Winter Cove to Glenthorne Passage via Breezy Beach, Saturna Island

It was a calm night, most welcomed after the big, but brief, blow of yesterday evening. The two large phalanxes of Canadian Geese were swimming in formation around Winter Cove. It seemed nothing more than a practice drill in learning to follow the leader and fly in a “V” formation. I never did see them take to the air.

The Canadian Geese patrol Winter Cove

Bob's self portrait in the "barbie"

Karen was cocooned in her blanket and reading on the settee, so it was almost 1PM before we hoisted anchor and bid Winter Cove adieu.

Karen lifts part of Winter Cove with the anchor

The entrance is guarded by the Minx Reefs. The entrance is well marked and charted, nevertheless a wooden sailing vessel managed to find the reef one night. Unable to make a salvage, the hull remains as a reminder to all mariners. To read more about the event, follow this link.

http://beautifulbritishcolumbia.blogspot.com/2007/07/ppp.html

The wreck on Minx Reef

Karen has always wanted to visit Saturna Island. I had just read in one of the local nautical magazines about the Saturna Island Winery and the fact that they have a dock at Breezy Bay that visitors can use. To add to the attraction, they have a bistro at the winery. Decision made. Let’s go find that dock.

The dock was a nice one, shared with the neighbors who own lots along the water. There was no one there – so plenty of room for Arctic Star.

Arctic Star on the dock at Saturna

It’s almost a mile walk from the dock to the winery. The vines were almost yellow in their new growth. The setting was idyllic with vines in the foreground and Plumper Sound stretching out in the distance. It’s a young winery, with the first planting starting in 2000.

The view to the sound across the vines

The vines of Saturna

As luck would have it, the chef was new this year. And he was a gem, serving up some of the best offerings we’ve ever had in the Gulf Islands. Karen enjoyed a pulled Andulsian pork sandwich and I devoured a Shepherd’s Pie made with lamb. Neither of those descriptions, do the food justice. As I said, it ranks among the best.

The bistro and gift shop

From Breezy Bay we traveled to Glenthorne Passage, one of the anchorages we visited when we first came to this area in 2005. In fact we dropped anchor about 250 yards from where we had done so three years ago. While we love new places and seek them out with a passion, it is also nice to snuggle into familiar waters where the bottom and the effect of the winds and tides are predictable with confidence. There were only two other boats there – a real surprise.