By Greg Larsen
With my dental work taken care of, we left Nanaimo and
headed towards Vancouver BC. It was a
good thing we stayed an extra day in Nanaimo, to waiting out the gale that blew
through. On the day we crossed the
Strait of Georgia I don’t think it blew over 15 knots.
We sailed all the way across the strait on a beam
reach. We eventually had to drop the
sails to motor into False Creek. Finding
an anchoring spot was not easy, due to all the boats anchored in the creek. Some
of those anchored boats were derelicts, some were liveaboards, but only a few
were cruising boats, like us.
We anchored once, in a spot we thought was fine. Only to find the change of wind/current got us really close to one of the derelict boats. We re-anchored out close to the no-anchor zone by the channel, right before the Cambie Bridge. Our new spot was much better and gave us a good view activities on the creek.
Nordic Sun II anchored in False Creek
The next day I motored over to one of the many dinghy docks
in False Creed to dropped off my Alaska to Vancouver delivery crew, Garth. It was a joy to have Garth onboard. Only wish I could have had more control over
the weather to make is trip more enjoyable.
At least he experienced motoring
into a gale, and staying put as strong winds passed through. 
Delivering Garth to his requested drop off point
The same day Garth headed home, our son Josh and grandson Oliver arrived. They all departed/arrived via the Pacific Central Station. The station is only a few blocks from the dinghy dock, by Science World. As soon as Oliver saw me, he came running and jumped into my arms. I had not seen him for more than 3 months.
Grandson Oliver excited to see me
After dropping our new crew’s luggage off at the boat, we
dinghied down False Creek to the Granville Island Public Market. We spend a number of days exploring the Granville
Island area. There are lots of shops, food markets and most
importantly places for the grandson to play in and around the market. At the market, Oliver dad brought him one of his
favorite treats, “Ice Cream”.
Ice cream at the Market
The main reason I wanted to come to False Creek was to take
Oliver to Science World. Science World
is located in the “Big Golf Ball” as I call it, which was originally the Expo
Centre during the 1986 World’s Fair. Science
World was opened in 1989 and is the number one thing to do in with kids or grandkids,
in downtown Vancouver.
Walking to Science World
The last day in Vancouver, Josh and I rent some street bikes
and toured Stanley Park. Pedaling from
downtown to the park was easy, with almost no elevation gain. It was nice to explore beyond walking
distance of False Creek.
Still upbeat after bike ride
It was great showing the son and grandson the sites in and
around False Creek. Only wish we had
more time to explore downtown Vancouver.
Can’t wait to get back here, so I can do some more urban exploring, from
within a short dinghy ride from the boat.
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