S.V. CAMBRIA: March 2016

All Good Things (Must End)

Sunday, March 27, 2016TheCambrians

The A to Z Challenge

The A to Z Challenge | Theme Reveal

Monday, March 21, 2016TheCambrians

On May the first, 2001 David and I boarded a plane bound for Auckland,

New Zealand

to start a new chapter in our lives: living aboard and travelling the world by sailboat. That was fifteen years ago. It’s a big anniversary, one that should be celebrated in a big way. So, to help mark the occasion, during the month of April we’re participating in the Blogging from Ato Z Challenge where every day (excluding Sundays) we’ll be posting to the blog . . . alphabetically. The overall theme we’ve chosen to tie all the entries together is living aboard and cruising: our thoughts, reflections, things we’ve learned along the way, and tips for those starting out or are interesting in this lifestyle. Here’s what we have planned:

A is for Anniversary
B is for Boat Tour
C is for Cambria | What’s in a Name?
D is for Destination Pacific Northwest
E is for Evolution of a Cruiser | How We Became Regional Cruisers
F is for Fido | Cruising with a Dog
G is for Guests Aboard | Tips for Survival
H is for Happy Home | Transitioning to Living Aboard
I is for Investing in the Future | The Benefits of Solar Panels
J is for Jacklines | Offshore Equipment We Wouldn’t Be Without
K is for Kayak | Things That Make Living Aboard Easier
L is for Living Aboard Versus Cruising | What’s the Difference?
M is for Money Saving Tips
N is for Nights at Anchor
is for On the Hook | What Makes a Good Anchorage
P is for Provisioning
Q is for Questions | Answers to the Questions We’re Most Frequently Asked
R is for Route Planning
S is for Side Effects of Cruising | How Cruising Has Changed Our Lives
T is for Travellers Who Sail or Sailors Who Travel
U is for Under the Weather | The Weather Sources We Trust
V is for Vista | 15 Simple Ways to Improve Your Landscape Photos
W is for What Sailing Means to Us
X is for (e)Xceptional | The Top Ten Things We Like About Living Aboard
Y is for Yuck | The Top Ten Things We Dislike About Living Aboard
Z is for Zooming Ahead | What’s Next?

It may get a little chaotic and messy (it’s harder to organize alphabetically than you’d think), but I’m confident we can pull it off thanks to a lot of advanced planning. So, sit back, hold tight and get ready to join us next month as we look back and celebrate the last 15 years.

Alaska Alphabet Photography Project Endicott Arm

Alphabet Photography Project | X is for Xanadu

Thursday, March 03, 2016TheCambrians

the Gulf Islands

It’s Gonna Be a Bright (Bright) Sunshiny Day

Wednesday, March 02, 2016TheCambrians

Finally! We struck gold – golden rays of sunshine, that is. And are currently enjoying the longest bought of fine weather we’ve seen all season – 11 days in a row. It’s been bloody fantastic! And we’ve been making good use of it, doing all of the things that make cruising such an enjoyable lifestyle for us: exploring new anchorages, hiking, kayaking, watching the sun set and the moon rise.

It started last Friday. We’d been hiding out from the weather in Tucker Bay when we got our chance to move down to Nanaimo. Once we were there, the sun broke through the clouds and the wind started to blow from the north. But more importantly, the forecast was good so, after taking care of some business in the city, we made our way through Dodd Narrows and into the Gulf Islands. Our first stop: Wallace Island Marine Park – a favourite of ours.

After a few days, we were ready for a change so we moved down to a new spot: Walker’s Hook on the east coast of Salt Spring Island where we sat on the beach and watched the cows come home.

The wind was forecasted to reach 25 to 30 knots out of the northwest Friday evening, too strong for Walker’s Hook, so we moved down to the protection of Montague Habour. It was a dreary, foggy morning with visibility ranging from a half mile down to 50 metres, but it cleared by noon and we were back in business – the sunshine business. After a couple of nights, we were on our way again in search of new horizons.

We don’t spend a lot of time in the Gulf Islands (or the San Juans, for that matter) because we prefer quieter, more remote destinations. By the time we are here, the weather restricts us to well-protected anchorages. But this season, we arrived early enough to get off the beaten path and finally visit one of the places I’ve had my eye on for years: Cabbage Island Marine Park, which lies directly off the Strait of Georgia.

Cabbage Island is small in size but big on diversity . . . and beautiful views. The western shore faces the anchorage and is lined with sandy beaches. The eastern shore is Chuckanut (a sandstone-based conglomerate that looks exactly like its name sounds) and faces the Strait of Georgia. In the middle of the island, there are marshes with groves of arbutus, Garry oak and Douglas fir, adding to the diversity.

It’s a beautiful spot, one we hope to visit again in the future, but it’s time to move on. There’s a change in the weather coming and we need an anchorage better protection, so we have to leave the fun and the sun behind while we hide out for a few days. If the forecast holds, the fine weather will be back in no time at all . . . and so will we.