Deb arrived after finalizing things in St. John’s and resumed her old job in Victoria.  So nice to be together again…  We wake up together, have breakfast together, walk to work together and walk back home together where we spend the evening together.  It’s a nice change to be spending so much time together.  I’m sure at some point we’re gonna need some space but for now we’re both really enjoying spending all our time together again.

It’s been several months since Deb’s been on the boat so we planned to head out for the Thanksgiving long weekend.  We picked up a few supplies during the week and after work on Friday we headed out to Sidney.  We picked up groceries and a pizza in Sidney and spent the night on the boat so that we could cast off bright and early Saturday morning.  I had a spell of dizziness Friday evening but it passed after an hour or so.  Weird…  Will have to keep an eye out for other symptoms.

We slept in Saturday morning and cast off around 09:30.  The old diesel is working great and we chugged over and picked up some fuel and headed out around Coal Island and into the straight.

We raised the sails once out past Coal Island but the currents were against us and the winds were low so we made slow progress.   The opposing current was noticeable as we neared the passage between Moresby and Portland Island and the slow pace was somewhat painful.  After battling with my inner sailor I reluctantly fired up the motor again and motored thru the pass where we raised the sails again and enjoyed a beautiful sail over towards Saltspring.

The winds died off again when we rounded Beaver Point and we drifted for a while in Captain Passage as we were teased by the winds just ahead of us that were being funnelled up thru Ganges Harbour.  Finally I fired up the diesel again and steamed between Channel Islands over to where the winds were.  The winds were strong over here and we cut the engine again and enjoyed a great sail along Prevost Island towards Saltspring.  The winds were pretty strong and gusty and Treylya heeled over under the strain of the sails.  Deb isn’t used to the feeling of the boat when she’s tipped over and felt a little insecure but after 10 minutes or so she was feeling a little better.

As we neared Saltspring we dropped the sails, motored on into the harbour and tied up at Ganges Marina. I mixed a drink and we had a quick bite and I started feeling very tired so put my head down for a nap.  At 22:00 I woke up and felt like crap.  Oh no, a few of the guys at work were hacking and coughing during the week so I must have picked up something.  I decided to climb into the sack and sleep it off.

Next morning I felt a little better and we headed out for a walk around Ganges and a coffee.  By mid afternoon I was feeling burning in my chest and knew that something was taking hold.  Crap.  I hate being sick.  Oh well…  Grin and bear it…

The sun was out and the winds had dropped so we relaxed on the boat and enjoyed drinks and reading in the sun.  It was surprisingly warm for early October.

Deb started feeling dizzy Sunday evening.  Yikes…  Looks like we both are gonna suffer this one.

I’m not sure if it was the drinks, the sun or the cold but by the time the sun had gone down I was feeling woozy and fell asleep after dinner and slept from 19:00 until the next morning.

We cast off again on Monday and Deb spent most of her time below deck curled up on the couch reading.  I felt a little better and was able to manage the lookout for logs as we motored home under the steering of the autopilot.

It was nice to get back and after we straightened away the boat we headed to Victoria, took some meds and turned in early.  The cold wasn’t really bad but hung on for the next few weeks.  Deb experienced the same symptoms as me a few days behind mine.  Oh well, what doesn’t kill ya will make ya stronger I suppose…