2024 Matia Cruise Report
Late Friday morning provided a beautiful day as we left Squalicum Harbor and headed south down Bellingham Bay. The wind was initially light, as we proceeded toward the Post Point Buoy and then freshened for a nice sail. As we traveled across Rosario Strait the wind had built to 20+ kts for a great trip to Rolfe Cove. In attendance were sailing vessels Affinity, Runaway, Falcon, Colibri, La Cebadera, Snowater, With You At Last, Kilgharrah, Free, Salish Song, Azulita and Blue Skies. A lovely evening was enjoyed with appetizers and drinks on the dock along with lively conversations.
Ranger Steve arrived early Saturday morning to get us started on the work party. The island had fared quite well this winter and required less work than in recent years. With 30 people the work went quickly. Trails were weed-whacked and raked, invasive ivy was pulled, camping areas mowed, stairs from the beach repaired, loose deck planking re-nailed, and I checked off an item on my marine bucket list. Andreas and I emptied, spread, and turned over the compost from the composting toilets. There are advantages to being commodore.
After lunch a couple of groups met up in the campground and participated in the 4th Matia puzzle hunt I’ve put on. The puzzle hunt is a series of puzzles (jigsaw, sudoku, maze, contraptions, etc.) that are interconnected and eventually lead to the ultimate solution. The theme of this year’s puzzle hunt was “The Curse of Matia Island.” The objective was for the treasure hunters from CYC Bellingham to find the Knights Templar treasure buried on Matia by George Vancouver in 1792. To date 6 men have died trying to solve the mystery. According to legend one more must die before the treasure can be found. It turns out the treasure was some commemorative Matia Island Cruise 2024 mugs. Probably not worth risking your life for, but they did it anyway.
Dinner Saturday night was a potluck on the dock. What an amazing spread of food including fresh oysters provided by Pete from his oyster farm. Jim and Andreas got some amazing aerial footage of everyone. After more food, drink and conversation we enjoyed a nice sunset and a well-deserved night’s rest. Sunday morning was a bit bouncy in the cove as rollers from the northern Georgia Strait reached Matia, but soon subsided for those who were headed home. Jeff kindly provided a ride back for a couple who had sailed over on a Pelican only to find it was taking on water.
The weekend flew by so very fast. They say time flies when you’re having fun. Hopefully, I was able to communicate what a fun time we had. Some of the fun has been memorialized in photos posted on our CYC website in the 2024 Matia Cruise album. (https://www.cycbellingham.org/content.aspx?page_id=187&club_id=333217). Andreas has an amazing video using his drone below.
- Greg Hartgraves