S.V. CAMBRIA: April 2015

An Exercise in Patience

Thursday, April 23, 2015TheCambrians

Conquering Aztecs and Lending a Name: Hernando Cortes

Friday, April 17, 2015TheCambrians

Cruising the Inside Passage is a history lesson waiting to happen. All the greats (and some not-so-greats) have lent their names to the countless inlets, islands and bays along the coastline. Sometimes the answer is obvious: Vancouver, Bligh Cove, Cape Cook. And other times . . . not so much: Tod Inlet (named after John Tod, a Hudson Bay officer), Dodd Narrows (named after Captain Charles Dodd who worked for the Hudson Bay Company for 25 years), Bute Inlet (named after John Stuart, the third Earl of Bute).

So, when some of our friends told us about a book that documents the origin of coastal names in British Columbia, I had to buy one.

It’s all in the name.

We were motoring up the Strait of Georgia a few days ago when David started to hum the extremely annoying (and, sadly, catchy) ABBA tune “Fernando.” A bluesman and classic rocker by nature, I had no idea that he’d even heard of ABBA, let alone knew one of their songs well enough to hum it, so I had know why: Why was he suddenly tormenting me with this bubble-gum melody that was destined to stay with me for the rest of the day? And more importantly, how could I stop it.

The why turned out to be simple: we were approaching Hernando Island to our starboard. Hernando, Fernando. Potāto, potăto.

It was time to pull out the newest addition to our library (“British Columbia Coast Names: Their Origin and History”) and find out who this Hernando was and why he has an island named after him. Come to find out, he was a pretty interesting and historically important fellow whose life not only merited one island naming, but three – Hernando, Cortes and Marina.

Hernando Cortes was born in

Spain

in 1485 and was a conquistador by profession. In 1511, he sailed to

Cuba

where he became secretary to the governor, a powerful and prestigious position. In 1518, the governor put Cortes in command of an expedition to conquer

Mexico

, but retracted it at the last minute due to a disagreement between the two men. Cortes went anyway. And on the night of June 30, 1520 he succeeded in over-throwing Montezuma and causing the fall of the Aztec Empire.

As a reward, Cortes received royal honours (despite his mutiny) and was named the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca in

Mexico

. During his time there, he oversaw the building of new cities (including Mexico City), sponsored further exploration of

Mexico

and promoted the conversion of the natives to the Roman Catholicism . . . basically changing

Mexico

forever. From all accounts, Cortes was a man who was dissatisfied with life and constantly strove for more wealth and power. In the end, he would die in

Spain

, bitter and broke.

But that only explains two islands – Hernando and Cortes – what about Marina Island?

No great story in history would be complete without the help of a woman, and Cortes’ biography is no exception. Marina Island is named after his mistress and interpreter, Doña Marina, who helped counsel the Spanish in their attack against the Aztecs. She later bore him a son.

So, there you have it. The man who won

Mexico

for

Spain

and toppled the Aztec Empire lives on in British Columbia. The accompanying Montezuma’s Revenge, however, does not.

Want a copy of British Columbia Coast Names for yourself? You can buy a used copy on amazon.com for a penny (plus shipping)!

Boat Maintenance Living Aboard a Boat the Inside Passage

The Third Law of Motion

Wednesday, April 15, 2015TheCambrians

“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Newton may have written his Third Law of Motion to explain the nature of physics, but the principle is equally true philosophically. In the physical world, the relationship is immediate but in the philosophical world, the “action” and “reaction” can take place days, weeks, months or even years apart.

Some call it karma.

The idea that opposing forces work together to create balance in the universe is nothing new: Newton declared his laws of motion in 1686 and the Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang dates back to 700 BC. And it seems to me that nowhere is the axiom more true than on the water.

The start of this season has been no exception.

Boats leaving the United States don’t have to check out with customs unless they’re foreign registered and have entered the country under a Vessel Entrance or Clearance Statement, like we do. We had a cruising permit issued when we first arrived in the US in 2007 but found it didn’t offer the flexibility we needed, so we made the switch to the VCS. The price we pay for the added flexibility is that we have to check in and out of the country, which is rarely a pleasant experience.

After being told several years ago that we couldn’t use Roche Harbor on the west side of San Juan Island as a port of entry/departure, last year one of the officers said we could. It’s more convenient for us, so David called customs to confirm before we left last week and was given the okay.

Our passage across the Strait of Juan de Fuca was fairly ordinary. What little wind we saw was from the northwest, so we motor-sailed the seven hours to nearby Garrison Bay for the night. David decided he should call customs again to make sure our paperwork was in order for an early departure the next morning and spoke with Officer Holmes, a man who clearly hates his job. Long story short, he was told that we wouldn’t be able to leave from Roche Harbor and needed to present ourselves on the opposite side of the island in Friday Harbor – costing us 20 miles against the current.

And while we berated ourselves for being stupid enough to believe we could check out of the country based on our personal convenience (and the word of two officers), we held on to the fact that we’d caught a glimpse of at least one of J-Pod’s newest calves as we made our way up Haro Strait the day before. If we had gone to Friday Harbor directly, we would have missed the experience. And while passengers on a whale-watching boat are guaranteed to see orcas, for those of us just moving through the area, they’re not a common sight.

With the

behind us, we continued north and spent our first night in

Canada

in Montague Harbour. I woke up early Monday morning and used the computer to do some writing and shut it down when I was finished: That was the last time it would work.

David initially thought the hard drive had failed (a $50 fix) but it turned out to be the graphics card, which can’t be replaced. We had moved up to Nanaimo by then, so he picked up a drive enclosure (a case that turns an internal hard drive into an external one run off USB ports) and is in the process of transferring data to our backup laptop.

I’m not sure what positive in life will balance out the cost of a new computer, but at least we don’t have to buy one in a panic . . . or with Microsoft 8! We should be able to get through the season with what we have and might even be able to take advantage of a Black Friday sale.

Ten years gone.

On the ninth of April in 2005, David and I stood on a hilltop overlooking the Hauraki Gulf in a suburb of Auckland,

New Zealand

and promised our lives to each other. I have no idea where those ten years went, but I know they were good ones and I wouldn’t have spent them with anyone else – David is the best decision I’ve ever made (unfortunately, I can’t speak for him).

Our anniversary coincided with a layover in Nanaimo, a small city with full amenities, which meant we were able to get off the boat to enjoy a meal out to celebrate. But it also coincided with a scheduled haul-out, which means we spent it on the hard rather than in a romantic, secluded anchorage.

Planning a haul-out for April is a bit of a crap shoot when it comes to the weather – wind, rain and cold days are the norm as the Pacific High fights for dominance over the lows that roll down from the Gulf of Alaska. But we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Since we left Washington, it had been sunny and warm and we finished anti-fouling and waxing the boat in record time. After three days (two where we worked like crazy and one where we chased down bits and pieces for the laptop in the boatyard’s courtesy car), we were back in the water and moving north again.

What goes up must come down.

A falling barometer announced the end of our beautiful, sunny days and the weather was forecasted to take a turn for the worse late Friday afternoon as a large low pressure system formed in the Gulf of Alaska. We were expecting rain and winds around 10 to 15 knots from the SSE and that’s exactly what we saw when we left Nanaimo. But the wind quickly built to a steady 20 knots with gusts around 25, and the Strait of

Georgia

lived up to its reputation of being an ugly stretch of water. Getting across was hard work and getting harder every minute, so we decided to stop halfway and pulled into Deep Bay, Jedediah Island Marine Park (insert link).

It turned out to be for the best. Deep Bay is one of the most protected anchorages in the area and was a good place to ride out the gale-force winds that blew for four days.

It all even out in the end . . . sort of.

So, we may have travelled more miles than we needed to, had yet another problem with US Customs, lost our main computer, brought out another thousand (BOAT) for a haul-out and were stopped in our tracks by bad weather but we got to see orcas, had a backup laptop aboard that should see us through the season, celebrated ten years of marriage and had a safe anchorage offer us shelter when we needed it most.

It may not have been the best start to the season but, all and all, it hasn’t been a bad one either and sometimes that’s all you can ask for: The rest evens out in the end.

Alaska the Inside Passage

The Journey Begins

Thursday, April 02, 2015TheCambrians

Cambria fuels up before leaving Kingston.

There’s an old Chinese proverb attributed to Lao Tzu that reads, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” That’s so true, especially in a literal journey that will take you three times as far: But regardless of the distance travelled, everyone has to start somewhere and we’re no different.

Our journey to Alaska began yesterday.

We didn’t get very far, nor did we intend to – only 17 miles up the “road” to a friend’s dock where we’ll spend the next couple of days organizing the boat, watching the weather and waiting for one final package to arrive from UPS.

But that’s not really what this blog is about.

To make things a little easier as we embarked on our 3,000+ mile season, David and I took a “divide and conquer” approach. Because we still need to use our truck before we store it for the next six (possibly seven) months, I drove it to our destination while he sailed Cambria there. And I have to say, I didn’t like it one bit.

For a couple that’s lived in a small space for the last 14 years, we still manage to have our own lives: I have my interests. David has his. And it’s not unusual for one of us to be off doing our own thing. In fact, when we’re tied to land, it’s the norm. But when it comes to Cambria, we’ve travelled every mile together with one tiny exception and, yesterday, I was quickly reminded how much I hate being separated from the boat . . . and David.

He might starve to death if I weren’t around, but David doesn’t need my help. He’s perfectly capable of handling Cambria on his own, as am I. But life’s not about what you can or can’t do. It’s about the steps you take towards your journey’s end and who you choose to take those steps with. I chose David years ago. And then Cambria chose us: We’re a package deal.

And so, our journey begins.

Despite the fact that we have routes planned, we don’t really know where our steps will lead us or the experiences we’ll have along the way. What we do know is that we’ll take them together, David and I . . . one step at a time.

Want to follow along as we make our way north to Alaska? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

From one dock to another, Cambria takes her first step towards Alaska.

An Exercise in Patience

Conquering Aztecs and Lending a Name: Hernando Cortes

The Third Law of Motion

The Journey Begins

Welcome Aboard

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