What a day, we left Princess Cove on Wallace Island this morning, and on the way here we encountered some wind, some rain, and some good sized waves. We even were approached and boarded by RCMP. Approached twice and boarded once.
It appears that there are significantly increased security measures in the gulf islands due to the FIFA 2026 games going on in BC right now. The first RCMP boat approached us and we slowed down to talk to them, they wanted to board us, but they looked a little afraid to do so in the current waves. So no boarding, they took down our information and were on our way. 10 minutes later we see the same RCMP boat on our port side with their blue lights on. It turns out it was a different RCMP police boat, and they were going to board us. It was a bit entertaining watching them try to figure out how to get on board in the waves, while we were underway without falling in the water. Finally they made it on board.
The two who boarded us told us that they and 4 other RCMP boats in the Southern Gulf Islands were boarding every non-Canadian boat that they come across. They asked us about weapons, and our dogs, as well as all of our paperwork, entry numbers, passports, insurance on the boat, registration, and our Washington State Boaters cards. They took pictures of everything and sent it back to their crew still on their boat to validate. They really drilled into the questioning on weapons and why we were in Canada. They stated that they were from the Yukon and had been brought in for extra security due to threats relating to FIFA. They didn’t check the usual things like life jackets, flares, and any safety items. After about 20 minutes of them riding along with us they finally gave us a clean report, with no findings. Nice guys, and we were happy to be inspected as being guests in their company as we had nothing to hide.
Next on to Port Browning. This was our first time visiting Port Browning, we arrived in the early afternoon, and headed up to the pub fish and chips for lunch. Here is where things get interesting.
We had just finished our lunch and the restaurant manager came into the restaurant with a slightly panicked look on her face, she stated that everyone need to get out right now and head up the hill, don’t worry about your bill. Thoughts crossed our mind now, what is happening, a tsunami, or something crazy like that. But as we approached the front door of the restaurant it hit us, the overwhelming smell of chlorine. We quickly passed fire department crews in full SCBA treating a patient with chlorine exposure while we headed up the hill to get clear of things.
After staying uphill for a while to let the chlorine fumes clear we were finally allowed to skirt the perimeter and return to the boat. A few hours later we returned to watch FIFI in the bar and have a drink. We asked about paying our tab from earlier and they said the manager just tossed out all the receipts and that there was no charge. We found our waitress from earlier and at least tipped her for the service.
What a crazy day, but we did get some good Fish and Chips for lunch. We look forward to our next visit to Port Browning to be less exciting.
