Clear November days at Jones

It is remarkable to get clear sunny weather in November here in the PNW. November is our stormiest month, with both the highest winds and heaviest rain. It has to do with the airflow off the Pacific this time of year. Later than November and the storms shift south to Oregon and California. So for us to have an extended period of clear, sunny weather is quite a gift.

Sunset from South Cove of Jones

We took advantage and headed up to the islands for a get away to our home away from home. It had been a few months since we were last at Jones Island, and so that's where we headed. It has the added benefit of only being 45 minutes from Friday Harbor and so allows a quick turn around. We headed up late on Friday night, which always feels like a push after work and all, but by Saturday morning when we wake up on Aeolus it is as though we have been there for several days already. It is something we have learned about the strange nature of being human that wherever you wake up is where you are all day, no matter where you might go. Sleeping resets our consciousness, or some more ethereal aspect of our selves, and for 100,000 years plus of human history we could never wake up very far one day from where we went to sleep the the day before!

Fogmageddon at Stuart and Jones

I like the phrasing I saw today from Cliff Mass about our current fog status here in the Salish Sea. We got away this weekend to our favorite places in the San Juans and while we hoped for some afternoon sun, we never got so much as a glimmer of blue. But nevertheless it was still fantastic.

Elliott on a previous trip to Stuart, when the sun was shining!

We went first to Stuart and on the way there were speculating about how many other boats might be present. My guess was two others, and Amy thought more. turned out there were about four other boats in Reid Harbor, which is still a far cry from the 75-100 that you can find there in July! The wind was calm and the waters were smooth for our journey north from Friday Harbor, and other than bucking some ebb current we had a mellow and quick journey.

Fantastic Labor Day at Tumbo Island

Tumbo Island is in the Canadian National Park system and lies just east of Saturna Island in the Straits of Georgia. It's not unknown, but it's not Salt Spring either. It has become our new favorite place to go for a long US weekend because it has a perfect assortment of the things we love: a good sail to get there, incredible views, great hiking, great birds and critters, great beaches, wilderness feel, and fewer people than the US islands over the holiday weekends.

Being just north of the border you might expect it to be popular, and yet it is quite remote because it lies a good distance from either the main US or Canadian towns. It's a long haul from Bellingham and a long haul from Sidney or Victoria or such. As a result, and despite the magnificence of the place, it is often fairly deserted. It turned out that the Labor Day weekend for Canadians overlaps with that for the US, and so instead of the Canadians disappearing on Sunday afternoon as we see at Memorial Day, they all stayed around with the few Americans for another day of bliss in this amazing spot.

The eastern shore of Tumbo at low tide

At 6 knots it takes about 5 hours of travel from Friday Harbor to Bedwell for customs, and then east to Tumbo. That time will soon be cut almost in half for us when the whole family has their Nexus cards, but for this trip we made an almost sentimental return to Bedwell for clearance through. It is 18 miles direct from Tumbo to Friday Harbor and with the ebb on our stern we averaged 7.5 knots on the way back and did it in less than 3 hours.Having the current with you is not a mere convenience for this trip, as it passes through some of the strongest tidal areas in the Salish Sea and you don't want that against you, or against a strong contrary wind. That is, unless you are in the mood for challenge, which we sometimes are.

Our Mantus anchor proves itself in all conditions at all times

In earlier posts I have recorded our experience of choosing a Mantus anchor and have expressed our wonder at how much better it performed than our old CQR. Now, having used the anchor every single day in all sorts of conditions while rounding Vancouver Island, over the course of a 790 mile trip, I am able to give it a testimonial of the highest order.

Essentially, that darn anchor absolutely amazes the crew of Aeolus. We anchored in every sort of place one could be here in the NW. From shallow river mouths to steep and deep rocky areas, to crowded anchorages with no room to swing and high winds that keep captains up at night, we saw it all. And in every single circumstance we never had the slightest hint of trouble with the Mantus. It held fast every time, and never even thought of dragging, even in soft mud, and it held fast on the first drop every single time.

A Harrowing Tale from Cape Scott

One of the great things about going around Vancouver Island is that you can become connected to a group of other sailors that are doing the same. They are your cohort, so to speak, and you share a common challenge, which engenders camaraderie. On our trip around, our cohort consisted of about 5-10 different boats that we more or less kept seeing as we headed south down the outer coast. We considered that each week or so must have it's own cohort, and that each summer must have a handful of these. We knew none of our group before we began our journey, and only a couple of them knew each other beforehand. In addition to sharing advice and weather reports and doing some buddy boating around tough places, it is also fun to simply hear other good sea stories from fellow intrepid travelers.

This particular sea story I heard first hand from one of our cohort members, who will remain nameless, and it is among the most harrowing tales I can imagine on a trip around the Island. I think I have most of the details correct, but forgive me if someone with more knowledge finds errors. Be forewarned of the importance of solid ground tackle!

A group of three sailboats had begun their trip around Cape Scott from the nearby anchorage in Bull Harbor on Hope Island. The forecast was for strong winds, but the crew of this particular boat was experienced and they were on a large Bill Garden (like our Gulf 32) designed ketch that was over 45 feet in length. The winds were from the SE, which when you are at the top of Vancouver Island means they are coming from shore, and there is not much fetch to build large waves. As the day progressed so did the wind, and by the time they were within sight of Cape Scott the wind was a gale. This boat, along with the two others, decided to drop anchor in one of the small temporary spots near Cape Scott that are used for just these conditions. I think they were in Fisherman Bay.

So they dropped their trusty CQR on a large scope and proceeded to wait out the storm. Sometime during the afternoon, the wind picked up further, and was blowing snot right off the island and onto the boats. To their shock and dismay, the big ketch began to drag anchor. Now, every captain knows there are never good times to drag anchor. Whether because of current, or wind, there is always a lee shore or the open sea awaiting you. For this boat, they began to drag anchor and no amount of scope seemed to be helping them (more on the benefits of switching to a modern anchor later).

Making a bad situation worse, they were dragging anchor right toward one of the other sailboats! And to make it EVEN WORSE, the owners of the other boat had gone ashore despite the high winds and no one was aboard. As you might guess, they did in fact drag anchor right onto the boats rode, and soon enough had ripped their anchor right out of the ground too. Now, both boats are being rapidly blown out to sea, which in this case means toward Alaska, as there was nothing but open water between them and points much further north.

Because there was no one aboard the second boat, once both boats were out to sea they became locked in a death grip, with the anchors and chains of both boats twisted hopelessly around one another. Imagine you are aboard the ketch, and already distressed at dragging anchor, and then finding yourself responsible for dragging another boat out to sea without the owners aboard...Just picture that a moment, in 30+ knot winds and building seas.

None of their efforts to free the boats would work, as no matter how they motored toward the other vessel the wind would blow it away much faster, keeping the chains taught and tangled. The ketch was in full reverse, with her big diesel and prop working desperately to keep them closer to shore and away from the building seas further out. The owner reported that he was full throttle, and was still losing ground with the wind blowing on both boats so violently. In desperation, they decided to launch one of their crew back to shore in their luckily motorized dinghy. They did so in a desperate attempt to reach the owners of the other boat.

Fortunately for all, the shore party was able to find the boat owners and ferry them back to their sailboat. Once they were aboard, the boats were able to motor toward one another enough to remove the tension on the chains, and they were able to disentangle the anchors with a few mighty shoves of boat hooks and a few choice swear words to appease the nautical spirits who require such things. At the end of this saga, they were both back anchored at the same cove and this time stayed put.

So good work on the part of the ketch crew for mitigating what could have been an even worse situation, and thankfully the crew of the other boat was nearby ashore and were able to be returned to their vessel.

In my next post I think I will update my views on the Mantus anchor we've been using for the  past year. I had drug anchor several times in more benign winds when I still had my CQR, despite an all chain 3/8 BBB rode. Suffice to say I believe this whole situation would have been avoided with the use of an upgraded anchor, but one never knows and I'm just glad this situation was resolved without injury to crew or vessels. 

Around Vancouver Island-790 miles-7/13-8/10-We're back!

I awoke this morning with the distinct sensation that the bed was moving gently around the room, and that my body was rolling in response to the nudge of waves. I had to grasp my sensations by the horns and actively remind myself that nothing was moving anymore, and that I was, in fact, home on a solid surface. My home had of course been on the sea for the past month, and I already miss it dearly.

Approaching Solander Island and Cape Cook under double reefed main. 

We're back. Our incredible sailing adventure around that magnificent island has come to a close, and over the weeks ahead I will try to report on the various worthwhile parts of the journey. I will only say here that it was much easier overall than we had expected. This was true in terms of dealing with the boat, the seas, the logistics, each other and the weather. And it was more beautiful, and more rich, than we imagined.

7/3/13-7/7/13: Mitlenatch Island is highlight of voyage to Campbell River

We're just back and still groggy from our wonderful voyage from Friday Harbor up to Campbell River. It had all the elements of any great journey, with a setting conducive to all sorts of philosophical and aesthetic revelations. Now that we are back in society, we feel as though we are aliens awaiting return to our mother planet:  the planet of the saltwater wilderness of Vancouver Island and environs. Next week we return to resume our journey the rest of the way around, but this time, taking our time!

A happy start

We left Friday Harbor on Friday night and made our way up to Prevost Harbor on Stuart. The wind was light and the sun was setting as we made the trip, and we arrived just in time to anchor in what is called nautical twilight. There where hordes of boats in the main anchorage, but we chose to be alone up by the county dock. It is a nice place to be, with good shore access and nice views, and I've never known why more boats don't use that location instead of the often crowded spot near the State Park dock. We were quickly asleep and excited for our jump across the border the next day.

Seeking to be at the customs dock at Bedwell as close to their opening as possible meant that we were underway at about 7:30. Not early, but not sleeping in either. The trip across Boundary Pass was benign, as usual, and we were sad to not see our usual friends the porpoises or Orcas. I learned at the customs phone that they no longer call into Victoria, but are instead routed to a center near Toronto! Some bureaucrat must have decided that was cheaper, but let me tell you that the guy in Toronto had no idea where I was and what it was like. He asked where I departed from and I said Stuart Island, and he had to ask if that was in the US or not. Oh well.

Route plan for delievering Aeolus to Campbell River from Friday Harbor

Over the July 4th weekend my wife and I will be without our boys and enjoying a bit of pre-parent life. Remember those times? To top it off, we will spend the four days moving Aeolus north to Campbell River through some of most lovely and benevolent places anywhere on Earth. I've created a simple Google Map to show our planned route, and having done this delivery many times before it is pretty tried and true for our favorite places and capacity for moving each day at a leisurely pace.


View Friday Harbor to Campbell River in a larger map

We've seen weather this time of year be anything from tropical heat and blazing sun to strong SE storms bearing 35 knot winds and torrential rain. Who knows?

One thing is for sure, every single thing about this voyage has me excited, and it will be a fantastic prelude to our upcoming larger expedition around this magnificent hunk of British Columbia. 

All systems Go! Ready for departure...

One of my favorite states of being is the time just before departing on a grand adventure. The time and energy spent preparing everything coils itself together like a spring and I feel that stored energy in me ready to burst forth. The days are compressed, and lengthened (I have written before on my beliefs about time being less linear in the human experience, especially while traveling, than clocks would have us believe) in a way that is really enjoyable, and the background noise of the mind, so ever present, is playing a constant tune of trip excitement that beats the hell out of other petty noises.

Kiwi Grip is done and looks great

We are now in these days of pre-trip anticipation, and this recent weekend on Aeolus put the icing on the cake of preparations. I went up and finished putting Kiwi Grip on the deck, and took several loads of things off Aeolus that we don't need for the trip. I changed the oil and the transmission fluid. I cleaned this and that. I moved things around to make space, and I spent some time organizing all the nautical charts for rounding Vancouver Island into a sequential order for easier access.

New house battery choice: Costco

Here at this late date prior to beginning our summer trip, I am loathe to make many changes with systems that have proven themselves over the past few seasons of use. However, I've been noticing that my house batteries are no longer holding the charge they used to hold. I can't complain, they have been workhorses. I installed two Trojan SCS200's back in 2007 or so. They have performed flawlessly with only adequate maintenance. I do not have a solar charger yet, and was not always as vigilant as I would like with keeping them charged while away.

For these many years they have held a 12.8 volt state after charging and resting, and lately this has become 12.6 despite fresh water and equalization and all that. My view is that they are just slowly fading, and that 6 or so years of heavy use is more than fine from these old guys.

So I've decided to buy new batteries and what did I go with? More Trojan's? No. I went with the Costco/Kirkland Group 27 batteries made by Interstate. Why? Both ease of access, warranty and cost. The Trojan's are selling for very close to $200 each right now. I just paid $86 for the Costco batteries. They both have 115AH ratings. The Trojan is listed as weighing 60 lbs. I just put my Costco batteries on the scale and they weigh 55.6 lbs. So they are a little lighter. They may be a little less robust. But for half the price, do I expect they will last at least 3 years? Yes I do! In fact, I would expect to get a good 4, 5 or 6 years out of them, and then I have saved $200.

Lopez Island weekend and LifeSling practice

We journeyed over to Spencer Spit on Lopez Island this weekend to see some friends who are road tripping around the US right now. The highlight was getting them aboard Aeolus and having a wonderful sail around my favorite stretch of water in the San Juans. The wind was 10-15, which was perfect for our neophyte guests, and when close hauled they got to experience the groove of sailing. They were so nervous of being seasick they took pills despite us reassuring them that this was an inland sea and thus no waves to disturb their inner ear. Everyone had a great time, and returned happy for a lovely evening at their campsite.

Today, Sunday, we took some time in the morning to review various safety considerations aboard the boat. We sat the boys down and discussed fires, leaks of various sizes and finally MOB. The MOB practice began with us getting underway. First we rehearsed the steps and concerns verbally. Then we threw over one of our Type IV cushions and deployed the LifeSling to practice what that would be like. Having done this successfully, I decided it was time for me to jump in myself. So I went below to don my farmer john wetsuit, my swimming cap and my inflatable life jacket. Everyone felt ready, and so we motored up to 5 knots to simulate real conditions and I went mid-ships and jumped off the pilothouse with no hesitation.

I had never inflated my inflatable PFD in the water before and was happy to see that it performed great. It floated my head and upper torso fairly high in the water and I could rest my head back comfortably in that position. The water temperature here is about 48 degrees right now, and so my arms were the only thing to get cold while I waited for the family to rescue me!

Memorial Day trip to Tumbo Island, BC

This trip was significant in a number of ways, not least of which being that it was our first family trip since Aeolus was hauled out and had so much work performed. It is also one of only a few trips left before we head off around Vancouver Island. This meant we spent time reviewing equipment lists and making plans.

Cabbage Island looking Northwest

It was really a tale of two trips, as Saturday was warm and glorious, and Sunday and Monday were rainy and stormy. We got to Jones Island late on Friday night, and enjoyed a restful evening in the north cove. On Saturday we motored up to Bedwell Harbor and had an especially smooth time of clearing Canadian customs. The winds were calm, and we timed the current to catch the last of the ebb and start of the flood.

The building flood pushed us right through Boundary Pass and along the southern edge of lovely Saturna Island once we left Bedwell. By the time we reached the southeastern tip of Saturna, we were pumping along at over 9 knots! We rounded the reefs there and then head up the inside of Tumbo Island to turn into Reef Harbor. The views along this western edge of Tumbo are really wonderful. There are sandstone cliffs all along here, classic Gulf Islands geology, and the shapes and caves are always interesting.

She floats! She runs! She shifts!

The moment of truth came this weekend with being put back into the water after almost a month on the hard. Given all the surgery I had done with the engine and shaft and such, it is a bit tense when you get splashed back in to make sure you hadn't messed something up in the process. Naturally, I go through mental checklists ad nauseum, and by doing so I hoped for the best.

Deck getting painted with Kiwi Grip non-skid. Grey is new, other side is taped but not yet painted.

When they lowered the straps and carefully placed her back in her element, I ducked below and plopped down to check the PSS seal to see if it was watertight. Sure enough! No leaks! I then burped it a few times to let water squirt between the two seals to clear out any dust and small debris and to void some air bubbles.

Alignment, re-assembly, painting, prop work, Oh My!

Another weekend of work on Aeolus while she is sadly high and dry in Friday Harbor. I can't say enough about how much I love being hauled out at Jensen's Shipyard (despite being sad to be out of the water). Besides being in an idyllic location, the place just wreaks of island history with old buildings and equipment lying around. So if you have to be stuck on the hard, it is a great place to do it. And the people are as nice as can be.

Hauled out at Jensen's Shipyard in Friday Harbor

But back to boat projects. My last post sounds a bit whiny to my ears now, but it told the truth of how last weekend felt. This current weekend was nothing so tough, and instead went like clockwork with no particular difficulties. I worked from dawn to dusk every day, but there was none of the body torqueing gymnastics that were so punishing last week. I'll present the weekend projects in a list format:

1. NEWLY CUT SHAFT: Perhaps most importantly, the newly cut shaft turned out to be an exact fit. I had it cut down to my specifications at Prop Shop LTD in Mukilteo WA, and though they were a bit unfriendly and I felt a bit overcharged (they charged me $85 to cut down the shaft, which was quoted, and then an extra $35 to clean the shaft of some light growth, which was unexpected and seemed way too high), their work seemed to be fine. Between the added flexible coupling and the longer transmission, I needed to take 3.01" off the shaft. Talk about measure twice and cut once. I must have measured this cut 100 times. So it was very gratifying to put the new shaft in place and see that the length was perfect.

I would have thought it best to place the shaft back in Aeolus from the outside, but after several attempts it kept binding and catching, and so I resorted to sliding it in from inside the boat. I had to lift the engine anyway to adjust the mounts and alignment, and it was smooth and easy for the shaft to fit from this side. I don't know why the difference existed, but it did.

Hauled, Tranny in, bruised and battered

It's now been a few days since I hauled Aeolus out, and I am just now beginning to not feel bruised and somewhat broken. It's not that I incurred injuries hauling her out myself, no, not all 16,000 blessed pounds of her myself, but once she was out, I entered a torture chamber of physical abuse. My main task was to replace the original Hurth transmission with the new Twin Disc MG 360 that I have written about here before.

My first day went smoothly, and all things considered, could not have gone better. I had the yard pop the prop off, and then I hoisted the engine up off her mounts. This is a tedious process, in that you must make sure to disconnect everything that would otherwise get torn. Fuel lines, water, electrical, battery cables, and all the rest.

A Gulf 32 keel. 6,000 pounds of lead!

To do this, and this is prelude to what I did all weekend, I have to more or less lay myself down on the floor and cross beams to access things down deep in the bilge where the engine resides. Part of the great design on a Gulf 32 is that the engine is down deep and easily accessible from all sides because it lies directly under the floorboards of the galley and navigation area. This is the good news. The bad news is that it gets a rain of dirt and dust down on it that prevents cleanliness and it is DOWN below, which means you have to lie down and reach down to reach things.

Whirlwind prep for haulout, plus

Next weekend I will be hauling Aeolus out for bottom paint, a new transmission, deck painting and whatever else I can fit in. So this weekend, I went to Aeolus to do the prep work for the haulout and take care of a few miscellaneous items on the To Do list. It was a whirlwind effort, and I barely sat down until time for dinner each night.

New KiwiGrip on Port Cockpit side

This shows a before picture of removing the teak and dealing with the 5200

One of my primary tasks was to thoroughly scrub and clean the topsides in preparation for putting KiwiGrip on the deck. The original gelcoat surface has worn smooth, and it has become too slippery standing at the mast to raise sail and reef on the sloping dome of the cabin top area. I'd slipped too often for comfort. So I started off my weekend by doing a very, very thorough job of scrubbing the entire deck with normal deck soap. Hit all the nooks and crannies etc. One of my other goals is to paint the hull stripe, which is long overdue as the original blue gelcoat is beyond resurrection. I've rubbed, and polished, and waxed and loved and polished and waxed that darn hull stripe and no matter what I do it needs it again in six months. Forget it. Time to paint with Perfection Mauritious Blue, a gorgeous two part epoxy deep blue color that will look beautiful for years with almost no maintenance.

Why do we go?

We are just returned from another wonderful weekend sailing in the San Juan's, and just before leaving we were asked by some dear friends about how much trouble it must be to gather ourselves and the boys together to make these trips. In essence, they were asking why we go. Why do we go to all the trouble for just a weekend?

I've heard this question from people before, and I am always dumfounded by it. It is asked with full interest and sincerity, and without any hint of judgment, and yet the affect on me is as though someone has asked me to explain why I breathe air. It is nearly impossible for me to know where to start.

Perhaps you also go, and get asked this question, and feel similarly unable to craft a reply that rings true to what you believe?

Anchor chains galvanized

After six years of heavy but not full-time use, our 3/8 BBB anchor chain had started to show the early signs of needing some attention. Rust had started to form on all links, and though it was only light, it is a rapid deterioration from that point to bad places. Given our approaching trip around Vancouver Island, I am making certain that everything is in the best shape possible and this motivated me to look into getting our chain re-galvanized.

Here around Seattle there are several places that will galvanize chain, and I suppose they each have happy customers associated with them. I decided to use Emerald Galvanizing in Ballard, and was happy with the service and price. They charge $.80 a pound with a $100 minimum. Evidently they are unusual in that they are able to run your chain through a centrifuge to break up any stuck links. I dropped off my main chain and secondary chain on a Tuesday and picked it up early the next week.

Transmission oil change solution found-Updated

We all recognize that having an oil drain hose installed on your diesel is one of the seven wonders of the sailing world. To change your oil as simply as hooking up your vacuum pump to the hose connected to the oil pan is a thing of immense elegance and time savings. Aeolus has this arrangement, and I am repeatedly grateful for it. Our previous boat, an Ericson, did not have this, and so I had to insert the little hose down the dipstick hole and hope for the best with reaching the bottom.

MG 360 with dipstick hole as intended oil drain access

It is not merely the time savings and ease of operation that these oil drain hoses afford that makes them so valuable, but the mechanic in me is well aware of the benefits of sucking the dirty oil from the bottom of the pan, thereby sucking out the metal shavings that are a part of engine wear and tear and that further contribute towards engine problems.

So what about our marine transmissions! I changed the oil in my old Hurth tranny at least once a year, and it involved sticking a small diameter hose down the fill hole and hoping for the best that I was reaching the bottom and getting all the old oil and shavings out. So with my new transmission, a Twin Disc MG 360, I thought about finding a way to install an oil drain hose just like with the diesel.

Turns out, not so easy.

25 knot close reach to Stuart Island weekend

Wow it was great to have Aeolus back in Friday Harbor so we could take her out for the long weekend to Stuart and Jones. It had been since last summer that we were at these favorite places because we had brought Aeolus down to Bainbridge after Desolation Sound last summer. So distance had made our hearts grow fonder (hard to increase upon our previous devotion to these places) and we anxiously returned to our favorite waters.

Single reef in place, close reach in 25 knots

On Saturday morning we left our slip and raised sail just off Point Caution in promising winds. Soon enough we were in the teeth of a 20 knot wind with gusts to 25 and it was coming from the West. Strong west winds are really nice in San Juan Channel because you can be on a reach going north or south. The 25 knot gusts on a close reach were making us fly right along, but also making my family a bit nervous, so I went forward and put a reef in our main and furled up the genoa a bit. With one reef and a partial genoa we returned to our heading toward Spieden Island and had a wonderful sail at near hull speed all the way.

Twin Disc MG 360-New transmission for Aeolus

Note: The post below tells the story of choosing and installing the Twin Disc MG360. I've unfortunately learned the hard way that this transmission will corrode badly if you install it like it is. My Hurth never showed a speck of rust after 20 years, but Twin Disc for some indefensible reason has built this transmission out of metals that corrode aggressively. I've been told after reporting this problem to Twin Disc that they recommend painting the transmission and shifting mechanisms before install. BE WARNED. See my later post for pictures of the corrosion.

Among the more significant decisions any sailor can make is how they propel their boat. Sails and rigging are huge, obviously, and yet the engine/transmission might in fact be higher on the list of anxieties given their importance at key times. Here in the Northwest, we are blessed with the finest cruising grounds in North America, and plenty of winds here and there. And yet, in our summer months we are often calm, and even in winter, we can go days with less than 10 knots. Because we have such a cornucopia of islands, each not far from the other, and because our currents are tremendous, regularly exceeding 5-10 knots, we are unable to rely upon sails alone to travel safely.

Twin Disc MG 360 right out of the box. Note separate oil fill.

Making storage pockets-Gratitude to Don Casey

I've just completed yet another project with the help of Don Casey. When I think back on all the things I have learned from his books, I am left with a tremendous amount of gratitude. Any teacher who helps us learn something interesting or useful has our gratitude and rightfully so. But when it comes to a sailboat, there are just so many, many things to know, and the consequences of error can be so high, that a good teacher is priceless.

That's a fleece hat in the right pocket. There are four pockets total, each 5" wide.

Mr. Casey, I have never met you, and you will never read this, but thank you. Truly thank you. I maintain our boat myself, and I've learned so very, very much from your books that I could not begin to articulate the totality of it. From diesels, to paint, to rigging, to electronics, to sewing, I have learned things from you that have made my boat, and my skills, far better.

This latest Don Casey inspired project was to make new storage pockets for Aeolus. Like on most boats, there are a million little things to store, and some of them you access quite frequently. Also like with most boats, the places to store things are deep, dark and far away. For things like your sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm, your iphone, a warm hat, sailing gloves--for these things, you would like them to be readily identifiable and available.

Enter this project.

Perfect trip to Friday Harbor and Mantus proves itself again

Well we are just back from our trip to Friday Harbor and it went perfectly. Delivering Aeolus back to her home waters was as much a symbolic triumph as an actual accomplishment. I cannot adequately describe how great it felt to pull into the side of Lopez Island on our way into Lopez Pass, and to know we were back in these northern parts of the Salish Sea.

Friday afternoon gave me an opportunity to begin the trip by taking Aeolus north from Blakely Harbor on Bainbridge up to Port Madison, also on Bainbridge. I anchored out, which was somewhat tricky in the congested confines of that harbor, and soon Amy and the boys returned from piano practice to join me aboard for dinner. There is something so wonderful about being at anchor, and to feel the gentle shifts and movements of the hull in the sea. Like a leaf falling, or a cloud swaying, it is melodic in tune with rhythms beyond our reckoning.

The boys in Port Townsend on Saturday. We love river otters! Yes, despite their havoc on boats...

Voyage north to Friday Harbor about to begin

In just a few days we will board Aeolus and begin our journey north from Bainbridge Island to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. The weather forecast is shaping up to be wonderful, with a high pressure system settling in to create fairly dry and even partly sunny weather. Winds are forecast to be mild from the SE.

In planning for this trip several bits of data become especially important. One is currents and of course the other is wind. Current in Admiralty Inlet can absolutely determine whether a displacement hull boat has any chance of forward progress. Luckily for us on this day, the dominant current this Saturday is ebbing from 8:45 all the way to 4:47. We will ride a river of water all the way from the Seattle area to Port Townsend.



View Sailing Bainbridge to Friday Harbor in a larger map

Mantus passes first test on trip to Blake Island

Our family took advantage of a lovely Sunday with sunshine to jump aboard Aeolus and head over to our nearby park island. Blake Island is a State Park and the only whole island park anywhere near Seattle. It isn't very wild, or especially interesting, but it's here, and has some nice urban views from the shoreline.

Elliott putting his back into it! Anchored at Blake Island.

Weather here has turned cold and clear, and in Seattle we will always take this combination as a break from cold and raining. So off we went to Blake and enjoyed a lively game of family frisbee and walked a few miles on the island trails.

Perhaps the most exciting news for this blog is that we got to try out our new Mantus anchor for the first time. We anchored in about 25 feet of water on a little shelf off the island and I let out 75 feet of chain. When we pulled back on the anchor to set it, we came to a definite stop. We then let ourselves sag forward a bit, and then I pulled back again and once more we came to a sudden halt. Well, I thought, that sure seems like a well dug in anchor!

Sand is evidence of it digging in!

When we were ready to leave we came back and Elliott helped as he does controlling the windlass from inside the pilothouse while I was on the bow handling the anchor. When we pulled up to about 1:1 the windlass actually bogged down a bit and had a moment of struggle to free the Mantus from the seabed. Let me tell you something, that never happened with our CQR. And our windlass is a 1000W Lofrans Tigres. A really beautiful beast.

So the Mantus set right away into a mud/sand bottom, held the boat firm when tugged back, and then was a bit hard to pull out with our windlass until we were really 1:1. I would say that is great news for this anchor and I am excited about giving some more work in the months ahead. 

Ground Tackle Upgrade: Mantus Anchor and less chain

The new Mantus on the right is a great improvement

I've come to see how Aeolus undergoes evolutionary changes befitting a vessel that has been in constant use by one family for over six years now.  Many of her systems were first fixed, updated, or modified back in 2007 when we first brought her into our lives, and some of those first attempts were best efforts but lacking in later wisdom. Isn't that the way life is? Or should be? Some of my early work has stood the test of time because I err on the side of copious research and nothing has changed in that particular field. Other items are amenable to change both because of changes in the field or because of an increase in my own understanding of the topic. The ground tackle on Aeolus is a prime example of the latter.

When we first bought her she had a ground tackle system I cannot quite recall, because I so soon upgraded it to something that has served her pretty well now since that time. She came with a 35lb CQR anchor, and I think they had that on a short amount of 5/16'BBB chain and rope. I replaced that original chain with 200' of 3/8'BBB and 150' of 5/8' 3 strand nylon.

New stern line and bag system

For us NW boaters, a stern line is as necessary as an anchor in many anchorages. You simply cannot stay in many of the prettiest places in the Salish Sea without some way to prevent your stern from swinging. This is caused by some combination of the depth of water, slope of seabed or popularity of the spot. Sometimes all three.

The completed bag playing piano!

On Aeolus, we have always used a simple system that met the criteria of doing the job. But like many simple systems that do jobs, it left a lot to be desired. Or rather, it provided ample opportunity for improvement, which is one of my favorite things to do! We used a plastic 5 gallon bucket to hold about 150' of 3/8 3 strand yellow nylon line. This was enough line to reach shore everywhere, but often not enough to double back to the boat. This means we had to go to shore to release our stern line every time, which was sometimes annoying at O'dark thirty. The bucket was used for nothing else, and took up a fair amount of space in the lazarette. And coiling the 3 strand back into the bucket was a real PIA.

Mesh bottom for drainage and breathing. This mesh is fiber reinforced.