Preboard - 9 June 2017
After a long wait in Vancouver waiting for my connection to Nanaimo I was finally on the ground with a pickup by Lorraine at the airport. It was a clear and sunny day in Nanaimo.
There was some front office paperwork to do, met a couple of the students and down to the boat to meet the rest. We would have Karen, Ian, Gillian, Josh and Jim on board for this trip.
We had a bit of an impromptu overview of what we would do over the next 5 days including some protocols and briefings on various things like safety, goals of the course and alcohol. We were all in agreement, set a destination for Clam Bay the next day and went to the classroom to load up on charts, instruments and other documents. The first assignment was to determine Dodd Narrows slack and our departure time. This one would be too easy.
I set Ian and Karen to start mapping out the route on the charts and talked about various passage planning issues.
It was dinner time and most everyone went to the pub. I had eaten a bit already en route and was wanting to do a once over on the boat to be sure that I knew where everything was and to be able to ask Ian any questions before leaving next day.
The temperatures for the night were to be cool so the heater was fired up for a while before finally getting to bed after a long travel day. I should have kept the heater going all night as I woke up being cold mid way through. I fired it up reluctantly as I thought for sure that it would wake everyone but apparently not. The students seemed to be able to sleep on the boat better than I can.
Day 1 - Nanaimo to Clam Bay - 22.3 nm
Next morning with a departure target of 0945 we set about getting ready on various duties - water tanks, navigation, vessel checkout, confirmation of vessel operation, final weather check and other miscellaneous stuff.
Before we knew it was time to be off. Weather was clear, a little bit of wind and Dodd Narrows awaited.
Getting out of the slip took an extra hand by me to make the turn. Shari was looking apprehensively from the dock? Not at all.
For the day Jim was on the helm, Karen and Ian on nav, Gillian and Josh on cooking and I was on clean-up.
We were following Ian's pilotage plan out of the channel and out into Nanaimo Harbour proper. After crossing Northumberland Strait we hit Dodd Narrows right on time. There was no impact as we drove through without a ripple of current. Not many other boats, and once through the Southern Gulf Islands lay before us.
En route to Clam Bay we did various educational things at various times such as...
- how a sailboat sails
- points of sail
- sail trim
- heaving-to
- anchoring
...this all in support of what we would be doing for the rest of the day leading up to our anchorage in Clam Bay on the east side of Thetis Island.
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| Light Conditions in Trincomali Channel |
As we made progress south in Stuart Channel at first under motor and then under sail - we basically tacked back and forth in light winds to give everyone a hand on sailing and helming the vessel. Raising the sails was effortless with the furled in-mast main sail. We followed all the basic instruction to ease the main sheet, boom vang and topping lift to let the boom seek its own level for the outhaul to bring the mainsail out. Rolling it up was a bit more work and certainly wouldn't be as easy as dropping the main into the bag and lazy jacks.
We made our way through a ship graveyard that seems to have been created for some defunct shipping concern. The 4 ships that we encountered were all staffed by a skeleton crew and we imagined a dreary and boring existence on board until legal issues got resolved.
We did an anchoring chalk talk while hove-to in preparation for our anchorage in Clam Bay.
On arrival there were a few boats on the south side of the bay which was our destination. We checked water depth, tide and determined our target rode. After circling around near the day beacons into the Cut - we dropped, laid out, pulled out and set the anchor. All looked good for a comfortable stay.
It was a well earned beer o'clock with chips and dip.
As always when camping out - dinner was great - bbq'd chops!
Soon it was time for bed and time to catch up on a bit of sleep. It was a very good day for all in the SGI.
Day 2 - Clam Bay to Ganges - 20.0 nm
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| Heading South from Clam Bay |
After a good night's sleep through a quiet night on the water, it was time for the great Canadian breakfast of sausages, bacon, eggs, toast, juice and coffee. We made a note on the fault list for the boat to have a 2nd coffee press for a boat of this size and number - people were getting ferocious having to wait for the 2nd half of their 1st cup!!!
Karen and Ian were on the helm, Josh and Gillian on nav, I was on meals and Jim on clean-up.
The day was clear and winds appeared very light. We likely would not get much sailing done today. After raising anchor, our destination was an overnight stay at the Kanaka Wharf which is the public dock in Ganges. Ganges is a favourite stop of mine for all the things to be found - namely shore power, WiFi, Mouat's, Thrifty's, Saltspring Coffee, the bakery, the Oystercatcher, the Treehouse Cafe, a liquor store and SHOWERS. Not that after 1 day we needed a shower.
Josh and Gillian did some basic nav including a 3 point fix - the lesson here became to keep a sharp order to what was being sighted so that the fix would work out.
We motored into Ganges just after noon and headed right for the long outer finger at Ganges Marina so that we could do some docking practice. Everyone did 3 coming and going off the dock which included springing off with the stern. No crashes and everyone did very well. The wind came up after a while which meant that we needed to maintain good throttle to the wind in order to not lose the bow.
Now on our way to Kanaka Wharf we spotted a spot on the inner finger, it was the exact same approach and rigging that we had just been practicing. Ian took us in like the experienced pro we had just created. After tying up and connecting to shore power, people sort of just went their own way about town - some for food, some for drink and some for chocolate.
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| Skookumchuck at Kanaka Wharf, Ganges |
Jim was very kind to pursue the perfect salmon for dinner the next night.
It was a leisurely afternoon puttering about here and there. Eventually everyone wandered back for a late lunch in the cockpit of the boat - sandwiches and veggies, and a beer.
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| Chilling on the Kanaka Dock in Ganges |
I made dinner that night - chicken thighs, baked potatoes, mixed veggies, salad and bread - all eaten out in the cockpit of the boat in Ganges Harbour. Great banter and enjoying the locale. The weather forecast was showing some nice winds and clear skies for the next day, so the outlook was shaping up to be very good.
The plan was to head out Captain Passage, crossing Satellite Channel to Swanson Channel in order to round South Pender Island and come up Plumper Sound, again crossing Satellite Channel and pick up a mooring buoy in Montague Harbour. The plan was to try and have a different kind of anchorage each night. It was a roundabout way to get to Montague but the sailing would be upwind and downwind if things developed as forecast.
Some of the folks went to the Treehouse Cafe for music, the rest of us hung out to enjoy the atmosphere of the marina. Pretty sound we were all in bed ready for another day.
Day 3 - Ganges to Montague Harbour via South Pender Island - 50.2 nm
I got up early for a quick shower, others picked up a few provisions and soon we were ready to depart. The departure as planned to spring off didn't quite happen the way it was intended - we instead did a prop walk turn in the tight space - surprising a few people when our 40 foot boat did a 360 within the two fingers. All good.
On duty today Gillian and Josh on helm, me on nav (sic), Jim on cooking and Karen and Ian on clean-up.
Motoring out, my anticipation was building because the winds were light to moderate. Once out of the harbour, the sails went up and we had a GLORIOUS sail all the way south to Tilly Point off South Pender Island.
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| Lunch of Soup and a Sandwich while Sailing across Swanson Channel |
Everyone enjoyed the sail - helm was changed up every hour. During the sail both Gillian and Karen set the bar with their +9 Knots SOG - the boys were chasing the girls the whole time.
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| A Nice House at Tilly Point on South Pender Island |
At Tilly Point, we weren't pointing as high as I would have liked so we took a break sailing and motored eastwards to the beginning of Plumper Sound which was between South Pender and Saturna Island.
Now the wind was a following wind, at least 12 Knots, and we set to some downwind sailing - gybing back and forth between South Pender and Saturna. Everyone did really well and fully understand what was needed to hold a straight course and to perform a controlled gybe.
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| West Side of Saturna Island in Plumper Sound |
Once we got to the north end of the sound where it narrowed down, we dropped the sail in a brisk wind and motored the rest of the way to Montague Harbour. There were lots of buoys that were free and we were successful on the first approach to pick one up and tie up.
Jim now went o work on bbq'ing his salmon - it was delicious - thanks Jim! we ate outside in the sunny splendour of the Montague scenery. Josh had bought a crab trap, bait, permit and instruction while in Ganges, and decided to drop it off the stern to try his luck, or was it to be his poor luck?
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| When Do We Eat??? |
After a while the trap was pulled with no crab in sight. The sardines were added to the bait mix and over the side she went again.
As it unfolded, the boat swung a bit and it looke as if the trap line might have gotten caught on the rudder. After several tugs the trap would not come clear so it was decided that rather risking more wrapping of the line - the trap was cut lose and dropped to the bottom thereby eliminating the possibility of fouling and a crab dinner. It was back to primary school of crabbing for Josh - always a lesson to be learned from every setback or mistake.
The plan for the next day was to get to Pirate's Cove which have us within striking distance of Dodd Narrows for slack and to give us a stern tie anchorage. The key would be get to the Pirate's Cove bar as late as possible as there would be a low low water at mid afternoon.
Time for bed and a good night's sleep after a long and tiring day.
Day 4 - Montague Harbour to Pirate's Cove - 30.4 nm
We woke up today with more cloud in the skies, lighter conditions and less wind in the forecast.
Today's assignments were Jim on nav, Karen and Ian on meals and Josh and Gillian on clean-up. I was on helm but put everyone else to work instead.
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| More Fun Than Work I Think |
We spent a few hours motoring north in Trincomali Channel with a fix and running fix by Jim. After meeting up with the ships in the graveyard again - we put up the sails for some light wind sailing.
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| A Ship Graveyard in Trincomali |
As mentioned before, the bar on entry to Pirate's Cove would be a low low water. There is no depth of water on the charts but we deduced that with a nominal water cover plus height of tide we would shoot for at least a 7 foot tide to cross. We got to Pirate's Cove pretty early and saw another sailboat try to go in around llw - soon to stop, reverse and go back out. We carried on instead towards Degnen Bay at the head of Trincomali to have a look around. Gabriola Passage was a half hour from maximum flood with some affect on our approach but masterfully helmed by Gillian as we came and went at Degnen Bay. It was a very interesting anchorage, quite tight but a very folksy air about it.
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| Degnen Bay Side Trip |
It was back to Pirate's Cove to test the bar water level. On approach I was still a little nervous so decide to waste a bit more time to go up towards False Narrows and on returning felt confident that we could make our entry.
Back we went this time crossing the bar with 8 feet on the depth sounder - not sure what calibration margin of safety was built into the depth sounder as I forgot to check when we left Nanaimo.
Now it was time to find a spot on the east side of the cove so that we could tuck in behind a clump of trees on the shore for protection overnight. Spotting some chain lines on shore became a challenge for some (me) but in the end picked a line of chain close to the dinghy dock but away from a neighbouring boat. Anchor was dropped and set - then the dinghy party went to work taking the line to shore and around the chain line. For the team on the boat there appeared to be too much jocularity and guffawing while on the job to get the line fed through. Beer o'clock was awaiting!
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| There Was More Laughing Going On Here Than Should Have Been Maybe??? |
Once the line was fed through and secured to the boat cleat - al was good and we could start to wind down for the day. Pirate's Cove is a very pretty anchorage and not too busy on thsi night. A few more boats had arrived but they pretty much went to anchor in the middle or stern tie on the west side.
We had done a bit of sailing today but felt that the forecast for the next day would bring us another good day for sailing.
A very nice spaghetti and meat sauce dinner was had to close off another great day.
Day 5 - Pirate's Cove to Nanaimo - 19.9 nm
After a delicious breakfast by Chef Josh we set to pull in the stern tie, raise anchor and leave across the bar. Height of tide was approaching to be about the same as the day before - so no issues. Today was overcast a bit, cooler but with very nice winds to be seen on the water.
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| Is Anyone Hard at Work Here? |
Until departure time, I went over everyone's workbooks for a final review of content and questions.
Today Jim was on the helm, Karen and Ian on nav.
We motored out into Stuart Channel, the winds were about 15 Knots so we put up the sails with a bit of a reef. Everyone really enjoyed the upwind sail - both Gillian and Karen working to enhance their speed demon status already earned. The boys were still chasing the girls. We tacked backed and forth towards Thetis Island and when it looked that we would be about 2 hours away from Dodd Narrows, turned the boat, hauled in the main sail and sailed downwind with only the head sail.
The winds were still brisk but the downwind sail was very much an affair of great ease. We got to Dodd Narrows about a half hour before slack and drove through the last of the flood after dropping the head sail. You could look behind us to see the forming queue all leading towards Dodd.
Once into Northumberland Strait, we emptied the holding tanks for the last time, motored into Nanaimo Harbour - prepared the rigging for the fuel dock and got Ian to take us in the final way.
Ian did a great job docking, we kind of topped off the fuel tanks - it is as if we had hardly used any fuel. Then proceeded back to the slip we left 5 days ago. Docking was a challenge with a wind and a very narrow channel and slip to deal with. Ian did his best but I felt I needed to take over to make the final turn and couldn't have done without some assistance from the NYC team on the docking lines.
Whew - what an adventure!
We made ourselves some lunch, eliminated some leftovers and rewarded ourselves after the final meal with signed off and certified logbooks.
We ended up going 143 nm from top to bottom of the SGI.
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| Our Day by Day GPS Track |
I bumped into Ian and thanked him for letting me take out a great boat in Skookumchuck. There was not single fault of merit that I could identify. Just the thing that I have always encountered with any NYC boat.
It would be a quiet night, early to bed and then a mid afternoon flight back home the next day.
My Day 6 - Nanaimo to Toronto
I was up early after a very good sleep. It was overcast and raining. Glad to have missed this weather on the trip.
After a shower - breakfast and a coffee from remaining provisions.
Not long after, one of the NYC crew came on board to take the boat over for a lift and inspection. Great - I haven't experienced this before. The boat was driven over to the travel lift, turned around to go in reversed. There were about 8 guys at the lift - what a mob! Every one was off the boat and the boat was guided back over the slings by long boat hooks. Once up in the air, a small paint chip was spotted at the front edge of the keel - probably from hitting a small log or something. The final verdict - all good.
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| The Boatyard Team Prepping for the Lift |
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| 10 Tons of Boat in Mid Air!!! |
Down she came and I drove her over to a slip so that the NYC team could go about cleaning and preparing for the next charter the day after.
I spent some time in the office watching NYC front office at work jockeying people, calls, clients, boats and repairs.
Time to go to the airport - Beth drove me - thank you Beth!
Many thanks to Karen, Ian, Gillian, Josh and Jim for a truly great 5 days - and to the NYC team for the great support on and off the boat.
