Hola
I can hardly hear myself thinking; it’s raining so hard it sounds like the ratatatat of the VPD pipe band drummers. We’re comfortable though, tied to the dock in Madeira Park, Pender Harbour with arrangements to stay another day (until the forecast eases up on the winds and rains). We’re in no rush and enjoying each day for its individual value. Today, being the heaviest rain we’ve seen for some time, seems a perfect day to catch up with the blog post I started but didn t finish a few days ago. So please work with me as I report (a little back to front) how our summer cruise is starting out. Here goes. Pretend it’s June 29th. Thanks…
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Warm weather, fair winds and it’s time to hit the high seas… well at least the Salish Sea(s). But first we must prepare and pack for the journey, ha!
I’ve noticed that as we grow older we seem to think we need to pack more stuff; and by ‘stuff’ I mean all you can possibly cram into a duffel bag and the quickly over-loaded, heavy duty, shopping bags. You know the ones. They’re the ones you think of after you’re already in Save-on and have carefully sterilized your shopping cart with the dried out shred of a disinfectant rag kindly left by the shopper in front of you. They’re the bags you regretfully have to leave in your car because you’re too far into the shopping two-step by the time you remember them, to turn around and go back out. It’s only embarrassing when going through the check-out and having to confess your mistake and suffer the related self-doubt and guilt…sigh. But I digress - back to packing for a cruise.
It’s not just packing up your clothes and the food…. It’s everything else that leaves you exhausted by the day it’s time to shove off. By then all tanks have to be topped up - water, diesel, gasoline and propane … (sounds like a blevy about to happen doesn’t it but there are safety features and protocols that keep us safe). I’m not complaining mind; I’m just mentioning a few of the preparations that are needed before leaving the dock. I’ll stop now and carry on with the good part :-)
We finally did leave the dock about 1215 hrs. on June 29th. We were clever enough to realize it would be good to be on our way before the festivities of the Canada Day weekend. We also realized we shouldn’t rely on marinas having room for us but have some backup plans as well.
Day 1: We motor sailed to the Ladysmith Yacht Club and enjoyed a night on their reciprocal dock. This is an arrangement between consenting yacht clubs that allows us to enjoy a night at another yacht club for a very reasonable fee and we do the same for others. It was also a chance to catch up with some cruising friends who spoiled us with wine and a visit.
Day 2 June 30th: Up early, we slipped our lines and headed off into a beautiful blue sky and sunshine morning. We were headed to Nanaimo Yacht Club and planned to transit Dodd Narrows during the slack tide at approximately 1130. While underway we decided we’d rather go to Newcastle Island where we could go for long walks with Maddie and relax in their park lands for the afternoon. The plan was good; it only got a little hairy when we found out friends were already on the dock at Newcastle and/but would only be there for a few hours. As it turned out we arrived at Dodd Narrows early and were floating around waiting for the slack so we could go through. There’s a golden rule for BC passes. You look up the time the tide will be slack, which is very brief as it changes direction in our narrow passes (let’s say slack tide will be at 1130). Once you know the time, you figure out how long it will take to transit said pass (let’s say it will take 30 minutes). Finally, you divide the time in half (in this case to 15 minutes) and that’s when you enter the pass… exactly 15 minutes before slack tide. THAT is the safest time to transit the pass…. It’s the time when you’ll have the least amount of current.
Soooo, of course we didn’t do that on this day cuz we wanted to see our friends. But, we weren’t totally foolish; at least we waited for the current to slow down to two knots. Even then there was a significant pushing and pulling going on against our keel which required some pretty fast hands on the steering wheel. That being said, we made it through in one piece and popped out the other end well ahead of schedule. We arrived at the Newcastle Island docks in time for a lovely visit and walk before they had to leave. The only disappointment we had was, being at the dock, left us surrounded on both sides by large motor boats who insisted on running their generators non-stop.
It was a quiet night though and …
Day 3, July 1, Canada Day 🍁🇨🇦 was as beautiful a day as one could hope for. While there wasn’t much wind for sailing there was a gorgeous flat sea, blue sky, sunshine and we had the Salish Sea pretty much to ourselves as we crossed;
and we made it all the way to Pender Harbour, arriving by 1400 hrs at the Madeira Park Community Dock. The only excitement I can report involves when we stopped to top up the fuel tank before heading into Madeira Park. Let me set the scene for you. Imagine, if you will, a small bay filled mostly with various configurations of docks. At the head of this rather full bay sits a small fuel dock. It s large enough for a couple boats but it is very noticeably close to shore (therefore with unknown depths of water.. and we need at least 7’ and even more if we have to turn around). Sailboats don‘ t turn very well or fast. There was a mid-size Nordic Tug tied to the deepest end of the fuel dock but I figured we’d have room in front of him so I proceeded in very slowly, basically committing to the approach as there wasn’t room to turn around. Imagine my delight to see the Nordic Tug leave the dock and pull out right in front of me!! Words cannot express my disappointment or my initial reaction and desire to, you know, express my displeasure at such buffoonery! I’m getting mad again just thinking about it. Anyway, luckily I’ve been helming SSpirit for a few years now and have a fair idea as to her reactions when the engine is slammed into reverse and the RPMs increased at a rather ‘quick’ pace. She did exactly as I expected and we managed to avoid hitting the tug and the other boats nearby. We actually made a respectable approach to the dock and tied up. After fueling we, carefully, left the fuel dock and headed to our slip for the night. Phew!
It is now Sunday, July 3rd and we’ve had a great couple days here. Spent a wonderful afternoon with old friends who live nearby reminiscing about the good old university days and the welfare of mutual friends over the years. It’s amazing how memories, long forgotten, can come flooding back with just a little prodding.
Today, as mentioned earlier, it’s pouring and seems a good day to stay put and catch up on projects and writings. I hope you’ve enjoyed this catch up…sorry it’s so long. I ll try to keep them shorter in the future. I hope all is well with each of you and your families.
TTFN.
CJ
