Amy Marie Visits: Ladysmith, Dodd Narrows, Nanaimo

Ladysmith is a cute hillside town located between Sidney and Nanaimo.  It is a good provisioning location with a butcher shop, a couple of excellent bakeries, and a grocery store.  There is also a delightful selection of eateries in town.  The town is well kept with nice plantings, and signage pointing out events or artifacts from the town's past.  It was fun to stroll and learn the history of the area. 

This sailing ship's anchor was recovered from the harbor

The core business district is clustered around just a couple of streets.  The compactness is convenient for cruisers as we are usually traveling by foot.  You can find everything you would need in a two-block area.  

The former E&N train station in Ladysmith

Passenger service ended in 2011

We berthed at the marina operated by the Ladysmith Maritime Society.  They also operate a Maritime Museum and wooden boat center located at the marina.  For a small fee you can tour the harbor in a classic wooden launch with gleaming brightwork.  Clearly it is a well loved and cared for vessel.  As with most marinas, it is fun to walk the docks.  Here we saw many examples of traditional wooden watercraft.  The Maritime Society had taken many vessels under their wing.  Most were restored and the remainder were in various stages of restoration.  Volunteers were busy doing work on a small harbor tug docked near the cafe. 

The showers and bathrooms were clean, and a nice laundromat is also located on the dock.  One nice feature was that we didn't have to drop coins into a shower timer.  The showers were free and not timed.  It was luxurious to take a long shower and not have to rush.  A cafe, which serves breakfast, lunch, and snacks is co-located with the Wharfinger's office, on the dock.  Power and water were easily accessible on the docks.

Amy Marie on the dock at sunset

We enjoyed meeting and boating with the crew of Prime Time

We rendezvoused in the morning for the cruise thru Dodd Narrows to Nanaimo

Logs are transported in large rafts to the local forest product mills

Sometimes log get loose 

You do not want to hit one of these!

Other boats followed us out of Ladysmith as we picked a departure time that would have us arrive at Dodd Narrows at slack water.  Arrive at mid tide and you will encounter a9-10 knot current and hazardous conditions.

We timed it well and the waters were still and calm for our passage.

Amy Marie glided safely through Dodd Narrows at slack water

We arrived in Nanaimo to light winds and calm seas. Conditions were similar across the Straits of Georgia to the mainland. We decided to take advantage of the excellent crossing conditions and choose to transit the Straits rather than spend a couple of days in Nanaimo.  This added ~33 miles to our voyage. 

The channel between Nanaimo and Newcastle Island is full of both boat and seaplane traffic.

One thing you find when cruising is that the weather can change your plans.  Sometimes you are delayed.  Sometimes you move more quickly than anticipated to take advantage of pleasant weather.  This day was a good example.  We encountered better than forecast weather, plus the Whisky Gulf torpedo range was not active, so we could plot a straight course across the straits rather than one that skirted the perimeter of the range.  We seized the moment and transited to the mainland.  Once the other side was reached, all cruisers were exhibiting smiles as this can be a nasty crossing.  Just 2 days prior we met a boater who had their dinghy torn from davits on the transom of their boat.  The dinghy was damaged and sank and the transom of their boat was also damaged.  Mother Nature and the sea demand respect.  We toasted both that evening!