Tales from the boat yard...

 Yes, we have indeed been spending hours each day in the blistering heat of Stones Boat Yard in Nanaimo. Without boring you with the history I can tell you we have switched our allegiance to this Nanaimo boat yard and severed our desire to stay close to home for haul-outs at the Maple Bay Boat Yard, currently being run by Valet Yacht Services. Enough said for now.

Stones Boat Yard provides all the services we need, with friendly respectful management and staff. SSpirit was lifted out of the water and placed in their yard a few days ago and, since then, they have cleaned up her bronze prop shaft and propeller, sprayed the works with zinc and replaced the actual zincs. They have also pressure washed her bottom and applied new bottom paint. Hand polishing of her hull sides was completed Saturday and she is a shiny, spiffy, much younger than her age looking lady.  All this work is in preparation for our upcoming summer cruise.  I've included a few 'before and after' photos fyi.

There's also a photo of the SS Minnow. The name should be familiar to most of you as I'm sure we all used to enjoy the 'skipper’ and Gilligan's antics on our old black and white TVs.  Yes, the owner of this vessel is quite certain it was the one used for the initial clips in the show.  Who knows... but it could be.  It's the right age and has the same general outline.

That's it for now... will check in once we're underway and, hopefully, share a few interesting tidbits with you.  Take good care.. Bye for now... CJ

Spring at last!!

Thank goodness!  It's been a long, cold winter and the sun shining just makes everything better; doesn't it?  We've been running pretty fast since getting back from our road trip... gardens, lawns, and the good ship SV Shannon's Spirit have all been demanding attention.  The call of the ocean and salt-water spray is beckoning to us and, with luck, it won't be too much longer before we slip the lines and head off on the next adventure... this time up the coast to some of our favourite haunts and folks.

This rhody is the one that was squished flat two winters ago by heavy snow. It has not only bounced back but it's the first to offer up beautiful blooms. The others are following but this guy gets the ribbon for first out.  I want to wish each of you a happy spring and hope you have your own adventures knocking on your door. Bye for now. will write again once our 'cruise' begins.  TTFN  CJ

In shock, and compelled to share...

I learned something last week; something I should have known about (at least have been aware of) and I remain somewhat in shock to have learned it. How could the country I love have caused such devastating hurt to so many who did not deserve the pain? I feel compelled to share what I have learned; let me start at the beginning.

I attended a one day conference last week. It was put on by an organization I have the utmost respect for, the BCWLE. This was only their second annual conference yet the audience was over 300 strong; mostly women, some men. All are currently serving (except for a few of us oldies) and showing the strength and courage we expect of all our law enforcement personnel. 

I was very glad to be able to attend, as the speakers arranged for this day were stellar. Each one delivered a powerful message, but the key-note speaker; well she pretty much left us all 'stunned', myself perhaps more than the rest... as I am older... and I should have known. I can only say that at least the first decade of my career was filled with challenges and dealing with those took up all of my time and most of my focus. So here I am, at the ripe old age of 71 and only now learning about what I will share with you herein. Maybe some of you have already heard this message; maybe you haven't. I'm sharing it in the hopes you will pass it along to whomever you care for or about and I ask you to do this for the simple reason that it happened and it must never happen again. The following description includes information taken directly from the BCWLE introduction pamphlet.

Michelle Douglas is the Executive Director of the LGBT Purge Fund. She is also a veteran, a former military police officer, and a survivor of Canada's "LGBT Purge". She has spent the past 30 years as an activist in the LGBT2Q+ community. Michelle spoke for an hour and a half, during which time she shared her own personal story about her time in the  military (1986-1989). She did very well in her initial training; so well she was sent to Officer Training for the Military Police. She graduated top of her class and anticipated a long career serving her country. But that didn't happen for Michelle. Instead, she, along with hundreds of other members of the Canadian military and the RCMP, was singled out because of her 'suspected' sexual orientation. She was subjected to severe interrogations (without counsel) and then, like the rest, stripped of her position and dismissed. Despite a distinguished service record, she was honorably discharged after being deemed "Not Advantageously Employable Due to Homosexuality".

"After being fired by the military, Michelle's landmark legal challenge in1992 ended Canada's formalized discriminatory policy against LGBT members of the military."

"Professionally, Michelle had a 30-year career in public service. She retired from the Canadian Department of Justice in 2019 where she held the position of Director of International Relations." "Michelle is a member of the board of directors of the Michaelle Jean Foundation [and] was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. In 2021, Maclean's Magazine named Michelle on their "Power List 50". She is a graduate of Carleton University and resides in Ottawa."

Michelle's story, and the personal story of other victims of this needless and horrific display of injustice, is featured in a documentary called The Fruit Machine. "This documentary examines the homosexual witch-hunt of public servants and military personnel in Canada from the 1950s through the early 1990s. These men and women had their privacy invaded and their careers ruined by the Canadian government.

I ask you to view the documentary and to realize that, even today, this type of discriminatory practice exists in far too many corners of our world. Hatred can spring up in so many ways. It's up to us to protect each other from such unjustified persecution

"The Fruit Machine" is available to view online here

Sunday, April 9th… and right on schedule

Yup, the MV Coho has just slipped her lines and we’re heading north to Victoria.  While it’s always sad to end a vacation, I’m always glad to be looking forward to getting home.  We’ve had a good ‘desert season’ and enjoyable stops along the way.  Sure, there have been some weather challenges but everything else has gone well.  We’ve had the pleasure of meeting up with old friends and making new ones. We remain very impressed with the beauty of the desert and have enjoyed hiking, biking, golf and pickle ball. Now, as we turn our thoughts to all that awaits us at home, we begin to plan for our upcoming sailing season (along, of course, with the pleasures of our garden and, most of all, reuniting with our family and friends).  

I would like to say “thanks” to you folks who have travelled with us on our adventures over the past several years. It’s been my pleasure to share, as best as I can, the thrills, wonder and lessons we have experienced as we travel ‘by land and by sea’; and I would like to welcome the newer visitors to this site. I hope my tales do not disappoint. 

Kathy and I wish all of you a safe and enjoyable ‘rest of 2023’ and the years that follow.

Stay well, live every day, and never shy away from seeing what is just around the next curve in your path.

Best always… CJ 

Time to set our course for home… sigh

 

While this winter hasn’t been exactly the ‘fun in the sun’ we had expected, our time in the desert has not been disappointing. It’s true; we have had some spectacularly windy days and nights… enough to make you ask what we’re doing here. We’ve also had many beautiful, sunny, blue sky kind of days… the kind that keep you coming back for more.

We’ve had the pleasure of catching up with old friends from our cruising days and we’ve made new friends to share the delights of the desert with.  We’ve travelled tried and true routes and we’ve explored new routes (some more enjoyable than others :-)

One thing is certain. We are wanderers at heart; not nomads, but definitely people who enjoy exploring new places and meeting folks as we go along.  We have really enjoyed our longer stays at Rio Bend (seen in the photo above, half empty as folks are leaving for home).  The staff are welcoming and friendly and the activities are many; as much or as little as you wish.  We will miss our days here. Even  Maddie will miss her friends at the dog park and Esperanza, our neighbour, has taken over guardianship of our garden.

 We’ve also enjoyed rambling about between various State Parks and we hope to create a blend of the two (with a few more longer than shorter stops) for next year.

So, all that being said, it is time for us to leave and point our noses home.  The drive will be trickier this year as a result of the extra-ordinary weather slamming the US west coast and interior.  Rest assured we will be monitoring weather and road conditions as we go and will adjust our course and timing as required for peace of mind and safety.  We hope to be home on April 9.   We may be delayed by one or two days.

Unless you hear otherwise, assume we are travelling north, at our own pace, and will be home when we get there.  🥸. Stay well my friends… and live every single day.

A quick up-date…

 Hello all.  As some of you know, we are not on our way to the west coast as we had initially planned. The unfortunate weather-related devastation to the coastal areas of CA and OR have given us ‘cause to pause’ and, after due consideration of several factors, we decided to abort that portion of our plan.  

We have had the pleasure of meeting up with old friends (not like aged seniors 😊….but dear friends we have known for years).  Anyway, after we left our long time sailing buddies who now live in a magnificent home atop a gorgeous mountain (and in the ‘back of beyond’) we headed north again to Casa Grande to a very posh RV Park and spent two fun days with friends… and then didn’t we finally head west and catch up with two more for an evening.

Today, instead of heading for the coast, we have returned to one of our favourite haunts, good old Rio Bend RV and Golf Resort just outside El Centro. We will lounge about here for 12 days and then begin to wind our way north and to home.  I have booked the Coho Ferry for April 9th and, all going well, we’ll be on it.  So for now, know we are sitting still and just going to relax and enjoy the warm weather. It is indeed warm but it is also very windy; gusts of 50 MPH expected tonight and, hopefully, they will abate in time for the rain on Wednesday 😄  Fear not; we have books, and cards, and rum. We shall survive.

Wishing you all safe travels, fair winds, no snow and soothing smiles and hugs.  CJ

Mother Nature’s wild elegance… and living at peace within it

 

Imagine if you will; towing a smallish trailer with a reasonable sized pickup truck and driving for about 45 minutes through very southern Arizona ranch land. The road is packed dirt and gravel interspersed with small to mid sized rocks and pot holes. Our path curves and dips like a skilled trapeze artist as we slowly gain elevation. On several occasions, we pick up speed to grind our way up a steep hill only to get to the top and not be able to see the road at all as it falls away into another steep and long curving dip. One such dip is complete with running water (a wash in desert terms) immediately followed by a tight curve leading up yet another hill. TRUST is a huge factor as we follow our friend Jeanne in her truck (and not towing a trailer) through the twists and turns of the rather long approach to their new home. Heart in mouth?  A few times. Holding breath while cresting those hills?  Several times. Ricky and Lucy as dirty and dusty as they’ve  ever been?  Yup.

Now let me tell you that, having succeeded in making it to their new digs and settling Lucy into our own personal little camping site, we were blown away by the ‘over the top’ beauty of the new to them home and property. Tom was not exaggerating when he said 360 degree mountain top views. Their home (a work of art and their skilled craftsmanship) is stunning. The thought and planning they have put into every room and each service needed to exist this far from civilization is amazing. From back up water systems to self generated power grids and from bare walled rooms (some only framed in) to beautifully appointed masterpieces…. well, I’m left (almost :-) speechless. 

There’s also the wild and untamed wilderness surrounding them. While their property (40 acres) is surrounded by mountainous ranch land, the ranch is so large it is literally a desert wilderness. Wild life abounds in the form of deer, cougars, skunks, reptiles, javelinas, a  huge number of birds (Tom’s special passion) and many more creatures all living within a stones throw - as evidenced by the images captured by Tom’s collection of ‘game cameras’. I should clarify; this ‘desert’ land is not what you’ve seen on the old movies… we’re not talking Sahara Desert here; but it is land that is largely rock and sand with scrub/bushes, tall grasses, interspersed with wisened and thorny (scraggly) trees. It’s the same landscape you’ve seen in many of our photos. It’s not particularly easy for humans to traverse but the creatures who live here (including Tom and Jeanne) have adapted very well. The photo on this post is of the view we woke up to this morning and the mountains in the distance are, in fact, Mexico.

We’re here for three more days, after which (if we make it out :-) we’ll be on our way to Casa Grande to catch up with friends.  If we don’t make it out we shall have to stay put and live here forever… sigh.

Hope you are each enjoying your own commune with Mother Nature.  
PS: Madison Mulhaley   🐶 turns four tomorrow!
Adios for now… CJ

 

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