A Jones Island getaway, again

Despite the laundry list of reasons to stay home during the holidays, including all the prep and cleaning and logistics of the season, we knew we needed to get away to wilderness even more than we needed to be one step ahead of the to do list.

And so it was. We journeyed up to Friday Harbor on Friday night and found Aeolus safe but cold in her berth. I had left a circulation fan running but not an actual heater, so the boat was a frigid 43 degrees or so when we got there at 0 dark hundred. Never mind, our sleeping bags were warm and we were so very happy to be back on Aeolus that the trip already felt worthwhile!

New Chainplates!

As part of my ongoing maintenance and search for any weak spots on Aeolus, I've tackled the replacing of both chainplates. The original plates, dating to 1988, had no obvious signs of corrosion or cracks, but there is that always suspicious space between the decking that hides the weak spot.

We all know sailors who have had a shroud snap or lost their rig, and there is nothing remotely funny about it.  Among the greatest fears of any sailor is losing their rig, and this fear can be easily assuaged by routine replacing of parts. So, I pulled out my chainplates and decided to replace them no matter what I found. Turns out that when pulled there was no sign of cracking or corrosion even in the space between the decking, but diagnosing crevice corrosion and metal fatigue is a high-tech business.

Weekend getaway to Stuart Island

Amy had been up in Vancouver BC for a Salish Sea science conference and so we met her up north to do a trip to Stuart Island. Saturday dawned clear and beautiful, and after a quick trip to our favorite Friday Harbor bakery we were away.

Being aboard the boat is as much a journey on a magic carpet as one can imagine. There is something distinctly transcendent about it, at least insofar as the experience goes much deeper and wider than what is happening in the manifest world. We experience stretched time (without mind altering substances!) and compressed focus, expanded perspective and lucid insights.

Approaching western tip of Spieden with Stuart in the foreground

PCV system a major upgrade on Aeolus

This past weekend was the first time we used Aeolus since I installed the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system on her Universal 5432 motor. Wow. Not only did it completely improve the smell of the cabin and air from the cabin heater, which draws air from the engine space, but the engine itself is no longer shrouded in an oily mist when I check on her.

To elaborate, the cabin used to smell strongly of oil exhaust as the crankcase vented to the engine compartment and the cabin heater sucked air from nearby to blow into the cabin. So to be warm, you had to put up with a noxious smell.

I can't believe I didn't do this sooner, as it is a major upgrade to our experience on the boat. Yippee!

Weekend trip to Jones Island

We went to Jones Island this past weekend and had a truly wonderful time. It seemed we all needed the get away. One of the most striking things about time on Aeolus is how great it is for our relationships with each other. At home, there are many places to get away and things to do. On the boat, we are close to each other and interact much more. We talk more, we play, we read books together, and when on shore, we are taking walks and playing frisbee and roasting marshmallows.

Perhaps this is unsurprising, but it is really distinct. Amy and I also notice how much more we talk when on the boat. No computers or phones or TV to isolate us from one another.

Jones was its normal beautiful self. We got there Saturday morning and enjoyed a mostly sunny and warmish weekend. We did in fact play some mean frisbee, and roasted marshmallows over a campfire, and circumnavigated the island on different walks.

We talked a lot, and deeply. We helped our boys with homework. We ate good food. In short, we did virtually everything good and healthy one would seek to do with their family.

It was perfect, and made us miss our easy access to those experiences we had when living in Friday Harbor. Oh well, can't complain too much, as life is always a tapestry of different threads, as we try build the best cloth!

New oarlock system on Watertender 9.4

Our dinghy is a Watertender 9.4 that we love because it is supremely stable (as in try as you might you can't get it to capsize) and virtually indestructible. Having two young sons has made the first invaluable, and gunkholing in the rocky NW makes the latter a real saving grace. The original oarlocks on the boat are fairly insubstantial for anyone, like us, who rows as their sole means of propulsion. There are supposed to be aluminum backing plates inside the plastic hull, but over some time, the screws strip through that and pull free. On ours the screws had pulled out and stripped on the starboard side and were no longer functional, despite my many efforts to keep them just snug, not to overtighten, and to even try some West System GFlex to help hold them in place. Time for a new and better solution.

Stock photo of a Watertender being rowed. You can see the oarlocks. They are only screwed into the plastic hull with an aluminum backing plate inside the hull that doesn't hold up to much use. It is not through bolted in any way.

Installed crankcase ventilation system, finally!

Hard to believe it took me this long to do it, but after years of putting up with a gaseous bilge and nasty oily residue, I finally got around to installing a positive crankcase ventilation system on Aeolus. One would have thought that this system, required on all vehicles since about 1863, would have been standard on the Universal 5432 aboard Aeolus, but alas, it was not. Seems that marine diesels were neither required nor was it common practice to do this back in the 80's.

There is no particular concern in doing this installation as again it has been common practice on all engines for many decades. Even my lovely 1978 Mercedes 300D, one of the finest machines ever built, has a positive crankcase ventilation system on it. Though one of the main reasons for this on cars is smog related, boats lack the fresh air around the engines of cars and thus we sailors have other pressing reasons for the system. 

The problem became very acute when I installed a cabin heater that drew air from the bilge area and it therefore blew out the oily air that the crankcase was venting into the bilge. I became really tired also of wiping oily residue off of all the surfaces, as the outlet for the old hose put it down near the bottom of the oil pan, but the suction of the intake manifold pulled a fair amount of that air up and around the engine. That is, besides hot air rising.

View of the crankcase ventilation system installed. Trace the hose from the air filter back to the crankcase.

8/5/11 Hardy Island to Lund, and goodbye to Bill and Banning

It is 28 miles from Musket Island Marine Park to Lund, and we motored the whole way as the wind was light and on the nose. Lund is a funny place, so small and touristy, but it has a distinct utility and cannot be avoided at all times. The marina is tight and you usually need to raft during the summer, and so we did.

In Lund after a week of amazing sailing

This trip with Bill and Banning was absolutely wonderful. Bill is a true sailor whose knowledge and happiness afloat makes for great company, and Banning is a typical bright 10 year old who played well with both of my boys. I think the trip meant a lot to them too and whetted his appetite for more exploring up in these northern waters.

Both of our wives were driving up from Bainbridge today to meet us in Lund. So soon enough, the boys were joined by the girls and we told many stories over a nice dinner at the Lund Hotel. It meant so much to Bill and I to hear the boys excitedly relate their adventures to the moms. What a lucky group of kids, and two very lucky dads.

8/4/11 Left Jedidiah to Musket Island Marine Park, Hardy Island

We were sad to leave Jedidiah as she is such a lovely and welcoming place, but we were anxious to feel the wind in the sails and see some new country as well. We left Deep Bay and turned into Sabine Channel to sail downwind in a NW 10-15 knot breeze. Texada is so beautiful here, steep and green. Our sails were full and happy all the way down to the southern tip of the island before we hit a large dead zone right at the point. We went from 5 knots to dead in the water about as fast as you can say "stop". We found some more wind a little further on and sailed in light breezes to Pender Harbor for a quick resupply of water and snacks.

A happy Bill Jones

My only previous time in Pender Harbor was in 1999 on my kayak trip as I had used the post office there as a resupply stop. There were two ladies in the office back then who were so thoroughly kind to me and my wife in the way they dealt with us and my food. Just angels. So I will always have fond associations with this place. It was only vaguely familiar to me as we pulled into the harbor, with the most striking feature being the "little Venice" feel of the complex shoreline.

8/3/11 Stayed at lovely Jedidiah

Windrope boys in meadow near Home Bay

We decided to stay a full day at Jedidiah because it is so lovely and well suited for exploration. We went to the island after breakfast and walked over to Home Bay. On the way you pass by some nice forest areas and into a truly wondrous meadow. There are few such places in the Salish Sea, and this meadow is particularly green and large. Home Bay is a really special place, and it is almost nicer because it is too shallow for all but the most shallow drafted boats to use. The old homestead is still there, though failing, and the nearby orchards invoke the nearby past of habitation.

All the boys below homestead at Home Bay

Aeolus in Deep Bay looking NE toward Texada and her eventual destination in Desolation Sound

8/2/11 Left DeCourcy and anchored at Deep Bay, Jedidiah Island

Our two days at DeCourcy were just perfect, as is typical of time there. Endless play and gorgeous scenery with great weather. Now we were settling into the groove of the trip. We left there at 11:30 am to time the slack water at Gabriola Passage and had a smooth trip through the lovely gap. The forecast was for SE 10-15 and that is what we saw, so up went the sails once outside the pass and we began a perfect broad reach straight across the Strait of Georgia to our destination at Jedidiah.

Underway to Jedidiah in the Strait of Georgia

7/31/11 Wallace Island to DeCourcy Island

This morning began with a little bit of water play as I had to dive on the propeller to remove our swim ladder line from it being wrapped around the shaft! Turns out that in our motoring last night to reset the anchor someone, one of the kids, had let loose the non-floating line that is normally kept wrapped neatly out of the way, and it had managed to get sucked down and bound around the shaft. It had been cut or town clean off and my big worry was that we had bent the shaft or ruined the transmission.

It came from the deep!

I heard from some Friday Harbor friends that their round Vancouver Island trip this summer had to be cancelled because near Campbell River they had wrapped a mooring line around their shaft and managed to bend their shaft and destroy their transmission. Of course, their boat is a fin keel with that long expanse of shaft exposed.

7/30/11 Left Friday Harbor and anchored Wallace Island, BC

The grand trip north began at 8:30 am from Friday Harbor with me and my boys and a friend from Bainbridge and his son. The five of us were headed up to Lund, BC on the Sunshine Coast where these friends would depart and Amy and some other friends would join the boys and I for a week in Desolation Sound. Bill, my Bainbridge friend, is a lifelong sailor and I was excited to have him along to coach me on some of the finer points of sail trim. He grew up in a salty family back east and counts Peter Isler as a family friend, so he really knows his sheets from his halyards. His son is a school friend of my older son Elliott and so were were out for a father son trip.

Owen and Aeolus getting ready to depart

The trip began with light winds and so we motored north to Boundary Pass on customs at Bedwell Harbor. After customs, we were able to sail north in a lovely building breeze from the SSW and did about 5 knots in the 10-15 knot wind. Skies were mostly sunny and the temp was around 70.

A series of posts on nearly three weeks of sailing in the northern Salish Sea

I've just returned from nearly three weeks of sailing in British Columbia and have so many tales to tell and photos to post that I am going to do it as separate posts based on islands and anchorages. In overview, my boys and I were joined by some Bainbridge friends to sail Aeolus from Friday Harbor up through the familiar Gulf Islands across the Strait of Georgia to Lund on the northern Sunshine Coast. Those friends left, and Amy and some other friends came up from the Bay Area and we all spent a week cruising around Desolation Sound. Returning to Lund, I dropped everyone off and sailed Aeolus back to Friday Harbor by myself.

The Windrope boys on top of Jedidiah Island's highest peak

It was a profound and adventurous exploration of the northern Salish Sea, and we are all still walking on water with the memories of it. 

In total the trip was nearly 400 miles and I am happy to report that Aeolus had no mechanical problems of any sort! The weather was hot and sunny, the salt and fresh water swimming was out of this world and the good times with friends were priceless.

Saturna, Wallace and Russell Islands

Anyone paying much attention to the recent posts will notice that I have managed to do a lot of trips aboard Aeolus recently. Well, the boys and I are just back from yet another week of sailing up in the Gulf Islands and have more tales to tell! With the boys on summer break and me not working at the moment, there has been no impediment to getting out for extended periods of time. And of course, my desire for trips is insatiable.

Me on top of Saturna Island, looking South

This latest trip began with a quick night at Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island, as this is the closest good anchorage to the Bedwell Harbor customs dock for Canada entry. The next morning we zoomed through customs and headed over to Winter Cove for a few days at Saturna Island. The winds were calm and so we motored. Winter Cove is a really lovely little hurricane hole of an anchorage. That first day the boys and I played on the beach and went over to Boat Pass to watch the rushing current go through. It's quite a spectacle if you haven't seen it. When flooding, the water rushes out of Winter Cove toward the Straits of Georgia, and reverse for ebb. Speeds can be quite high, and the passageway so narrow, that the hydraulics involved are just wonderful to watch.

Tumbo and Prevost adventures

For this recent trip my boys and I headed north into BC and visited locations that were new to us. We had heard from a few people about Tumbo Island on the east side of Saturna, and it had long caught my interest due to the remarkable location. So we took off from Friday Harbor and had an easy motor in calm seas up to South Pender Island to clear Canadian Customs. As always, the Canadians were polite and familiar, pulling our name up on the system and not requiring passport numbers or anything lengthy. In literally a few minutes, we were on our way back into Boundary Pass to catch a strong flood east and around the corner to Tumbo.

Can it be more beautiful??

Happy Boys

The anchorage there is exposed to the north but the forecast was for consistent south winds. There are mooring buoys, but we chose to drop anchor. Right away, I could tell Tumbo was going to be a magical place to stay and it was. Cabbage Island is just to the east of the anchorage and it is famed for the white sand beach it contains.

Finished with new foam in cushions

For about a year now I have been slowly working on placing new foam into all the cushions aboard Aeolus, and it is certainly high among the most worthwhile projects I have undertaken. At least from a comfort point of view. The old cushions were pretty dead, where when you sat on them your butt sank quickly and firmly down to the bottom of the bench and after a short period of time you had to shift around to avoid bruising!

I first tackled the cushion at the navigation and instrumentation table as I sat there constantly and it was dreadfully uncomfortable. Next I did all the foam in the starboard berth as this is where my wife and I usually sleep.

Friendship and Fun

My best pal is an odd man, and I love him for it. A mix of contradictions and symmetries, riddles and clarity. Among his oddities is that he does not love the ocean as much as I do. How can that be? He does not like wind, or being cold or wet. He is a wildlife tracker, and a rock climber, and an elf in the forest, but water is not his world.

After all these years of my kayaking and sailing, he had yet to ever join me on a boat. Sailing has been the guiding principle of my life for ten years, and yet my best friend had not so much as raised a sail once.

We fixed that this past week! He came up from his cozy confines in Marin County, CA and I took him up to Friday Harbor for an overnight on Aeolus. He was game, but worried about getting seasick and the wind and other things he needn't have been worried about.

Memorial Day escapade

My family got away for the Memorial Day weekend by sailing off to some wild places. We journeyed first to the north side of Jones Island and dropped anchor in time to watch a magnificent sunset. The next day we went to Prevost Harbor at Stuart Island and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Had we given it a moment of thought we would have brought our passports and gone into BC to Portland Island or Wallace Island for a deeper get away, but one cannot shrug about the San Juans too much.

I'm not up for writing much right now, but will suffice to say that we hiked, and relaxed away a great few days. Swinging at the Stuart Island school was a highlight for the boys, and being among the clouds high up on Stuart for a balmy afternoon was a highlight for Amy and I. Altogether a wonderful time. I'll let some pictures tell the story:

Elliott snoozing on the way to Stuart

Amy and the boys on the top of the world-At our favorite place in the islands

A Stuart Island get away, far away.

Last week I had the opportunity to get away for a few days to tackle some boat projects, and since none of the projects required electricity, I was able to cast off the dock lines and set sail to wilder places. The weather finally turned warm and sunny, and so I was ecstatic to have time on Aeolus in a beautiful place and a taste of summer.

Decided to go to Stuart (not that any reason is needed) because the forecast winds were shifting from north to south and neither anchorage on Jones provides all weather protection. Where Reid and Prevost both are virtual hurricane holes. I went to Reid. 

The projects I tackled included:

• New engine intake hoses. Upgraded all related hoses to wire reinforced hose from standard water hose. Better flow in tight bends and durability/strength in a high impact area.
• New septic hoses in a few places. 
• New sink drain hose. Upgrade from standard water hose to reinforced septic hose. Primary reason here was to keep good flow despite a tight bend, where the water hose would kink a bit, and the septic hose maintains it's shape. 
• Excavate, clean and scrub the starboard settee locker. Yikes. 
• Clean the fiberglass around the bilge area with Soft Scrub-my favorite cleaner on the boat for really dirty things. Went through many rags wiping old oil and dirt from the area around the engine. 
• Did new varnish on my bright work grab rails. 
• Miscellaneous other cleaning of brass, glass, floors and such. 

Photo on Stuart from previous trip. On this trip, this spot was all green with exploding growth, and I had it to myself.

The harmonics of a sweet sail

Among the experiences in this world that defy description or even comprehension, the feel of a sailboat when sailing well is high among them. We can all conjure a quick list of the things that we know, but would struggle to articulate. Certainly love, or even deep pain. You know it because you have felt it, or you don't.

This reminds me of one of my favorite Robert Frost poems where he says simply:
"We dance around in a ring and suppose,
The Secret sits in the middle and knows."

This "knowing", which I would argue is not intellectual in nature, not manifestly articulate, is beautiful and ineffable.

But somewhat like using a filter on a telescope to look at the sun, I will attempt to throw a few words around the edges of the feeling and see if a sort of impressionist image can take shape that at least suggests the true thing.

Amy and I went for a Mother's Day sail this weekend and were excited to have some wind for our journey north to Roche Harbor. Friday Harbor often has a spot of wind, but for unknown reasons it will die once you leave the harbor and turn north or south. For this reason Amy was advising me to not raise the sail until we saw what was happening outside, and the weight of our experience made me relent. But the wind remained and so up went the canvas and off went the motor. Every boat I have sailed has a different helm and feel and sweet spot, but the groove feels the same. For Aeolus, that spot requires wind of 15 knots or more. We had 15-20 knots of wind from the WNW and were heading NW. Skies were typical of spring, with cotton ball clouds and sun enough to warm your bones.

Aeolus on south side of Jones Island, her home away from home

Replaced Thru-Hulls and Seacocks-Down the rabbit hole

I hauled Aeolus out last week to do bottom paint and replace all my below the waterline thru-hulls as well as install proper seacocks and backing blocks. My bottom paint lasted two seasons and was finally tired. I recoated with West Marine PCA Gold and expect another couple years. Slime appears on it over time, but it has appeared on every paint I have ever used here in the NW, including Trinidad SR. Anyway, bottom paint is straightforward and not the topic of this post.

No, the topic here is the big kahuna of cutting big holes in the boat and filling them in. I'll try to put some order to this process as it was pretty epic.

Gulf 32 Thru-Hulls and original equipment
When we bought Aeolus she still had plastic gate valves screwed directly onto the thru-hulls with only a 2"X2" and 1/4" backing square and the nut that comes with the thru-hull. Dreadful. I replaced the plastic gate valves with Marelon ball valves back in 2007 even though I knew the mating of bronze and Marelon was less than ideal, because it beat the hell out of what had been. Although none of them leaked, I had reason to doubt the condition of the meager backing blocks and the status of the bronze itself, and I was of course anxious to get proper flanges installed and redo the whole works. I put this project off from my last haul out because I had a lot going on and I think I was a bit intimidated by the scope of what would be involved. My concerns about the thru-hulls, and project, turned out to be justified. The photo below shows the sink drain thru hull before being worked on.

Turns out that all thru-hulls on a Gulf 32, and I presume on all Capital Yachts boats like Newports, are glassed in flush head fittings. That's right, glassed in, flush head. I'm sure these were used on Gulf's simply because they were used on the faster Newport boats and they had them laying around the shop. However, this installation method is unusual, and means that they are impossible to replace without major surgery on the boat. Most every other boat in the boat yard, especially cruising boats, will have mushroom head thru hulls. If that had been the case on Aeolus, I would have been able to do the whole job in two easy days, no problem. Instead, I had to tackle a major deconstruction and reconstruction project for four full days of 12 or more hours each.

Spectacular weekend of fun

Over the next few days I will have a number of posts relating to a recent flurry of boat activity, and I will start today with a quick recap of a spectacular weekend of sailing last weekend. We left Bainbridge on Friday and made the long journey up to San Juan Island. It takes a good 5 hours of travel time all told, and though much of that is on ferries, it is still a bit long. Nevertheless, the closer we get to Friday Harbor the happier we become and the night aboard Aeolus was splendid.

In the morning we gathered up one of Elliott's close friends from the island and headed straight over to Spencer Spit on Lopez Island. There was no wind, so we had to motor, but it was still great.

Peregrines, Sea Lions, and the Windrope boys

The boys and I did wander and play for a few days last week, on land and sea, and had all sorts of fun that is funny. We went to Stuart Island first, and hiked out to the lighthouse as we have numerous times before. The skunk cabbage was starting to bloom and it is quite a sight. The rope swing on the way up to the school was in fine shape and Owen had the biggest swing of all since he is smaller and I can lift him higher.

Reid Harbor was deserted but for us, and we saw only one person on the entire island. People stay away by the millions...and wallow in the urban decrepitude! So alone, we watched as the resident Peregrine Falcon swooped and intimidated all the birds around. We witnessed a big bull sea lion hanging out right off Turn Point below us. It was majestic. There is a grassy bluff up above the lighthouse a ways that is certainly one of the prettiest places in the whole NW. It is off the trail a bit, and looks out over everything with the most picturesque duo of a doug fir and madrone right at the point nestled together. It is a pinch me spot.

Good times, trip, on the horizon

Soon to head off for a good long trip with the boys where we will play away many days in the islands again. Poor Amy has to work. Head to Stuart, hike and climb around, head into BC and over to Portland Island, and who knows where else? Five easy days, sailing on a breeze, lots of good food and wild, deep time. Time to think. Time to play. Time to sit next to each other and not say a word while watching eagles soar. Ah, just the anticipation of it fills me with joy.

We have such an intimate connection with the Salish Sea and her many islands, and I am just so grateful for every single day I am able to explore a bit more. Our sons have little clue that what they do with us to explore nature is so unusual and unique, and that is fine with us. They'll follow their own path eventually, like this one or not. But come on, look at this beautiful boy and imagine he doesn't get this into his bones?

Love your machines, and they will love you back

I went to Aeolus to perform the sort of maintenance that must be done but that people avoid doing. Growing up, my father would let me use his tools to tear apart lawn mowers and fix my bike and do all sorts of crazy things. Looking back on that, I see how much I learned about basic mechanical principles, and most importantly, the reciprocal relationship between machines and their owners.

I know people who treat their machines as though they are autonomous creatures, capable of their own preservation. Don't lift a finger to maintain them, and then get upset when they fail them at inopportune times. Sailing books and blogs are filled with stories of sailors having misfortune related to a routine maintenance item not being addressed.

To indoctrinate my boys, I have taken to saying to them that you must "Love your machines and they will love you back". A simple mantra, easy to understand. Really, it is just a subset of the larger truth that Auden said so well that we must "Love one another or die". But sticking to machines, they do so much and ask so little. Especially a diesel engine.

Well, I just spent about 24 hours hanging upside down in the bilge giving lots of love to my diesel on Aeolus. Changed the oil, changed the filter, and changed the Oberdorfer impeller on the water pump. Cleaned this, cleaned that, checked this, checked that. Really, I was just giving her a good rub down and making sure she is ready for another season.

Snowy trip to Jones, cozy times on Aeolus

We took a trip to Jones Island this weekend when absolutely everyone else seemed to be cuddled up inside in front of a fire. The weather has been snowy and very cold (for the Salish Sea) and yet we knew how much fun there is to have on Aeolus in any conditions.

A strong south wind pushed us north on Saturday morning, and we tucked into the north cove to have the entire island, once again, all to ourselves. It was about 31 degrees and sleeting.

We hiked around the west side, seeing amazing sights you just don't see in July. There was exquisite hoar frost that fascinated us for a long time, and ice along the shore rocks that was just amazing. We had a fire back at the north cove and enjoyed that for several hours. Caveman TV.

The night on Aeolus was warm and cozy. The Force 10 kerosene heater keeps it right around 65 degrees, which is plenty given the outside temperature. I was reminded of a Frost poem about a winter storm being properly defied by a window. Outside it was cold and nasty, inside it was snug and happy. People read books, and played cards, and ate good food. What's not to love about that?

The trip back to Friday Harbor on Sunday was uneventful. We motored both ways this trip as the weather made sailing unpleasant. The pilothouse is such a blessing! Warm and safe.

A winter trip in about the worst conditions the Salish Sea ever gets, and still we had a fantastic and adventurous and wondrous time. We know we must be freaks of some sort, given how people stay home by the millions, but it feels right as rain to us.

The good ship Aeolus carried us to yet another island adventure we couldn't have otherwise.

Bainbridge Island to Friday Harbor to close 2010

Leaving Bainbridge

Some trips are special for their destinations, some for their people, and others for their season. This trip was spectacular for all three. Choosing to delay this trip a few days yielded the most perfect and generally benign conditions anyone could expect to close out December. Where a few days prior it was stormy with 40 knot winds, we had winds below 20 knots and blue skies all day.

Elliott, who just turned 10, was first mate for me on this trip to take Aeolus back up to Friday Harbor where she will be based from now on. Any dad has a complex relationship with his son, and mine no more than any other I suppose. This trip turned out to be a perfect escape from some of the tensions of my day to day life with Elliott and a blessed bit of happy ease.