Sailing To Canada: Stuart Island

Sailing To Canada: Stuart Island

The Big Sail has officially begun. We plan to be gone until mid-August, when we will return to Anacortes, and my Humans will have a Boat Warming Party. They will also sell off the rest of their land-lubbing items. They have already sold their Oregon property, pickup truck, and motorcycle. They are committed to the adventure.  They have a 5×10 storage shed left with odds and ends in it. My Female looks forward to participating in what she calls a Swap Meet. My Male is not quite so excited, but selling stuff is her superpower–so, she has free reign to sell.

We are on Stuart Island, in the San Juans, and it is beautiful. It is only accessible by watercraft–like me or kayaks. The weather is perfect, we are protected, and Enzo can take my Humans to the beach so they can do another one of those long walks they enjoy so much, which they did. My Female drove Enzo. She did well and was proud of her accomplishment.

The hike was a 6-mile round trip affair, and their paths crossed with another Human whom we had met in Echo Bay. The world is a surprisingly wonderful and small place. This Human goes by the name of Walter Rung, and his work is that of a Salmon Habitat Conservationist, which sounds like he builds condos for salmons. Humans are strange.

On their walk, they found treasure chests. Let me back up and explain. Stuart Island is a beautiful, wooded space with no public utilities, making it remote. The school is not open because no full-time families with K-8 children live there. Once My Humans decided on their hike, they found treasure chests along the route–and in those chests were hats, shirts, and postcards. The Humans could take the items on an I.O.U. basis–aka—the Honor System. Can you imagine? From what I am hearing and seeing of humans at this point in their history, that is quite a bold–and trusting–move on their part. 

Ezra and Loie Benson and their children own the chests. Their business, The Boundary Pass Traders, is over 25 years old!

My Humans hiked past a cemetery and an old school house before reaching Turn Point Lighthouse, built in 1893. Once there, they gazed across Boundary Pass towards Pender Island, our next destination: Canada. My Humans are excited; once they cross those waters, they will officially be ‘international sailors’! Of course, I was born in Canada–so, technically, I am already an ‘international sailor.’

After their walk, they returned and took hot showers. How? Well, they had installed 2 bifacial solar panels and a 3000 amp-hour inverter, which charges the 660 amp-hour lithium batteries that can run the electric hot water heater. All this to say, their solar rocks!

The next couple of days, my Humans prepared to Catch Canada. My Female cooked all their vegetables and eggs because Canada has a lengthy list of things you can and cannot bring into its country. Duty fees—taxes—can be over 90%.  

My Male did a few projects that made me more beautiful than I already am–if you can imagine how that’s even possible. He hooked up the GPS antennae, spiral-wrapped my wires, and replaced the electrical tape on my solar arches with shiny, new silver hose clamps. It’s wonderful how little things can make such a difference in all things life-related.

My Humans hopped back in Enzo and went to the end of the island to get reception so they could make phone calls and check their social media channels. It is hard for My Humans to be disconnected from the world as they know it. Oh, there are many things they don’t miss: politics and all the things that go with that; the state of decay their world is in and all the things that go with that. But they miss their friends and family, so I am happy when they can reconnect with their important people.

If you like this post, check out Our Circumnavigation of Vancouver Island.

Until Next Time!

Fear Less/Adventure More!

S/V Gypsea Explorer and her Humans: Heather & Chris

5 Songs For New Adventures!

“Every Day Is A Winding Road”  Cheryl Crowe

 “Ramblin’ Man”  Allman Brothers

“Going Up The Country”  Canned Heat

“Runnin’ Down A Dream”  Tom Petty

“Road Trippin’” Red Hot Chili Peppers

And, if this puts some wind in your sails, check out my Amazon Music Page and grab Amazon Prime Music Here–FREE!

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