Lemons or Lemonade?

We departed Nanaimo around noon and because of our tight moorage space, we had to back down a channel with boats on either side of us with only a couple of feet to spare from side to side.  Leonard did a great job backing while I called out distances.  Our next challenge was tying off to the small dock at the pump-out station and positioning the boat for the short hoses to reach our deck plate in order to pump out the waste.  The hoses for the water were even shorter so we couldn’t run water through the holding tank to clean it afterwards.  Nanaimo could definitely use a new pump-out station or make improvements to the existing one.  We were finally off, avoiding logs and debris in the water as we departed.  Not more than a half-hour later in Departure Bay, clunk-bang; we had hit a large log near Horswell Bluff.  We could feel a vibration while motoring after the encounter, indicating that one or both props may have been damaged.  An unfortunate turn of events; someone or something must be testing our resolve to get north.  

Dinghy Dock Pub

Disappointed, we motored slowly back to Nanaimo and anchored in the Harbour just off Newcastle Island.  We made a few phone calls but there wasn’t much we could do, being that it was Sunday.  A haul-out would have to wait until Monday to assess the situation.  We consoled each other by acknowledging that it’s all in the nature of boating and one of the hazards boaters face in the Northwest.   We didn’t want to dwell on it, so we got the dinghy down and motored over to the Dinghy Dock Pub for dinner and drinks.  We ordered mussels and the seafood stuffed mushroom caps along with some lemon hard cider.  

Dinghy Dock Pub

We were just finishing up our drinks when the waitress asked us if we wanted dessert.  She recommended the “sex . . . mumble, mumble,” did we hear her right?  Maybe she said sextant, or sexton.  Our eyes got big and then her eyes got big, we all started to laugh.  She spoke so quickly that we hadn’t understood the last part of what she had said, and asked her to repeat it, “sex . . . mumble, mumble,” “it’s a cookie base with a layer of lemon custard and a layer of chocolate topped with whipped cream.”  Ok, we said, we’ll have one of those sex things, more laughter followed.  A little later the waitress asked us how we liked it and we had to admit it was delicious; she replied “oh good, you can now say you had sex in the dinghy!”  Ah, we finally got it, “sex in the dinghy” is the name of the dessert and the jokes started flying as we finished our second round of lemon hard cider.  

Dinghy Dock Pub - backside

Determined to make our troubles or lemons into lemonade, we were now feeling much better.  We decided to go for a walk on Protection Island accessed by a dock behind the Pub and picked up a trail map as we left.  We had been to the Dinghy Dock Pub on numerous occasion but had never walked on the Island, a bedroom community of Nanaimo.  

Heron Nests

As we headed down a path towards the community waterfront on the Island, we heard some loud squawking and squealing.  We looked up and discovered huge nests in the trees with dozens of Herons and their young, it was quite a sight to behold.  

Young Herons

According to signage at the waterfront park, this was the right time of year to see these birds nesting and raising their young.  

A Heron's Life

We continued through the park, following a set of stairs up a hillside where we found a labyrinth of gravel roads and a community of homes.  The Island felt like a campground with many of the homes tucked in the forest.  

Trail and Stairs on Protection Island

We also discovered the community vegetable garden and another small park on the east side of the Island.  It was time to head back so we looped around on a forest trail that connects up with the road. 

Community Garden, Protection Island

We untied our dinghy at the Dinghy Dock Pub, chuckling about having had our “sex in the dinghy” and returned to the mother ship.  Tomorrow would be another day.