Montague Harbor, Galiano Island, BC - An Iconic Provincial Park

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Montague Harbor is where I celebrated my 75th birthday.  It was also my 4th visit. The first visit was in about 1995 with Maggie and our kids.  We rented a twin diesel Bayliner from Anacortes Yacht Charters and spend two weeks exploring the San Juans and Gulf Islands.  It was a wonderful trip.  The second visit was on a rented  classic wooden 36' Grand Banks, named Princess Ruby. Sadly, this trip was after we lost Maggie and the crew consisted of myself, Carrie, Katie and Adam, Carrie's husband.  Maggie was with us in spirit.  

The last two visits have been on Amy Marie with Beth.  Our explorations have consisted of spending 4 months during the summer exploring Puget Sound, the San Juans, Gulf Islands and north to Desolation Sound.  Beth is a wonderful companion, great crew, and not only good partner but also the person you want along  when doing adventure exploring.

Mike's 75th Birthday

Beth treated me to a birthday dinner at the "Crane and Robin" restaurant in Montague Harbor.  We shared a delicious pulled beef sandwich with potato salad so we would have room for chocolate cake for desert!  Sunset was lovely and helped to make it a special birthday.  Carrie and Katie called me earlier in the day to wish me happy birthday.  Always good to hear from the kids.  I wish Amy Marie was large enough to have the entire gang along.  Alas, she is a two person cruising boat....


Beth above the dinghy dock at Montague Harbor Marina.



Enjoying my chocolate birthday cake



Whales Spotted!


While cruising from Sidney to Montague Harbor on my birthday, Orcas decided to pay us a visit.  They were traveling south as we transited north.  Beth and I spotted them about the same time off our port side.  They are such majestic animals and the coordinated manner in which they swim, dive and breath is so captivating they were past us before either of us thought to get a picture.  So Beth took the helm and spun the boat around so we could capture some pictures.  Now Orcas move right along at at about 10-12 knots when traveling.  They do not linger.  So Amy Marie was not going to catch them quickly.  We got sufficiently close to get some pictures with a 200mm lens.   We didn't want to cause them any stress with a high speed pursuit, so we snapped a couple of pictures and then resumed out trip to Montague Harbor.



Large Male Orca off Prevost Island


This group looked like mother Orcas with some juveniles.

Meeting the Crew of Emelyn

Beth and I have been conducting a low level search for a larger boat.  Yes we have "2 foot-itis", an affliction  every boater contracts, sometimes multiple times.  The last time it hit us was at the Seattle Boat Show earlier this year.  


Emelyn, a 36' Pacific Northwest Sedan Trawler


We spotted, Emelyn is a 36' North Pacific Sedan Trawler, in Montague Harbor..  It's a fine looking boat.  We casually motor by to take a look and realize it is crewed by a couple that have made some helpful videos about places they have cruised in the Pacific Northwest.  Ralph was on his flybridge reading so we chat him up a bit and he invites up aboard for a tour.  Very kind of him to do so.  Lisa, his wife, was also friendly and the two shared their experience with their vessel and the manufacturer.  All positive.  North Pacific boats are now on our radar if "2-foot-itis"hits again.  

By the way, I have included a link to their PNW cruising videos in the "Reference" section below.



Montague Harbor



Sunset at Montague Harbor

References



Voyage Log



Location: Montague Harbour, Galiano Island, BC V0N 1P0, Canada

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 7, 2024 at 5:10 PM

    Hi Mike from Peter on Gabriola. Enjoying the blog. Note one that you may wish to change. Montague Harbour is part of Galiano Island.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike and Beth's AdventuresJuly 15, 2024 at 12:21 PM

      Thanks for catching my typo. I've updated the page. We enjoyed meeting you and your wife. You have two have worked hard to create a lovely retreat in a wonderful location. Hope our paths cross again sometime...

      Delete

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