It’s been a busy couple of months.  During November I travelled to Atlanta, GA for another install and then went back to Newfoundland (great to see old friends and family) to pack the remainder of our items for shipment to Victoria.  Had a night up to the cabin with Perry to winterize it and put the rain barrel away.

Then back home to Victoria to help mom get moved from Newfoundland to Victoria and prepare for Christmas.  The whole family joined us for a great Christmas of eating and drinking and we enjoyed the family spirit of Christmas.

We’ve been missing spending time on the boat so we planned to get away for New Year’s eve.  During a summer trip to Genoa Bay the restaurant owner, Gordon, told us about a New Years bash planned at the restaurant so we made our plans to be there to ring in the New Year…  We left Sidney around 14:00 figuring we’d be in Genoa Bay in a little over an hour to begin our celebrations.

We provisioned the boat, lit the heater and steamed out of Tsehum Harbour and turned north between Goudge Island and Coal Island.  The current was against us a little but we kept making progress as we dodged ferries outside of Swartz Bay and moved into Satellite Channel.

I checked the exhaust elbow and it was very hot to touch – I couldn’t keep my hand on it…  Uh oh…  The engine is running hot and the afternoon is wearing on…  I put up the sails and sailed for an hour while I tried to figure out the problem but to no avail…  The impeller looked fine but not much water was passing out with the exhaust.  I looked for the nearest harbour where we could spend the night and found that Deep Cove, North Saanich was just around the corner.  We started the engine and steamed towards it.  I looked up nearby marinas in the Cruising the Gulf Islands guide I have aboard and found that Deep Cove marina was at the south side of the bay.  Their number wasn’t published so I googled it and when I called the fella said that they had a slip available at E76.  Perfect.  The engine was running hot but the overheating alarm still hadn’t sounded so we kept going.

We pulled in around 16:30 but couldn’t see any wharf finger letters so we pulled up at a finger near the outside of the wharf that was vacant and I went to pay for the night.  I walked up to the road but didn’t see anyone so I called the number on the sign and the fella who answered told me they were a private marina and weren’t really set up for overnighters but when I explained my circumstances he agreed to let me stay the night and said to throw $20 on the counter of the house near the wharf.  Excellent…  All set for the night…  I poked my head in and shouted hello but no one was around so I left it until the morning.

We settled in, had dinner and poured a drink.  The sun went down and we watched the stars come up.  It was a beautiful, cold night under a sky filled with stars.  But we were warm and comfortable thanks to the Dickinson.  It turned out to be a very rocky night as Deep Cove pretty exposed to waves from the large tankers that travelled thru Satellite Channel.  Groan.  It made for a poor night for sleeping.

Deb ran up to pay the next morning while I got the boat ready.  Apparently whoever I spoke to didn’t let the lady that owns the house know that we were staying and she was, understandably, rather unimpressed when Deb knocked on her door at 8am.  She came out wearing her PJs and told Deb and it was a private marina and that we should leave.  She warmed up after a few minutes and told us to stay as long as we needed and was quite friendly.  We steamed out of the harbour and were greeted by decent winds so we sailed pretty much all the way to Genoa Bay.  The wind was on our nose to we made slow progress as we tacked back and forth but it was a beautiful, sunny day so we enjoyed our time on the water.

We started the motor and steamed in to the marina.  The motor heated up and after just 15 minutes and the overheating alarm went off as we were pulling in to our slip.  James and Sue (Hounds Hollow) were there to catch our dock lines and I organized and prepared the cabin while Deb went for a drink with our friends.  I talked with a few people who were also on the dock and joined Deb, Sue and James to begin the celebrations…

We relaxed on Hounds Hollow for a few drinks.  Got cleaned up and went up to the restaurant for our 9pm seating.  Had a delicious seven course meal and brought in the New Year with the crowd.  Our host, Gordon, was his usual flamboyant self and we all enjoyed a great night.  Happy New Year!

We relaxed for New Year’s day and flirted with the idea of heading to Ganges on Saltspring Island on Saturday but decided that with the hangovers, the overheating engine and little wind that plan might be a little ambitious so we decided to stay put.  We spent Jan 1st and 2nd relaxing at Genoa Bay, hiking and setting and checking the crab traps…  Made for a relaxing start to the New Year…

Winds were 10 – 15 knots NW and we left early to have the whole day to make it back to Sidney.  We motored out of the harbour and set the sails.  The wind was behind us and pushed us along pretty good and we enjoyed wing on wing for most of the trip back.  The wind dropped off around noon and we motored for about 15 minutes but it picked back up just northeast of Coal Island so we sailed right into the harbour and only had to motor into our slip.  We were back at the dock by 15:15.  Perfect.

So, now the task before me is to figure out this engine overheating issue…