The weather held for another day, and we woke to cool, clear skies in Madeira Park this morning.  We cruised out into calm waters in the Strait of Georgia and before long came across two humpback whales traveling together.  It appeared to be a mother and calf, traveling close together and surfacing in sync with one another.  We stopped and watched for a while as they slowly swam passed us.

The wind picked up as we continued on.  We bounced our way across the final section of the Strait, dodging logs as we did so.  On the other side, the waters calmed down in the lee of the Gulf islands.  As we neared Nanaimo, the boat and radio traffic picked up and we stuck close together maneuvering around the other vessels.

Cruising into the busy port city of Nanaimo was like entering into a different world.  Ferries, sea planes and other pleasure crafts buzzed around the harbor, and tall buildings lined the shore.  Nanaimo is a pretty little city with a population of just over 90,000.  Coming from the remote anchorages and small towns we’ve seen so far on this trip it may have well been New York City.  Our crews wasted no time getting out to explore the city, find a patch of Wi-Fi and a bite to eat.

We regrouped in the evening for a happy hour hosted by Nauti Otter.  It is always fun to visit the other boats and see the different designs as well as how people use the space.  Beth and Lynn put together a lovely spread (trying to get rid of things before we cross back into the US tomorrow), and we all enjoyed a drink and a laugh together.

This has been a very fun group to travel with, and everyone gets along really well. You can tell that we’ve been cruising together for a while now with the increased chatter on the radios.  The past few days we’ve had jokes flying and trivia questions being asked and answered by all of our crews.