinghy cruise, and reconnecting with newly made boat friends—I couldn't ask for a better Canada Day in the Pacific Northwest. Cheers!

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