Montague Harbour day 7 & 8

From Port Browning, we flew the spinnaker in a light to moderate SE breeze to Montague Harbour on Galiano Island on day 7 of our sailing journey.

We had never visited Montague Harbour because it is quite busy in the summer but at this time of year it wasn’t too bad. We tied up to a mooring ball the first night right off the beach at the marine park.

In the late afternoon, we got in the dinghy and Ellery gave me a lesson on how to use the outboard motor, as we went to shore. We walked through the forest and along the beach, looking at crabs and just enjoying being outside.

I took us for a spin around the harbour just to solidify my outboard motor skills.

The next day in Montague Harbour we decided to start our day by going ashore to the cafe to get some coffee and to explore.

We quickly found another family with a 2 year old onboard their sailboat and her and Maddie became fast friends. They spent an hour running around the docks and looking in the water. I just love how kids bring people closer. This was such a wonderful start to the day and Maddie got to play and run around which is exactly what she needs.

The second night in Montague Harbour we decided to anchor out front of the marina to attempt to get better connectivity. It’s funny, we are on this trip to disconnect a bit but yet we enjoy connecting with friends back home through our website and messages.

That afternoon we decided to stay onboard, clean up and get some more things done. It worked out well as Maddie had her life jacket on and just ran around the deck while I had Amelia in the carrier for a nap. The girls also both had baths onboard in a Rubbermaid bin we brought with us! This was the first time on the trip that we felt we were finally settling in onboard.

Arctic Loon feels more like our home now and we are all more comfortable. We are getting into a routine and figuring out what works best. We are fine tuning our storage of things and adding more hooks to keep everything well organized. We love turning on the diesel heater on a cool day because it provides a nice dry heat that keeps everyone toasty warm and dries out the boat. We drink a lot of tea, play music and Ellery jams with Maddie on their ukuleles.

Maddie has really taken to the boat. We have managed to keep Maddie’s sleeping routine intact. She is climbing up and down the companionway ladder like a pro now. She can climb into her new bunk and is using the potty we brought with us.

The challenges that we experience are really around parenting. With Maddie, it’s tricky to keep her happy in the cockpit when we are sailing for long periods of time. She wants to move around and touch everything, which is not possible when the boat is moving.

Amelia on the other hand, is a baby so the challenges with her are exactly the same as at home. She loves to be held upright which isn’t always possible. Amelia doesn’t really want to go to sleep at night until at least 9pm and needs to be nursed to sleep. So, needless to say, Ellery and I have yet to spend any time just the two of us onboard, never mind drinking beer in the cockpit in the evening.

I’m telling myself that this is all just a season, the girls will change and grow and things will get both easier and harder in new ways.

Chari