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| At Refuge Cove for a quick stop |
It is impossible for me to post a meaningful amount about each day because our boat journal is filled with pages upon pages for just this one week, and yet these days deserve every word that can be conjured. They are the highlight of our entire year, these days in Desolation Sound, and no matter that we have been doing this for many years now, every trip seems fresh and new. As John Steinbeck says in "Travels with Charley", there are places that don't allow you to remember them clearly and so you must return!
All I will do here is give an itinerary with the sparest of notes:
8/7/11 Left Lund and went straight to Roscoe Bay. Swam in Bay, swam in Black lake. Swam in Bay, swam in Black Lake. Repeat. Repeatedly.
8/8/11 Went to Walsh Cove. Paradise, especially for Amy. Jumped off cliffs. Elliott and Owen jumped off and swam everywhere. Swam around the islets! Magical shallows! Deep time.
8/9/11 Stayed and played.
8/10/11 Went to Von Donop Inlet. Swam, swam, swam. Hiked to Squirrel Cove. Swam some more. Owen paddled the kayak for the first time away from Aeolus. Competently.
8/11/11 Stayed and played.
8/12/11 To Tenedos Bay and Unwin Lake. A special place for Elliott and I in particular. Went straight to lake and to our high jump spot where in 2009, at just 8 years old, Elliott jumped off that 25' cliff with only saying "Here goes nothing!". He had already asked me if it was safe, and when I said "yes", he jumped. No matter how long I live, I will remember that day and that experience. So will he, I bet. We swam in Unwin lake like fish, and loved every second like it was known to be our last on earth.
8/13/11 Having dropped everyone else off at Lund, I took Aeolus solo over to Comox. Sailed close hauled in 25 knot SE winds to Cape Lazo. Flying. Wet. Then motored into Comox Harbor and dropped anchor off the breakwater.
8/14/11 Went down to Deep Bay for the night, and ready to journey south in morning. Anchoring in Deep Bay is true to the name. Depths over 60 feet.
8/15/11 Made it down to Clam Bay in the Gulf Islands. Great spot. First Nations people having a gathering this night. Felt odd to be near them, and yet not unwelcome.
8/16/11 Back to Friday Harbor and the end of this journey.
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| Laura Cove and the beloved hammock on the bow |
We had great weather, lots of sailing and the time of our lives. That more people don't make a bee line for Desolation Sound is beyond my understanding, but I am grateful and figure someone has got to go to the malls in the summertime to keep them open!
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| There has never been a happier boy than this one! |
2 comments:
Just a note to say thanks for all the info you've put up here and on sailnet regarding the Gulf 32.
I've been planning a move back to the West Coast for the past year and carefully looking at my options for boats, and I keep on coming back to the Gulf 32 for the kind of sailing I want to do: all-year (more-or-less) coastal cruising, mostly single-handed.
Now it's just a matter of finding one that's in my price range!
Hi TJ,
You are very welcome. Our journey to a Gulf 32 was similar, in that we sailed many other boats, including new Beneteaus and Hunters and such, and came around to seeing that for the size, the Gulf 32 had more of what we needed than anything else. Not to mention head room! Light in winter. Air in summer. Keel for rough waters and so on.
As you can tell from this blog, we have been very happy with our choice now for many years!
Good luck and stay in touch. Finding one is hard, as they are not common and many are now in quite rough shape, or like Aeolus, have had so much owner love that they are no longer cheap. But if you are willing and handy...
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