Day Four: Textbook to Reality

Chemainus, B.C. —> Ganges Harbour, B.C.

Rte #117 - 20.41 Miles

After three days of hard work and early mornings, the crew finally got to sleep in. We filled up on bagels, croissants and fruit, then the Scouts were back to work. The Curtis left Chemainus around 10:00am on a beautiful, warm morning.

Caitlyn, Bella and Kevin prepare lines for departure

As we were headed to Ganges, B.C., the navigation crew learned a very importnatn lesson: It’s important to always pays attention. While underway, an 80+ ft. vessel decided to cross in front of Curtis. To avoid a collision, Skipper Tom blared the horn to let the vessel know to be alert and we are staying on the right.

Little did Bernard know at the beginning of the crew what was to come…

As if that horn wasn’t loud enough for everyone on the bow, an hour later ANOTHER boat was not paying attention! It was barreling right for the Curtis. Tom had to blare the horn 5 times meaning “This is urgent - get out of the way now!”

It’s situations like these that allow the Sea Scouts real life examples of what they have read in a book - how to be responsible and safe at sea.

Skipper Tom giving engineering a quick lesson - using any prop available as a teaching tool

With another day marked down of travel, Curtis docked at Ganges. Ganges is a very colorful and quaint destination. The Farmer’s Market was abuzz and pianos area scattered all over the town to find and play. The Scouts spent their shore leave comparing which place had the best ice cream while strategizing the night’s on deck sleeping assignments.