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.