Month: September 2016

Sidney to Montague – 20160918 to 20160921

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I didn’t get out sailing last week as I was (still…) working on the teak decking of the cockpit so I figured I’d try to get out for a sail for a few days this week.  On Sunday I provisioned, headed to the boat and cast off at 12:45.

The winds were looking great (15-18 knots from the SE) so with much anticipation I motored out of the harbour, raised the sails as I was nearing Coal Island and enjoyed a perfect sail up Swanson Channel to Active Pass, and onward to Montague.  I dropped the sail just as I was outside of Montague and motored in to the marina.  Things are pretty slow this time of year at Montague and I was one of the few transient boats at the marina.  It was a nice, quiet few days and they had a 2 for 1 deal on where if you paid for one night the second night was free.  Sweet.  This was the last week the marina services are open during the week.  Apparently you can still get fuel on the weekend during the offseason.

There were a few showers rolling thru during the evening and at night but the skies cleared the next morning and there was a beautiful mist on the mountains when I poked my head out.

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I worked the rest of the day from my laptop aboard Treylya.  I’m fortunate enough to have a great job where as long as I have internet access I can work from anywhere.  I called my friend Wayne to see if he wanted to come over to join me for a few days.  He took the ferry over and we hung out.  I work EST hours so I started early (06:00) and at 14:00 (17:00 EST) Wayne and I would head up for a late lunch and beers.  Life’s good…  We spent the afternoons cruising around in the inflatable and hanging out on the beach or wandering the local trails.

Wayne caught the ferry back to Vancouver and I enjoyed another perfect sail back to Sidney on Wednesday.  The winds were from the NW and I was able to pretty much sail right to the marina.  It was great to relax for a few days and enjoy the last few days of summer.  I’m also pleased that the sails and the engine are both working great.

treylya-sidneytomontague

Day 1: 20160918
12:45 – 16:37 (03:52)
Distance: 17.1 nm
Total Sail: 03:00
Total Engine: 00:52

Day 2: 20160921
14:00 – 17:58 (03:57)
Distance: 17.7 nm
Total Sail: 03:16
Total Engine: 00:41

Trip Distance: 34.8 nm
Trip Sail Time: 06:16
Trip Engine Time: 01:33

Sidney to Ganges – 20160902 to 20160905

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Deb and I planned to meet Sara over at Ganges for the long weekend.  We pretty much motored the whole way there as we were late getting away from the dock, the wind was light and the days were getting shorter.

2016-09-02 16.57.10.jpg

We pulled into Ganges Marina around 19:30, tied up and went up to the Oystercatcher pub for dinner.  It was a good evening chatting with some of the locals and a few tourists.  Then we went back to Treylya for a few drinks and hit the sack.  Woke up early and went up to the Tree House Cafe for brunch.  The marina was pretty open but several boats from a small group pulled up late in the afternoon.  Sara came over and met us and we hung out at Moby’s Pub for the remainder of the afternoon and retired back on Treylya for evening drinks.  We could hear the group of boaters outside talking, drinking and laughing as the night wound down.

We had a late rise the next morning and I hung out at the boat and puttered around while the girls went to the market to do some shopping.  So nice to see Deb and Sara getting to spend quality time together.

On Monday we woke to a nice southerly wind so we had breakfast, said goodbye to Sara (she was taking the ferry back to Vancouver), filled up with fuel and motored out of Ganges Harbour.  The wind was on our nose so we motored for an hour thru the swells, out into Swanson Channel.  We were able to turn south at this point and since there was a nice wind we figured we raise the sails.  I loosened the main halyard, attached it to the main sail and pulled on it to raise the sail.  It became stuck and no matter how hard I pulled it wouldn’t raise any higher.  I jumped up on the deck and could see that the main halyard was wrapped around the mast and the cable was caught on the mast light about 25 feet up.  Groan.  This happened because the swell caused the boat to rock and when I loosened the lines they got fouled.  Grrrr.  I pulled the main sail back down and set out to free the line.  This same thing happened once before and I was able to get it undone by flicking the halyard line but this time the seas were rolling, the wind was blowing and I didn’t feel like risking my life for a short sail.  I’d take care of it when the boat was back in the peace and calm of my slip.

Therefore we motored the rest of the way back to the slip the whole time I was fuming because I was missing a good day sailing.  We pulled in to the slip, started to clean up and within 2 minutes I had the line free and working again.  Too bad I missed a good day sailing but it was a quick fix and I’ll be ready to go next time…

treylya-sidneytoganges

Day 1: Sidney to Ganges
Date: Sept 02, 2016
15:50 – 19:34 (03:44)
Distance: 15.1 nm
Sail Time: 00:00
Motor Time: 03:44

Day 2: Ganges to Sidney
Date: Sept 05, 2016
09:47 – 13:31 (03:44)
Distance: 15:3 nm
Sail Time: 00:00
Motor Time: 03:44

Total Distance: 30.4 nm
Total Sail Time: 00:00
Total Motor Time: 07:28