Today we woke up early to head north to Port McNeill. Port McNeill is the last city to provision the boat before heading north around Cape Caution to the north coast of British Columbia.
Motoring up Johnstone Strait
We were pleased that overnight the winds had died down in Johnstone Strait and it turned out to be a calm and pleasant motor ~50 nm to Port McNeill.
Tied up at fuel dock in Port McNeill
We arrived at the fuel dock and were greeted by their courteous and friendly dock attendants. These guys are the nicest, most helpful marina staff we have ever met.
We filled our diesel tank (taking on 35 gallons to fill our 110 gallon tank), our water tanks (refilling our three 45 gallon tanks) and topped off our dinghy gas.
Filling the water tanks
Next was a trip to the grocery shopping and laundromat. The town is very convenient for boaters because everything in walking distance of the docks and the town caters to boaters.
At the grocery store, you can fill your cart, walk back to the marina and they will pick the cart up later.
Heading back to the boat with our provisions
If you have too much food for a cart, they will load your groceries in a van and drive it to your boat. Now that’s service!
We then load everything onto the boat and find a place to store it – refrigerator, freezer, lockers, under the settees, under the floorboards in the bilge, etc.
Stowing provisions
Bilge storage
It’s a great feeling to have all of these chores done. It means that the boat is ready head out and the crew gets to explore new places.
