We went from Fisherman Bay, Lopez Island, WA to Poets Cove, South Pender Island, BC yesterday, 13 September 2012. Transit time was about 3 .5 hours. On the way we were attacked by a couple of seals who backed off at the last-minute. This was the only possible hazard we met. The danger was not really to the boat, ourselves, or the seals, but rather all the government forms we would have had to complete and defend ourselves from both the Canadian and US governments if a seal has gotten cut by the boats propeller.
Routing from Lopez Island to South Pender Island is north between several San Juan Islands, crossing the US Canadian border, and the on to Poets Cove on South Pender Island.
We cleared Canadian customs at Poets Cove, and immediately went to work to find a boat slip, and then proceed to do nothing, and try to recover from our seal attack.
One of the first things that we had to do was to get our WiFi connections going. We got the WIFI code from the marina, and tried to hook up, but the signal would come and go. I can only say that I am sure glad that I was not trying to telework back to DISA in Maryland. With the signal coming and going, I can just see Steve V. trying to give me a tasking. With the WiFi connection I had, it would have been “I am sorry Steve, but the VPN is not working”. So glad that I do not have to deal with that anymore, but the WiFi problem still did not go away.
Poets Cove is both a marina and resort & spa on South Pender Island, BC. They say that if you have to ask the price, you cannot afford it. Anyway, I have not asked about the price. I must say this is a really nice place, and I am sure you would enjoy your time here.
One can get to both South Pender Island by ferry, boat, or Kenmore Air. A few kayak from other islands. This would not be a good place to kayak here from the mainland or Vancouver Island. Trying to kayak from the US San Juan island would also pose a much risk because you would have to cross the main channel for ship traffic to Vancouver, BC. There are a number of large ships using this channel, and there is always a chance that kayak would not be seen.
Last night we went to happy hour at the hotel, and had dinner, and then back to the boat. The food was OK, no one got sick, but I don’t know that we would go out of our way to come back.
Today we are off to Browning Harbor, North Pender Island, BC. To reach Browning Harbor we need to traverse a small channel. The channel is quite risky because of a pod of orcas that guards the channel. The channel is a spot where thousands of salmon everyday pass back and forth between the waters about North Pender and South Pender. The orcas are here obviously to chow down on the salmon, and they do not like to have small craft interrupting their meals. Anyway, please wish us luck to avoid the orcas. Again the major problem would be government forms for when the prop from the boat were to scratch an orca. The transit time from Poets Cover, South Pender Island to Browning Harbor, North Pender Island will be less than one hour.
For those that are interested, earlier I stated that one of the primary purposes of this trip was to find and map all the Starbucks in the San Juan Islands, and so far this trip has been a disaster. No Starbucks have been found or mapped. Even with a failure of this size, there is not a chance of going back to work at DISA. I would rather be a failure at locating and finding Starbucks than going back to work.
If you would like an out of the way place to forget your hectic life for a few days, visit Poets Cove on South Pender Island, BC.
Below are a few pictures of Poets Cove, South Pender Island, BC.
- Canadian Customs House at Poets Cove, South Pender Island prior to sunrise
- Poets Cove Marina from the Aurora Restaurant at breakfast on South Pender Island, BC
