Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 17
By Catherine Dook
W
inter or summer, there's no parking on Cowichan
Bay. Oh, there are cars. There are a lot of them,
parked cheek-by-jowl and end-to-end. And there
are moving cars too, with drivers who hover as hopefully as circling birds looking for a place to roost. Their optimism touches
me.
The parking in Cowichan Bay is often commented on by the
local brain trust, the old guys who hang around Rob's Lighthouse
Café every morning and drink coffee and order up Heidi's breakfast wraps. One of the local brain trust believes in conspiracy theories, one of them believes in UFOs, and the third, George of the
Snowy Beard, famously made UFOs during his misspent youth
using lit candles and garbage bags. He says he didn't set fire to
anything and more importantly, he didn't get caught, but he indoctrinated a generation of locals into an unshakable belief in UFOs.
Nobody drinking coffee at Rob's Lighthouse Café sees any contradictions within this conversation.
"The parking situation here is out of hand," says the man who
believes in UFOs.
"It sucks," says George of the Snowy Beard, who has a gift for
cutting to the heart of a subject and also for manufacturing useful things out of household articles - say garbage bags. "Isn't that
your car parked here in front of the Lighthouse, Catherine?"
"It is," I reply. "I'm just leaving." As I drive away, a car behind
me dives into the space I'd left, and I knew as sure as tides that
upon my return I'd have to park alongside Hecate Park and walk
five minutes back to Cowichan Bay. Truth is, there is ALWAYS
parking near Hecate Park, but the locals feel compelled to grizzle about something.
So come to Cowichan Bay by boat. There's transient moorage
at the Government Dock, and good mud holding at anchor out
in the bay. Even though the depths in the middle of the bay can
run up to 200 feet, there are plenty of 60-foot anchorages. If you
let out 300 feet of line you will have a good 5:1 rode and in summer there's not enough wind to knock your boat down to the
mudflats and tip you over. Winters are different, of course.
So once you're anchored, get into your dinghy and look for
someplace in one of the marinas to dock.
But wait - there's no DINGHY-parking either. Fortunately,
the live-aboards here are fairly easy-going, especially after
they've finished their morning coffee and breakfast at Rob's
Lighthouse Café, so nobody minds if you tie up wherever there's
an empty length of dock between boats. Then you make your
way down the dock in a landward direction. If the ramp ahead
of you is too steep (who DESIGNED that fool thing?), turn right
Above: Tuula's garden on the dock.
Below: Pier 67 dock - Mount Tzouhalem in the background.
Left: View from the water of Cowichan Bay.
Inset: There is no parking at Cowichan Bay.
www.canadianyachting.ca
17
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting October 2017
Vantage Point: First Time Charter Vacation
Club Profile: Beaconsfield Yacht Club
Travel Destination: Cowichan Bay
Boatbuilder Profile: A Trip to Iconic Italian Yachtbuilder Riva and Lake Como
Charter Destination: Our Top 5 Caribbean Destinations
The Port Hole
Charter Destination: Antigua; A Beam Reach for Paradise
Sail Review: Elan GT5
Power Review: Jeanneau Leader 10.5
Crossing The Line: Boatonomics for 2018
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Cover1
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Cover2
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 3
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 4
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 5
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Vantage Point: First Time Charter Vacation
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 7
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 8
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 9
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Club Profile: Beaconsfield Yacht Club
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 11
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 12
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 13
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 14
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 15
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Travel Destination: Cowichan Bay
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 17
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 18
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 19
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 20
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 21
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Boatbuilder Profile: A Trip to Iconic Italian Yachtbuilder Riva and Lake Como
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 23
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 24
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 25
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 26
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 27
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Charter Destination: Our Top 5 Caribbean Destinations
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 29
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 30
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 31
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 32
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 33
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 34
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - The Port Hole
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 36
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 37
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 38
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 39
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 40
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 41
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 42
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 43
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 44
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 45
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 46
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 47
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 48
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 49
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 50
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 51
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 52
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 53
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 54
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 55
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 56
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 57
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Charter Destination: Antigua; A Beam Reach for Paradise
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 59
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 60
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 61
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 62
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 63
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 64
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 65
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 66
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 67
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Sail Review: Elan GT5
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 69
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 70
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 71
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 72
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 73
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Power Review: Jeanneau Leader 10.5
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 75
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 76
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 77
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 78
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 79
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 80
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 81
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 82
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 83
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 84
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 85
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 86
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 87
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 88
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 89
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 90
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 91
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 92
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 93
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 94
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 95
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 96
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - 97
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Crossing The Line: Boatonomics for 2018
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Cover3
Canadian Yachting October 2017 - Cover4
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