S.V. CAMBRIA: January 2015

Timing Is Everything

Friday, January 30, 2015TheCambrians

Most days you’ll find me awake and moving around the boat hours before David so when he said, “MetVuw has the weather looking really good by the weekend” I was sure he was still asleep . . . or experiencing the first stages of dementia. Either way, it was only Monday morning – surely the weather would break before then.

It did, and we were able to up anchor and cross the border a couple of days later. But if you’ve been following our blog for a while, you know that we’ve had our fair share of bad experiences dealing with US Customs and were concerned about checking back into the country.

When we left in May, the officer we dealt with insisted we import the boat (Cambria carries a British flag) and tried to back us into a corner by asking leading questions. In the end, he let us go but not before leaving a bad taste in our mouths that’s lingered for the last five months. To make things worse, our friends aboard Sarita, another British-flagged sailboat, received an equally frustrating welcome when they checking into the

in September. Richard called customs upon arriving and was told in no uncertain terms that he would be importing the boat. But when he walked up to the office, the agent he had spoken to had to leave and he was checked back into the country without issue.

David and I never really discussed our options, but we both knew what was going to happen if we were greeted in the same manner – we’d simply untie Cambria from the customs’ dock and sail back to

Canada

. It’s no exaggeration to say we were prepared for the worst and, based on our past experiences, had no hope for the best.

So, you can imagine our surprise when we were met by a courteous, helpful and welcoming agent who truly seems to enjoy her work – Officer Merry Graham. She’s been stationed in Friday and Roche Harbors for two and a half years, and we’ve had the good fortune of working with her three times without her ever mentioning that we need to import the boat, what we did wrong when we entered the country or what we need to do in the future to make her life easier. In fact, this time around, she told us all of the things customs could do for us (like we’d ever ask!). She’s truly a breath of fresh air in an office known for being difficult – I bet they hate her there.

After checking back into the

, we were left with one final task before we could officially put the 2014 cruising season behind us – crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca and sailing Cambria to her winter home in Kingston. On Friday, we completed that task.

So, what about that MetVuw forecast?

They got it wrong. Sort of. An approaching low began to intensify on Tuesday, closing the window they’d originally forecasted. By the time Saturday evening rolled around, gale to storm-force winds were blowing out in the Sound and every now and again you could hear one of us say, “For once, I’m really glad we’re tied up.”

Boat Maintenance Butchart Gardens Sum It Up Sunday

Heading Home . . . Or Not

Sunday, January 25, 2015TheCambrians

These are my least favourite days of the cruising season. The ones where an endless parade of fronts, troughs and low pressure systems move through the area giving us no option but to hunker down and wait . . . and then wait some more. The ones where everything on Cambria seems to break down, ourselves included, and the balance of cruising is tipped from being ‘rewarding’ to ‘difficult’. These are the ‘dog days of ~~summer~~ autumn’ and they seem to drag on forever.

It doesn’t’ help that David’s killing me with indecision and the promise of being tied up for the year. I’m ready. I’ve been ready. It’s getting colder and our heater isn’t working, which makes for some long and uncomfortable days. But he’s keen to pick up the parts he needs to fix it while we’re still in

Canada

because he hasn’t been able to source them in the

for a reasonable price. So, we’re going to wait. And I get that. But it doesn’t make life any easier, especially when our heater supplies our only source of hot water and without hot water there aren’t any hot showers and I really need a shower!

But I digress.

A major storm system is headed our way, so we moved down to Tod Inlet from James Bay on Sunday. The anchorage is a veritable hurricane hole located on the backside of the world-famous The Butchart Gardens just off Saanich Inlet. It’s also a convenient place to meet Lance, our heater guy, to get the parts we ordered while also picking his brain about what’s been happening. But, like most cruisers, we live on a budget and would prefer to avoid putting our hard-earned cash into someone else’s pocket, so David tore apart the aft cabin and got to work on the heater himself to see if he could diagnose the issue once and for all.

We’ve been getting flame-outs intermittently for about a year now, which coincided perfectly with a dying house battery bank. Ever the optimist in search of the easiest solution, I thought the problem resulted from low voltage and would resolve itself once we replaced the batteries. David (the mechanical engineer and practical one) wasn’t as convinced, so he changed out the fuel pump along with the filters earlier in the year and we were back in business . . . for a while. But here we are again, months later, plagued with flame outs, and now everything seems points to the fact that we picked up some bad fuel along the way.

To check, David disconnected the fuel lines (supply and return) to the boiler and installed temporary lines that he ran from a jerry can with fresh diesel. The system tested well: The hydronic loop heated up quickly and the cabin fans went online in less than 10 minutes (a big improvement over recent start-up times). Similarly, the domestic water Aquastat was quickly satisfied – all with no flame-outs. Clearly the issue lives on the fuel side. But in the process, David discovered that the connectors for the fuel lines were mislabeled: The supply line has been acting as the return and the return line has been acting as the supply – the diesel going to the heater wasn’t being filtered at all. Unfortunately, this means we still needed Lance to come aboard despite David’s efforts: He’s the one who installed the heater, after all.

Long story short, it was bad fuel but David and Lance were able to isolate it in our port diesel tank and set the system up so the heater was drawing fuel from the starboard tank, which has been run through the engine’s filtering system and was clean. To make sure, they adjusted the height of the fuel supply line so it drew diesel from the top and away from any settled gunk (belts and braces). The heater’s fuel filter was changed out and a new fuel pump was installed. But, as far as the fuel lines were concerned, they weren’t mislabeled after all. Because the previous pump was either clogged or not working properly, the diesel travelled the path of least resistance (i.e. the return side) – it was a simple case of too many things happening at the same time and confusing the diagnosis. Here’s what David had to say in Cambria’s maintenance log:

In summary, this flame-out issue was the result of two virtually concurrent issues which, in short time span, combined to create the problem: the progressive weakening and subsequent failure of the original fuel pump; and, despite the installation of a fresh primary canister filter, the new higher flow capacity and more powerful replacement pump seemingly caused the accelerated introduction of foreign matter from the tanks into the filtration system, thereby creating flow restriction at the filter and increased negative pressure within the fuel feed to the heater unit, consequently creating fuel starvation to the point of burn instability and flame-out. In a nutshell, contaminated fuel. It took a while working through all the other possibilities for this to become apparent. Damn it – if I haven’t been chasing ghosts and overlooking the most simple possibilities. Yet I’ve learned even more about this system than I previously knew – gained knowledge, worth its weight!

With the heater up and running, we’d hoped to cross the border back into the US over the weekend but the forecast wouldn’t cooperate so we made the decision to stay in Tod Inlet and wait for the next weather window to take us home and officially end our cruising season which gives us (and by us I mean David) plenty of time to fix the heater.

Yep. You read that right.

Once the heater was back online, it took a whopping 24 hours for it to break down again. This time a coil in the salon fan unit burst a weld and antifreeze leaked out of the system into the bilge. It’s not the first time this has happened. In fact, it’s the fourth. But the only way to fix it at anchor is to bypass the unit and take it out the system which means, after one measly day, we no longer have heat in the salon.

And I'm still waiting for that shower.

Destinations the Gulf Islands the Inside Passage

Wallace Island Provincial Marine Park

Tuesday, January 20, 2015TheCambrians

I like an anchorage with a story to tell, so it’s no surprise that Wallace Island Marine Park in the southern Gulf Islands landed on our radar. What is surprising, though, is that it took six years to get there.

Located between Galiano and Saltspring Islands in Trincomali Channel, little is written about Wallace Island before the arrival of David and Jeanne Conover, a newly married couple from Southern California who purchased it in 1946 for CA$20,000 (approximately US$200,000 today) to build a vacation resort. At the time, Wallace Island was a remote location and the living conditions were difficult. The Conovers had little experience or know-how but, through a series of ups and downs that are recounted in a book later written by David called “Once Upon an Island”, they achieved their dream and built the Royal Cedar Cottages. The resort was made up of ten structures including guest cottages, the Conover’s home, a recreation hall and some support buildings. Most of them are gone today but there are three cottages still standing, one of which is open and has become home to decorated driftwood and flotsam left behind by visiting boaters.

The resort and most of the island were sold in the mid to late 1960s to a group of teachers out of Seattle. The Conovers kept 5.25 hectares in Princess Cove where they built a new house. Jeanne moved to Victoria so their son could attend high school while David lived on the island to pursue his new dream – writing full-time. She went back and forth for a while, but they eventually divorced. In the meantime, disagreements amongst the new owners led to a court dispute and the island was once again put up for sale. In 1990, through the efforts of the provincial government and BC MarineParks Forever, it was purchased and a new marine park was created. However, the land in Princess Cove remains private.

While Wallace Island Marine Park is no longer a remote destination, it can still only be reached by private vessel and has several anchoring options – the most popular are Conover and Princess Coves. We didn’t anchor in Conover Cove because it’s shallow and tight, so we don’t have any first-hand information to share other than to say there’s a BC Park’s dock on the eastern shore with room for several boats (36’ feet or less). The cost is CA$2 per metre from May 1 through September 30 (fees are not collected during the off-season).

Princess Cove, to the north, is a quieter option with more room and depth for visiting boats but, like Conover Cove, requires care when entering to avoid the rocks and reefs that surround the entrance. Once inside, you’ll find good protection from wind with good holding in depths of approximately 7 metres (23 feet). Swinging room, however, is limited and stern-tying is the norm, especially in the busy summer months. The land and docks along the eastern shore are private, but there’s a dinghy dock along the west side of the cove for shore access.

The park has a good trail system that will take you from one end of the island to the other through a low forest with several small beaches and coves to explore along the way. The interior trails are well-maintained and easy to walk with little gain in elevation so they’re suitable for children, but the ones that follow the coastline feel like they were blazed by goats at times. The onshore facilities are limited but include walk-in campsites, picnic areas and pit toilets.

Disclaimer: This blog article is not to be used for navigation. It is solely an opinion based on our personal experience in Princess Cove during settled weather conditions. Consult charts and cruising guides carefully before entering and anchoring.

Destinations the Gulf Islands the Inside Passage

Jedediah Island - The Gem of the Strait of Georgia

Wednesday, January 14, 2015TheCambrians

For one reason or another, Jedediah Island in the Strait of Georgia is a black hole in the world of charts. David suspects it’s because there is no commercial interest on the island, but I’m not convinced. There are plenty of island and islets in the area that are charted and, yet, have no commercial interest either. Jedediah Island, on the other hand, has a nice hidey-hole in the way of “Deep Bay” for passing fisherman and tug boat drivers to duck into (sans barge, of course) during bad weather so, it seems to me that a chart would be handy for all of us. Until that time comes though, we recommend consulting the cruising guide, “Best Anchorages of the Inside Passage” by Anne Vipond and William Kelly. You can find helpful information in Dreamspeaker’s "Vancouver, Howe Sound, and the Sunshine Coast" by Anne and Laurence Yeadon-Jones as well but the book “Best Anchorages” is . . . the best.

There are several anchoring options available throughout Jedediah Island, but both of our stays coincided with southeasterly winds leaving us only one choice: Deep Bay on the island’s northern end. Considered to be one of the safest anchorages in the area, Deep Bay offers all-weather protection. And we agree. While it was blowing over 20 knots in the Strait of Georgia, we only saw a breeze inside the anchorage – just enough to keep things pleasant and cool. However, the holding is fair in rock and the anchorage is , requiring a stern-tie to shore.

A trail leads from the head of the bay through an old-growth forest and a meadow before branching off in two directions: One leads to Driftwood and Codfish bays as well as to the trail to Long Bay and, eventually, Mount Gibraltar, the island’s highest point. The other leads to Home Bay, the former homestead of the island’s previous owners, the Palmers.

The Palmers may have been the last private owners of the island, but they weren’t the most colourful. That honour clearly belongs to an Irish farmer by the name of Henry Hughes who owned the island in the 1920s and ‘30s. He didn’t care for strangers and suspected those visiting the island of poaching his sheep – going as far as greeting some people with the barrel of a shotgun. He bought Jedediah Island as a working farm, bringing a manservant, gardener, cook and a shepherd with him. But, by all accounts, he was more interested in reading than in farming and soon went broke.

With no money to pay for his help, he lived on the island alone with his dog, Caesar, until meeting an English nurse by the name of Jenny. One summer, a small group of people that had arrived by sailing yacht dared to venture ashore and walk the trails. They ran into Hughes who invited them to his house at the head of Home Bay. Jenny ultimately became his wife and they lived on the island together for years. Hughes eventually hoped to sell Jedediah to the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company for development into a summer resort but the CPR purchased Newcastle Island near Nanaimo instead.

In 1949, the island was purchased by Mary Palmer and her first husband who used it as a retreat. In the 1970s, she moved to Jedediah full-time with her second husband, Al Palmer, and they became the private owners. Wanting to keep the island pristine for everyone to enjoy, the Palmers decided to sell it to the government as a provincial marine park; thus starting the fundraising efforts of the Friends of Jedediah and contributions from hundreds of individuals, groups and corporations throughout British Columbia. The island became a marine park in 1995 – any visitors will tell you that the funds were well-spent. The Palmer’s left their horse, Will, behind along with some sheep whose descendants continue to graze on the island today.

Beyond Home Bay, there’s a short trail to the aptly named Driftwood Beach – a stack, ten feet deep, of logs piled together as if they were toothpicks – clearly not where you want to be during a winter storm. And beyond Driftwood Beach, further to the south, lies one of the most beautiful anchorages on the island, Codfish Bay. Situated on the southeast side of the island, Codfish Bay lies off Sabine Channel which separates Jedediah from neighbouring Texada Island. It offers good protection from northwest winds and a group of small islands near the entrance of the bay offers some protection from the southeast and the swell. The bay itself is dramatic – a narrow inlet with steep-to granite cliffs and a driftwood strewn beach at its head – and would be a lovely spot to spend a few days.

From there, backtrack along the trail until you’re close to Long Bay on the opposite side of the island. Along the trail, just before you break from the forest into an open paddock, there’s a gravesite marked “Will”, the Palmer’s horse. Not far beyond the grave, the trail breaks off to left, exits the woods and enters a paddock where it’s not uncommon to find the sheep grazing. Continue to the left and re-entered the forest where the trail is clearly marked with fluorescent pink tape.

The trail, made by animals over the years, climbs 500 feet through woodland and moss-covered granite and is well-worth the climb. The view from the summit looks out into the Strait of Georgia and from there you can see the neighbouring islands and Jedediah’s rugged shoreline: It’s nothing short of spectacular. It’s also a good place to catch a glimpse of the island’s feral goats, believed by historians to be descendants of those left by 18th century Spanish explorers to graze on the island.

After making our second trip to Jedediah Island in September, David and I were left to wonder, once again, why we hadn’t visited before. It offers a lot of what we look for in an anchorage: good protection, a marine park, hiking trails and, above all, peace and quiet even when it’s busy.