Sometimes bad things happen… for good reasons

Good morning from the good ship Shannon’s Spirit. We are finally on our 2026 Summer Cruise. You haven’t heard much from us as we were rushing to prep, pack and get moving after a lengthy stay in the boat yard. As you may recall, our two week booking for annual maintenance on June 1st became a marathon of an overhaul, delaying all our plans for six weeks. To finally get away and begin our long awaited vacation was a huge relief and we looked forward to fair winds, sunny skies… and a perfect performance from our dear old boat. 

 We began with a stop-over in Pirates Cove and then moved to New Castle before crossing the Straits on August 6th. Our first stop was in a small bay on the south end of Texada Island. From there we continued up to Sturt Bay and on to Powell River where we enjoyed a marvellous visit with dear friends. The plan moving forward was to stop in the Copeland Islands for one night on our way to Gorge Harbour where we had reservations and a date with some old friends. 

We had a comfortable run up to the Copeland’s, including the sighting of two Humpback whales who popped up not too far from us. We were heading north and they were heading south. Our intended anchorage had already acquired two boats at anchor but there was still room for little old us, so we moved slowly shoreward and even executed the ‘lower and set anchor while moving slowly forward’ maneuver friends had shown us years ago but we’d never tried with Spirit. It worked very well, except that Kathy sensed something different when lowering the windlass. Thank goodness she did because when she double-checked she determined the windlass was indeed not doing well.

 For you land lubbers, the windlass is the very expensive, very heavy and very necessary hunk of metal that most of us use to lower and raise the other chunk of important metal on a boat… the anchor. What to do??? Without too many options, Kathy single handedly hauled in the 75’ of anchor chain and the 35lb. anchor from the deep and back on board while CJ maintained the boat’s position with gentle adjustments from the helm. Thankfully all went well and we headed to nearby Lund Harbour. 

We are very lucky for so many things. They include; the anchor didn’t get stuck on the bottom, Kathy didn’t hurt herself hauling it all in, the day was sunny and warm without significant wind, Lund had room for us on their dock and with friendly staff, we like Lund, and George, the wonderful fellow who helped us out last year, was available and ready to check out our windlass for us. We are also lucky that the windlass didn’t fail us in some remote anchorage…miles away from anywhere with a mechanic.

 It’s now late morning and George has been, inspected and diagnosed our problem. The windlass is one problem and he thinks he can get it repaired well enough to continue. The platform the windlass is mounted on (created in Mexico when we bought the boat) is another and will need to be re-created when we get home. The good news is, we should be able to carry on in a few days. We will find out this afternoon…stay tuned. 

 I just want to take a moment to say thank you to YOU. I keep this blog going because I enjoy sharing our adventures with family and friends and anyone else who enjoys the ‘read’. So, thanks for coming along and sharing our good and not so good times with us. I hope you enjoy the pics as well. Always CJ > >  >

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Seal feeding on anchovies

Look what we discovered as we were walking down the dock last night in Lund!

This seal was happily feeding on a large school of anchovies. We stood on the dock and watched it for 20 minutes.  This truly was a rare opportunity to see how gracefully they swim …

There’s nothing like the slap of water…

… on the hull of a sailboat beating its way through what ever the tides churned up. And so it was when we finally broke free from the land-based challenges and worry. We weren’t exactly sailing; the winds met us head on as we crossed from Nanaimo, heading for Jedidiah and then settling for a quiet anchorage on the south end of Texada Island. With time to catch our breath, we paid homage to those who had gone before us; remembering the lessons learned from the knee of a sailing father (my dad) along , with his equally competent mate, my mom… and the other senior boaters in our lives, like Kathy’s mom and dad who led us into and around the Broughton's and shared several anchorages with us and then, in 2011, (along with my dad) supported our biggest adventures (even the one down the west cost to Mexico on the good ship Shannon). Yesterday marked the start of our 2026 summer cruise. It is safe to say we resurrected our summer plans after many setbacks and here we are. Our course takes us to visit dear friends in Powell River and then on to Cortez Island to rendezvous with other dear friends from a different time of life. It feels so good to be, finally, out here, under our own steam, with a somewhat relaxed plan. I hope each of you have developed summer plans that meet your needs and find the strength to adapt as needed in order to see them through. Adios for now…. CJ, K and Maddie > > 

PIrates cove

Was relatively calm last night, particularly considering the forecast of 25 knot winds. No excitement except for the fellow who backed over his dinghy painter. He was lucky. HIs neighbouring vessel had a young fellow who dove down and freed the line. Smiles all around. We’re here for a few more nights. It’s a great place to hangout, help folks, care for the marine park and decompress after a busy spring. Hope you are all decompressed and enjoying where ever you are. Always.. CJ

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Shannon’s Spirit is on the move….finally

 to hopefully warmer days dripping in sunshine. After almost two months receiving updates, upgrades, repairs and TLC, SSpirit is loaded up and on the move. Today we braced ourselves for a cold and somewhat lumpy motor boat ride…into the face of a Nor’wester and joined numerous other boats in Pirates Cove. Our Club members volunteer to serve as park hosts and have the use of a small dock to tie up to while serving. Given the forecast of the upcoming weather that includes gusty and strong winds, we have opted to ‘host’ for three days in the hopes the NW will have calmed down before we leave and cross the Straits (a petulant body of water that cares little for creature comforts, warm and dry conditions, or smooth and gentle breezes). Best part? At long last our repairs are completed and we are free to begin our summer cruise. The not so good news? The time left for this year’s cruise is half what we had hoped for and the challenging weather isn’t helping. getting on with it? We’ll do as much as we can as long as it feels safe and is enjoyable. We’ll also do more sailing this fall…as much as we can in our beautiful Gulf Islands. As far as challenging weather goes… my dad always said “while you can’t do anything about the wind… you can always adjust your sails”. Here’s hoping you have your sails aligned with your dreams and you days go well. Adios for now. CJ

svshannon.blogspot.com

Shannons Spirit is…

back in action !!! Yabadabadoo.! ( for you younger folks, that s a good emotion…for you older folks…well maybe check in with Yogi Bear. Finally, after 48 long and expensive days, SV Shannon’s Spirit has tossed the dock lines, backed slowly out of her temporary slip, spun her wheel and made a run for it; Before anything else could possibly go wrong!! Some might say I’m a pessimist others may call me paranoid. I must admit I am little shell shocked. It appears to me we’ve either removed, repaired or replaced almost every essential item responsible for being safe, comfortable and a darn good sailboat. The important feeling is freedom. Free from systems we don t know well enough to discuss, free from the most expensive boat maintenance and repair I have ever experienced with this boat or any one of the previous 9, and free to begin to seriously plan our summer cruise. Phew…. Our shake down cruise has us currently enjoying two nights at Otter Bay Marina sharing time with dear friends on their boat. Tomorrow we head to Montague, aiming to arrive about 1000 hours which is when many of the current occupants of the mooring balls will be leaving… and the next day we point our collective noses north to head up and around the north tip of Saltspring Isl. and then on to our home in Maple Bay. Shaking off the angst of the delay, we shall happily firm up our plans for our 2026 summer cruise. We won t be travelling great distances but we will be visiting some of our favourite anchorages as well a new-to-us anchorages. Dates and timing are still in the sand, waiting to be firmed up prior to our day of departure. Loose and local will be our key goals this year. Until I write again, I wish you carefree days and happiness…and good quality sunscreen. CJ > >

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Not out of the woods yet

Good morning. Many of you have been wondering where the heck we are… north of Desolation? Nope. frolicking in Desolation Sound?? Not there either. VIsiting good friends up the coast??? Not even there. The three of us (K, C and Ms. M) are still at home and re-writing our cruising plans on almost a weekly basis. Shannon’s Spirit remains in the van Isl marina. At least she’s back in the water but she s not ‘free to go’ yet. I admit, it feels like almost everything has been repaired or replaced… except her hull, but the good news is, she should be good to go for as long as we care to keep sailing. I desperately hope she will be released in the next week or so and we can proceed with cruising plan number 537. Until then… wishing you all a warm and healthy summer. I’ll let you know when SSpirit is released and we are free to go….CJ over and out. >  >

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