I’m flying to Chicago next week and then back to Newfoundland for a few weeks of snowmobiling in Feb so Deb and I decided to get some sailing in and head to Ganges, Saltspring Island for the weekend.  We packed a few things and headed to the boat Saturday morning where we loaded our gear and cast off by 09:45am…

After a quick steam out from the marina, we raised the sails near Kamai Pt, Coal Island and sailed NE towards Moresby Island.  We tacked back towards Portland Island but lost our wind in the lund of Portland Island so we motored north for 20 minutes until it picked up again.  Then we enjoyed a nice sail up Swanson Channel and into Captain Passage where we dropped the sails and steamed to Ganges.  I checked the motor frequently and things remained cool so I’m relieved the overheating issue is resolved…

Winter sailing is surprisingly pleasant if you are dressed for it.  We both took turns dropping into the cabin to get a quick warm up from the warmth of the Dickinson and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and some warmed up bone broth…  Ah, life’s good…

We tied up at Ganges Marina, had a beer and went for a walk around the market at Ganges.  After an hour or so we ended up at The Oystercatcher Seafood Bar and Grill and went inside for a few drinks and appetizers…  The calamari was excellent.  Everyone we talked to at Ganges was very relaxed and easy going and we watched the sun go down while overlooking the marina.

We retired for the night back aboard Treylya where we enjoyed a drink of Jamesons and turned in around 9pm after a full day.

We awoke the next morning to a peaceful island sunrise and after a lazy start we fuelled up and cast off near noon.  The wind was fairly light and from the SW which was in our face for most of the trip back so we decided to motor the whole way back.

About an hour into our journey home there was a loud thump which seemed to come from the v-berth at the forward of the boat.  Deb came up and took the helm and I did an inspection but couldn’t find the source of the bang or any damage so I assume we hit a submerged log or something.  Kinda scared the crap out of us but everything seems OK and there’s no water pouring in so I’m not too worried.  I’ll do a more throughout inspection once we’re back on dry land.

We took a small detour and circled around Princess Bay on Portland Island to check it out.  Looks like a nice little anchorage close to our marina so we’ll have to plan a night there on one of our next outings.

We pulled into our slip around 16:00, packed up and made for home…

Day 1: 20160123
09:45 – 15:17
Total time: 05:33
Sail Time: 03:10
Engine Time: 02:23

Day 2: 20160124
11:41 – 16:03
Total Time: 04:22
Sail Time: 0
Engine Time: 04:22