And finally ....

In September we had to 'haul out' our boat to clean and paint the bottom ...




But now that you've seen Michael's bottom you might as well see the rest of him...







Hauling out was a nightmare. It's very nerve-wracking no matter when or where you do this process, but, to make matters worse, we took it to Goldstream Boathouse, where the owners and staff have a GREAT deal to learn about customer service. And I'm being NICE when I say that, but I don't want to get sued for libel. Suffice to say we could hardly wait to get back in the water, because we had a 3-week Gulf Islands cruise planned!

We needed a change of scenery...





We spent time in Todd Inlet, Bedwell Harbour on S. Pender Island, Saltspring Island, and on Mayne and on Saturna this year -- it was lovely!
























































It's always nice to get away, but equally nice to get home....



Spent October getting settled in for the winter .. and it's a good thing we did, because in November....



And our final highlight of the year has always been decorating the Wind Walker, and participating in the annual Lighted Boats parade.

The year in review

Since I've once again become slack about posting (those new grandbabies take lots of time and energy!), I thought I'd do a 'year in review' post just to 'wrap up' a whole bunch of posts I WOULD HAVE made. :)

We of course spent lots of time in our favorite anchorage at Albert Head this year

...and on one particular trip we took LOTS of boats ... the Wind Walker, our little sailboat Plumpy, the inflatable, and a canoe ... and the whole family! Had a great time, and we'll do it again next summer!

A few weeks later Michael and I went back alone for our anniversary weekend, and had the most amazing experience... there were schools of herring around, and at one point a huge one went right under our boat -- beautiful!




















One of the highlights of the summer for us was the Clipper Race which brought 10 amazing boats in to the harbour on their way around the world! We were a little partial to the 'hometown boat,' Clipper Victoria, which won its leg coming in here (from China).

We also had lots of dinghy picnics in the harbour so that we could watch the comings and goings... like the Coho, and the cruise ships...










































Other sites we saw this summer....

A tugboat hauling through Enterprise Channel.

A freighter unloading boats from around the world.