Tuesday, 19 September
2017 – Travel Day – Toronto to Nanaimo
Well, it was finally time for the adventure to begin. I had
a very early 6:30 am flight, this time to Calgary and then on to Nanaimo.
Margot gave me a lift to the airport and it became interesting real soon as we
couldn’t find an on ramp that was open to get us on to the 401 and then on to
the airport. Eventually with some detour and looking at my gps mapping app, we
were finally able to get onto the expressway – good thing we had gotten off to
an earlier than planned getaway.
At the airport another complication arose – I had
inadvertently left my leatherman in my carry on baggage and of course there was
no way that my multi-tool with all of its weaponry would be allowed on board.
Good thing that they now have a storage service with retrieval on return so
that I can get it back.
The flight to Calgary was uneventful but seeing the
mountains in the distance was fun – all sugar frosted and snow capped. Flight
to Nanaimo was a bit overcast but got to see some of the SGI from my window
seat nonetheless.
Ian was very kind enough to pick me up at the airport and
give me a lift to NYC. Beth and team had even gotten the boat all prepped in
advance and I was good to go for the next couple of days prior to departure.
For dinner I had a hankering for a steak and went to
Beefeaters where I ended up meeting Ian, Shari and Nick. They were working late
with a couple of boats returning late from some delivery and misadventure.
Didn’t sleep much, probably due to overtiredness and being
cold.
Wednesday, 20
September 2017 – Preparation Day Nanaimo
I got up pretty early, had use of the Courtesy Car so I went
to Tim’s for breakfast and a coffee. Come mid morning I had a few errands to
run – a replacement leatherman from Canadian Tire, Denman Island Chocolate from
the health food store, cash to exchange and sushi for lunch and dinner.
The rest of the afternoon would be spent preparing charts,
instruments, guides, tables and other necessary navigation equipment for the
trip. I ended up with 2 full chart cases to lug back to the boat in single
trips as they were heavy.
A quiet evening spent making notes and preparing for the
crew briefing meeting later Thursday afternoon.
Thursday, 21
September 2017 – Preboard Day Nanaimo
After getting up I made the usual run to Tim’s then spent
the rest of the day till the mid afternoon provisioning delivery checking out
the boat in great detail. To know where everything was, to see how it worked
and just overall familiarization with all that I could. Anything not known or
found I would follow up with I an before leaving next day.
When the provisions arrived I put all the cold items away
and left the rest for the crew to deal with. This way we would have half a
chance to know where everything ended up being stowed.
Back to the cold stuff – it didn’t take long to realize that
the entire meat component of the order was missing and confirmed after looking
at the meal plan – so Beth made a quick call and to make sure follow up
delivery was made before the end of the day. Whew!
By the end of the afternoon all students (the crew) had
arrived – Niki, Patrick. Robert and David – we all gathered in the boat to go
over goals, expectations, crew rotations, protocols, jobs, destinations, take
off time – the whole works for the whole trip.
After a bit, the crew got on with sorting their things out
(some I felt and feared had brought much more than was needed) – with putting
food away and next day’s passage planning and navigation remaining to be done.
A team dinner was had at the pub and then off to bed for a 7:00 am rising.
In the following days...
M = Marina moorage, $$$ Ganges was the lowest cost and everywhere else started with a '1'
A = At Anchor, no cost except at Bull Harbour
D = Dock, as in Public Dock at NO cost (well except HSC)!!!
Friday, 22 September
2017 – Day 1 – Nanaimo to Campbell River (M) – 74 nm
Well, today was the big day. Weather looked good. I did a quick check on Windy to see what the Cape Scott wind condition looked like a few days down (up) the road from Nanaimo and made the final decison to head north from Nanaimo. Usually this is an entire crew decision but everyone was busy with various things and 9 times out of 10 it has always been a ccw route anyways due to expected prevailing conditions off the west coast of VI.
Had a light breakfast so that final tasks could get started. The goal was to shove off by 11:00 am because it was likely a long day to Campbell River at least - it would be a night time arrival at least.
Current weather was Sunny, about 18 deg C with winds light.
Some crew, including myself had showers, topped up water tanks, checked the boat out, replaced a shackle that was a bit mangled, worked our way through the pre-departure checklist, reviewed engine start procedure and talked about how to leave the dock. Whew!
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| Pre-Departure Crew Photo (by Ian) |
Patrick was on helm and David on Navigation. Besides all the things that were going on I kept thinking about the big responsibility that I had about keeping the boat and crew in a safe state for the passage and also about making sure that I could give the crew a great experience.
On all of the courses through the SGI of the summer, and including this upcoming passage, I had always wanted to allow the crew to decide where they wanted to go if they had any goals. Most hadn't been here before and didn't know the options so I had always taken the lead to make the decisions on destinations. During the earlier briefing I had made a point of telling the crew that they would be expected to call the shots and plan for all aspects of the passage given the YM Offshore level that they would be pursuing on this course. The key aspects that we would be concentrating on during the passage would be ...
- Weather
- Passage Planning and Passage Making
- Navigation - both Coastal and Celestial
The good news with the crew was that they were all keen to pursue CelNav. We would start as soon as we could - both indoors and outdoors.
Okay, let's get on with it. Time to depart. I helped Patrick determine that we would spring off the dock, something he wasn't experienced with. It is a 50 foot boat and the turn out of the slip is quite tight. Wind and current wasn't an issue. All sounded good and impressive don't you think? The spring line was tied off midship and we were going to spring off the stern by reversing. Did not work. Ian came along to suggest spring off the bow. Drove forward with the spring line again at midship. Again no go!. Well, now Ian advised to move the spring line to the bow. This time - success, we were off!!!
In reviewing what had just happened, I couldn't believe that I had tried to spring off with line tied at midship - that would never work, you dufus!!! Ian was very kind in trying to explain (by a later text) that Belle Serena had a small prop and didn't like springing off with a stern line. He said that he didn't want to interfere - but he should have, because to spring off with a midship line just won't work. I hope not to forget that one again.
In the same text which came in a couple of hours after departure In mentioned that we had departed without our lunch sandwiches that Beth had ordered for us. I hadn't thought to ask about this as Beth had done the same last year. I felt bad but there was no consideration to turn back - the sandwiches would have been greatly appreciated.
The wind was about 12 knots from the NW, so basically on our nose. It looked like we would be motoring all the way in order to make our destination with an ETA of midnight. The strategy was to scoot northwards as quickly as possible in order to make the most of the west side. So it would be a long day, arrival in Campbell River in the dark, strong current through the channel with an overnight stay at Coast Marina just next to the BC Ferry dock.
Navigation was pretty easy, helm the same. It wasn't too long until the auto helm was engaged to make things a bit easier. Key thing was to make sure that there was always a watch on deck at all times.
Between Sisters Island and Flora Islet (SE of Hornby Island), we saw 3 humpbacks - a great wildlife sighting start to the passage. The clue was another sailboat that had slowed down to observe.
Got past Hornby, made a few course adjustments - wind was still on the nose.
Niki was on Galley duty and the underway dinner was a nice, hot Lasagna.
Once it started to get dark we made sure that there was a good watch on duty keeping a good eye out ahead and around. We saw an unusual scene as we approached Quadra Island with about 3 cruise ships that were lit up and stationary SE of the island. After a bit one ship headed south, then another. At first we thought they were waiting before entering Discovery Passage to catch the current but I didn't think that should be the reason as I thought that these ships could transit the current at Seymour Narrows anytime that they wanted. Then the notion came up because they headed south that this helped to control their arrival time in Vancouver - but then why here and why all three?
Based on my same arrival experience (and guidance from Tyler) back in 2015 - I let Patrick know what to expect - to stay high and crab into the marina boat basin - because the current would be ebbing northwards.
Approaching Campbell River, with the current, SOG was 10 Kts and climbing. We slowed the boat down and started looking for the ATONs that would lead us in. As we got closer to shore, with eyes glued to the chart plotter, we kept looking for the lights and it was only as we were very close that we finally saw them, in fact we were almost on top of the starboard green, before entering the basin.
One issue that made navigation a bit more interesting was that the compass night (red) lights would not go on and we couldn't read the compass bearing. Tried all breakers - no go. Eventually we rigged a red light by using a headlamp hung over the compass to provide illumination.
Whew, what an adventure! I think the crew were quite exhilarated with this arrival (my words) - maybe harrowing - night, speed of the boat, current, difficult to see with all the background lights of CR. Patrick drove us into the basin, took a couple of turns to line up with the dock - and did an easy docking. I had called the marina earlier in the day to confirm a spot on the long P1 slip.
We had arrived at 11:45 pm. Time for beer o'clock! We had put in about 4.5 hours of night sailing.
I did a quick check on next day's current through Seymour (and confirmed by next day's Navigator) that showed we could have a bit of a sleep in and a later start towards the slack at the Narrows.
To bed, as it had been a long but rewarding 1st day!
No photos for the day - too busy with other things like forgetting how to spring off a dock (always tied at Bow or Stern - never at Midship, right Ian???
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| Day 1 Routing |
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| Coast Marina Mooring in Campbell River |
Saturday, 23
September 2017 – Day 2 – Campbell River to Billygoat Bay (A) – 40 nm
I don't usually sleep well on a boat, woke up early, lay in bed a good while. Had a new strategy to stay warm through the night - 2 duvets!!! Worked out well.
Coffee preparation noises in the Galley got me up finally.
With a later start, some of the crew had a few things to try and do in CR. Notebook, strobe and nightlights. David and Patrick went off to deal with this. I paid up at the marina office - found the fee a bit steep, especially at this time of the season. I know we are 50 feet but anything that starts with a '1'???
Spent a bit of time on the compasses to try to get the night lights working. A quick text to Ian and got the low down on how to access the wires and bulbs. It ended up being a contact issue with the wires because after a bit of jiggling all was working again.
Some crew had showers, Niki was on Nav working out the day's passage and slack time. Seymour slack would be at 1:50 pm flowing into an ebb. Given the late start I thought that we should shoot for Billygoat Bay at Helmcken Island - just before Kelsey Bay on Vancouver Island. Helmcken was in the middle of Johnstone Strait with Current Passage on the north side and Race Passage on the south (both forming a bit of a Traffic Separation Scheme through the Strait).
After an engine check, hatches and latches, pre-departure check and leaving the dock briefing - we were off again. Left CR at 12:30 pm. Easy off dock by David and into the main channel. Niki called the Nav shots and we made good progress towards Seymour Narrows. We were riding the ebb and were making god time in fact too good. We would arrive early at this rate, so we slowed down as we thought that some boats ahead looked to be waiting to enter the narrows when in fact they were just fishing.
When you go through a tidal pass, that has quite an infamy, at slack and that it ends up being quite the non event - you say what was the fuss all about? Last time (2015) I went through at 2 hours after slack, SOG was 16 Kts, boat speed about 6.5 Kts, current was...you figure it out.
David found that the current took hold a few time - nothing serious but he could feel it. We would be bucking the current for a bit until the next change. In fact the effects of the current were a bit unusual possibly due to the layering effect because sometimes it was against us, then nothing and then with us!!!
This part of BC is magnificent, especially once around the corner at Chatham Point and into Johnstone Strait. We saw the usual marine traffic - tugs, barges, fishing vessels - and a cruise ship. What we didn't expect to see was the signficant floating debris of a former dock! I was below when I came up to see it floating past behind the boat. I asked if the crew had seen that before hitting it and the news was good that they had kept a good watchful eye out and had seen it right away.
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| Typical Discovery Passage Traffic |
Niki got on the VHF to report this floating hazard to the CG in Victoria. They were appreciative for the information and the precise location coordinates we had given. It would have been a frightful thing to hit at any time - night or day.
The weather had been partly sunny earlier in the day but now a few clouds were filling in the sky. No sun sights today. Also no wind so we would be motoring the whole way.
There are 2 anchorages on Helmcken Island - Deer Cove and Billygoat Bay. Our Navigator elected for the larger anchorage; Billygoat Bay, it had also been mentioned by Ian as a good spot on one the previous passages. It would be dark soon as we slowly pulled in, dropped the anchor in the middle and before we knew it was completely dark. Couldn't see a thing, no stars given the clouds. When entering the bay I could hear some sea lions on the rocks just to the east on the island - you could hear them barking. I swear when I was hanging the remote anchor light off the boom that heard one or two of them swimming near the boat while also hearing their bretheren barking away in the dark night beyond.
Arrived at 5:35 pm.
Before the light disappeared it looked to be a very pretty spot and that we would enjoy the scene next morning.
To bed promptly for a 7:00 am uprising and 8:00 am departure. The thinking, based on next day's weather, was to get to Port Hardy - a full day's passage but would give us options in dealing with the crossing of Nahwitti Bar and rounding of Cape Scott.
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| Day Two Routing |
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| Billygoat Bay Anchorage |
Sunday, 24 September
2017 – Day 3 – Billygoat Bay to Port Hardy (M) – 70 nm
Woke up to a very calm and serene morning in Billygoat Bay - truly sublime in its pristineness. Not a soul anywhere and what a boat back towards Johntone Strait and the mountains. It was 12 deg C, partly cloudy with light winds of 5 Kts from SE.
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| Leaving Billygoat Bay |
We left at 8:00 am with Niki on the helm and Robert on nav.
The entire crew really like this spot - picturesque and all to ourselves. It was off to Port Hardy with an ETA of 18:00 to 20:00.
Little happened on the passage, no wildlife observations - a few cruise ships past us coming and going. The scenery was great, navigation kept us in deep water throughout. No sun for sights.
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| Looking East in Johnstone Strait |
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| A Typical Birdcraft Carrier |
With no winds we motored the entire day eventually arriving in Port Hardy at 6:45 pm. The past two years had been a night entry so this was a treat to dock in the remaining evening light. Niki did a good job driving the boat alongside a long slip. The office would be closed at this hour but the liquor outlet (more importantly) would be open.
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| This Ship Steered to Starboard to Avoid Us |
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| Alert Bay on Cormorant Island |
After dinner we had time for the 1st on board Celestial Navigation session in preparation for some on the water sun sights in the coming days.
I was thinking about the next day being a harbour day in Port Hardy - to do some provisioning before leaving civilization. But instead thought we could have a later start and stay in Bull Harbour and using that as a shorter spring off around the cape rather than a very early start out of Port Hardy. Everyone agreed with this approach.
Off to bed under the double duvet - delicious!
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| Day Three Routing |
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| Marina Mooring at Port Hardy |
Monday, 25 September
2017 – Day 4 – Port Hardy to Bull Harbour (A) – 24 nm
A somewhat leisurely morning. Plan was to shower, pay the dockage and a quick provisioning top up at the grocery store and refueling.
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| At The Dock in Port Hardy |
We planned to depart Port hardy at 1:00 pm for the short run to Bull Harbour.
I had lots of help with Patrick and Robert on the groceries. Robert was on the helm today with Patrick on nav.
Prior to departure time we pulled around to the Fuel Dock to load up with 150 litres into the 2 tanks. Got away by 12:55 pm with a cloudy sky and little wind.
Three and a half hours later (3:25 pm arrival) along Goletas Channel we would arrive into Bull Harbour via engine, engine and headsail, and headsail alone. It was the first day that we would be able to roll out any sail for a little downwind action. With headsail alone we put the transmission into reverse to lock the prop so that it wouldn't be making any noise. This caused me some concern as after awhile I noticed that the shift lever was standing vertical when it should have been in reverse, ie. locked in that position. The crew knew that we need to luff up into the wind to slow the boat before taking it out of reverse. I went over to feel it and there was no engagement of the transmission. Did that need that we had lost the transmission cable like last year and had no forward or reverse? We would find out when dropping the anchor in Bull Harbour.
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| Sailing in Goletas Channel |
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| Entering Bull Harbour |
Bull Harbour is very pretty. Having to go around an island at the harbour's entry. We went past a good sized dock as the harbour widened out to yield a good sized anchorage. This harbour used to be a major stopover for west coast fishing, but no longer. Now it is used as a spring off spot to go around Cape Scott and the West Coast of Vancouver Island, as we were about to do.
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| First Nations Community at Bull Harbour |
As we circled around to find our spot, my suspicions about the reverse gear were yet to be confirmed. It was only after we dropped and needed to reverse to set it did it confirm that reverse gear didn't always engage. It seemed to engage after it was popped into forward first and then put into reverse that it would engage.
After confirming that the anchor was set, I opened up the starboard engine cover to expose the transmission cable linkage in order to check that it was linked and working. Well, the good news was that we did have reverse for the most part and had a way to do it manually at the engine if needed in a pinch. The fact that the cable appeared to be working correctly and working the lever at the engine manually if needed, wasn't reason enough to return to Port Hardy to check things out.
There was still a good part of the day left so we did two things - completed review of the workbooks to check the answers everyone had, and to have another Celestial Navigation lesson - yahoo!
During our classroom time, 2 First Nations kids came to the boat in the rowboat to collect the $15 anchorage fee. They were very friendly and said if we needed anything to contact them on the VHF.
Tomorrow David would be on Nav and I wanted him to work out time to leave, Nahwitti slack and rounding of Cape Scott. Our arrival into Winter Harbour would be a night entry but at least it wouldn't be the long typical day we would have had if we had stayed in Port Hardy.
To bed and to worry about reverse gear!!!
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| Day Four Routing |
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| Bull Harbour Anchorage |
Tuesday, 26 September
2017 – Day 5 – Bull Harbour to Winter Harbour (D) – 64 nm
Well, today was the big day with the rounding of Cape Scott!
We had worked out that we would leave Bull Harbour around 11:00 am for a noon hour slack at Nahwitti and slack at Cape Scott Channel (that would flow into an Ebb - perfect!). It would be another night entry into Winter Harbour having done this the two years previously.
After breakfast we had time for more workbook reviews and more in class Celestial Navigation.
On raising the anchor for departure, the anchor chain got stuck in the hole into the chain locker. After a bit of pounding with a hammer on the chain (a bit noisy!) we finally got the anchor up and were on our way.
Patrick was on the helm and David had nav duties.
The day was 12 deg C, mostly overcast with just a bit of wind. I couldn't get any weather report on the VHF and we were of course without cellular access until Winter Harbour. We relied greatly on the previous days weather information holding us through to Winter Harbour.
Leaving Bull Harbour gave us a look again at the sea stacks of Norman Island that occupied the centre of the channel.
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| The Sea Stacks at Norman Island |
The crossing of Nahwitti Bar at slack was a none event - what is all the fuss about you say? Well, if you cross on a full ebb like we did in 2015 - you get to see the keel of other boats as they rise and fall through the choppy surf.
As we approached the cape and the turn around the northwest corner of Vancouver Island, some wind filled in from the southwest, just as forecast a day ago. It was time to sail. It was blowing about 15 to 18 Kts and we had a good heel with everything and everybody challenged to stay vertical. The tack took us across the channel towards the southwest, which we stayed on till we were south of Cox Island and then tacked back towards Vancouver Island.
Through the course of the day, towards late afternoon, we stayed on this course on a heading to Sea Otter Cove. As the daylight was ending, the wind died off - we dropped the sails and made our heading under engine power straight for Quatsino Sound - still a few hours away.
The close hauled sailing around Cape Scott and across the channel had been great!
Now some more fun would begin.
The sun went down - no stars due to the clouds, but did see the Moon as it cast a reflection and that created its own horizon on the water. I have talked about this as an opportunity for a Moon sight that could occur after twilight. A bit hazy, a bit lumpy - no sight obtained.
As we got closer to Quatsino Sound, and the moonlight that we had to see with - there were low lying fog banks building ahead of us close to shore. On entering the Sound, we were enclosed in fog We organized ourselves to slow down, put a lookout at the bow and turned on the forward deck light. The fog wasn't so dense that we couldn't see a reasonable way ahead of us.
It was pretty interesting because we were on the lookout for other boat traffic as well as looking for the light on Kains Island. There are a few rock piles to steer between so the chart plotter and my Navionics app were in full use and operation. After a bit the fog cleared, the stars became visible and there was the Kain Island light off our port beam. It is amazing what you can't see in simple fog like this.
As we made the turn up Forward Inlet to Winter Harbour the fog filled in and we were back to restricted visibility sailing. Slow and steady we made our way into Winter Harbour, got out the spot light so we could see the dock as well as possible - made a turn to reconnaissance before Patrick made a final docking at 11:09 pm on the Public Dock.
Sailing in the fog was pretty interesting but we did all the right things and of course using the chartplotter was the only way to go. In the end it was quite exhilerating. Approaching the dock was a bit trick in the mist - it is always difficult to know exactly what you are seeing in the dark as well
Sorry - no other pictures because we were too busy sailing and navigating.
Whew - what a day! 4 hours of night sailing.
A stuck anchor chain, a great sail around the corner, a fog filled night entry into Quatsino and finally a visibility challenged docking in Winter Harbour - great job crew and another challenging night helming and arrival by Patrick!
I had decided to declare the next day a Harbour Day and stay in port.
Can't wait to get to bed and to sleep.
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| Day Five Routing |
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| Winter Harbour Moorage |
Wednesday, 27
September 2017 – Day 6 – Winter Harbour (D) (Harbour Day)
Slept in a bit this morning until the coffee preparations roused me.
Today the plan was to stay in port to relax a little after 5 days on the go. I wanted to take some Sun sights off the dock, do some docking maneuvers and try to get a current weather report before rounding Brooks Peninsula.
Brooks is notorious for bad weather stories. It is a big anomaly of land as it sticks out of the west side of Vancouver Island into the Pacific, catching anything that tries to pass it by.
Looking outside the boat it was still fog in a light mist. The belief was that it would burn off as the sun warmed things up.
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| The Fishing Lodge in Winter Harbour |
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| Winter Harbour Boardwalk |
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| Public Dock |
I knew that there was a store in the village, but with very restricted hours during this off season - I would go there later to check things out.
In the later part of the morning, I got everyone to take some Sun sights in order to get used to using a sextant. We would do sight reductions once we got some real sights, hopefully within the next few days as we sailed southwards.
Mid afternoon came around and we did some docking drills - departing and returning. Some were done by spring off - the correct way this time Ian! After that was done we went a little further out into the Harbour and noticed that I could get a cellular signal. It didn't last too long. We decided to go back out to Kains Island light because on entry the night before we had noticed a strong signal just after passing the lighthouse.
The scenery was spectacular in Quatsino Sound, well worth the diversion. At the light everyone was able to connect and get their updates and most importantly get an update on the next days weather.
We needed to get back in a hurry as the store was about to close, so I drove the boat all the way back to the dock. I got the gears from the crew because my docking was bang on - yes, I had no wind to blow me off which was what had happened during their docking drills. It might have been less successful for me as well.
I hurried over to the store, got a ball cap as souvenir, a few items and inquired about wireless access. I could sign on at the boat and pay a fee for access which I wanted to do so that we could get an updated synopsis on the crew's iPad.
We spent considerable time trying to connect wirelessly - it took so long in trying that we eventually gave up. On departure next day as we passed the light we could get an update on my cell phone.
Through the day I had explored different options for destinations. There were many but the one that made the most sense was to go about 75 nm to Queen Cove. Queen Cove is a very pretty and isolated anchorage. It would be another night entry from offshore. Would it be with or without fog?
There was a bit of a mystery that began yesterday on the sail across Cape Scott and was solved later today. Because of the heeling from the close hauled sail, a few things fell down and slid around on the sole floor - including us. This morning when we were going to make coffee, we noticed one of the coffee presses was missing. We looked everyone and the 2nd one was not to be found. We knew it was there yesterday in Bull Harbour because I disticly remember Robert dumping it off the stern. Through the course of the day everyone looked and looked - where could it have gone? It might have fallen overboard but how? Towards the end of the day someone had the need to crawl around on the floor and there under the centre pedestal was the 2nd coffee press. It had rolled under the open toe space and found a new home. End of mystery.
Early to bed due to the long day to come.
Thursday, 28
September 2017 – Day 7 – Winter Harbour to Queen Cove (A) – 76 nm
After our day off it was time to make tracks for Queen Cove. It would be another long day's passage. The day started clear and sunny and at 8:00 am we were off.
It wasn't long before it was noticed that the RPM indicator on the engine console panel was not registering. All the breakers were checked and we stood there mystified as to the cause. Just as we were passing the Kains Island light I sent Ian a quick text message inquiring about the problem before loosing reception.
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| Quatsino Sound |
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| Quatsino Sound Entrance Ahead |
The silly part of this problem soon became apparent when I checked the engine key and saw that it was not seated properly and all of a sudden the RPM indicator began registering. The key position was the issue - problem solved!
Sadly there was no wind. We engaged auto helm and leaned back to enjoy the spectacular scenery of Quatsino Sound.
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| Looking Back on Kains Island Lighthouse |
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| Some Fog Rolling Out of Quatsino Sound |
After a couple of hours we were able to see Solander Island just off the northwest corner of Brooks Peninsula. Solander, besides being an important weather station has a profile that comes across as menacing or should be in some skull like or evil inhabited island out of horror movie. The day was very nice so we would have a great view of it as we passed.
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| Brooks and Solander |
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| Solander Island - Am I Right? |
Today was a perfect day for Sun sights and everyone had a go taking real sights. Then we began the exercise of completing sight reductions. Later we would more Sun sights to obtain a fix from our running fix.
Evening came on and light started to disappear on our approach to Esperanza Inlet. It took a couple of hours but eventually we saw the ATONs that marked the entrance to Gillam Channel.
It was all chart plotter and Navionics on my tablet that navigated our passage. There were a couple of other boats in the vicinity. We kept a good eye on both. One in fact entered Gillam ahead of us and noticed that they seemed to be attemping to anchor in the Nuchalitz side of the channel. It was curious because there lights were visible at all times indicating that everything where they were was very low lying - something that would not offer much protection in any wind or sea.
We were in a good state with Niki on the helm and Robert on nav. I reminded the crew about use of digital versus paper navigation - Double Island has an important navigation light that is very visible and can be seen on all paper charts but it is NOT on any electronic chart. Someone should say something.
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| Double Island Light on Paper Charts |
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| No Double Island Light on Electronic Charts |
Well it was night, some challenging navigation ahead, Patrick on the helm - correct? That seemed to be the normal situation we were always in?
Sometime into the Channel I am pretty sure that I heard some whales blowing nearby in the dark. A good omen for wildlife observations to come - we have always seen whales in Esperanza.
Niki was on the helm and driving us deeper into the Inlet. After about an hour, we got into the tricky stuff, having to steer between Harbour and Fairway Islands and that's where the fun began.
I got David to get the spot light out and have it ready to illuminate our passage. As we completed the channel between the two islands we noticed that the far shore was very close in the darkness - too close for comfort. Niki swung the wheel to turn the boat quite quickly to start to avoid the shore. There was a bit of fog, more like a mist but it made close visibility a bit inaccurate. As we made the turn into Birthday Channel I took over the helm as everytime we turned it seemed that we had turned too much and had to correct which soon became an over-correction. It quickly became apparent that our chart plotter was very slow to refresh our position and there appeared to be quite a lag between signal and our actual position. So we slowed down to a crawl and made every turn as slow as possible because of waiting for the GPS lag to catch up to actual.
Well, this went on for about 45 minutes until we got through the very narrow and shallow channel into Queen Cove proper. Once into the Cove it was business as usual to find our spot and drop the anchor. Some of the crew noted that it appeared that the shoreline appeared to be very close to the boat and they were concerned about our swinging into it. I had experienced this before and said that they will see that there is plenty of room in the Cove and that things always seem closer at night. You will wake up in the morning and see the wide open space and say - what was the fuss all about!
We had done about 2.5 hours of night sailing with an arrival of 10:10 pm.
It had been a bit challenging what with the delay on the chartplotter - enhanced due to the tight space and mist. We all compared notes from our previous night entries and didn't recall similar delays. In fact, thinking about it afterwards, I should have compared my Navionics tablet with the chartplotter (which was the main navigation instrument) to see if the delay was the same. If not, it would have alleviated some of the challenge. The two prior years passage into Queen Cove were also done at night (one with a good mist) and there were no navigation issues with the chart plotter.
Time for beer o'clock - well earned by all.
I had to remind the crew that no one should leave the cockpit without telling anyone, and
also without their tether - both are not to be done at night when no one can
see, or knows, or can tie yourself off to prevent going overboard.
Tomorrow we would go up Tahsis Inlet into Tahsis. It was a short hop away and we hover about in Queen Cove a bit before departing.
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| Day 7 Routing |
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| Queen Cove Anchorage |
Friday, 29 September
2017 – Day 8 – Queen Cove to Tahsis (M) – 18 nm
Westview Marina in Tahsis was the next destination. Maybe I would receive a return message from Ian about the non-issue on the Engine Console panel. It takes some getting used to, to not always have a signal - more so in order to get weather reports. I have never been a big fan of weather reports from VHF, it takes a while if at all, to get weather of interest to your location. Possibly sat phones are a better option. Knowing what lighthouses are still manned would also be useful so that they could be contacted for weather updates.
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| Leaving Queen Cove - A Bit Cloudy, No Mountains |
Off to Tahsis at 10:00 am - let's go find some whales!
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| Looking West at Esperanza Inlet with Clearing Sky |
There was no wind, not much room to sail in the Inlet anyway. Leaving Queen Cove we observed a number of houses (quite isolated) and the former and possibly still occupied village of Queen Cove. This year there was no one out swimming in the brisk cold water.
There was some clearing in the sky but would later close in. Robert was on the helm and Patrick on nav - an easy day. Disappointingly, we saw no whales today - I thought it would be a sure thing!
Enroute we passed the small Esperanza and Ceepeecee communities - they had been more of a concern in the past. They looked like they were barely hanging on to their existence. After the Tahsis Narrows we would be heading north to the top of Tahsis Inlet.
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| Community of Esperanza |
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| Community of Ceepeecee |
As we approached Tahsis, I was challenged to locate Westview - it ended up being tucked in behind some other structures. I was looking and looking for it and actually thought that it had been torn down as I couldn't see it until we were much closer. Once behind the breakwater we had to do some maneuvering to get the boat to the fuel dock for a top up. Once fueled up, I walked and everyone else drove the boat to the slip - all was good. We hooked up power and topped up the water tanks.
We had arrived in Tahsis at 2:00 pm and had lots of time for another CelNav lesson, finding a Wi-Fi signal, showers, laundry, etc. I had found out that Westview offered a courtesy vehicle to drive into Tahsis store for a few items which I would do later.
I went back to the marina office area as this was where the best Wi-Fi signal was to be found. Text did not work and there were a few emails from home to catch up on.
A quieter and more relaxing day than some of our all day passages. Went to the store - not a great selection, possibly not a shipment day. Most communities have their preferred shopping day due to deliveries - which is not as regular as we are all used to. Deliveries to the West Coast are more difficult because of the remoteness and geography. They don't have cell phone service in Tahsis either.
Next day we were off to Hot Springs Cove. I relayed the stories of having docked there the past 2 years - being yelled at by the float plane pilot because we had parked the boat where we should but being advised that we didn't leave room for the 2nd plane in 2015 and being told that our boat was too big to park on the dock where a maximum of 40 foot was permitted - we were 50 foot in 2016. So I told the crew that if anyone at HSC asked - our boat measured out at 39 foot 11 inches - right?
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| Day 8 Routing |
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| Westview Marina (Tahsis) Moorage |
Saturday, 30
September 2017 – Day 9 – Tahsis to Hot Springs Cove (D) – 49 nm
Patrick was on helm and David on nav today - unfortunately no tricky night entries for Patrick today, just some Sun sights hopefully.
It had rained during the night and a bit of remaining drizzle as we left Westview at 8:05 am. Hot Springs Cove was an easy passage away.
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| A Barge Like Vessel Going to Tahsis |
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| Tahsis is Up There Somewhere |
Up until today on the west side of the island I had been using a scolpolamine patch behind my ear to prevent seasickness. It seemed to have worked but I don't know as the swells had been on the light side up until now. Things got a bit lumpier as we were alongside Hesquiat Peninsula just before Estevan Point. The lumpiness was starting to upset my stomach and I tried to fend it off but after going belwo to lie down awhile - I spewed into my head (toilet sic). Afterwards things were back to normal stomach wise - seems to be my norm, spew then am fine.
The area off Estevan Point shallows out and the swell lumps up here so that the swell increases a bit more. Not sure because I didn't ask but a bit of wind came up but the crew did not put up the sails for the final leg towards HSC.
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| See the COLREGS Quiz Below... |
What day shape do you have when you combine the tops of the hats of our two crew members?
If you answered with two balls stacked on top of each other meaning VESSEL NOT UNDER COMMAND - you would have been right.
After entering the entrance to the Hot Springs Cove - I saw the change area and rocks where the springs were. It is normally a 30 minute hike along the boardwalk (from 2016 notes). I think I had cleverly said it was only 20 minutes, nonetheless everyone was really keen to go.
Patrick did a good job of docking our 39 foot 11 inch boat. We had arrived at 5:15 pm. I suggested we wait till the early evening when boat and float plane visitors would have ceased coming.
With flashlights and bathing gear off we went. There are 2 pools and my best is 20 minutes in the lower pool (not as hot). Everyone was refreshed and ready for dinner back at the boat.
After some discussion, we had decided to go to Tofino. I had been there a number of times over the years on Family vacations. This would be the first time by water. Previous years on the passage we had always passed Clayquot Sound offshore admiring the view of the spectacular, emerald coast.
My study of nautical charts and guides had always shown that to get to Tofino was an interesting navigational challenge. We had the crew to deal with that.
Unfortunately no pictures of HSC - enjoying the springs too much!
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| Day 10 Routing |
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| HSC Moorage and Trail to the Springs |
Sunday, 1 October
2017 – Day 10 – Hot Springs Cove to Tofino (M) – 26 nm
During morning breakfast, there was a knocking on the boat. I went up to find a fellow and I guess one of his kids standing on the dock. It ended up that he was from the First Nations community across the Cove and he was a Guardian that looked after the HSC Park. I told him that I had left the park fee in the box up the trail. He inquired about the length of our boat and I told him that it was 39 foot 11 inches - he looked at me quizzically, or was that disbelievingly? I told him that we were heading out shortly which seemed to defer any further challenge. Next year I think someone will start bringing a measuring tape to ensure that their senses hadn't been misplaced when asking another boater what the length of their boat was. Maybe I should bring along my own tape measure - it is a special architect's tape measure that is flexible and will give you any measurement that you want (sic).
We left at 9:50 am.
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| Departing Hot Springs Cove - What a Day! |
David was on helm and Niki on nav. Navigation would be tricky as we negotiated offshore rock piles and shallow banks and shoals as we went further inshore towards Tofino.
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| Outliers of Islets, Rocks and Submerged Rockpiles To Be Avoided |
Surprisingly, and uncharacteristically for this passage, we picked up a bit of wind before going inshore and rolled out the headsail for a bit of sailing - yahoo!
After entering Russell Channel we spotted a number of whale watching boats and of course the occasional blow of Gray Whales - finally! The navigation was excellent all the way to Tofino - Patrick and Niki were working together on fixes and courses.
Depth of water would be the final tricky part of the passage across Deadman Pass and the final approach into Tofino. I had preferred the Public 4th Street Dock but phone calls were not answered and on the pass by all slips were occupied. I had also called ahead to the Tofino Marina Resort where there was a slip available on an outer dock. Current was an issue as we approached the dock and I had David do another approach to get a better line in.
Once tied up I went into the office to confirm cost and other issues (showers, Wi-Fi, the usual suspects). I found the cost to be a bit high for this time of year - it was probably the pretty tony nature of the marina. Arrival was logged at 3:00 pm.
One of the issues was the depth of water under the boat for an upcoming low tide. The marina manager helped by telling me what depth had been surveyed and after a bit of number crunching I concluded we were good.
Something we would need to consider when leaving next day would be the current at the dock - there was a good bit of water flowing past us into Browning Passage just east of us. We may have a tricky departure against this flow in the morning.
The plan was to pick up a few groceries in town as our final shopping expedition for the trip. With our Wi-Fi connection we were able to check closing time for the Co-op. It was Sunday so it might close early. Niki and I would pursue this adventure a little later after beer o'clock.
After getting our shopping list together, Niki and I did the 20 minute hike along the highway into the main centre of Tofino. It was all very familar to me - some of the business, the old growth cedar supported by wires. It was a very active place at this time of the year - a lot of people about. Today's warm and sunny weather was a real draw, even for us sea going nautical types.
One of many new things that I observed was the addition at the back of the Co-op, with a new entrance as well. The Co-op was much bigger and seemed to offer much more than my previous visits. It would have been fun to stay in Tofino longer, especially to get to the Common Loaf Bakery which was always a treat (sic) and a regular stop.
Loaded down with a number of grocery bags we got back to the boat to continue with beer o'clock (at least for me).
After a relaxing evening - no stress with weather or schedule, only the morning current to depart.
Not many photos today - too busy sailing, navigating, whale watching and having beer o'clock.
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| Day 10 Routing |
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| Tofino Moorage |
Monday, 2 October
2017 – Day 11 – Tofino to Bamfield (A) – 44 nm
Everyone was keen that we go to Bamfield next. Didn't have to worry about food or fuel again. Bamfield is very picturesque either in the main inlet or even Grappler Inlet just to the north.
We left Tofino in sunshine and very calm seas - no sailing to be done today.
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| A Good Current On Departure |
Niki was on the helm and Robert on navigation. You will have noted by now that the helm and navigation roles were more important to me in the scheme of things than galley and cleanup.
We were ready and left at 9:00 am on the button. Niki was able to expertly negotiate the current off the slip and into the channel that would take us alongside and past the townsite, out through Templar Channel and past the glorious coast line of the Esowista Peninsula.
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| Tofino and the 4th Street Dock |
It was an easy shot southwards in fabulous weather. This part of the Island is always amazing to see whether from land or sea.
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| Lone Cone on Meares Island and Tofino Behind |
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| Passing the Broken Islands of Barkley Sound |
Of course it goes without saying that we took numerous Sun sights including our first Noon sights!
Passing the Broken Group Islands and north into Trevor Channel got us into Bamfield Inlet late afternoon. There was a bit of a glitch dropping the anchor whereby the anchor crew thought it was more advisable to drop the chain rode all in a pile on top of itself. Not a good plan. We pulled it all up and laid it down in a line the proper way.
Arrival was 4:30 pm
We had an easy evening enjoying the mid inlet views and locale of Bamfield - both sides of it.
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| Our Bamfield Inlet Anchorage |
The plan was to get on the way quite early with a 7:00 am departure so that we could make the long passage to Victoria the next day. It would be a night arrival - is Patrick on the helm?
Early to bed and early to rise. Double duvet here I come! Every had same option or had sleeping bags for extra covers at night.
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| Day 11 Routing |
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| Bamfield Anchorage |
Tuesday, 3 October
2017 – Day 12 – Bamfield to Victoria (D) – 94 nm
Raising the anchor was a challenge as the line segment of the rode was out a bit and we couldn't pull it in to get some chain around the windlass. To help out we got some line, tied it on the line part of the rode and took that back to a winch in the cockpit. After a bit of winching the chain was firmly engaged in the windlass and up she came. The chain was so heavy that we just couldn't haul it in and the windlass just wouldn't grab onto the line. Problem solved and off we went.
Schedule wise we were in good shape but would need to put in the long day to get to Victoria. This would keep the final days pretty short and very manageable. Port Renfrew and Sooke Harbour are the only places to stop overnight in a pinch if needed.
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| Leaving Barkley Sound |
So with a 7:05 am departure, breakfast would be a quick grab on the go and engine hours check since last refueling in Tahsis meant that all was good. Robert was on the helm and Patrick had navigation duties.
Let's get find some whales.
As the daylight increased it showed a clear sky and the seas were calm with what? No wind, again today! Remember all that high pressure stuff that we mentioned off the NOAA synopsis a few days ago. We were still to suffer more good weather and no sailing. Everyone took it very well as the scenery, and the good weather, made what we had all very enjoyable.
The west side as I have said before is spectacular to see form the water. There a number of lighthouses along the way - Cape Beale, Pachena, Carmanah, Sheringham and Race Rocks. All very picturesque from the water. All good to know that the exist in challenging whether especially as they were established in the days after the west coast had become know as the 'graveyard of the pacific' from wrecks, groundings and many misadventures for ships and people. The West Coast Trail initially came about as a trail for survivors from wrecks to scramble ashore and and make their way back to civilization in Victoria.
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| Cape Beale Lighthouse |
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| Some Great Celestial Navigators At Work |
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| Me Too!!! Maybe Not So Great |
We would have none of that of course as the weather was not an issue.
More Sun sights including Noon sights for fixes - some very good results by the crew. They were starting to get the hang of it and I had to help through some bumps less and less.
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The Noon Sight Being Reduced - What Is One Ball as Day Shape?
Yes - At Anchor, But We Are Not... |
Except for the scenery, sighting some Humpbacks (not as many as in 2016) the drove southwards was uneventful.
Patrick worked out the current situation through Race Passage, we would be bucking a good current as we went through. We could also imagine a Race Rocks beer as we passed the lighthouse, right? The Race Rocks beer mimics the horizontal stripes (blue) of the actual lighthouse (black).
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| The Sun Setting to the West in the Strait of Juan de Fuca |
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| Taking a Moon Sight - Our Flashlight in the Sky |
Once through Race Passage it would be a clear run into Victoria Harbour - a lot of lights in the city but I knew from a distance what we needed to be steering towards.
After entering the Harbour we had to navigate a bit of a slalom course through the Aerodrome buoys and finally into the dock. It was busier than in previous years but we finally got an outside slip to dock - you could see better in the dark on the outside. It was an 11:40 pm arrival, yes, it had been a long day. We had put in 4.5 hours of night sailing.
Time for a Race Rocks beer to unwind. We could afford a later start as the next day's destination was Ganges - everyone was keen to go there, as was I.
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| Day 12 Routing |
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| Our Victoria Harbour Moorage |
Wednesday, 4 October
2017 – Day 13 – Victoria to Ganges (M) – 39 nm
Well the next couple of days would take us into more familiar and home territory as the circumnaviagtion of Vancouver Island was winding down. The next destination the crew wanted was Ganges on Saltspring Island. I had already been there 3 times the past summer and am always happy to go there again.
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| Seaplane Dock in Victoria Harbour |
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| Ferry From Seattle |
Weather looked good, sailing might happen today and it wasn't a full day to get to Ganges. After a leisurely breakfast we were again off at 10:00 am. ETA was late afternoon.
Patrick was on the helm (sorry, no tricky night entry today) and David on navigation.
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| Mt. Baker Beyond Across Haro Strait |
Once through Baynes Channel and into Haro Strait we started to get some wind, so up the sails went. It was a nice little breeze and I spent the time on the foredeck enjoying it and the scenery. I thought to myself that this is a great way to end the passage with a nice little sail up through the SGI.
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| A Nice Sail Up Haro Strait |
Well you know my adage - whoever is on the helm and loses the wind, doesn't get to helm again. It wasn't any more than 20 minutes of nice sailing before Patrick lost the wind - you are officially out of the job Patrick!
Steering northwards alongside the Traffic Separation Scheme of Haro Strait soon took us into Swanson Channel, across Satellite Channel and finally Captain Passage on the approach into Ganges Harbour.
In my travels I had not been to Ganges at this time of the year before and was thinking how great it was to be here in the off season. During the past summer in the 3 prior trips it had been pretty busy and I was only able to stay on my preferred Kanaka Wharf (Public Dock) one of the three times. The other two were at Ganges Marina. I prefer Kanaka for a number of reasons - location, cost and better condition. Showers are a ways off but that's okay.
Anyway on arrival at Kanaka at 4:30 pm, we saw an inside slip and got organized to dock there. As we slid in we noticed that a number of the slips had signs on them saying not to be used. Besides driving a 50 foot boat around in tight quarters and waiting a slip regardless, we drove the boat in and tied up in one of the not to be used slips. I would go to the Harbourmaster's office to argue our case to stay where we were.
As we were trying to park the boat there seemed to be an issue with reverse so I ended up taking over the helm to reverse and bring the boat alongside to dock before getting off to determine if we were staying here or not.
Once in the office and hearing that we couldn't stay in the slip - at this time of year the number of transient boat traffic spaces was greatly reduced and spaces were reserved for locals would be parking there boats there for the winter - and the spot and been reserved for someone coming in later in the evening.
The slip was good but I thought afterwards that it might get pretty noisy in the morning when the seaplanes start up - it wasn't the case. We were up ourselves before things started to happen.
An alternate location was offered to us on outside of the seaplane dock. I had always seen boats there before and had wondered about that. This spot was ours if we could fit. So we all wandered over and stepped off the remaining dock length - no problem. I hurried back to our boat because I wanted to get it moved and deal with office details so that I could get the shower pass card for the crew before the office closed.
Got the boat moved and tied up, paid up at the office (it started with a '6' - much better), and now we could start to wind down and enjoy the locale of Ganges without dealing with stuff and moving of boats.
Later in the evening we would all go over to the Oystercatcher for a very nice dinner outside among the heaters in the dark evening of Ganges Harbour - very pleasant and I was treated to dinner by Niki and Patrick - thanks again!
Next day's destination was an even shorter run up Trincomali Channel to Silva Bay. The forecast was for more of the same, no wind. Our timing would need to deal with the current going through Gabriola Passage at the top end of Valdes Island.
Not many more nights remaining under the double duvet.
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| Day 13 Routing |
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| Ganges Harbour Moorage |
Thursday, 5 October
2017 – Day 14 – Ganges to Silva Bay (A) – 28 nm
Yes, yes - I was running a pretty sloppy ship when the planned departure wasn't until 11:00 am. There was a good reason - Gabriola Passage slack wasn't until early evening - so there! We had plenty of time to get there. Besides our very diligent Celestial Navigators were also busy completing their sight reductions.
I was glad that our crew decided to go to Silva Bay as the return passage would take us out into the Strait of Georgia - a much more interesting way to end the passage.
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| Hard at Work... |
Well having loads of time meant also that people were about doing various things - checking things out in Ganges, showers, I got some books and a Leatherman at my favourite hardware store.
David was on the helm and Niki on navigation today.
The bad news was that our helmsman was still in the shower when we were about to leave. He came running and made the leap off the dock onto the boat (sic).
We made use of the easy drive up Trincomali to learn about sextant check and mirror adjustments - all very important in the Celestial Navigation scheme of things.
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| Checking the Mirrors |
A couple of times we rolled out the headsail but it wasn't very fruitful in the light conditions.
The ship graveyard that I had seen in June and July, but gone in August - was back again with a couple of ships at anchor in the Channel, awaiting resolution of legal proceedings due to a bankruptcy. Maybe they will still be there next year?
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| Passing Through the Ship Graveyard |
Pretty soon by late afternoon we were about to go through Gabriola Passage, we were there at the last of the flood into the Strait of Georgia. A bit of a tug pushing us a long for a ride.
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| Going Through Gabriola Passage |
Silva Bay is quite nice. I have been there only once before on the land side. It was busy but there was enough room for us on the north side. Arrival time was 4:00 pm.
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| Silva Bay Anchorage |
The weather forecast was favourable for some wind the next day so that was something to look forward to on the final day's sailing northwards and back to Nanaimo.
Except for the wasps, we spent a nice evening in the cockpit enjoying the scene of Silva Bay.
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| Day 14 Routing |
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| Silva Bay Anchorage |
Friday, 6 October
2017 – Day 15 – Silva Bay to Nanaimo (M) – 16 nm
Well, today was the final day. It was cloudy, looked like rain and there was what appeared to be a Southeast wind up the Strait, about 15 to 20 Kts. Yahoo!
A leisurely breakfast and we were off at 9:50 am. Niki was on the helm (home territory for her and Patrick) and Robert did no navigating - an unannounced day off I guess.
It would be a short hop northwards before turning west and following the BC Ferry route into Departure Bay.
After getting through Commodore Passage and clearing the islands - we rolled out the headsail and killed the engine for a great sail north.
After getting past Entrance Island I started thinking that we should be gybing west and laying in a course into Nanaimo. Niki said no, hold this course. It worked out very well because we ended up with a nice lay line in, avoiding ferries, Snake Island and having a nice wind angle all the way into Departure Bay. I guess I was more impatient to get back than everyone else. We really wanted to spend more time sailing anyway.
We had a bit of heel on the boat heading west which caused the little bit of water in the forward main cabin bilge high water alarm to go off - no worries. There was too much good action up top for me to stay below and sort it out.
Reaching Departure Bay, we rolled up the sail and had Niki motor in to the Fuel Dock. After fueling up the next and final task was to park Belle Serena. I had called the office a while before but had no answer. We knew where to go and Niki did a great job driving the boat astern and into the slip. The docking was so precise that I stepped off without leaping at 1:15 pm - well done!
Beth had organized a team to take our lines on arrival - thanks all!
What an adventure!
Time to get the crew packed and on their way home again. It took Patrick many trips with the cart (I notice these things).
Niki and Patrick, and David were very generous.
We had to solicit Beth's help to boost Patrick's truck as the battery was delivering - thanks Beth!
It was hard to believe that 15 days and 700 nautical miles around Vancouver Island was completed. A lot of passage making, navigating, sights and comradeship on board.
Everyone did a great job on their Celestial Navigation. The challenge will be to keep it up.
To finish the day on my part, I completed and handed in my paperwork - log, receipts and invoice.
Rest of the day was spent tidying up the boat, some packing, doing laundry, eating some remaining food and to bed for the last night under the double duvet.
No photos today - too busy sailing don't you know!
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| Day 15 Routing |
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| Stones Marina Moorage in Nanaimo |
The final GPS track for the entire circumnavigation as follows...
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| About 700 Nautical Miles Around |
Saturday, 7 October
2017 – Travel Day – Nanaimo to Toronto
A very quiet day - hardly anyone about. No dock staff. No office staff. It was Thanksgiving weekend. My final day.
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| A Quiet Day at the Marina |
Everything happened very slowly as there was no rush. My airporter was coming mid afternoon for the flight to Vancouver and then the red eye to Toronto.
The funny thing was that my Family were en route to Kamloops this very day, having flown in to Vancouver earlier in the morning. They were driving and texts that I had received they were detoured due to an accident of the Coquihalla Highway.
Ian was puttering about getting Baraka Too ready for a family sail outing to Desolation Sound, leaving the next day. He came by for a quick chat and a goodbye. Didn't say anything about the springing off peccadillo two weeks ago, or the RPM indicator issue that I receive a number of texts from him on - outlining many simple and escalating serious problems and resolutions of what ended up being a key placement issue. I did phone him from HSC after receiving his texts there and putting him at ease about the issue. Well all I can say is if that was the worst that happens - no worries then.
I put charts, instruments and other equipment away, did my final packing - watch a few storm clouds and rain pass over the mountains. I dug out my rain gear in case it was needed in my trips with baggage up the dock.
Some of the dock staff at work...
And began the journey back home.
The majority of the time I have had no issues with travel but the red eye to Toronto ended up being a nightmare of a flight. I sat (across the aisle) next to a woman with a baby who ended up chatting with all of the adjoining passengers about babies and baby stuff for the entire flight. The baby wasn't an issue - she was. No one could sleep through all of that! A couple of times I rudely told her to keep quiet - no go. I gave up trying to sleep after a while. I don't think you are supposed to use red eyes at a chatty forum and keep everyone around awake - just my opinion.
Got into Toronto early next morning tired, wired and happy to be off the plane.
In a couple of days I would be at the airport again picking up the kids from the end of their short vacation in BC while Margot spent a few more days there on the job.
Some Post Passage Observations
Looking back on the passage, there were quite a few things that I learned new things about. Some significant and others more than useful...
From Patrick and Niki (probably mostly Patrick the Practical) - when getting ready to clean up after a meal, mostly a messy one, never stack the dishes before doing them so that you don't have to do BOTH sides, because the bottom was always clean anyways. I have always done both sides in the past and now never again!!!
David, Patrick and Niki all had to get a strobe light for their PFD's for night sailing. David was the master in figuring out where it should go and how to use that darn clip that I could never figure out where it goes or how to use it, especially when the PFD inflates - if the strobe is on the outside when it inflates it end up being hidden! It was probably correctly described somewhere in the instructions that I didn't read. Thanks David...
Without voicing it on any earlier passages, it had always been an issue on how to keep the prepared coffe that remained in the coffee press warm enough until the next (2nd) cup. Never again, thanks to Patrick and Niki for bringing along their carafe - and EVERYTHING else that they brought...
Our crew had a great approach to weather, going so far as to chart and graph barometer changes very regularly, several times throughout the day. It was very interesting to track and observe the changes. Any big moves that happened were towards the high side which meant good weather - not necessarily good sailing weather...
With our heavy reliance on engine use on this passage, I was super aware of anything to do with the engine. Especially the long days and number of night entries we made into tricky navigational locations. We were very diligent on engine checks, keeping track of engine hours, refueling and drips in the pan. Belle Serena was a dream and never an issue for us. Over the coming winter I want to find a good marine engine course so that I can deal with engine issues should they need arise.
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| Regular Morning Engine Check |
This crew also had a great approach to weather, regularly checking the synopsis on the NOAA web site - when we had web access. It wasn't always the case. In fact I was a bit disappointed when in Bull Harbour and trying to get a VHF weather report - nothing was available. I should have known that I could have explored other options - the folks at the Bull Harbour dock, the Lightkeeper at Cape Scott - before taking the plunge around the cape. I still haven't figured out if there is a scheduled weather update or a continuous marine broadcast (CMB).
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| Synopsis from NOAA |
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How important is a good weather forecast in this part of the world? VERY!!! Have a look at the following report not 2 weeks after our completed passage. WOULD NOT HAVE WANTED TO BE IN THAT!!! Good grief - the wind and the waves were outlandish!!!
When I was preparing this blog I was a bit surprised when I saw this chart plotter routing on entry (the red line) to Port Hardy. Remember what Ian says - 'you are always navigating'. If you are not - you should be. I was surprised that on entry going past the starboard ATON on how close (RIGHT OVER) we came to a submerged rock. You can see on the tide chart that we had 11 feet of water as cover over Chart Datum - so no worries as the rock is not depth labelled other than depth nearby is about 5 feet. Still, my normal default for transiting channels is to be in the middle (the green line) and not to one side like this one. I was just surprised to see this afterwards.
Before entering Quatsino Sound, at dusk and without an horizon. We had a view of the Moon that was casting light on the ocean so that the horizon was visible. I tried to get the sight with my sextant but the Moon was a bit hazy and there was a bit of jostling of the boat in the water - couldn't get a sight. It wouldn't have been of much value as would have an LOP only. Not a good kind of a sight in our situation so close to the Sound and shore anyway for real navigation.
I knew before going on this passage, and ultimately confirmed, that the only guidebooks that would be needed would be the Dreamspeaker Guides. They were accessed and referred to everyday, in fact sometimes several times during the day. There were other guidebooks on board but never used. Thorough and complete with everything that was needed for a safe anchorage, transit or passage...around the entirety of Vancouver Island.
A wasp prevention technique that really works, espresso coffee lit up and smoldering - we did this in Silva Bay - thanks Patrick!
Something that would have made the hikes back from the grocery store in Port Hardy and Tofino would have been a foldable shopping cart, for next time...
Ranger cookies are the best, not that one can say no to any kind of cookie when underway.
Patrick had some very useful navigation tools, a magnifying ruler would come in very handy when trying to read the very small print in the Nautical Almanac and Sight Reduction Table.
Some things to consider and prepare for next time...
- enquire of crew for meal allergies before food order
- info email to students about expectations, equipment, CelNav reading, revisit and refresh prior knowledge and experience
- determine typical (normal) fuel consumption rate
- what happened to reverse gear linkage?
- determine manned lighthouses for weather reports
- determine CMB (continuous marine broadcast) on west coast for weather
- I want to be more diligent about having the crew take charge of as many aspects as possible - and being as thorough as possible in completing and preparing all aspects required for passage planning and passage making
Did you notice how all of the photos were expertly taken, all with perfectly level horizons??? Not so - many (most) were not level because of running seas and cleverly corrected post passage!!!
Whew! What a trip!!!
