Lasqueti and Thormanby Islands

After a 2 hour motor we arrived at Lasqueti Island, which lies just west of Texada Island in the Straight of Georgia.  False Bay, where we were planned on staying the night, has a public dock, and also some areas to anchor.  As we surveyed the options, Sara quickly voiced her opinion that she thought it would be better to anchor.  A sure sign she is becoming a real mariner!

After setting the anchor in a corner of the bay among a few other boats, we hopped in the dinghy to check out the Lasquiti Pub and Restaurant.  It turns out we were there for opening night of the restaurant this year, and there was a good crowd including a few local kids that Emily quickly befriended.

Lasquiti is only served by foot ferry from Vancouver Island, so the cars that are there for the residents were all brought in on barges.  The place has has a real frontier feel to it.  Most cars don't have license plates, and it seems perfectly acceptable to sort one's recent marijuana crop on the table at the pub.

A new Lasquetian friend

We departed the next morning with intentions of making it as far as Gibsons.  As we were nearing the southern point of Texada, I could see a colony of sea lions basking on the rocks.  I brought the boat in close, and shut off the engine for a few minutes so we could get a good look, and listen to their barking.  We even got to see a couple of the big guys have a bit of a fight, with one of them ending up in the ocean.

It was a slight diversion north to stop in at Thormanby Island, which we had heard about a couple of weeks earlier when we stayed in nearby Secret Cove.  Renowned for its great beaches, I thought we should pay it a visit, since we had short-changed Emily at the beach a couple of days prior.

We anchored just off the beach, had a quick lunch, and headed in.  The long sandy beach was definitely worth the trip, and we spent the afternoon there.  Although the anchorage isn't particularly sheltered, we decided that with the general lack of wind it would be fine to stay the night.  Gibsons could wait a day.

We had a lovely meal that night prepared on the bbq, including the only fish we have kept so far.  After dinner, Emily and I headed out in the dinghy to set the crab trap.  We had maybe a 10 minute ride to get to what looked like a good spot.  The 4hp motor on the dinghy doesn't go very fast, but we were having a very fun ride coming back in, with Emily hanging over the side watching the wake.    (Under my watchful eye of course). Suddenly, she yelled and turned back to me, eyes full of concern, which was easily observed since there were no glasses in the way.  Despite a very quick U-turn, there was no hope.  Her glasses had been donated to the mermaids.