BC Ferries are so far better than WSF!!!

One picture says it all. BC Ferries are so, so much nicer than our lame Washington State Ferries that it is a laughable comparison. Theirs are new and well maintained, and ours are literally antiques and rusty buckets. We have great staff on our boats, but the boats themselves are pathetic. Look at this ferry that even without the Olympics would be glorious. Oh well, we Americans get to give more money to Colombia for "Drug interdiction".

Memorial Day trip to Salt Spring Island and environs

We're just back from a much needed voyage to Salt Spring Island for a get away. Between boat projects and some health issues, we had been stuck at the dock for too much recently and we are not happy campers without some real adventure in our regular diet. So off with the lines and despite lingering excuses not to go, we set forth upon the seas and cast our lot with the wind. We had never sailed into Ganges Harbor and knew from visits by land that it would be fun and beautiful. Sure enough.

We left at the start of the flood but once again were disappointed by the lack of help going north. There are so many eddies and funny currents that you really need a good current chart or deep perosnal experience to play them expertly. We did alright, and motored into a headwind all the way to Bedwell Harbor, South Pender Island to clear Canadian customs. This tanker is typical of the traffic you cross in Boundary Pass going over the border. No sooner had we tied up at Bedwell than Owen starts to pee as I took a picture. It wasn't planned that way! As always, clearing customs was quick, polite and simple. God I love Canada. The resort there at Poet's Cove imported some mega million tons of white sand for the beach and they let low life sailing scum like us enjoy it without a suit and tie. It was nice to stretch the legs. It is about 2.5 hours from FH to Bedwell on Aeolus.

From there we shot off to Ganges for the night and dropped anchor at about 7pm. There is tons of room to anchor and despite many mooring balls near to town, there is still room to swing among them. Despite the hour, we jumped into the dinghy and rowed to shore for a little terrestrial exploration.

I have to add that the weather has been extraordinary for days and days, and this night was also sublime. As close to a warm summer night as we ever get around here. There is a Rotary sponsored dinghy dock downtown at Ganges and above it is a park and the main market. Perfect. We met some acquaintances from Friday Harbor there who have two girls the same ages as our boys and that was the evening. The kids ran and frolicked while the parents did the "Damn I like BC and it is so much nicer and better than Washington and I've got half a mind to find work here..." talk. It always happens. All the quality of life and more that we have in the States, plus universal health care and no national tendency toward militaristic fascism. Oh well.

The next day we went over for brunch and happened upon the Salt Spring Inn. On the way I got this picture of Elliott in front of the mermaid at the Rotary dinghy dock. He called her the "freaky lady". I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough. We had great meals, really friendly service, cheap prices and a nice atmosphere. The food was very high quality, not cheap. Fresh. Meals were like $6 Canadian, and would have easily been $10 in Friday Harbor and been half as good with bad service. Yet another reason to like BC is that even their tourist towns are nicer than ours. Amy, tea lover, was pleased that her tea came with a clever little tea pot. The British in British Columbia makes her very happy to have tea in BC. Yet another reason to like it here. I tell you, the list goes on.

Anyway, we had a great morning and then left Ganges for a tremendous sail toward our next stop at Portland Island. While Amy and Owen slept, I raised sail and had a rare opportunity for a long sail with many tacks. The wind, as always, was on the nose, but at least there was wind. We had probably 10-15 knots, and with full sail that moved us along at about 5 knots close hauled. I was so very happy to sail those three or so miles tacking back and forth on this exquisitely beautiful day. We were not alone. At one point I counted 22 other sailboats within sight of our position with sails up.

The highlight of the sail was needing to navigate around some closely spaced islands under sail and against a strong current. On one tack I was able to skim past a rocky headland with maybe a few boat lengths to spare, while heeled over and loving every second. Beautiful day, beautiful sandstone islands. Truly incredible experiences. On the approach to Portland Island Elliott jumped into the dinghy we were towing behind and enjoyed a nice roller coaster ride.

Portland Island was all she always is. We anchored in Royal Cove and immediately jumped into the dinghy to go to nearby Arbutus Point to our favorite beach. This soft sandy beach is our favorite beach anywhere in the Salish Sea. It is just so friendly and beautiful and interesting and quiet. You can swim and play in the soft sand, and the uplands have great trails and forest.

Today was a very low tide, and we caught the end of the ebb south after a morning walk to Princess Cover on Portland. We left Royal Cove at 11:30 and arrived at Friday Harbor at 3pm having motored the whole time. Once again, the wind was on the nose and we did not have time to sail those tacks home. The currents near the south side of Spieden were once again incredible. We knew from experience that despite the strengthening flood, there would be an eddy here that we could ride and sure enough, we did 8 knots for quite a while. Nowhere else in the San Juans has quite the tumultuous current that the Cactus Islands behind Spieden possess. Just crazy water that never seems to stop.

A perfect trip and we needed and enjoyed every second of it. The boys were great and had a blast and Amy and I nourished our spirits.

New hatch finished!

I'm happy to report that my new Lewmar Ocean 70 hatch is finally installed and done. Replacing the sliding bow hatch that came on the Gulf 32 was a necessary project due to its age and design. I liked many aspects of the sliding hatch, but it was not a great design for offshore use as the drains were easily overwhelmed.

Anyway, the new hatch is on and looks great. It is anchored securely and I used butyl rubber as the sealant. It passed a high intensity hose test at all the seams and edges. My epoxy job around the existing coaming did the trick and provided the necessary width to accomodate the slightly larger hatch. I need to touch up a little paint and clean up some old caulk and dirt from the old hatch, but otherwise she's complete.

Another thing off the list...

New bow hatch coming along

I've finished all the epoxy work for my new bow hatch and am now finalizing the priming and painting. This job won't be too pretty up close, but from normal distances she'll be just fine. I used an epoxy prime coat as a fairing agent and topped with Brightside. Next, I can mount the darn thing and call this project done.

I used epoxy to build up the sides, with rope to provide strength and fill. I only needed about 1/8 inch on all sides to fit the hatch, but this will give some more strength and rigidity to the area.

Gulf 32 "Jester" passes through

Yet another Gulf 32 passed through Friday Harbor this weekend. I was on Aeolus working on my bow hatch when two guys walk by and comment on my boat. They said they had a friend with a Gulf and sure enough, they had just pulled in to Port together. "Jester" is a somewhat unnamed Gulf that has apparently gone through several name variations without one sticking. The current owner, Jake, has not quite settled on a name yet, but his friends call her "Jester" because that is the name on one of the cushions.

In any case, she is a beautiful Gulf 32 and Jake does a remarkable job of keeping her shiny. She is the first Gulf I have ever seen that has a polished stemhead fitting. The fitting is brass, and corrodes instantly in rain, and yet he keeps his shiny by constant attention. Amazing. He also has his ancient gelcoat looking like new, and does the hard work to keep it that way. She is an older Gulf too, like "Merry Me" that passed through last week. It's pretty amazing how many changes they made in their layout and details between his 82 and my 88. Too many to list.

Jake is off to explore Jones and Stuart Islands, world class destinations, and have a grand time cruising around for a bit. I'm happy for him, and glad to have seen his Gulf. I learned a lot that will be of use to me on Aeolus.

One thing I'll mention is that he installed a flat screen TV in a way that lets him see it from the main salon and Vberth. It is a Sharp Aquos, and he got it because it has an external transformer, which he cut off and runs directly off his 12V system. Awesome. And, he has a CD/DVD car stereo for music and movies. How great is that?
Jake was a great guy and I appreciated his willingness to share his boat ideas. Yet another Gulf 32 here in the NW.

Gulf 32 "Merry Me" passes through to Alaska

It's great to see other Gulf 32's come through Friday Harbor and I had a real treat last week when "Merry Me" came through on her way to Alaska. Her owner, Bob, had just taken her on her maiden voyage under his command and made a stop here at San Juan Island to see his friends Debbie and Kimba. They had worked around each other up in Alaska.

She is an older Gulf, about an 82, and there were many differences between her and my 88. In her previous life she had actually spent some time in Friday Harbor as a charter boat, but is now on her way to the great north. Bob has his hands full with the usual projects one faces when you take ownership of a boat. Nobody seems to sell their boat at the peak of their maintenance schedules!

I'm jealous of his voyage north, and feel kindred he will do so in a Gulf 32. This marks the second Gulf 32 to pass through here on their way to Alaska this spring.

SV Silent Partner returns from going around Vancouver Island

My friends Adam Mims and Peter Frost just returned from their off season voyage around Vancouver Island on Peter's O'Day 27 "Silent Partner". He and she are veterans of several trips into northwestern Alaska and she is well outfitted for offshore trips. Still, weather offshore in April can be dreadful.

Turns out they had remarkably good weather and sailed 85% of the time. They said they had SE winds going up the inside and NW winds coming down. They hit rough water at Nahwiti Bar and the Brooks Peninsula, but nothing beyond their comfort zones. I think they said their highest winds maybe hit 35 or 40. Gales, but not storms. They had to hold up in Bamfield for several days to wait out one strong storm, but then did a 100 mile day from there straight to Victoria. Left Bamfield at 2:30 am and made it to Victoria at something like 7pm. Said they had rough patches at Swiftsure banks and did a lot of surfing on the way in.

They had a tremendously good time, with all the usual highlights of a trip like this, but perhaps the most unusual and special place they visited was the upper reaches of Knight Inlet. They went all the way up and gained anchorage on a sand bar off one of the countless drainages. Sounded truly extraordinary. Huge mountains and countless waterfalls. They saw a pod of about 100 pacific white sided dolphins in the upper part of Knight Inlet, and Pete said that is where he sees them most often, is up the inlets.

It was a pure pleasure to host these sailors at the start and end of their voyage, and they were all the better for having done it.

Away from the slip to Jones Island

Finally, after what has seemed an eternity, Aeolus is back together enough for use and we took full advantage and went over to Jones Island for the day on Sunday. Tackling the steering system meant that Aeolus was out of commission for that time, and although it was only a few weeks, the weeks had been beautiful sailing conditions and it killed me to have her stuck at the slip. I am still working on the new bow hatch, but that doesn't keep her from being sailed.

Sure enough, we couldn't have our cake and eat it too. Sunday was beautiful here in the San Juan Islands, but alas, no wind. There had been perfect sailing wind so many days prior to Sunday, but no luck taking advantage of it.

Heading over to Jones is like heading home. Once again, we had the entire south cove to ourselves and people stayed away by the millions. What few boats go to Jones outside of July and August seem to always go to the north cove, even when there are north winds. Baffling. The south cove has a far better beach, and is bathed in sunlight. As you can see from these pictures, it was a warm and beautiful day and we had the place to ourselves. The boys played in the water and we tidepooled all around.

While lounging, two bald eagles came over to eat something that was on the beach. They were fairly close, and we got to watch them at leisure. How often do you share a pocket beach with feeding bald eagles???

Anchoring here is easy, and the holding is good. Depths are about 30 feet, which is outside the range of most eelgrass and so that feels good. There are a couple mooring buoys, but we're cheap and honest, most of the time on both scores.