Day 378 Waiting till tomorrow.

Todays forecast had been for rain and for once they got it right.  It was raining when we got up and did so for most of the day.  With that in mind, we put off the journey up to Princess Louisa Inlet till tomorrow.  No big rush.

The timing has to be just right when we reach the infamous Malibu Rapids.  They can have currents of up to 9 knots passing through them.  No an easy journey.  It's not a long pass by any imagination.  Probably only a few hundred yards by the look of them in photos we have seen but impossible to pass if you hit it at the wrong time.  Slack tide-- when there is no current--is set for 1450 tomorrow so we need to be there ready at that time.  The will require us to leave here about 0700 just incase.  We will be heading up the channel as the current is against us so that may slow us down a bit.  We'll see tomorrow as we set out.  We figure we can make at least 5 knots against the current and that should put us there by 1400.  We'll just sit and wait for the appropriate time and then go through.  What is beyond is supposed to be incredible.

Today was just a day of relaxation.  We read and planned more of our trip North.  Since we need to be back in Port Townsend by the end of July at the latest, we now figure to make it as far North as we want, we may just go straight through till we get there and then slowly make our way back South.  This way we will be in better control of our time schedule.  If we get delayed on the return, we may have to bypass some places to make sure we get to PT on time.  We have a bit more equipment to install and a car to take back to Colorado for storage.

I'm amazed that I can still connect to the internet up here in the wilds of Canada.  I can't believe that we will have them in Princess Louisa so it may be a few days before you hear from us again.  I guess we will see tomorrow--weather permitting. 

Day 377 Off to Harmony Island

We left Boho Bay by 0900 and took off with several of the other boats that had been at anchor with us right behind us.  Off to the East past the South tip of Texada Island and then up it eastern shore till we could venture across to the Agamemnon Channel.  That's an 8 mile long short cut to get farther up the Jervis Inlet.  It was a lovely day for the trip.  Some Sun and some clouds but not much wind which was fine since we were motoring along.  It didn't get cloudy till later in the afternoon.

We passed a few fishing boats and several crab buoys but other than that the trip was uneventful.  No complaints there!  The shores were rocky and there were lots of trees all over the hills.

Once we got to Harmony Islands(49 51.806N  124 00.920W) a distance of 32 miles, we circled them checking to see the best place to drop our anchor.  There were two poser boats in a protected cove that we checked out as they were just about to leave as we made our first trip around the island.  It was too shallow for Zephyr.  Farther down the channel between the island and shore was another place that was shallow enough for us.  The bad thing was that there was already a boat near there.  We decided to drop our anchor in front of him and drop back but do a stern tie to shore so we wouldn't swing over and hit him if winds came up.  It was the only place we could find with depths of less than 50 feet. 

Since the dingy was still on deck, we went back out into the bay and lowered Puff into the water.  With her tied up to our side, we went back to where we wanted to anchor and dropped the hook.  I let out 120 feet of chain and she bit in just fine.  Down into Puff and a quick row ashore.  Up the hills dragging line with me to put around a tree and back to Puff and back to Zephyr.  We now have a line stretching from the stern starboard side cleat to the shore and back to the port side cleat.  This way, when we are ready to leave, all we have to do is untie the line from one side and pull it in.  No rowing ashore and untying from a tree.  Much simpler.  It was the first time we have done it.  We keep a 600 foot spool of line at the stern just for this.  The spool fits right in the space where the ladder drops so it's perfect.

Once we were set, we lowered Dragon onto Puff and she stated right up--unlike the other day.  There was a huge waterfall that we passed as we neared Harmony Island.  We took off to see it closer.  We could get right to the bottom of the falls.  They were the first falls we've seen this trip.  

It had been quiet and peaceful till 1930 hours and then the winds picked up to almost 20 knots.  Not knowing how secure the anchor was, I sat in the cockpit just incase.  I'd taken a compass bearing at the bow to a specific space on shore.  During the blows, if that heading changed, it might mean that our anchor had dragged.  Even at 20 knots, the anchor held fast.  By 2100, it was over and the winds dropped to just about zero.  With this being our first time with a stern tie. if the anchor had broken loose, I would have had to start the engine and cut the stern line to shore so we could get off the rocky shore.  We didn't want to hit the shore and we certainly didn't want to hit the boat next to us.  

Out thanks to Christopher Carrigan for the information on the tree shown in our post a few days ago.  They were eaten by a Teredo Worm.  Boy, they sure can make a mess of a nice piece of wood.

We're not sure if we are off to Princess Louisa Inlet tomorrow.  It will depend upon the weather.  It's raining now and that is the forecast for the next few days.   We also have to plan the trip around the times of the currents coming and going at the Malibu Rapids that lead to the inlet.  The plans are written sand.

Day 376 Sailing away

We took off nice and early for Boho Bay at 0830 hours.  The forecast for North of Nanaimo was for 10 to 15 knot winds from the Northwest.  We got lucky and had 18 to 25 knots still from the Northwest.  We needed to go North so we sailed as close to the wind as Zephyr would allow.  

We hoisted the mainsail but this time reefed it so that only about 90% was out.  A mainsail is built so that when you put it up, you can fasten down a bit of it at the bottom so that all of it won't go up all the way.  You have to pull the sail out to the end of the boom with special lines so that it will work in the wind instead of just flapping(yeah, I know--more sailer talk).  It was the first time we have reefed Zephyrs sails.  Luckily, ours has three reefing points so we can still have some of the sail up, just in different amounts in different winds.  We made sure to set it all up for reefing before we ever left Port Townsend.  We unfurled about 70% of the Genoa(big sail at the bow) and we were off across the Strait of Georgia.

We were making almost 6 knots on a bumpy ride.  There were 3 to 4 foot swells running and the kids were not impressed.  Just about every one of them left us a present(yark) below decks showing how dissatisfied they were with the present conditions.  We on the other hand were having a great time.  Blue and Snowshoe came up into the cockpit and just sat on the floor after a while.

As we headed out, other than a cruise ship heading up the channel, we pretty much had the strait to our selves.  It was beautifully sunny but let me tell you, sitting out in 20 knot wind can cut through you fast.  We were both bundled up well.  I even put on a fully insulated hood--you know, like bank robbers wear--just to stay warm. 

We traveled 35.8 miles from the South side over to the North and into Boho Bay(49 29.817N 124 13.897W) by 1730 hours.  As the day passed, the winds got less and less and we finally let all the Genoa out and then raised the main to her full height.  The wind was down to 10 knots and we were slowing down.  Oh well, it couldn't last for ever.  

As the day passed, more and more sailboats were out on the water.  At one time, Tracy counted 15.  We have no idea where they came from but there were all around us and all appeared to be heading in the same direction we were--Boho Bay.  As the wind died, each took down their sails and motored--some with their main up and some with everything down.  We just kept pushing along under sail--slowly but under sail.  Once the wind was down to about 6 knots, we decided to lower all the sails and just motor the last few miles in. 

Just about all the boats we had seen out there were indeed headed for Boho Bay.  We were just about the last boat in.  We have 13 boats in here with us.  While it's a decent size bay, once you put all the boats in here it can get a bit crowded.  We are anchored in 50+ feet of water with almost 160 feet of chain out.  That's deeper than we have ever anchored.  Another boat(about our same size) came in after us and tried setting his anchor over and over and over.  He wanted to be amongst the rest of the boats so it got even more crowded in here.  We had anchored a bit farther off.  Let me tell you, Canadians when they anchor they party.  There were dingys going from boat to boat and music reverberated off the walls of the bay.  We were the only folks from the USA here.  As we get farther and farther North, we are definately in minority.  

Today, we are off for the Harmony Islands up the Jervis Inlet on our way to Princess Louisa Inlet.  We will be using the motor since unless the winds are just right, it's the only way in.  It's a bit over 40 miles up  from the start of Jervis Inlet to Princess Louisa Inlet and must be timed to get there as the water over Malibu Rapids(yes, there is another place called Mailbu)is at slack.  Nothing going in or out.  If it is not that way, the currents are so strong, you can't get into the inlet.  With luck, we will be there on Monday.  The forecasts, last I checked, were for some rain and cloudy.  I guess we will see.  Yesterday was supposed to have a 40% chance of rain.

Day 375 It just won't start!

We lowered Puff back into the water and added Dragon since we were headed over to Nanaimo for a few more things before we set off tomorrow.

It was all fine until Dragon wouldn't start.  I pulled and pulled and pulled some more.  Nothing!! A sputter here and a sputter there but it just wouldn't catch and run.  So out with the oars and over to take the foot ferry to Nanaimo.  We had things to get.

First stop--get a new spark plug for Dragon in case it was bad.  Next--the used book store.  We'd stopped in some earlier this week.  All seemed a bit expensive--$5 to $6 per book.  We paid $3 at the last shop we were in.  With no TV, we have been reading a bunch.  We found a charity book store today that sold used books for a lot less.  Amazingly, it is right next door to another used book store.  There--hard back books--$3.00 and $3.50 to 4.50 for virtually all the rest of their paperbacks.  They have problems getting rid of hardback books apparently.  We picked up a good 20 books.

Off to another used bookstore that sold used charts.  Since we had virtually none for North of Vancouver Island, we felt we needed to pick up some for safety sake.  I've got four different computer navigation programs on board but if the computer crashes--I have a back up computer(not stupid--prepared) with all the programs backed up.  If it fails, I have a Garmin chart plotter in the cockpit with all the charts  we need to at least the North end of Vancouver Island and will be getting the unlock codes for more early next week.  Unfortunately, we only found one decent chart.  So off to the chart store.  Now here is the sad part.  For what we spent on charts today, we could have taken a 7 day cruise ship (inside cabin) tour for about the same price for both of us.  If we had bought all the charts that we might have needed, we could have had an even better cabin on the boat.  If you add in supplies(food, etc) and diesel that we will use to get North, we could have had a LARGE stateroom with a balcony on the boat.   But that is not what we are here for.  It's for the adventure.  Sure we had discussed taking a cruise to make it faster and cheaper but where is the fun in that.  This is for the two of us.  Besides, if we took the cruise, it would put us way ahead of schedule for heading South.  We can't get to  Mexico before early November and while there are some nice places along the Pacific coast, there aren't that many.

We needed some onions for future meals.   We have found that they are a very important part of many of our meals and we didn't have enough to make it through the upcoming trip.

Back to the ferry and back to Puff and our bad Dragon.  Pull and pull and pull.  Still no good.  She refused to start.  Out with the oars and back to Zephyr.  Off with the motor cover and out with the spark plug--oops--she needs TWO and I only bought ONE!!  Rats!!.  So out came the rags and I cleaned one as best I could.  There was the look of either gas or oil on the plugs.  Once dried, back in they went.  Pull-pull--pull---Nope, still won't start.  Frustration was pouring out of the pores of my skin in bucket loads.  I don't handle things like this well.  Never have.  I finally gave up and got back on Zephyr.  Hey, what the heck, is there a service store in Nanaimo?  Out comes the computer and google looking for a Mercury dealer--yep, right in downtown Nanaimo.  We'd almost walked past it today--over one block.  But that is what cell phones are for.  I called and a nice guy answered.  I went through all that I had done.  He finally said to turn the throttle all the way wide open and pull the cord with the choke closed.  Back outside and down into Puff.  One pull and varoom, she started right up.  I called them back--their explanation--she was flooded!  It operates just like a flooded car.  Push down on the accelerator pedal and turn the key.  It will normally start and that is exactly what happened.  

Once I calmed down, we took of for Newcastle Marine Park, right behind Zephyr.  With the Sun out, it was a great time for a walk.  Time to relax.   We headed back to Zephyr for dinner.

While I had been working on Dragon, I saw another dingy heading into the cove and motioned for them to come over.  Maybe they knew about starting outboards.  Turns out they were from Illinois and had been up North where we are headed over the next few days so we had a really nice chat.  Steve and Sue off S/V Seaquel II, if you're reading this, it was great talking to the two of you.  Thanks for the information on where to go.  They couldn't help with the motor but it was fun talking cruising with them.

A nice dinner of left overs and wine and watch the Sunset.  A nice end to a partially frustrating yet fulfilling day.  We are now ready to head out tomorrow.  Currently, we expect to be in Boho Bay at Lasqueti Island.  A day or two and then over to the mainland and up to Princess Louisa Marine Park.  It is supposed to be one of the "not to be missed" places all along the coast.  We're chomping at the bit to be out again and tomorrow is the day.  Stay tuned--there is more to come. 

Oh, as to the pictures, they are all from our walk on Newcastle Island.  The one with the boat in it(Zephyr of course) is Mark Bay.  The one of the log with all the holes in it--that log is probably 50 feet long and it is all covered with holes--big holes and little holes.  I have no idea what caused them but if someone out there does, let us know in the comments section of the post.

Day 373 & 374 Two for the price of one!

Today's post will be for yesterday and today.  As I said, "two for the price of one".

Yesterday, we took off early--0700 for Nanaimo, BC.  We were just across the bay so it wasn't a big hop.  We stopped that their pump out station before we went to the dock.  Only one of the two pumps worked so the second tank will have to wait.  The hose wasn't long enough to make it to the second tank.

I called the Harbour Wharffinger(folks that control the marina) office and requested a space on their docks.  Since we'd been in the day before we knew where to ask for--Dock I.  "No problem, come right on in.  Plenty of space" they said.  Now I don't know who designed this marina but there are no slips, only space to pull up to docks and there is no way a boat the size of Zephyr would ever be able to turn around.  Now Zephyr is a great boat, but she can sometimes be a bit tough to back up.  She has what is termed "starboard prop walk".  This means that when in reverse, she won't back up straight.  She veers to the right--always!!  Once you get enough speed up and take her out of gear, then and only then will she straighten out if you have the rudder at just the right angle.  Other than that, she will veer to the right and make backing up darn near impossible.  I'm better than I was a few months ago but in this marina there was no room for error.  You pull in and have to back out.  Don't even think of turning around!

As we got farther in, it appeared that Dock I was a lot fuller than it had been the day before.  It was empty then.  Now there were several boats at it and I would have had to go around them and wedge us into the dock.  We changed our minds and opted for a dock MUCH farther out in the marina.  A lot longer walk to shore and stores but a LOT easier to get into.  We backed up VERY carefully till we could get turned around and made our way back out to the other dock and tied up much happier where we were than where we would have been.  The Wharffinger didn't care when I talked to her where we berthed.

Enterprise Rent A Car showed up at 0930 and off we went.  First to Costco--there by 0955 to wait with surprisingly a lot of people that were chomping at the bit to get in.  It was like they were having a special for the first 50 people at the door.  Weird.

On to lunch and Walmart for more supplies.  We bought a cable lock to put around our life jackets when we come ashore the attach them to the dingy so no one can steal them.

The grocery store next-Savon Foods.  More veggies and supplies and then off to find Fed Ex.  I'd been talking to the father of the kid that lost his fanny pack I talked about while we were in Pirates Cove.  He'd set up an account with Fed Ex so we could get it back to him.  We just had to find the Fed Ex center so we could get a box to put it in.  Only got lost once.  We had no maps so we had to go off directions from the father that he had given me earlier.

On to West Marine for parts and cruising books.  We needed the bilge pump switch that had stopped working and we knew they carried them.  A cruising guide book and a chart plus some teak cleaner and teak oil and back on the road.  

I'd discussed a problem that had just cropped up the day before with the oil pressure gauge not reading right.  It was stuck at 30psi.  I figured that the problem was with the pressure sending unit screwed  to the engine.  I'd contacted the manufacturer--Stewart Hanson and they sent me to a local company for the sensor. They had it in stock so we stopped there to pick it up.  Back to Zephyr to drop of everything we'd bought.  It took several trips down--even with a cart.  I installed the sensor unit and we started up the engine--no change!! It was the gauge, not the sensor.  Back into the car and back to the store.  Surprisingly, they had the gauge in stock!!  I headed back to Zephyr with it.  It was late enough that I had to take off for Enterprise to return the car.  I could have kept it over night, but there is a $10.00 parking fee if you keep your car at the marina--pass.  They had me back at the marina by 1800.  We settled in for a wet rainy night.

This morning, since we were setting out back to Mark Bay--cheaper than the $60.00/night the marina costs, I headed up to do what was left of our laundry and take a shower.  I had to wait a while for someone to show up and unlock the door to the laundry room.  Once done, I headed back to Zephyr and were off shortly for Mark Bay.  

Once we anchored and got secured, I set about installing the new gauge.  We figured if it was wrong, we could always take Puff over for more parts.

I lifted the front bracket it is mounted to and with the aid of a mirror got it installed.  I was a bit confused as to why it read over 80psi  when I took it out of the box but a  quick email to the manufacturer said that was normal.  It resets it self after each time it is used.  Once installed, we fired up the engine and it set it self to "0" and then went right up to 40psi--right where it was supposed to be.  For some strange reason, it went right back to above 80psi when the engine was turned off but hey, at least it reads right when the engine is on and that is what matters. 

What we don't quite understand is that after I put everything back together, the volt meter on the dash started acting the same way it did when we first bought Zephyr.  Every time the engine hour meter clicks off another 20 seconds on it's meter, the voltage meter needle drops with a click and then jumps right back where it was.  It had stopped doing that after the refit.  It now reads that the alternator is putting out 15 volts instead of the 14.1 the inside voltage gauge reads.  Maybe I hit a wire or tightened up a nut a bit to much and made a better connection.  Who knowa?  Another project for another day.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so we'll launch Puff and head back over to Nanaimo for used books for our library and some charts we found in a book store at half price.  We'll need them for once we get North of Vancouver Island.   Other than electronic charts we have none.  That's not a good way to go boating.  I expect we will stop at Newcastle Marine Park Island(right beside us) on the way back for a tour.  

The part from Shakepeare for our TV antenna came in and we installed it today too.  It works better than the last one but no where near the reception we had expected.  For what this antenna cost plus the fact that we are near a "major" metropolitan city(at least in BC) I would have thought the reception would have been better.  We tried it in the Nanaimo  Marina and even got a digital signal from several stations but not just a mile away across the bay.  Maybe it's the antenna that's the problem.  We'll try it again in another city when we can.  It's got a year warranty and we just got it last February.

Other than that, it was a quiet day--some rain, some sun, some clouds.  Luckily not a lot of wind to stir up the harbour.

Day 372 Into Nanaimo

It blew all night long and the anchor held like a champ.   No movement at all and the DuoGen just kept cranking out the amps.  A much better bottom than Pirates Cove.

I checked on the part we have been waiting on from Shakespeare coming in via UPS.  The tracking info said to "Call UPS" so I did.  After getting through to the Canadian UPS, they checked the tracking number and said that they couldn't find "Yacht in Transit" as an address.  Well, shucks, I wonder why not.  I told her I was on the yacht and we were in transit to Nanaimo and would be in tomorrow.  She laughed and said it made sense if you look at it that way.  I had already gotten the address of the Nanaimo Wharf Office so I had it directed there.  I told her we could pick it up a the local UPS office but she said she didn't have that address and that they would have to call me.  Say what?  You don't even know where you local office is located.  I was a bit surprised at that.  Oh well, it should be here tomorrow and right at the dock.  I didn't think they delivered to the post office.  It's like Coke delivering to Pepsi.  It just isn't going to happen.

I called the father of the boy that lost his fanny pack back at Pirates Cove.  He is sending a Fed Ex box to the marina so we can get it back to him.  I think he was surprised we were doing this. I know I'd hate to loose my phone. 

We started the engine this morning to see if the alternator worked as it should after yesterdays strange action.  I'd checked all the wires and belts and all looked fine.  We fired it up and she cranked out the proper amount of volts and amps we expected so who knows what happened yesterday.  In the future we won't start the engine if the Webasto heater is running.  That was the only oddity of the start up.  This afternoon while sitting in the cockpit, I noticed that the oil pressure gauge hadn't gone down as normal.  We started the engine and there was no movement of the needle at all on the gauge.  I check the connections and all looked fine.  If the pressure doesn't go up as it is supposed to, the alternators won't turn on and crank out the volts and amps we need but they were cranking out just fine.  So maybe the gauge is just broken,  It has never really gone down to "0" when the engine is stopped.  I'll be looking into that tomorrow.  Who knows, maybe just a bad connection.

We launched Puff with Dragon on her stern and headed over to the marina after lunch for a look around.  The marina fees are a lot more than they were at Sidney and I thought that they were bad there.  Not much choice I guess.

  

Our trip over to Nanaimo was nice and dry.  It had finally calmed down enough that the waves had flattened out.  We walked around looking in different shops.  Several "used" book stores for more reading material.  With no TV, we are reading a lot more and are fast going through our "library".  I did get my hair cut.  A REALLY short "republican" haircut.  It will take a while for this baby to grow out.  We checked out the local market but will be in a larger one tomorrow so we will wait till then to get food.

 When we launch Puff, it used to be a big ordeal getting her up and over the life lines.  We've seen some people  hook lines to the bow of their dingy and use the spinnaker halyard to get it up and over the life lines but we found a better way after we had the rigging changed.  We'd added a connection for out new spinnaker pole to the mast and it fit an old pole I'd brought from our last boat with just the thought that maybe we could use it on Zephyr.  It works perfectly making the job easy.

We just hook a block and tackle set up to a set of straps that Bill had left in Zephyr and attach the end  to the pole.  Insert the end of the pole in the end of the spinnaker attachment at the mast  and pull her up and over the lifelines to the deck.  Turn her over and strap her down.  Takes maybe 10 minutes and gets easier each time we do it.  No more hernias!

I'm getting the blog in now as we will be off for the marina early tomorrow and there won't be time.  We are planning on getting the car from Enterprise by 0900 and hitting all the stores we need and get it back to them by 1750 when they close.  Costco, Walmart, Groceries, West Marine and a few chandleries and we should be done but who knows.

Day 371 Made it to Nanaimo!

We made it through Dodd Narrows just fine.  Timed it perfectly.  Left Pirates Cove at 1200 and were ready to pass through at 1315 right on schedule.  Right at slack tide--just about no tide running in or out the pass.  We followed 6 or 7 boats across to the narrows and then each went through in a line, one at a time leaving room for those coming the other way.

We'd dress in our foul weather gear since showers were in the forecast.  It was overcast but no rain till we got to Mark Bay(49 10.856N  123 56.001W) a little after 1420 hours.  Took an hour to get to the narrows and an hour to get into Nanaimo.  

We're parked just the other side of the harbour at Newcastle Island Marine Park.  Dropped the anchor and set about getting settled in.  About 6 boats currently anchored here.  We're a bit close to another sailboat but it shouldn't be any problem.  The anchor is set well as the winds are blowing in from the South in the low 20 knot range.   We haven't moved an inch.  It started raining shortly after we pulled in so our timing was great.

We had a bit of a problem as we motored over.  The alternator for the house batteries didn't appear to be charging at its normal rate.  Normally, when we start the engine, it starts putting out 14.1 volts to charge up the batteries.  This time, it was in the lower 12 volt range.  The Webasto heater was running at the time plus we had the inverter on to make AC power for the computer so we could run our AIS program to "see" other bigger ships.  We needed to know if anyone bigger was coming the opposite way through the narrows.  If we slowed a bit, the volts went up, not down.  They'd top out at 13 volts.  Tomorrow, I'll be running some tests to see what it is putting out in volts and amps.  I have lots of toys now to check that sort of thing.  Since I had both alternators rebuilt while at Sea Marine, they shouldn't be causing any kind of problem-- yeah right!!  I figure I'll pick up another while here in Nanaimo just in case.  I'll probably take it out and have it checked while in Nanaimo.  We may have to spend more than one day if it ends up being bad.

As I said, it has rained since shortly after we got here and that is the forecast for the next three days.  I made reservations with Enterprise Rent A Car for Wednesday.  By that time the part we are waiting for should be in.  It's supposed to be here tomorrow.  Now I just need to find out where!