I’ve spent the past few weeks on the road; Cleveland in late May and back home to central Newfoundland for a troutin’ trip in early June.  I always enjoy being on the road for short trips but am always very happy to get home and back into the west coast life.  Now that I’m home I’m itching to get back out on the water for a night.  Most of the trips this past spring have been to Ganges and/or Montague.  Time to switch it up a little.

I slept on the boat in Sidney and Deb caught the bus out to meet me at the marina.  We cast off and motored out of the harbour and past the southern tip of Moresby Island.  Then we caught pretty good winds so we put the sails up and sailed for a short while.  Then we dropped the sails and made our way to Winter Cove on Saturna Island.  Winter Cove was the first place I spent a night on a sailboat back in the heyday of the 90’s with the “Wireless Cruise” (an annual trip of a group of wireless companies in Vancouver).  Returning here brought back some good memories.  Winter cove is a little tricky to enter due to the shoals outside the mouth of the harbour but it’s a well protected little anchorage.  There were only a couple of boats in the anchorage so we anchored next to the park and settled in for an evening with drinks and beautiful sunsets.

We woke up to a grey morning and had a bit of rain off and on during the morning.  When we opened the curtains to look outside we were greeted by a sea otter sitting on the inflatable.

We watched him/her for a while and noticed it was munching on something.  I went up to check it out and sure enough the inflatable was filled with old crab legs and shells.  Guess it was a comfortable place to spend the night eating seafood.  We relaxed for the morning and watched the otter swimming around and when the skies lightened up a little we went out for a hike in the park.  There is a narrow passage called Boat Passage where the current gets very high during the ebb and flood which apparently the rum runners used to escape the authorities back in the early 1900’s.  We hiked to the passage to check it out and enjoyed a very scenic walk back to the landing.

We got back to the boat, had lunch and decided to check out the current in Boat Passage.  Only a few hours had passed but the current was flowing pretty good which made for a bit of fun on this Saturday afternoon.  We had a BBQ and a few drinks and hit the sack as we were both pooped from a great day.

We woke up early, had breakfast and set out by 09:30.  It was a good steam back to the marina and we saw a few porpoises.

Day 1: June 17, 2016
13:07 – 18:10 (05:03)
Distance: 17.6 nm
Sail Time: 00:20
Engine Time: 04:43

Day 2: June 19, 2016
09:32 – 13:51 (04:19)
Distance: 16.8 nm
Sail Time: 00:00
Engine Time: 04:19

I decided to get away again for the weekend and into next week.  I loaded up the boat on Friday and cast off just after 16:00.  It’s nice now that the days are getting longer so I’ll have plenty of sunlight to get to Montague.

I pretty much steamed the whole way to Montague and tied up to a mooring buoy in the park.  It was nice…  Not many boats, long evenings and peace and quiet…  I hung around Montague for the next day to enjoy lunch at the cafe (it just opened for the start of the busy season) and do some hiking.  It’s a little frustrating that there is very little cell coverage at Montague which means no internet.  I need internet for work so I’ll have to head somewhere else for the rest of the week.

Next morning, Sunday, I headed over to Ganges for a few days.  Internet coverage is much better over there and there are more amenities this time of year.  I set out by 10am and although there wasn’t much wind I sailed part of the way as I had lots of time to kill.  I tied up at Ganges Marina.  It’s very cheap this time of year…  turns out it cheaper than the public wharf!  …and there’s a great little Burrito cart just up from the marina where they make 2 pound burritos loaded with lots of yummy stuff for $15.  Typically I get one per day and eat it over two meals.  Great bargain and so tasty…

I hung out at Ganges and worked for the week from the sailboat.  Justin and I discussed the need for the name to be painted back on Treylya so I commissioned him to paint it while I was there.  He’s a jack of all trades and agreed to paint the letters back on for quite cheap…  I purchased the supplies, bought him dinner at the pub, “a few cases of beer, a few packs of smokes” and he was happy.  I’m quite pleased with the work he did.

Deb took the ferry to Ganges the next weekend and we hung out at the market and pub and explored Ganges a little.  On Sunday we headed back to Sidney.

Day 1: May 6, 2016
16:06 – 20:04 (03:58)
Distance: 15.7 nm
Sail Time: 00:00
Engine Time: 03:58

Day 2: May 8, 2016
10:00 – 12:05 (02:05)
Distance: 7.5 nm
Sail Time: 00:44
Engine Time: 01:21

Day 3: May 10, 2016
14:00 – 16:55 (02:55)
Distance: 9.1 nm
Sail Time: 02:00
Engine Time: 00:55

Day 4: May 11, 2016
11:50 – 13:48 (01:58)
Distance: 7.4 nm
Sail Time: 00:00
Engine Time: 01:58

Day 5: May 15, 2016
10:00 – 14:46 (04:46)
Distance: 17.5 nm
Sail Time: 02:30
Engine Time: 02:16

After a few days on dry land I decided to head over to Ganges, Saltspring Island and Deb said she would meet there for the weekend.

I finished up work, cast off around 11:30 and enjoyed a great sail to Ganges with 13 knot winds which pushed Treylya to 6.6 knots.  I’m still a little shell shocked about last weekend so a nice brisk sail was comforting…  The evening at Ganges was beautiful and there weren’t many boats around.

Sue and James showed up on Friday.  They were on the tail end of their holiday week sailing and it was nice to have company at the dock.  Deb joined us Friday evening and we went up to the pub for dinner.

We retired back on Hounds Hollow and enjoyed a late night with a few cocktails and made plans to head over to Montague Harbour in the morning.

We woke the next morning to a beautiful day and Deb and I had coffee and enjoyed a great breakfast and coffee.

James and Sue had a few things to do in town so Deb and I cast off around 09:30 and said we’d catch up with them later.

We enjoyed a slow sail out of the harbour and towards Galiano Island.  As we rounded the Northwest tip of Prevost Island we thought we could see a few spouts of water near a small collection of boats…  Whales!  After a few breaches we could see that it was a pod of Killer Whales…  Excitement grew as we sailed towards them the and within 100 meters we took down the jib and slowly drifted towards the pod of Orca whales.  As we drifted closer it became obvious that we were experiencing a feeding frenzy.  I assumed they were feeding on salmon that they were chasing to the surface.  Within a few minutes we drifted pretty close to the whales and the large one circled us a few times and swam directly under the boat to check us out.  How exciting…  We kept watching for a few more minutes and as I started up the motor to make some distance between us and the pod, a large bloody mass bobbed to the surface about 20 meters off the boat and the whales converged upon it.  The blob was huge, too large to be a salmon or other fish.  Perhaps it was a sea lion or another whale?  We slowly chugged out of there after a thrill of a lifetime…

In retrospect I do remember a couple of smaller whales or porpoises swimming near the killer whale pod so perhaps the killer whales were jumping on those smaller whales to drown them???  I remember hearing that this is a popular tactic Orcas use to kill other whales.

We continued on to Montague Harbour and tied up to a mooring buoy in the park.  We went for a walk in the park and enjoyed hanging on the beach for a few hours while the sun was high in the sky and recounted our blessings over the past few weeks.  Life’s good!

James and Sue showed up after a few hours and we recounted our experience to them later over a few drinks.  We enjoyed dinner on Hounds Hollow and the evening slipped away.  The next morning we set sail back to Sidney and managed to sail most of the way.

Day 1: April 7, 2016
12:20 – 17:24 (05:04)
Distance: 20.7 nm
Sail Time: 03:09
Engine Time: 01:55

Day 2: April 9, 2016
09:30 – 12:08 (02:38)
Distance: 8.5 nm
Sail Time: 01:05
Engine Time: 01:33

Day 3: April 10, 2016
09:40 – 13:53 (04:13)
Distance: 19.1 nm
Sail Time: 02:58
Engine Time: 01:15

The day after we got back from Genoa Bay we decided to embark on a road trip to check out the huge trees of the old growth forest called Cathedral Grove.  Perry and Paula are both outdoor enthusiasts and have a huge respect for nature so I figure this will be a treat for us all.

We set out by 9:30am, grabbed coffee and headed up island.  Our first stop was a look out at the top of the Malahat highway.  It was a sunny day and a beautiful view from up there.  We surveyed Saanich Inlet and discussed our previous sail to Genoa Bay from a birds eye view.
We then enjoyed the scenery of the drive up island, past Duncan, past Nanaimo and to Coombs to see the “goats on the roof” at the market.  Unfortunately the goats were nowhere to be seen so we went in, browsed the market and enjoyed a nice lunch.

We continued on to Cathedral Grove and were in awe of the massive trees.  It was quite a treat to witness the forest in all it’s glory.

We walked the trails for a couple of hours and marvelled at this majestic sanctuary of nature.  Then we jumped in the truck and headed back to Victoria.  All in all it was a great day that will be long remembered.

Perry and Paula, friends of ours from Newfoundland, arrived in Victoria on March 24th after a long trip across the country.  During their crossing their flights were delayed, cancelled and rebooked and after more than 24 hours they finally arrived via ferry (long story) at Swartz Bay.  Surprisingly they were both chipper and looked no worst for the wear…  and even stayed up late to drink with us the evening they arrived!  Not sure how they were able to stay up.  They took in a few sights of Victoria and we made plans for an outing on Treylya.

We provisioned Treylya and headed over to Genoa Bay for easter weekend.  It was a blast.  Lot’s of drinking, hiking and laughs.

Genoa Bay is a beautiful little bay with great hiking and views.  One of the main attractions is the restaurant which we enjoyed several nice meals during the weekend.  One of the main reasons we like eating at the restaurant is because of the host, Gordon, who makes you feel welcome with his friendly greeting and warm and funny personality.  Gordon treated us to an evening of fun and laughs and joined us for a drink at the end of the evening.

We woke early Monday morning and enjoyed a nice sail back to Sidney.

Day 1: 20160326
11:14 – 15:11
Total Time: 03:57
Sail Time: 02:27
Engine Time: 01:30
Total Distance: 12.5 nm

Day 2: 20160328
12:24 – 17:10
Total Time: 4:45
Sail Time: 2:37
Engine Time: 2:08
Total Distance: 13.7 nm

I arrived back from Newfoundland in early March and prepared Treylya as my cousin and his partner from Newfoundland were planning on visiting us for a week to sail and explore Victoria.

My cousin Paul is an avid fisherman and wanted to try west coast fishing.  I’ve never really tried fishing while living on the West Coast but always thought it would be something I’d do one day so I went out and picked up everything needed.  Most of the fishing gear (down riggers, rods, reels, lures) I got was second hand (from yard sales) but I also paid several visits to Island Outfitters to complete my collection.  The guys at Island Outfitters were great to deal with and helped explain the process of using the downrigger, depths to fish at, how long to put the lure back from the steel line attached to the downrigger, etc, etc…  So much to learn…

Paul and Cynthia arrived on March 8th and we spend the first few days kicking around Victoria enjoying the sights.  It was nice spending some time with my old buddy.  We spent a lot of time together when we were young and Paul would host me on most fishing trips over the past several years in Newfoundland so it was nice to finally pay host to him and Cynthia.

Paul and I took the boat out for a few hours to hook up the downriggers and test our luck around Coal Island, Sidney, BC.  The first day we dropped the downriggers with high anticipation and were a little disappointed to find the line was tangled each time we brought in the lures.  We went back to Island Outfitters and spoke to the fellas there.  Turns out I was going too slow and the flasher would fall and tangle around the steel rigging line.  The next day out, equipped with this new knowledge, we kept the speed around 3 knots and never experienced a tangle after that…  No luck that day but we were in high spirits now that we finally figured out how to fish with a down rigger.  We felt ready for a day on the water to test our skills.

We made plans to head over to Ganges on March 12th and decided to fish most of the way over.  Debbie, Cynthia, Paul and I enjoyed a great day sailing and fishing and although we didn’t get anything we enjoyed the trip and had a few laughs.

We tied up at Ganges Marina and settled in for an afternoon of drinking and eating…  The girls went to check out the shops and Paul and I stayed around the dock and had a beer.  We met a fella on the dock named Justin who worked at the marina and turned out to be a wealth of knowledge about crabbing, gathering oysters and mussels, fishing, engines, boats, etc…  Justin headed out and picked up some seafood for a BBQ and the girls got back from the market so we put on the BBQ.  Justin got back as the sun was setting with a load of crab, oysters and mussels.  We shared what we had and Justin shared his seafood.  What a feast!

We woke up Sunday morning with a forecast of high winds so we left Treylya tied up to the dock and took a taxi to the ferry and the ferry back to Swartz Bay.  I planned to come back later in the week to spend a few nights on the boat at Ganges.  Paul and Cynthia enjoyed the scenery during the ferry ride back and plan to make this an annual trip.

I staying in Victoria for a few days and returned to Ganges on Wednesday afternoon.  I hung out at Ganges Marina for a few days and Deb came over Friday evening.  We went for dinner at the pub, had a few drinks with Justin at the dock and turned in around 10pm.

We woke up Sat morning and decided to head back to Sidney.  We had good sailing and we back in port by 16:30.

Day 1: 20160312
09:34 – 14:46
Total Time: 05:30
Sail Time: 03:00
Engine Time: 02:30

Day 2: 20160319
10:00 – 16:20
Total Time: 5:28
Sail Time: 4:01
Engine Time: 1:27

When I was considering the purchase of Treylya I was appalled with the condition of the teak.  The previous owners owned a dog(s) and I guess that over the years the teak on the port side was worn from the dog jumping on and off the boat from the port side.  On the port side the teak was worn thru and missing in several spots.  John dropped the price accordingly and told me about a friend who worked in a shop in Nanaimo, BC that provides teak decking that could get me a lead on some cheap teak.

This was a project that was on my mind whenever I was on the boat.  Whenever I docked at a marina and talked to other sailers they commented on what a nice boat Treylya was but I couldn’t help but feel the embarrassment of the crappy looking teak.  Wood working is not one of my strong points, actually I’ve never really done any…  and this would be a time consuming, expensive job.  But wood working runs in my family and I’m hoping that somewhere along the way I might have picked up the aptitude for it…  maybe…  groan…

Here’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in reverse order…

The Ugly
As mentioned, the teak looks terrible and is ripped up in several areas.  All seats have to be redone…  period…

The Bad
I googled teak deck replacement and found a bunch of great videos and websites dedicated to it.  Most sites talked about the cost of a deck replacement as being very high…  Typically into the Tens of Thousands…  Not what I wanted to hear but hey it’s only money right?  Also most sites talk about it taking months of man hours to complete.  Groan.  For a computer geek with no wood working experience and no tools (they are all back at my place in Newfoundland) I’m expecting this to take a very long time and be very expensive.

I’d like to get the decks done for summer cruising but I’m heading to Chicago next week for a week and then back to Newfoundland for a few weeks snowmobiling so when the heck am I going to get time to do this!!!

The Good
As with everything in life.  It ain’t all bad…  The area that I need to fix up is rather small as I’m just re-covering the hatches / seats in the cockpit.  John got me in touch with the fella in Nanaimo and it turned out that he was able to get me some nice (albeit a little thin) teak for $2000.  He said it should do me for 9-10 years and will improve the appearance and increase the value of the boat.

I have visions of sailing around with a shiny looking new teak deck…  I’ll be standing there with the breeze in my hair and people will be in awe of what a beautiful sailboat that I’m skippering.  Ah, the free life of a sailor…

However, back to reality, I got a feeling that this is gonna be a long, slow, painful journey…  Stay tuned…