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Thread: New Boat 4 Sled

  1. #131
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    Rebecca Spit, despite its reputation as the best anchorage in the area, proved less so last night. Due to the full moon high tides, the large quantity of driftwood logs on the beach began to launch themselves and go clunk in the night. As the wind and currents were light, no damage done. But for a while there, it felt like we were anchored inside a pinball machine.

    Which begs the question of how are the returning SHTP boats doing with tsunami debris? One hopes there are no issues. But it should be interesting to hear of their passage details.

  2. #132
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    "Are you my mail order bride?" hahahahahaha

  3. #133
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    We went back to Rebecca Spit this afternoon, hoping for a better result. Bow anchor in 28' and stern line to shore. All was well despite the strong NW wind. I took a walk ashore. The rafted powerboaters had set up a beach BBQ and iced beer chest.

    The tide rose. And rose some more. At 13.4 feet, the drift logs on the beach came alive. In no time at all, we were attacked by dozens of logs, marching upwind in an unseen current. There were more logs than water. A deadhead with a flag on its upright end came by. That was the end. We released the stern anchor, pulled the bow anchor, and got the hell out of there.

    One mile across Drew Harbor we anchored in the lee of the Taku resort floating breakwater. The full moon, all peach, rose. The wind died. Oatmeal cookies were served. All was peaceful again.

  4. #134
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    8/6/12

    Gorge Harbor, about the size of Alameda Estuary, is entered through a cleft in the rocks with petroglyphs to port. http://www.cryc.ca/Pictos/Desolation...e_Harbour.html Gorge Harbor is protected from all quadrants, and WILDFLOWER is anchored in a nook, 18', at the head of the western arm.

    We came from Evans Bay, Read Island, where we were guests at the annual Read Island Picnic. Much fun, including the inflation of an elderly 12 man life raft. A giant "Whoosh." The kids loved that, and climbed aboard. A sea-going "bounce house..."

    Other attendees at the Picnic arrived in a float house they'd just bought for 20 cases of beer. No anchors were included. So they anchored their new craft with weights of 20' lengths of rusty chain suspended from the four corners. Needless to say, the floathouse did not stay put overnight!

    Yesterday, we anchored at Shark Spit. I was tempted to run the boat up on the gentle beach. But sharp oyster shells gave pause, and we anchored instead in 5' of warm water.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-14-2012 at 10:40 AM.

  5. #135
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    8/14/12

    Part of the pleasure of cruising the Pac NW is unexpectedly running into friends .....Trevor and Tina Baylis from Santa Cruz, with daughter Mara (11) and son Colin (8) were in Gorge Harbor aboard Morgan Larson's 37' power cat. The kids were having a ball sailing Bic dinghies, while Trevor attempted to trouble shoot electrical gremlins aboard their loaner. The problems were put at bay, and we sailed to Shark Spit and rafted up for the afternoon.

    Trevor shared with us his recent Pac Cup experience on the J-125 DOUBLE TROUBLE. An interesting comment was the amount of apparently "fresh" (unbarnacled) junk floating mid-Pacific, possibly from the Tsunami. Trevor said they would back down DT at least every spinnaker change to clear the blades of debris.....and that at least one contender "throttled back" at night after encountering a large floating dock....?????

    WILDFLOWER has now come 90 miles south from Desolation Sound to Nanaimo, where we unexpectedly encountered the beautiful 37' cutter SYRMA, a 1941 John Alden design in immaculate condition. We tied up bow to bow with SYRMA, two wooden boats of different generations.

    Aboard SYRMA were friends Geoff and Debbie Bourne from Maui. Geoff had also just done the Pac Cup on SC-50 HULA GIRL. They had a good trip, with three crew and six students, and "only blew out one spinny." Unfortunately, HULA GIRL has been dismasted (carbon rig) on the return delivery, four hours north of Kaneohe.

    Our current destination is the city of Victoria, 70 miles south. We'll pass through Dodd Narrows this afternoon at slack water. All well aboard, and the 6 hp Tohatsu outboard continues to burn .25 to .33 gal/hour at 6 knots. The Tohatsu is a single cylinder, four stroke OB, with 5 amp alternator. Hopefully we'll see some wind and be able to fly Morgan's Moore 24 spinny.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-16-2012 at 05:41 PM.

  6. #136
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    After pleasant sailing yesterday under Moore 24 spinny in 6-10 knots TWS, we arrived Victoria noon today, Aug.16, the hottest day of the year on Vancouver Island. Moorage in front of the Empress Hotel had been recommended. But this location was pricey ($1.75/ft plus 12% tax), with no bathroom facilities, and with compromised air circulation to vent the heat and kerosene fumes from the nearby float plane terminal. The Wharfinger directed us to tie up adjacent to the promenade and main waterfront street in Victoria, complete with sirens, car alarms, buskers, t-shirt hawkers, and many tourists like ourselves. Did I mention the cruise ship SPLENDOR OF THE SEAS with 4,000 aboard was moored nearby?.

    A long story short: culture shocked and heat stroked, we departed the "romance" of the Empress Hotel for a more secluded and cooler corner of Victoria Inner Harbor and are tied up between two singlehanders: Sergio from Hungary, and Tanaka-san from Japan. Tanaka-san had just arrived on his 26 footer after a 63 day Pacific Crossing, punctuated by a broken headstay that prevented him from flying sails forward of the mast. Tanaka-san's English was difficult . But we clearly understood his sentiment that his single-handed days are over: "no one to talk with!!!" I will direct Tanaka-san to SSS. Plenty of us to talk with there ;-)

    We look forward to spectating the Dragon Boat Championships over the next three days. 90 teams, a drummer on the bow, a steersman aft, and about two dozen co-ed paddlers per boat. Contact "happens."
    http://www.victoriadragonboat.com/ Yee haw.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-22-2012 at 11:30 AM.

  7. #137
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    WILDFLOWER's current location at Wharf St. Dock, across from the Victoria Maritime Museum, is good for boat spotting. Next door is the 75' square rigged ship NORTH STAR of HERSCHEL ISLAND, built in 1935 in SF for two Innuits who kept her above the Arctic Circle, at the mouth of the Mackenzie River Delta for most of her life. This is one stout ship, complete with ship's cats Abbey and William. http://www.northstarofherschelisland.com/

    Down the way is the maxi-ketch GRAYBEARD. Competing for first to finish honors in the '71 Transpac, her large 4' x 6' skeg ripped from the bottom. GRAYBEARD's May Day came just as morning roll call started. Luckily, the cook had laid in a supply of buckets and her motivated crew bucket bailed while the leaks were plugged. In a rare move, the 500 pound skeg was winched aboard, GRAYBEARD resumed the race, and the skeg was rebolted to the underbelly in Hono.

    Arriving this morning from the Vic-Maui Race was the SC-50 INCANTATION. Her crew had a story to tell: on the return passage she struck a submerged styrofoam and cement piling. Luckily they were only doing five knots under main alone, trying to clear netting from their maxi-prop. The piling took a divot out of the bow, slid down the keel, and impaled itself on their torpedo bulb. They had to back down to clear their appendage, and the "piling floated to the surface like a deadhead" In the same vicinity, the Vic-Maui racer FAMILY AFFAIR spotted an overturned 50' blue fishing boat, single-screw. Likely a Tsunami victim.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-17-2012 at 04:34 PM.

  8. #138
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    The Victoria Maritime Museum is home of TILIKUM, Capt. John Voss' 30' hollowed out red cedar log canoe. TILIKUM is quite famous in Canada and the subject of the classic "Venturesome Voyage of Capt. Voss."

    Voss, a snake oil showman, won TILIKUM in a drinking match with a British Columbia Indian Chief. Voss had her decked over, and three masts installed. His intention was to sail TILIKUM round the World, supporting the voyage with "demonstrations."

    Voss and crew Norman Luxton left Victoria, BC, in 1902 and sailed non-stop to Penrhyn Is. From there, they continued across the S. Pacific to Australia, then back to New Zealand. Thence to Africa, Brazil, and up to England, a total of 34,000 odd miles. TILIKUM and Voss became famous, and the boat was trained westward across Canada back to BC, I believe about 1907

    Voss, long before the Pardeys, was a confirmed proponent of lying to a sea anchor and weathered many gales in this fashion. If you can find a copy, I recommend "Venturesome Voyage".
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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-22-2012 at 01:25 PM.

  9. #139
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    The Victoria Dragon Boat Festival could rightfully be described at 3 Bridge Fiasco meets Cirque du Soleil. Plenty of pomp to begin with on Friday, with Taoist monks purifying the fleet, and "awakening the dragons" by daubing the boats' eyes with red cinnabar paint. Lion dancers danced, drummers drummed, incense permeated Victoria's Inner Harbor, and the Festival Village was opened to 2,000 paddlers of all ages.

    Saturday morning, the Inner Harbor was closed to traffic while the Dragon Boats competed on a 500 meter course. The good teams were getting their Dragon Boats up on a plane. Well, almost, as the bow drummer beat the paddling rhythm. A colorful scene for sure.

    During a break in action, we requested clearance from Vessel Traffic and motored outbound, destination Roche Harbor, 25 miles distant, across Haro Straits. The breeze picked up nicely, 15-20, from the south, and we scooted along at 7 knots under plain sail.
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    Last edited by sleddog; 08-22-2012 at 01:46 PM.

  10. #140
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    I didn't know that Tillicum was at the Victoria M.M.

    I finally got back in here to catch up! This is making me want to try some cruising.
    1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
    1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
    Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"

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