Time to catch up again. The last two nights we were in Campbell River and spent much of the time with company, doing laundry and general boat cleaning and fishing. Let's start where I left off from the last post.
September 11, 2009
The fog horn at Chatham Point (in Johnstone Strait) has stopped sounding and that is a good sign. The fog around us at Blind Channel has lifted completely and we have a beautiful sunny day. Fog is great for photo opportunities. We shoved off at noon making way for Campbell River en route to Vancouver. We needed to do some laundry and trash duties. It's been a couple weeks!
We spotted whales again. This time there were at least half a dozen whale watching zodiac boats hanging around. We moved to the middle of the channel to keep our distance. We did not have the luxury of time on our side to drift and enjoy the pod. We had to make it to Seymour Narrows on time.
Have you folks heard of the infamous Seymour Narrows? I encourage you to 'google' it. Everything I read about the narrows scared the living #$%^ out of me for fear that we read the current tables incorrectly. I checked the tables, checked the time, checked the tables and checked our time again. I was sure that one of the whirlpools would swallow us up. On the other hand, tens and tens of boats go through there everyday.
We arrived at the narrows ahead of time so fished while we waited. Now I have to tell you, when we fish we really do not know what we are doing! Ron drops something pink over the side and we troll. We heard that the fish this year like anything pink so pink it is.
The time came to make our way to the narrows. Ron piloted us through while I was on the lookout for the big one that was going to spin our boat, swallow us and spit us out in some other location. I never felt this anxious piloting us through all the other rapids. This one has such a history.
Ron reminded me that we did all the others just fine, the moon was not full which meant smaller tides and less current. Seymour Narrows can flood/ebb up to 16 knots!!!! Not today and not when we transited. It was beautiful, calm and uneventful as were the others.
We continued to motor to Discovery Harbour Marina in Campbell River. We had dinner with my Aunty Linda and Uncle Al. Kris, if your are reading this blog - Al and Linda say hello! They were surprised that we are living at the same Marina.
We were pooped so turned in early. We knew we had a busy coming up.
September 12, 2009
How exciting can laundry and vacuuming be? Not very so I am not going to tell you about it. After our chores we went fishing. The tyee are jumping like crazy. They were running like porpoise. I had never seen anything like it before. Ron and I were in our little dinghy. Remember, we do NOT know much about fishing and especially in unfamiliar places.
We eagerly set out to land the big one. We motored to this little place the locals call Tyee Bowl. This is where they were almost jumping into the dinghy. We trolled back and forth, back and forth. We were commenting to each other how interesting it was that other people were in dorries and rowing - now that is adding sport to the sport of fishing! After Ron promptly lost his tackle and was reloading a kind gentleman gestured me with this pointing finger to come closer to his boat... I did as I was motioned to do. He very gently explained that we were in a no motor zone and if we wanted to fish we had to tilt our motor and get out the oars. OK, we said, we can do that. It was not so easy. The current was building and I was rowing nowhere fast. When I was pooped from rowing - and just to be fair to Ron, I chose to row - we dropped the motor and happily changed locations. We went back to the boat absolutely skunked by the jumping tyee.
Friends, Bill and Leanne, from Courtenay drove up for a visit. We had a very nice evening and dinner. Not a late evening as Bill and Leanne had to releive the babysitter and Ron and I were planning so undock at 0700 the next morning to catch the flood tide past Cape Mudge.
September 13, 2009
We witnessed a spectacular sunrise this morning while walking the dog. We could feel it was going to be a stellar day with some sailing - finally. We popped over to the fuel dock before heading into Discovery Passage. The people at this fuel dock were outstanding in their customer service - Discovery Fuel - if you are boating in this area.
As we were heading out we tried to reach Barbara on the SSB. No luck but then came to the conclusion that the huge antenna towers might have had something to do with the interference.
I spotted a single whale this morning. I do not think he was an Orca as there was a very tiny dorsal fin. I will have to research to see if I can ID what I saw. He was definitely blowing out of his blowhole.
You will never guess what happened on the way to Powell River! Ron and I do not need to circumnavigate the island for excitement and adventure. We cleared Cape Mudge, had a good point of sail for raising the genneker. It is a large and lightweight sail much like a spinnaker but is a different shape.
We were breezing along at 5 knots and so enjoying being one with the wind and the water. We sailed on past Middlenatch Island maintaining our point. Ron played with our new Hydrovane ( a steering system that does not use electricity). We are neophytes when it comes to the Hydrovane so play we did. Ron did very well and we were impressed. The wind was quite light so thought we would try again later when we have
the main and genoa sails up.
Ron went below to review our charting. I was at the helm. What ensued next took only a matter of minutes but felt like hours - drum roll please....
I head some raindrops hit the canvas. I felt a great gust of wind. I look behind me and a squall was coming down on us fast. I called Ron up and we decided to drop the genneker. Not an easy task in now 20 knots of wind. I really don't know at what point things started to go wrong but suffice it to say that we have learned very valuable lessons. At some point I let the genneker sheet go as Ron was pulling the sock over the sail. You are not going to beleive what happened next and keep in mind we are in the middle of a 20 knot squall. For some it might be a piece of cake but for Ron and me, this was a new experience.
I started the engine - as you should do before dropping sails. I heard a klunk and thud and then an alarm. Yes folks, for those of you who sail will know I wrapped the genneker sheet around the propeller shaft. We were now dead in the water. We cut the line - good idea but wrong timing. As soon as Ron cut the line the Genneker flew out from the boat and the sock was unreachable. Now what - and keep in mind the wind is blowing us about. We knew that we and the boat would be fine but how are we going to get the sail in.
As I dropped the halyard, Ron pulled on the sail during the lulls in the wind. As the wind picked up I was sure my husband was on his way overboard. Again and again and again he gave it the old college try and between us we managed to get the sail onboard before it completely landed in the water.
We could start the engine but not put it in gear because of the sheet wrapped around the prop shaft. So here we are half way to our destination and completely shocked at what just happened - perhaps we were in denial. We set the main sail and got underway.
After many minutes of silence we decided that we should do the inevitable - Comox Coast Guard, Comox Coast Guard this is sailing vessel Ta Daa. We explained that we were in no immediate danger and felt that we could make our way to the marina but would need a tow to the dock. The Coast Guard was absolutely wonderful. They monitored our progress every hour. We gave them our coordinates and speed to help estimate our time of arrival to Powell River. Once there they would put out a call for any boats in the area to assist. As our luck comes and goes... we sailed well to the Powell River mill and then the wind died. Again we were dead in the water. I hailed the Coast Guard letting them know we would need a tow sooner than anticipated.
Coast Guard to the rescue! Once they arrived they attached a tow line and to Powell River we landed in style. It sure saved on the fuel bill -hee hee.
For any of you who are boaters I strongly urged you to send them a donation - it was very comforting to know that they were there when needed!
Once tucked into the dock we took Winston for a walk and our luck changed again. There were a group of commercial divers and Ron struck up a deal with one of them. All the line was cleared off the prop shaft in short order. He checked our through hulls, sounder and zinks while he was at it. We were very appreciative and felt the small fee we paid was well worth it.
We will certainly have a good night sleep knowing that all is fine and we are much wiser than we were yesterday. Tomorrow we are off to Garden Bay in Pender Harbour. Tomorrow is a new day and all will go well. TA DAA
September 11, 2009
The fog horn at Chatham Point (in Johnstone Strait) has stopped sounding and that is a good sign. The fog around us at Blind Channel has lifted completely and we have a beautiful sunny day. Fog is great for photo opportunities. We shoved off at noon making way for Campbell River en route to Vancouver. We needed to do some laundry and trash duties. It's been a couple weeks!
We spotted whales again. This time there were at least half a dozen whale watching zodiac boats hanging around. We moved to the middle of the channel to keep our distance. We did not have the luxury of time on our side to drift and enjoy the pod. We had to make it to Seymour Narrows on time.
Have you folks heard of the infamous Seymour Narrows? I encourage you to 'google' it. Everything I read about the narrows scared the living #$%^ out of me for fear that we read the current tables incorrectly. I checked the tables, checked the time, checked the tables and checked our time again. I was sure that one of the whirlpools would swallow us up. On the other hand, tens and tens of boats go through there everyday.
We arrived at the narrows ahead of time so fished while we waited. Now I have to tell you, when we fish we really do not know what we are doing! Ron drops something pink over the side and we troll. We heard that the fish this year like anything pink so pink it is.
The time came to make our way to the narrows. Ron piloted us through while I was on the lookout for the big one that was going to spin our boat, swallow us and spit us out in some other location. I never felt this anxious piloting us through all the other rapids. This one has such a history.
Ron reminded me that we did all the others just fine, the moon was not full which meant smaller tides and less current. Seymour Narrows can flood/ebb up to 16 knots!!!! Not today and not when we transited. It was beautiful, calm and uneventful as were the others.We continued to motor to Discovery Harbour Marina in Campbell River. We had dinner with my Aunty Linda and Uncle Al. Kris, if your are reading this blog - Al and Linda say hello! They were surprised that we are living at the same Marina.
We were pooped so turned in early. We knew we had a busy coming up.
September 12, 2009
How exciting can laundry and vacuuming be? Not very so I am not going to tell you about it. After our chores we went fishing. The tyee are jumping like crazy. They were running like porpoise. I had never seen anything like it before. Ron and I were in our little dinghy. Remember, we do NOT know much about fishing and especially in unfamiliar places.
We eagerly set out to land the big one. We motored to this little place the locals call Tyee Bowl. This is where they were almost jumping into the dinghy. We trolled back and forth, back and forth. We were commenting to each other how interesting it was that other people were in dorries and rowing - now that is adding sport to the sport of fishing! After Ron promptly lost his tackle and was reloading a kind gentleman gestured me with this pointing finger to come closer to his boat... I did as I was motioned to do. He very gently explained that we were in a no motor zone and if we wanted to fish we had to tilt our motor and get out the oars. OK, we said, we can do that. It was not so easy. The current was building and I was rowing nowhere fast. When I was pooped from rowing - and just to be fair to Ron, I chose to row - we dropped the motor and happily changed locations. We went back to the boat absolutely skunked by the jumping tyee.
Friends, Bill and Leanne, from Courtenay drove up for a visit. We had a very nice evening and dinner. Not a late evening as Bill and Leanne had to releive the babysitter and Ron and I were planning so undock at 0700 the next morning to catch the flood tide past Cape Mudge.
September 13, 2009
We witnessed a spectacular sunrise this morning while walking the dog. We could feel it was going to be a stellar day with some sailing - finally. We popped over to the fuel dock before heading into Discovery Passage. The people at this fuel dock were outstanding in their customer service - Discovery Fuel - if you are boating in this area.As we were heading out we tried to reach Barbara on the SSB. No luck but then came to the conclusion that the huge antenna towers might have had something to do with the interference.
I spotted a single whale this morning. I do not think he was an Orca as there was a very tiny dorsal fin. I will have to research to see if I can ID what I saw. He was definitely blowing out of his blowhole.
You will never guess what happened on the way to Powell River! Ron and I do not need to circumnavigate the island for excitement and adventure. We cleared Cape Mudge, had a good point of sail for raising the genneker. It is a large and lightweight sail much like a spinnaker but is a different shape.
We were breezing along at 5 knots and so enjoying being one with the wind and the water. We sailed on past Middlenatch Island maintaining our point. Ron played with our new Hydrovane ( a steering system that does not use electricity). We are neophytes when it comes to the Hydrovane so play we did. Ron did very well and we were impressed. The wind was quite light so thought we would try again later when we have
the main and genoa sails up.Ron went below to review our charting. I was at the helm. What ensued next took only a matter of minutes but felt like hours - drum roll please....
I head some raindrops hit the canvas. I felt a great gust of wind. I look behind me and a squall was coming down on us fast. I called Ron up and we decided to drop the genneker. Not an easy task in now 20 knots of wind. I really don't know at what point things started to go wrong but suffice it to say that we have learned very valuable lessons. At some point I let the genneker sheet go as Ron was pulling the sock over the sail. You are not going to beleive what happened next and keep in mind we are in the middle of a 20 knot squall. For some it might be a piece of cake but for Ron and me, this was a new experience.
I started the engine - as you should do before dropping sails. I heard a klunk and thud and then an alarm. Yes folks, for those of you who sail will know I wrapped the genneker sheet around the propeller shaft. We were now dead in the water. We cut the line - good idea but wrong timing. As soon as Ron cut the line the Genneker flew out from the boat and the sock was unreachable. Now what - and keep in mind the wind is blowing us about. We knew that we and the boat would be fine but how are we going to get the sail in.
As I dropped the halyard, Ron pulled on the sail during the lulls in the wind. As the wind picked up I was sure my husband was on his way overboard. Again and again and again he gave it the old college try and between us we managed to get the sail onboard before it completely landed in the water.
We could start the engine but not put it in gear because of the sheet wrapped around the prop shaft. So here we are half way to our destination and completely shocked at what just happened - perhaps we were in denial. We set the main sail and got underway.
After many minutes of silence we decided that we should do the inevitable - Comox Coast Guard, Comox Coast Guard this is sailing vessel Ta Daa. We explained that we were in no immediate danger and felt that we could make our way to the marina but would need a tow to the dock. The Coast Guard was absolutely wonderful. They monitored our progress every hour. We gave them our coordinates and speed to help estimate our time of arrival to Powell River. Once there they would put out a call for any boats in the area to assist. As our luck comes and goes... we sailed well to the Powell River mill and then the wind died. Again we were dead in the water. I hailed the Coast Guard letting them know we would need a tow sooner than anticipated.
Coast Guard to the rescue! Once they arrived they attached a tow line and to Powell River we landed in style. It sure saved on the fuel bill -hee hee.For any of you who are boaters I strongly urged you to send them a donation - it was very comforting to know that they were there when needed!
Once tucked into the dock we took Winston for a walk and our luck changed again. There were a group of commercial divers and Ron struck up a deal with one of them. All the line was cleared off the prop shaft in short order. He checked our through hulls, sounder and zinks while he was at it. We were very appreciative and felt the small fee we paid was well worth it.
We will certainly have a good night sleep knowing that all is fine and we are much wiser than we were yesterday. Tomorrow we are off to Garden Bay in Pender Harbour. Tomorrow is a new day and all will go well. TA DAA
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