Just south of the 49th parallel across Haro Strait from Sidney, BC awaits a picturesque marina with all the amenities. It's a lovely spot to tie up our SeaRay for a few days.
It also is the permanent home to many US boats.
Modest boats mingle together with vast opulent yachts sharing dock space while the owners are free to enjoy the Resort. Boaters are an extremely friendly lot. It makes little difference that you are cruising on a 70 or 100 foot yacht or a 25 foot runabout...you are "out there" on the ocean having fun.
We observed two families sharing a "very compact" boat, which was probably about 25 feet...4 adults and 6 children..can you imagine the logistics? The sleeping and cooking arrangements would require immense planning and precision.
They were having a fabulous time and there was lots of laughter and some good natured competition.
Racing on paddle boards, floaty toys, kayaks and a sailing dingy and when they were not having races they were swimming at the pool...I imagine that they were exhausted by the time their heads hit the pillow!
Roche Harbour Resort has a swimming pool, assorted shops, a spa, cafe, bar, restaurant, The Hotel de Haro, beautiful gardens, a church and tennis courts. At sunset the flags are lowered in a precision military fashion accompanied by music.
This is known as the "Colours ceremony."
I snapped a bunch of pictures to share with you...
Here we are tied up on the guest dock in front of the church.
The Hotel is a popular spot for weddings.
The historic Lime Co. building houses the grocery, clothing store, the washrooms, laundry, showers and a post office.
Crab Season opened and many boaters were setting their traps.
The cook pots on the docks were boiling away in no time and people were enjoying their haul.
The Lime Kilns.
The lovely Classic Chris Craft "Paloma" formerly known as Destiny.
She has just been professionally and lovingly restored.
Her new home port will be San Francisco, California.
We met the proud owners who had just taken her out on their maiden voyage and were cruising with their friends aboard the classic beauty "Rialto."
These beautiful Chris Craft wooden boats in "just out of the box" immaculate condition require a lot of hard work, TLC and VERY deep pockets!
The grocery store is well stocked with an assortment of food...
they carry all kinds of things that mariners might have forgotten to pack!
Wines from Washington, Oregon and California as well as imports are available.
White roses
White wedding gowns...
a perfect pairing.
It was hot weather and we needed to make shade on our boat which was quite a challenge.
We used towels and a blanket to help keep the midday sun off our lounge.
I was most surprised to see Starbucks working out of one of the kiosks in the square.
There are many local artists and artisans selling their work out of these kiosks and by the amount of people milling about I think they must do a pretty good business.
The Kayak rentals were always busy.
We took the shuttle into Friday Harbour one day to explore.
Stay tuned...
I'll show you some more of this idyllic destination...
in the next post.
Hooray!
we have had a downpour of rain this morning and we really need more to help douse the forest fires that are raging in our province.
The gardens are parched and there are water restrictions in many municipalities...
I'm praying for rain.
Hope you have a great weekend.
