Hornby Island

The forecast has the gales dying out, but still good wind, on Monday, so we thought this would be a good chance to make some distance back south.  We had met a few people along the way who had said good things about Hornby Island, just south of Comox, and that became our objective for the day. 

Once again, the promised wind did not materialize, so we motored most of the way down, with 
a bit of help from mailsail and spinnaker.  

Shoelace lessons on the foredeck

It was a long trip, and we arrived in time for a quick walk around the small settlement of Ford's Cove, and dinner back on the boat.  I rowed ashore after Emily was in bed to take advantage of the store's free WiFi, and take some sunset shots.  

It was a dark, moonless light, and as I rowed back out to the floating breakwater where Rio Dorado was tied, I saw some of the strongest bioluminescence I have ever seen as the oars disturbed the water.  For those unfamiliar with the phenomenon, the water lights up like millions of tiny stars due to a chemical reaction in some of the microorganisms living in the sea.  It can be very strong, and on past trips I can remember looking down into the water and seeing the glowing path of fish swimming by.

Rio Dorado in Ford's Cove

In the morning, we went back ashore for showers and to let Emily ride her bike for a while. We talked to a few locals at the little store who convinced us that a stop at Tribune Bay, on the south side of Hornby, would be worthwhile, as it has one of the nicest beaches in the area, and is also close to the largest concentration of shops.

We moved the boat around the island, and anchored off the beach.  Alter a quick lunch on board, we took the dinghy into the beach, and after a quick wander there, we headed off down the trail to the various shops.  It was further than expected, and after a quick look around and a bit of grocery shopping, we hurried back to the beach, as we were becoming concerned that we had passed low tide, and soon the dinghy would be starting to float off the beach.

Our dinghy was still on the beach when we got there, but it was starting to get late in the afternoon, so we decided it was time to get going over to Lasqueti Island, our next planned stop.    We felt bad we hadn't given Emily more time on the beach, but we knew there would be more beaches coming.