Day 3: Finnegan, Begin Again
A much better sleep.
Up around 7:30, I grabbed some coffee from the, thankfully, heated water and joined C in the cockpit to drink and enjoy the silence.
45 minutes or so later the sun disappeared and the wind came up so we headed back in. I made some oh so tasty raisin bread toast and she went off to do mysterious non-boy things in her cabin. I finished breakfast and tried the heater while doing some writing but it counter-productively kept blowing cold air. Eventually I read the manual. Huh. Takes up to 20 minutes to heat up. Huh.
Soon enough the Dr was heard stirring and we got ready to start the day. Strawberries and raisin bread toast for her along with her milky tea and the morning was… Wait a minute! C went back to bed! What the hell kind of a morning is this? Like herding cats for the love of Mike…whoever the hell Mike is.
The south arm here at Secret Cove is home to an outport of the RVYC (Royal Vancouver Yacht Club). The boats aren’t as luxurious as you would think. But I guess after paying tens of thousands of dollars a year for the privilege of docking their boat in Vancouver, they haven’t got enough left to buy a truly bodacious boat. Still, I’m not knocking them. At least they have boats.
Dave was saying they have some truly silly rules. Like when he was here buddy boating with some friends who were members, he wasn’t allowed to tie up to the dock. Only if he took his dinghy to their boat and then stepped on to the dock was he considered a ‘guest’ and be made welcome. But I guess if they don’t guard their privileges zealously then they will soon cease to be privileges.
Somewhere around 10:30, Dave called and said they were 20 minutes away so we tackled the anchor weighing. The anchor locker in this boat doesn’t like the chain so it takes time and effort to get going without jamming the windlass. But soon we were motoring our way out of the narrow channel from south arm.
Out in the Malaspina strait we motored along for a while getting our sea legs while R Shack Island raised sails and started criss-crossing the strait. After a while we raised our sails and slotted in behind on a beam reach. We were only going to Pender so it’s not a long day.
As we started motoring we noticed the speed gauge wasn’t working. This was most likely the impeller was fouled with debris so we decided to pull it and clean it off. This involved pulling the thru-hull and quickly shoving a bung through the hole to stop water from coming in. Then clean the impeller and reversing the process. During this process water is pouring through the hole into the bilge. A bit nerve-racking. Carmen, unfortunately, got splurched in the process. Seawater everywhere. Some might say I made her wet. But I wouldn’t. Nope.
After a last minute attempt at wing on wing we finally called it a day and dropped our sails. Leslie motored us into Pender following R Shack and I refreshed C on her bowlines and fenders. Then I took over the helm and we docked (mostly successfully) on the dock of Sunshine Coast Resort marina. Awesome place.
[flexiblemap src=”http://macblaze.ca/kmz/2014-2.kml”]
3h32m 14.4nm
All docked up, it was time for lunch and a beer. Unfortunately it seems the milk had taken a header in the fridge and we had a huge, smelly mess to clean up first. Sigh. Then C went for a walk and we chowed down.
After lunch we chatted a bit then hit the dinghy to motor over to Madiera to walk around the townsite. We picked up some more milk, some paper towel and a few J Cloths. Dave and Margaret were there as well and we stopped and chatted. Then we wandered back to the dinghy and headed over to Garden Bay to explore before heading back to the boat.
Back home C set the potatoes to boil and we split a bottle of Creepy Uncle Dunkel. Seriously, what a great name for a beer. We took our glasses over to R Shack and spent an hour or two chatting and drinking. There was some discussion of Princess Louisa Inlet, but it’s a long haul and a multiple-day commitment. We decided on Sturt Bay and the Texada Boat Club for tomorrow.
Back on the Baraka Too we continued our “love” affair with the BBQ before giving up again and frying our fresh salmon filet. Carmen did something magical to the boiled potatoes and it was a great great meal.
We cleaned up and I headed for a shower. Clean and tidy I rejoined the crew and wrote while they talked wine and chicken and stuff.
A great day…
Day 2: Off We Go Into The …
World’s worst sleep. World’s worst pillow. The Shearwater had the world’s best pillow, God’s gift to pillows it was… and we are being punished for worshipping a false pillow god.
So I got up when I heard stirring in the salon. C headed out for a shower and I had coffee. No one had boiled any hot water for me. Just saying. When she got back I also headed up to the showers. The day had begun.
Eventually L crawled out and we were ready to rock and roll. We puttered around and then decided to go out and try the sails before R Shack was ready to go. I forgot to check the prevailing wind and we left C on the dock with the midship line. Literally. I told we would swing around and catch her on the other side of the docks. Oops.
The 40′ is a bit more of a pig than Shearwater was. The wind blows her around and I had to try twice to get her to the dock to pick up C. But in the end we got ‘er done. Down the channel we motored. Passing the mooring buoys we saw R Shack Island was still moored up and moments later I got a text saying they were about 20 minutes behind schedule. We headed off towards Gabriola to see if we could sail this thing.
Turns out we could. Badly. Well not that badly, but badly enough to gently bruise my easily bruised ego. We got a couple of tacks in but the sidecars were way too forward and the jib kept getting caught in the shrouds. After C moved them aft, it was a bit easier.
Then the main jammed when we were trying to furl it. This involved trying to sail into the wind (toward the rocks) and sending crew forward to decipher the various lines, blocks, gears and pulleys. Eventually we figured out the furling line had jumped a gear in the windi-up-thingee. A bit of brute force and we fixed that right up.
We also fought with the jib roller furler as the furling line runs through a lot of blocks and, unlike the Shearwater, is impossible to furl by hand. But… live and learn.
We got everything settled down just as R Shack emerged from the harbor so we let them pass us and settled in for a nice run across the strait. The winds were SE at … oh ya, this boat has no wind speed gauge. Major annoying as it takes a whole new way of looking at making decisions.
We motored for 15 or 20 minutes until we were past the last islets and then raised the sails and headed for Secret Cove. Actually we were headed more for Sechelt but that’s sailing for you.
We got in a couple of hours but eventually we weren’t doing better than 2.1 knots and I pulled the plug and fired up the motor. R Shack was miles ahead with their Code zero sail, which really shines in a beam reach. We cut the corner and met up with them again close to Merry Island.
A fairly quick transit up Welcome Passage and we fell back to let R Shack lead the way into the south arm of Secret Cove where we were going to anchor.
[flexiblemap src=”http://macblaze.ca/kmz/2014-1.kml”]
6h35m 29.3nm
Once on the hook, everyone breathed a collective sigh and we started to relax. Dave rowed over with a few beers to share so we kicked back and gossiped for a bit before supper. Tomorrow is going to be Pender Harbour as R Shack needs to pick some stuff up and we might as well have a nice short day after today.
Eventually Dave needed to go home and we had a marinating flat chicken screaming for the BBQ. Unfortunately the BBQ wasn’t cooperating. After a bunch of fussing C abandoned the poor thing and headed for the preheated oven. Why was the oven preheated? I think it was because C never intended to use the BBQ in the first place and deliberately sabotaged it. Why would she do that? Because she wasn’t ravenous and wanted to save the best meal of the trip for when she was especially hungry.
But fate intervened! The frypan-seared, oven-roasted chicken was beyond fabulous. And in the end even the sneaky, devious mind of El Diablo Carmeno could not keep a good Sunday chicken down.
Meanwhile I fiddled with the BBQ wasting gas and concluded that either the bottle must be low or we just needed more patience as eventually the stubborn thing started to heat up. Eventually as in after 15 minutes. Live and learn.
Dinner was delish but I was bagged. The bad sleep caught up with me and I begged to be allowed to go to bed at 8:30. But the wicked sisters denied me and I was forced to lie on the bench and ‘participate’ in chitchat. At least my feet were warm 😉
Somewhere around 9:30 they finally relented and I shuffled off to bed. Carmen, tired of my incessant whining and desirous of a less groggy Bruce on the morrow, offered up one of her pillows as an offering. I snatched it up.
It was so good.
It was so good I actually dragged my half-asleep ass out of bed again to thank her. It was so good. I am never gonna f*ck with the pillow gods again.
Day 1: Waiting… waiting…
Finally we are outta here. It’s not that I don’t like home, but away is so much more… you know… away.
The usually pacing and wandering until it’s time to load up. Over-packed again but what the hell.
A long line at security. Longest I’ve ever seen at yeg. Went fast though. And we boarded promptly. I watched Last Vegas for most of the flight. Mildly humorous but it made me feel damn old. C sat alone one row up and one row over. Or should I say she sat with a stranger. After about 15 minutes of pleasant inane chit chat it turned out the stranger was Mr Zappic… Mr. Zippocol… Mr. Zippeezipperson… Her next door neighbour from the cow field across the fence in Redwater.
Small small world.
Got a note from Dave & Margaret. They are hanging off a mooring buoy off of Newcastle Island. We will meet up tonight after we are settled.
We are going to have a snack/lunch at the airport before heading to the seaplane terminal. We have a couple of hours to burn. C bought a book as a treat for herself while L and I chilled and tried to look cool. I think we succeeded. Mostly.
A quick taxi ride and another wait and eventually we met Ryan, our pilot for the short hop to Nanaimo. I was initially disappointed because it looked like we were flying in a Cessna, but it turns out it was actually a Turbo Beaver. These are Beavers that have undergone a conversion to add a more powerful turbo engine and some airframe modifications to make them longer and fit in one more row of seats.
Flying over the channel the weather looks good so hopefully we will get some sailing in. It’s a short flight of barely more than 15 minutes but it sure is convenient.
So we were met at the Seair dock, driven the short distance to the marina and hopped on our boat: the Baraka Too. I headed up to do paperwork and grab charts and then Ian came down to walk us through the boat. Eventually we were as set as we ever were going to be and we headed for the courtesy car and groceries.
We picked up supplies at the Save On and some liquor and motored back down to the docks. Meanwhile R Shack texted that the mooring buoys were full up. Rather than fussing with anchoring in the busy bay, we decided to stay at the marina for the night and dinghy over to the dock.
Eventually all the ducks were in a row aboard, or as in a row as we were gonna manage and we piled into the dinghy and set off. This dinghy was everything that Stupid Dinghy wasn’t: stable, roomy, and easy to get the outboard on. It won’t row worth a crap but at least we won’t fear for our lives (or at least our sanity) every time we board.
Dave and Margaret were already at the Dinghy Dock Pub and we settled in for some beer. C and I had Dunkel on tap–how great is that? Halibut and chips was the special so we all ordered that except for L, who opted for chowder. Then it turned out they were out of halibut 🙁 Most switched to cod, but I bailed and had a steak sandwich.
After a bit of discussion we settled on Desolation Sound as our destination and then visited while we ate. Dinghy Dock Pub is literally a pub on a dinghy dock so we watched the boats float by, stared at the sun setting over the Island and listened to overly loud music.
It was a late start so the sun was well on its way down when I pulled the plug and said it was time to go. Dave had a handy-dandy red/green flashlight with an extra white for a stern light that he lent us for the motor home so we were legal as we made our way down the channel to the marina.
Back on board we unpacked a bit more, tried to settle in and hit the hay.
Tomorrow we start!
Once more unto the breach
So we are off and running again.
I have chartered a 40′ Beneteau called Baraka Too from our friends at Nanaimo Yacht Charters for a little over two weeks. We will be meeting up with Dave and Margaret from R Shack Island in Nanaimo and the two boats will be traveling together for a while.
At this point we will either go north to Desolation Sound for peace, quiet and nature or head south towards Victoria for a bit more urban, touristy trip.
Desolation Sound is supposed to be beautiful with warm water and secluded anchorages, and without the flotilla, we could do much more exploring and relaxing. On the other hand we might finally be able to make it to Victoria. I contacted the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and if we make a reservation we should be able to find dock space on the Causeway, right across from the Empress Hotel. Leslie and I have stared at those boats many a time back when sailing was just a dream and it would tickle us both to actually be one of them.
There are pros and cons to both but we will wait and see.
For now we will start packing/prepping again and get ready for a new adventure.
Mother Duck
So some months back Carmen said there was a duck living across the street in some boulevard shrubs. I scoffed. Then I went and looked and found an empty nest. So I told her there was a duck but it was gone.
Then she saw the duck again. So I looked. Now there was a duck in the nest.
Then I looked again and there was an empty nest with an egg or two in it.
Then there was a duck.
Then there was a nest with what looked like three eggs in it.
And then there was no duck.
And still no duck.
You have to understand, this was early June. Ducklings should have been hatched and gone. I figured it was a young mom and she’d given up. Carmen, on the other hand, had faith.
Then one day before we left to go sailing momma was discovered back on her nest. The next issue was that while they were a couple of hundred yards away from our not-yet-completed lake, it was highly likely, according to C’s research, that she would be heading for papa duck and Lake Beaumaris which was way down the block and across the busy 153 ave. C then determined to be there for the expedition to ensure no ducks were harmed.
So when we returned I asked and C said that as of 2 days earlier there had been a duck on a nest. I went and checked and there was no duck. There was, however, multiple shell fragments. I reported the happy news and it was hoped for that Momma and babies had managed to survive, but there was some scepticism and uncertainty.
So about a week after I got back C and I cruised by the edge of Beaumaris on the way to the Sobey’s and, as was our wont, we stopped by to greet the local waterfowl. There were the usual bunch of ducks, now with their mostly feathered teenagers floating around and begging for bread, but there was this one family, Papa up on the hill, Mama at water’s edge, two tiny ducklings tucked in beneath and one brave baby out and about paddling for all it’s little yellow down was worth. So what are the odds that there would be a late family of exactly three ducks at our end of Beaumaris and them not being our ducks. It was decided that was definitely zero percent.
So, let me introduce to you, our first Greisbach duck family. Long may they paddle!
43 Things I Learned
I had posted this on a sailing forum for others’ edification and thought I would repost it here.
We learned a lot of things, some of which we already knew, or just thought we did. Here’s my partial list:
- Heaving to is your friend; and easy too.
- The old saying about thinking about reefing too late is actually pretty damn accurate
- Single line reefing systems are often obstinate
- Fridges in a sailboat are…quirky
- I really wonder why there aren’t grab bars on the bulkheads in the aft berth. How the hell does anyone get out of those things quickly at 2 am?
- You get out of bed at 2 am quickly a lot more than you would think
- Gauges that measure liquids (water, diesel, holding tanks) never seem to work
- A 3 hour motor quickly becomes a 6 hour sail, with very little regret
- 9 and half hours is a long day, but man can it ever be a glorious day
- 4-5 foot waves are not as scary as it sounds
- A 17 knot gust with just the main up is scarier
- If you don’t like the weather: wait. The damn thing changes fast
- The infamous Johnstone Strait plays mind games with you. Gale force to glass in a couple of days
- Docking at empty docks is easy to get used to
- When docking at a marina with a strong cross current, don’t be first in
- Don’t give the yahoos on the dock a line. Seriously don’t.
- The beam of a 33′ sailboat is much smaller than the beam of a 38′ sailboat. It shouldn’t take you a week of docking to figure that out.
- Gloves will not keep your hands warm and dry on a windy, rainy day. Having a second pair is a godsend.
- Powerboaters really are, well, oblivious
- You can raise an anchor with a spinnaker halyard if your windlass craps out. Who knew?
- Windlasses crap out.
- There are more things on a boat that go bang in the night than you can ever have possibly imagined
- An 11 knot wind can die faster than you can get the main up
- A 2006 Bavaria 33′ has the worst galley configuration ever
- An undersized RIB can almost be worse than no dinghy at all
- Stern tying isn’t as hard as I thought. Except for the stupid, unstable, undersized dinghy.
- Leaving the hatch almost all the way open is not the same thing as leaving it all the way open. Ow!
- Apparently you can hear the McDonalds drive-through on channel 68 in the middle of Desolation Sound. WTF?
- Charts are big, and critical information is always on the fold.
- The phrase ‘local knowledge’ will prevent you from taking a lot of shortcuts
- A shower underway in 4-5 foot seas is actually kinda fun
- Wiping down the whole head after a shower will earn you bonus points
- Putting a winch, aft docking cleat, diesel fill, bbq, life ring and a horseshoe life sling at the same place is not a good way to arrange things
- BBQs make a real mess on the transom
- Holding tanks are… well they are… sigh.
- A gravity system holding tank can be unblocked by plugging every damn hole and vent and pumpin’ the sh*t right out of it. Just don’t figure that out at the anchorage.
- The guy with the self-tacking jib was cheating. But I beat him anyway 🙂
- My 2006 charter boat was a nice boat, but it was a floating dung heap compared to the one-owner 2007 Tartan 3400 we sailed with
- Learn from the experienced guys.
- Never trust the experienced guys.
- Boater are damn nice people, from the Catalina 30 right up to the Selene 65
- There is nothing, I mean nothing, as depressing as a speed of 3.5 knots and having a SOG of 2.9 at the end of an 8-hour day
- Sailing with dolphins in your wake for 45 min is THE SINGLE BEST THING EVER!
Final, Final Wrapup
Just a few facts and figures:
2006 Bavaria 33
22 days on the water
10 days that we got to sail
5 nights at anchor
2 nights on a mooring buoy
476 nm (881.9 km)
103 hrs 37 minutes cruising time
I kept most of my receipts:
Plumper Cove
Mooring Buoy: $12
Plumper Cove
Mooring Buoy: $12
Secret Cove Marina
Moorage: $51 Power $8
Garden Bay Marina
Moorage: $40.46 Power: $8
Texada Boat Club
Moorage: $23.10
Westview (Powell River)
Moorage $52.76 Power: $8
Diesel $45.54
Westview (Powell River)
Moorage $52.76 Power: $8
North Island Marina (Port McNeill)
Moorage: $37.95 Power: $7
Diesel $90.29
North Island Marina (Port McNeill)
Moorage: $37.95 Power: $7
Sullivan Bay Marina
Moorage: $43.31 Power: $20 Shower: $7
Pierre’s at Echo Bay
Moorage: $39.60 Power: $20 Shower: $10
Diesel: $46.67
Kwatsii Bay Marina
Moorage: &29.70
Port Harvey
Moorage: $33 Power: $15
Blind Channel Marina & Resort
Moorage, Power & Shower $92.27
Diesel: $43.68
Big Bay
Moorage: ~$33.00
Westview (Powell River)
Moorage $52.76 Power: $8
Diesel $47.19
Final Thoughts
A gallery of images (for now the complete set of 500 some can be found here) and some final thoughts about our trip
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- Plumper Cove
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- Plumper Cove sunset
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- Pender Harbour
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- Pender Harbour sunset
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- Rebecca Spit
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- Beazley Passage
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- Sointula, Malcolm Island
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- Sointula, Malcolm Island
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- Sullivan Bay
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- Sullivan Bay
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- Ocean Grace & Lacy Falls
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- Blind Channel
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- Blind Channel
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- Big Bay
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- Big Bay
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- Malaspina Strait
I guess if you made it this far, you will have come to the conclusion that I though the trip was glorious. Well, you’d be right. I learned a lot, gained a lot of confidence, saw things I never really thought I’d see and met some great people. And this trip really did solidify the idea that I am not done with cruising.
I’m not sure if I would do flotillas as a regular thing. They make a lot of sense for the first time you are making a trip to a complicated destination; I will definitely consider one for our inaugural trip to Greece. I am not sure I would bother doing one to Desolation Sound now that I’ve been to the Broughtons.
Dave (R Shack Island) invited us to ‘buddy boat’ with them if/when we go back. This makes a bit more sense. It gives you someone to bounce ideas off of and help with itineraries or emergencies, but also offers a lot more freedom and ‘alone time.’ I guess that becomes a matter of matching schedules and finding compatible people/boats. I will have to think about working on people like Brock and Nikki here in YEG.
As for the Yeadon-Jones’s, I appreciate all they did, but I think with 10 boats, 30 personalities, windlass and electrical problems and shifting schedules it overwhelmed everyone from the start and it took a week to catch up. This was mildly unfortunate because the first week was when I really wanted the ‘support’ and comfort the group-think of a flotilla could offer. This was only their second flotilla and they did a pretty damn good job considering. I might be a bit more negative if I had actually been ‘left behind’ in Port Neville, but I wasn’t and the explanation I got made sense in the context. And it was great meeting them and having a chance to talk about their perspective on self-publishing and the industry as a whole.
If anyone has a chance to join a flotilla led by these two I encourage you to give it a try. It was a great experience.
And I think we solidified our position as sailors instead of powerboaters. Not to say I won’t charter a powerboat again, but after L and I talked it over we both believe that sailboats give better value, more options and sailing is just plain fun.
All that is left now is to decide whether we go back again this season.
Day Twenty-Four: Second Epilogueses
The hotel room is near one of those metal grate bridges. As the cars zoom over, it makes that hollow, rushing sound. Now some may find that irritating but it reminded me of the wind all night, and I think I slept better for it.
Still waking up early, so I guess we’re not home yet. I am, however, looking forward to Eggs Benedict and ice-cold orange juice with good coffee for breakfast: definitely not boat fare…
Looking in the mirror this morning (a full-size mirror finally), I noticed that with three weeks’ scruff and short hair (for those of you who don’t know me, two days before I hopped the plane for Vancouver, my hair was past my shoulders), I am really, really gray. Gray. Where the hell did that come from? Next think you know I’ll be eyeing up the Metamucil in the grocery store…
Maybe it was the sea air…
I put on my rings for the first time in 3 weeks. I noticed most of the sailors wore their rings and I suppose the likelihood of an issue on a sailboat is low, but I’ve caught them in so many unlikely places that doing any sort of ‘work’ with them on makes me nervous. I like my fingers 🙂
Last night I sent off my boat notes to Cooper Boating and an enquiry to Nanaimo Yacht Charters about availability. I need to start working on the Doctor before she starts thinking about work again. Desolation Sound sounds pretty damn empty… And according to my system (admittedly skewed, but don’t tell her), she still owes me 8 weeks of vacation.
I had neglected to mention an odd thing that happened on the long run back to Powell River. Somewhere around Squirrel Cove when we were playing bucking bronco with the waves, we heard, clear as a bell, on VHF channel 68, “Welcome to McDonalds, can I take your order?”
We both burst out laughing. It had definitely been a young woman, and it sounded really practiced so it seems unlikely it was someone screwing around. However it is equally unlikely that McDonalds is using VHF frequencies and the nearest McD’s had to be Lund or Campbell River. Weird.
Then about a half an hour later, while I was talking to R Shack Island, we heard her again. This time we heard a bit of someone ordering something as well. We thought the order might have been a jokester replying on the VHF , but we can’t be sure. Dave never mentioned it, so I don’t know whether he even heard it. Amusing stuff on the high seas.
So I’m going for my second hot-hot shower in less than 12 hours and then some Eggs Bennie. Life is good. (Leslie went for maple & blueberry pancakes. HUGE!)
I’ve got a response back from Lorraine already. The dates aren’t perfect but we could definitely make something work, especially if we were willing to pop from one boat to another mid way. That would preclude heading back to the Broughtons, but we could make a couple of weeks in Desolation Sound work and maybe a week and a bit in the Gulf Islands. I’d like to try the San Juans or even further down the Puget Sound as well.
The best bet looks like a Beneteau 40, which is a lot of boat for two but we could make it work. There is also a Beneteau 321 for 2 weeks after Aug 7, or we could ‘jump ship’ and take out the Bayliner 3288 for late July/Aug. I guess I should discuss some of this with L before she reads it online 🙂
We are off for the flight in a bit. Should be getting kitty snuggles in about 5 hours–if they are still acknowledging our existence, that is.
Cats waiting patiently (at Carmen’s house!)
We wanted to go to the Comox CFB Museum since we had time, but as luck would have it, it’s closed on Mondays. Next time…next time…
As we sat in the terminal waiting Lesslie got paged to baggage screening. It seems that even though I told them about my life vest, they still wanted to double check there was a inflatable life vest. No problem other than the redundancy. Having the vest was worth it, though.
So we got back to our cozy seats to wait the hour and a half for our flight when they announced a delay. We now have a wait of almost five hours for our plane. Did I mentioned the museum was closed? What the hell are we going to do to amuse ourselves for 5 hours? I’d rather be sailing…
And… No Rogers signal in the terminal and the free wifi has gone flaky! Without the boat to keep me busy I am slipping into internet withdrawal… Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
Waiting.
[later] Waiting…
[a little later] Waiting…
[much later] Still waiting… And now my battery is dying…
[a little later than that] Now they’ve announce our plane has left Edmonton. Should be here at 4:20, taking off again at 4:50. Waiting…
[later x 2] Through security. Waiting…
[later plus, now with extra patience] Da plane! Da plane!
[Leslie] You’re too tall to do that…
And we’re off. Georgia Strait, Texada Island, Powell River.. Hey! There’s the marina! South marina, fuel dock finger 7… 8… Hey that white blob should be R Shack if they are still there.. Hi! [waves like idiot!]
And now, the pretzels!
Arrival at 7:19. W00t!
C’s agreed to meet us at the pub for beer/dinner and maybe some pda’s on the side. She might even bring Sam if they can find her ID.
And so, so long, farewell, adieu….
Day Twenty-Three: First Epilogue
I woke up at 6. Aaargh! The only good thing about going home is the hope I can sleep in again. 6 am is not an hour for anything to be stirring but cats and editors with a deadline.
I crawled out of bed at 7. A cup of coffee and a KitKat for breakfast — hey, we have to get rid of the rest of our supplies! I finished yesterday’s blog post and started thinking about packing. The plan is to catch the noon ferry to Comox and meet L’s parents there. So we have to get rid of supplies, pack, do garbage and recycling, and wipe down the boat a bit.
Mostly packed up, we created an Emporium of Mostly Good Things for R Shack to pick over and then packed some stuff to take home (chocolate and garlic: mmmmm!) and one last bag for L’s parents who are meeting us in Comox. We left Carmen (the basil) with Rosie (R Shack’s rosemary) to spread a little more flavour. With any luck she’ll still be sailing around the west coast for weeks to come.
I talked the lovely wharfinger into taking our bags in her golf cart to save us the hike since we are on the south dock again. Then we hauled SD up on the bow, said goodbye to the dumb thing and fired up the engine. Dave helped us cast off and we managed not to dent R Shack. At the fuel dock there was a lineup of powerboats, but we slipped in on the side dock and used the small pump. We were topped up, paid and were off the dock before the powerboat had switched tanks. It’s good to be a sailor…
A quick 180 and we tied up in an empty spot opposite the fuel dock and went to say our goodbyes to Corus and crew. It was a pleasure to meet Anne and Laurence, and we hope we will have the chance to sail with them again–or at least to see the famous Dreamspeaker.
We were waiting for Larry from Cooper to come check out the boat, so we headed over to R Shack Island to snag a picture of Dave, Margaret and the boat. As we were chatting below, Larry walked by headed to Shearwater. He had no paperwork, so it was sort of a pro forma checkout. I told him I would email Sam in Vancouver with my list.
Back at R Shack we chatted a bit more, grabbed some pictures (not my best work) and they reciprocated with us and Shearwater (see below). Then it was time to go. We said our last goodbyes and expressed sincere (very sincere if I get my way) wishes to boat together again, and headed down the long path to the ferry terminal.
I grabbed our bags at the marina office, L grabbed tickets at the ferry office and we met in the middle at the waiting room. The second-last leg of the journey home has begun.
We met Allen from Intrepid at the dock waiting for the ferry and chatted a bit, and then ran into Leslie and Charles from Arcturus on board. Seems the dock-side gossiping is not quite over.
I booked a night at the Best Western in Courtney and tix for our plane ride tomorrow. No early booking discount for us. No sirree. But soon the ferry ride was over and we disembarked to wait for L’s parents. We were about 30 minutes early for their eta so we sat in the sun (and talked to Allen some more…).
Soon the blue van rolled up and we were off. Boston Pizza for a beer for me and lunch for them; we had, not thinking ahead, eaten lunch on the ferry. We sat for a couple of hours talking and watching Costa Rica beat Greece. Seems 3 weeks out of touch isn’t long enough to completely miss the World Cup. Eventually we wandered off–thankfully because my ass was getting that stuck-to-vinyl feeling.
A drive to beautiful downtown Cumberland and a walk around the museum that was unfortunately not open. It’s an old coal-mining town with lovely old houses and tons of character. A lovely space. Back in the van we drove around a bit more and, because I was completely bagged, they took us to the hotel and bid adieu.
A 3-hour 20-minute shower followed, and I feel human again. L and I are mulling over room service, but they do have a sushi bar downstairs so…
Mmmmm… sushi! Good choice.
And now, my friends, goodnight…
