S.V. CAMBRIA: 2012

Happy New Year From the Crew of Cambria

Monday, December 31, 2012TheCambrians

Tonight, millions of people across the world will be hitting bars, restaurants and parties to ring in the New Year. There’ll be hats, noisemakers and cheap champagne to celebrate along with several versions of Auld Lang Syne playing in the background. We’re no different and will be joining in the revelry; but before we do, we thought it would be nice to give one final tip of the hat to 2012 – one of the best, if not THE best, cruising season in our eleven years on the water.

We may have hit a stumbling block or two along the way, but the year was nothing short of magical. We sailed to Fiordland Recreational Area, north of Vancouver Island along the mainland of British Columbia, for the first time. It’s the farthest point north that we’ve been (close to 53°N) and the fact that the scenery seemed to grow more grand with each passing minute came as a surprise to both of us. We’d read that Fiordland was the gem of Coastal BC, but nothing could prepare us for the reality – mile after mile of glacial bowls, steep cliffs, pristine landscape, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, natural hot springs, secluded anchorages and so much more. We loved it so much that we hope to return next year.

But the season took a lot out of us and we spent the past several weeks recuperating on land with family. Every day has been an improvement and the aches and pains are finally beginning to subside. David’s shoulder, in particular, is getting better by leaps and bounds and the list of work we need to do in order to get Cambria ready for the upcoming season is starting to feel less daunting.

Now that the holidays are over, or will be in a matter of hours, our thoughts keep returning to the boat. As much as we enjoy spending time with my family, we miss the water and are looking forward to getting back and to all that the New Year has to offer. Although we haven’t given much thought as to how we’re going to fill the upcoming days, apart from a broad outline – circumnavigating Vancouver Island – we’re excited to get started nonetheless.

Thank you for following along on our adventure this past year and we wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.

Stephanie, David & Sally “The Seadog”

The Final Count

The Final Count: The End of the 2012 Cruising Season

Tuesday, November 20, 2012TheCambrians

Sailing across the Strait of Georgia at the beginning of the season.

When we lived in New Zealand, we would watch boats return from the islands – Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia or some other exotic location in the South Pacific – every October only to tie up for the summer, completely ignoring the beauty of the Bay of Islands in favour of a concrete jungle. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why. Now I understand.

It’s exhaustion. Pure and simple. And we’re experiencing it for ourselves after what was an incredible, but somewhat stressful, season. For the first time ever, we’re happy to be tied up and don’t feel like prisoners of a marina berth. Quite the opposite. Our new locale allows us to come and go without bailing gallons of rain water from the dinghy. The endless supply of electricity permits us to run the heater day and night, keeping the boat and ourselves dry and warm. Having the truck back means we can run to the store for anything we want or need. And for once, this makes us happy. I hope it’s not a permanent affliction but, for now, it’s just what the doctor ordered.

It’s been a difficult season for us all. David’s shoulder is a real issue and could possibly keep us from sailing next year if it doesn’t start to improve – at the very least, he’s not going to be able to attack the two-page to-do list that he just authored. And Cambria, well, the old girl is tired and in need of some major TLC. But that will have to wait. This year we’re packing it in early, saying goodbye to the boat and the rain, and making our way to Kansas for the holidays. But before we do, here are the numbers from this year’s season:

The Final Count

Days on the Water: 186

Miles Travelled: 1626 nm

Days Underway: 82

Anchorages: 70 (some more than once)

Diesel Consumed: 418 gallons

Engine Hours: 324 (43 to charge batteries, 15 to make water)

Generator Hours: 176

Heater Hours: 194

Petrol Consumed: 42 gallons (158 generator hours and outboard motor)

Solar Panels: 11,986 amp hours (162kwh) saving approximately 300 hours on the engine and 300 gallons of diesel ($1300 – $1500)

West Sound, Orcas Island

Thursday, November 01, 2012TheCambrians

Cambria tied to the dock in West Sound, Orcas Island.

The warming trend finally arrived on Sunday, just in time for our passage to Orcas Island to visit our friends, Bill and Sylvia.

Over the course of four days, we wined and dined while we caught up on the news of the summer and discussed what next season might hold. We’re both considering circumnavigating Vancouver Island and would like to do the trip together, though I suspect David would jump at the chance to spend more time along the Central Coast as well. We also had the opportunity to meet the newest member of their family – Skookum, a three month-old Boxer puppy. But as wonderful as it was to see them again, the season has taken a toll on us and we’re ready to move on.

The forecast has kept us guessing and changes nearly every day but, with the current in our favour, we decided to slip our lines and see what today held rather than risk waiting until Monday when they’re calling for favourable winds out of the northwest. As predicted, the wind was from the southeast (right on our nose) blowing 20 knots at times but, despite the fact that it was wind against tide, the sea was flat and we had a comfortable ride.

Our goal was the marina in Port Ludlow, approximately 30 nautical miles north of Poulsbo. But the thought of doing another passage, even one that was only five hours long, was too much for either one of us to consider so we kept going. The decision meant moving in the dark, something we rarely do here because of the debris in the water – logs, kelp or anything else that might damage a prop … or worse, put a hole in the boat. But season-fatigue won out in the end.

Sailing at night on the open ocean is a magical experience: It can be so peaceful as you ghost along the water under a canopy of stars that span from horizon to horizon. There’s nothing else like it. Not in my experience, anyway. But sailing at night in populated areas is adifferent story. The lights from shore create a confusing background and it’s easy to become disorientated. The task is made simpler with the help of modern equipment – everything from radar to chart plotters – but that doesn’t mean it’s not stressful. It is. But it was worth the extra effort and energy because we’re safely back in Poulsbo – some 12 hours and 72 nm later – and are tied to the dock for the winter.

We can now say the cruising season is officially over and, for once, are happy to do so.

the Inside Passage the San Juan Islands

Reid Harbor, Stuart Island

Saturday, October 27, 2012TheCambrians

the Gulf Islands the Inside Passage

Bedwell Harbour, Pender Island

Monday, October 15, 2012TheCambrians

British Columbia the Inside Passage the Sunshine Coast

Pender Harbour, Mainland BC

Sunday, October 14, 2012TheCambrians

A chart of Pender Habour showing where we were anchored (Purple) and our final set (Red).

It was a dark and stormy night. Too dark. And too stormy. But these things always seem to happen that way.

We knew it was coming. The forecast was for an intense frontal system to move across Central and Northern waters and a trailing cold front to cross Vancouver Island yesterday bringing storm force southeasterlies ahead of the frontal system. For our area, a gale warning was issued during the afternoon forecast with southeast winds predicted to reach speeds of 40 knots before diminishing later today. And that’s exactly what happened.

I have no idea when the wind picked up; but we must have been lying in bed for hours listening to it howl, David getting up from time to time to check on things. When he didn’t come back to bed, I got up myself. He had set up an anchor watch with all the instruments and radar on. Everything looked fine, so I laid down again but it was short-lived. Before long, David started the engine: We were dragging anchor.

The wind was blowing a steady 25 – 30 knots with higher gusts bearing on the beam of the boat causing us to slowly “zigzag” down the anchorage. The anchor reset “on the fly” in mid-bay and held for about 30 minutes before releasing again. That was at 4:00 am. Somewhere in the process, David let out close to 100 metres of chain –almost everything we have aboard – with a full-length snubber (a hook and line used to take the strain and act as a shock absorber). This time it held but not before we’d moved 0.4 nautical miles into the centre of the bay, beyond Maidera Park and the only other vessel at anchor – a 70 odd-foot converted fishing trawler.

I stayed up until about 6:00 am; David until first light around 7:00 am. It had already been a long night and the wind was showing no signs of abating. But the anchor was well-set and we stayed in bed until after one o’clock, getting up every half hour or so to check on things.

The conditions had settled enough that I was finally able to get Sally to shore around 2:00 pm and discovered that power was down in the villages. While on shore, I considered our options: We could (a) stay put, (b) move to another anchorage or (c) go to one of the marinas. As it turned out, David was doing the same thing and had already made the decision: We were going to tie up.

It was crazy to think the windlass could handle the task of hauling 100 metres of 10 mm chain and a 45 pound anchor in its current condition, but we gave it a try anyway. I don’t think it managed to bring up ten metres before the gear box gave out and we took over the job –cranking the chain up metre by metre with the help of a manual winch. The procedure took more than half an hour, but we did it. And now we’re safely tied up to the dock waiting for the next round of bad weather – another night of 25 to 45 knots from the southeast.

British Columbia the Inside Passage the Sunshine Coast

Westview Marina, BC

Wednesday, October 10, 2012TheCambrians

The city of Westview/Powell River.

There was never going to be a good time to leave Desolation Sound … there never is. But we upped anchor yesterday morning and left Prideaux Haven for the city of Westview regardless.

It was a quiet day on the water; the sun was shining and the sea was still. David’s shoulder continues to be an issue, so he stayed down below and rested most of the trip while I kept an eye on things. As I sat in the cockpit alone, I couldn’t help but feel sad as the cruising season slipped out of our grasp with each passing nautical mile. If he had said, “let’s turn around,” I would have happily gone. But it’s time.

We motored down to Westview where I hiked up the hill for a few provisions and to visit the pharmacy. I spoke with a pharmacist about David’s issue and, from what I told her, she believes (as we do) that there’s a pinched nerve involved. Her husband had a similar problem and it took two months to work his way through it – the good news is that we’re over half way there.

David stayed on the boat to change the oil and speak to the local Volvo dealer about the engine gasket. From his explanation, they said it would cost CA$5,000 to fix. Needless to say, we’ll be shopping our options. He’d hoped to uninstall the windlass and bring it down to Vandercamp’s to be tested but was concerned he couldn’t manage the job with his shoulder, so it’ll have to wait until we reach Poulsbo and he feels better. Until then, we’ll just keep babying ours and hope it makes it.

It was nice to plug in and tie up for the night but after twenty-four hours we were ready to move on. So we did. It was a different day on the water – the sunshine was gone and suddenly it’s much cooler. The high that’s been blocking most of the bad weather and keeping us warm is dissipating and strong southeasterlies are on the way.

By six o’clock our anchor was down in Pender Harbour where we’ll wait for the weather to move through the area. I’m feeling a bit uneasy about anchoring here. Though you wouldn’t know it by the current forecast, which is only predicting winds of 15– 25 knots, something wicked is headed our way. I can feel it. And the holding in Pender Harbour is questionable at best. But our options are limited for this section of the coast, so we’ll just have to see how it goes.

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Prideaux Haven Marine Park

Tuesday, October 09, 2012TheCambrians

Boat Maintenance Hydronic Heater

Prideaux Haven Marine Park, BC

Saturday, October 06, 2012TheCambrians

The guts of the Hurricane II Hydronic Heater.

The mornings are quite cold now and the thought of plugging in and running the heater 24/7 is starting to sound more and more appealing. The thought of being tied up to a dock and back in civilization, however, does not. And as long as the days continue to be sunny and nice, we’ll stay.

The solar panels continue to put in 80 amps, which is excellent for this time of year when the sun is sitting so far south. But it still doesn’t cover all of our energy needs. We’re a high-consumption boat, using an average of 150 amps per day. We’ve looked at our energy budget over the years and have tried to come up with ways to be more efficient. On the list is changing out the halogen light bulbs and replacing them with LED lights, but we’ve yet to find the ones we like to replace them. The heater consumes a lot of energy (along with diesel) but there’s nothing we can do about that other than not use it, which isn’t an option. And then there’s the TV and DVD … I suppose we could cut down on our movie watching, but where would the fun in that be? So we continue to be a high-consumption boat and will likely be for years to come.

The hydronic system on the heater has been gurgling quite a bit lately which means we have air in the lines, so today’s job was to try to bleed them. David estimated that it’d be a quick one, but it took most of the afternoon and wasn’t the easiest of tasks. The silicone lines that run through the boat delivering hot water are filled with a 50/50 solution – water and anti-freeze. It’s this hot water solution that activates a fan that blows hot air through each “zone”. There are three zones in the boat – the forward cabin, salon/galley, and aft cabin. And each zone is controlled by its own thermostat which tells the fan when to turn on and when to turn off. The boiler, which is located behind our bed, heats the solution and a pump delivers the mixture. Simple as that.

David put a couple of gallons of solution in a bucket with two lines. The idea being that one line would draw mixture into the system and the other would release the air. Sounds reasonable. But it didn’t work. So, after bleeding the system dry of fluid, he had to add it back, one cup at a time, while the pump was running and release the air through valves near each fan. Though not as efficient as his first idea, this one worked.

After helping David with the heater, I took Sally to shore and then went for a nice paddle around in the kayak. I didn’t see the bear, or any signs of him. In fact, I’m beginning to doubt that we will. They tend to roam the shoreline at low tide to rummage for food and the afternoon low isn’t very significant right now. Coupled with the fact that the berries seem to be gone, bear-viewing doesn’t look very likely. Not this year, anyway.

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Prideaux Haven Marine Park, BC

Friday, October 05, 2012TheCambrians

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island

Wednesday, October 03, 2012TheCambrians

Tied to the Government Dock in Squirrel Cove.

The first of October has arrived, a time we’re normally discussing moving south, if we haven’t started already. But with the continued beautiful weather, all we’re thinking about is getting to Squirrel Cove for fresh milk and pipe tobacco. David believes we can live without both, but I would hate to be around if he didn’t have any milk for his tea and he’s seriously crazy if he thinks I want to endure nicotine withdrawal AGAIN. He’s a lovely man most of the time, but when he’s cranky – watch out! So Squirrel Cove it was.

Richard, Jude and Katya are on their way back to Washington and left around eight this morning. We were sorry to see them go,but it’s something we’ll have to consider doing ourselves as well: The days are getting shorter and colder. David’s shoulder is still an issue. And I keep thinking about spending time in Kansas with the family … and off the boat. All signs of a season that is quickly coming to an end.

We were slower to get moving this morning and didn’t cross the bar until ten o’clock before motoring over to Squirrel Cove and tying up to the government dock for an hour or so while I took Sally for a walk and went to the store to pick up a few essentials to see us through the next week or two – Coke, eggs, milk, sugar and most importantly, a packet of pipe tobacco. Needless to say, Squirrel Cove, which has never held much appeal to either of us because hundreds of boats flock to its shores during the summer, has gone up a notch or two in my estimation.

The trip over to Squirrel tired David out and he was clearly in a lot of pain, so he went down below to get more comfortable while we motored along in 1.2 knots of breeze. Resting helped and by the time he got up he felt much better and took over the helm just in time to slowly go through the rocky, shallow entrance. We were pleasantly surprised to find the anchorage completely empty; so we took our favourite spot, looking out to Mount Denman and the Coastal Mountains, and made ourselves at home.

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Roscoe Bay Marine Park

Sunday, September 30, 2012TheCambrians

An albino slug.

The past few days have been a blur of activity, thanks to the crew of Sarita: Richard, Jude and Katya.

After stopping by with a freshly-baked loaf of bread Thursday morning (who wouldn’t love neighbours like that?), they came over for a cup of tea which led to an invitation to join them for dinner. It was a fantastic night! The wine and the conversation flowed freely and, before we knew it, it was after midnight so we left them to continue the party and made our way home.

It rained most of the day Friday, which was just as well because we all needed to recover a bit from the previous night. But the weather changed quickly and by Saturday, it was another beautiful day. As well as a busy one. Jude invited me to join them for a hike up Llanover Mountain. Now. I realize I just called this particular hike “hair-brained”, but I was happy to go again because, well, I’m a glutton for punishment. And I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoyed myself … greatly. They’re a lovely family clearing enjoying their new lifestyle and a lot of fun to be around. Besides, who in their right mind would pass up the opportunity to compete in the “Slug Game”?

Slugs are common to the area and come in all shapes, sizes and colours: There are brown slugs, banana slugs, spotted slugs and albino slugs (or ghost slugs), just to name a few. Each slug is allocated points based on its rarity (some slugs are more common than others in certain areas, so the points change from hike to hike). If you see a slug, you call out and earn the amount of points allocated to that particular type. For this hike, the albinos were the bread-winners earning 500 points while the more common brown slug only brought in two. The object of the gameis to find more slugs than anyone else, thus earning the most points. Today’s winner was Katya, but it wasn’t a slug that did it. She managed to spot a small lizard, the colour of mud with a bright orange belly, earning her a thousand points – a most impressive win.

And then it was on to activities more appealing to the likes of David – pizza and a game of Risk. It was my first time playing and I needed some help with strategy so, after pausing the game last night due to lateness, I consulted the movie To Be or Not to Be in hopes of gaining some tips about world domination from the likes of Mel Brooks and Hitler. But it seems David has watched the movie more than I because he took us all to task with his Black Army and, by the end of the tonight, had completely wiped us all off the face of the earth.

Meanwhile, Katya sat by quietly amidst the cries of “bring it on”, “give it your best shot” and “you’re going down” to draw two pictures for David and me – a buccaneer and a dragon – which are now proudly hanging aboard Cambria. She’s clearly talented and we’re quite grateful that we now have two signed originals to help see us through our retirement once she makes it big in the art world. Thanks, Katya! You’re the best!

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Roscoe Bay Marine Park, West Redonda Island

Wednesday, September 26, 2012TheCambrians

The view from Mt. Llanover.

For the last fifteen years, hiking has been one of my favourite pastimes. And though I spent most of those years in the company of Sally, whom I greatly miss on these adventures, I love the solitude it offers.

But hiking in British Columbia is a far cry from the canyons of Southern Nevada and today I came up with the hair-brained idea to hike up Llanover Mountain. I say “hair-brained” because I’ve done it before and knew exactly what I was getting into … or at least I should have. But for some reason I thought the trail was six kilometres round-trip when it’s actually each way, making it a 7.5 mile hike. And they’re not easy miles, either. The first three are up-hill and final one is a near-climb. But I made it to the to, 700 metres (2300 feet), where I rested all of five minutes before walking back down – the joy for me always lying in the journey rather than what’s at the end of the trail..

West Redonda Island has had its share of tragedies this summer. Not only did a man die in Teakerne Arm after attempting a cliff dive and a fire broke out when a flare was shot off, we were told by a young couple we met in Rebecca Spit that a man had a heart attack on his boat a few weeks ago in Roscoe Bay. Three men, presumably medics, parachuted into the anchorage with medical equipment, two of whom were injured in the process.

Not knowing what kind of wildlife inhabits the island, nor wanting to add to the recent rash of tragedies that have taken place, I brought the bear-bell along. How a one inch bell deters bears, I have no idea. But the noise is supposed to warn them off. I sounded more like Santa Clause than a force to be weary of and was concerned that one would come looking for their present. Or even worse, would think I was one of Santa’s reindeer and would make a tasty meal. But I needn’t have worried. There were no signs of bears along the trail.

When I got back to the boat, David, who hates hiking as much as I love it, was chatting with some of our neighbours who had just come from a swim at the lake (to my credit, I made no mention of the snakes). We’d met Richard, Jude and their nine year-old daughter, Katya, briefly in June when we were anchored in Prideaux Haven. Since then, they sold their home, packed everything away and are now living aboard their 46-foot sailboat which, like ours, carries the British flag – I believe we’re the only two private vessels in the area who do.

Being the good Brit that he is, David invited them over for a cup of tea in the morning and we said our goodbyes. And, just like that, another day fell of the calendar.

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Roscoe Bay Marine Park, West Redonda Island

Tuesday, September 25, 2012TheCambrians

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Walsh Cove Marine Park, West Redonda Island

Saturday, September 22, 2012TheCambrians

Cambria alone at anchor in Walsh Cove.

After going to shore together as a family so David could see the rapids at the lagoon and the stage for the rave, we upped anchor yesterday and moved over to Walsh Cove, asmall but sheltered anchorage on the east side of West Redonda Island.

I would have liked to stay longer in Carrington to explore the trails, but I was concerned about the forecast. David felt it would be fine and I’m sure he was right, but the last time Environment Canada predicted winds of 5 to 15 knots from the southeast, which they’re doing today, it actually blew 35 to 40 and Carrington is no place to weather out a storm. Besides, it gives us a good excuse to come back next season.

The day was much cooler than recent ones with overcast skies as we travelled up Sutil Channel, through Deer Passage, into Pryce Channel and down Waddington – things are rarely straight-forward here. When we arrived at four o’clock, we were the only boat in the anchorage. But an hour or so later, we were joined by another boat. And then another. And another. The fourth was even towing a jet ski, the quickest way to spoil the peace and tranquility of any anchorage. But we needn’t have worried, by eleven o’clock this morning, everyone was gone and we had Walsh Cove to ourselves again. This time, for real.

There’s something special and kind of eerie about being the only boat in an anchorage that you’ve shared with so many others in the past – it’s as if something has gone horribly wrong and you’re the only people left in the world. All it takes is turning on the radio to disprove the thought but, I have to admit, I like it when it crosses my mind – even if it’s just for a fleeting moment.

As for the weather, it’s been settled and the barometer has risen to 1019 MB and is steady. Northwesterly winds are forecasted to fill in on Monday, which means clearing skies, so we should have sunshine and warmer days to look forward to early next week … not a bad way to start the first days of autumn!

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Discovery Islands

Carrington Bay, Cortes Island

Thursday, September 20, 2012TheCambrians

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Rebbeca Spit Marine Park, Quadra Island

Tuesday, September 18, 2012TheCambrians

The weather’s been settled with clear skies and highs in the mid-70s since last Tuesday and, according to the latest NOAA discussion, there’s a 60% chance of above average temperatures for the next eight to fourteen days and a 50% to 80% chance of below average rainfall. It’s not what we’re used to seeing this time of year but, I promise you, nobody’s complaining.

With the fine weather and David still struggling with his shoulder, we couldn’t find a reason to leave Rebecca Spit, so we didn’t. There are plenty of things to do, from exploring the spit to spending time in nearby Heriot Bay, and the days have passed quickly. But we’ll be leaving in the morning with some friends that came over from Campbell River earlier today.

We met Rick and Gerri Lee in Princess Louisa Inlet in 2009 when Morgan, their rambunctious Golden Labrador, introduced us by jumping aboard Cambria to say hello and search for biscuits. We’ve made a point of seeing each other every year since then, but nearly missed this time around.

On Saturday, they were tied to the dock at Taku Resort, just across the bay from where we’re anchored, but didn’t see us and we never thought to look for them at the marina. They went home early Sunday morning, which is when they received the e-mail David sent telling them where we were. After a couple of phone calls back and forth, they decided to take the ferry from Campbell River to Quadra Island and drive to Rebecca Spit … even bringing dinner for us all with them.

With the continued good weather, they made plans to come back in their boat, About Time, and spend a couple of days together. They arrived some time around four o’clock with supplies for David and his ailing shoulder from a pharmacy in Campbell River, something Heriot Bay doesn’t have. Gerri Lee’s a retired nurse and was able to give him a bit of a deep massage last night and recommended muscle relaxers, so they picked up a bottle for him along with some other items.

We had dinner aboard Cambria again and Morgan came along, entertaining us all with her expressive tilts of her head when you talk to her about all of her dog friends or chasing squirrels. It’sreally quite funny, but Sally wasn’t laughing. She wasn’t upset but couldn’t figure out who this dog was and why her people were so interested and spent most of the night avoiding the situation by hiding out in her “room”.

British Columbia Desolation Sound the Inside Passage

Rebecca Spit Marine Park, Quadra Island

Tuesday, September 11, 2012TheCambrians

Happy New Year From the Crew of Cambria

The Final Count: The End of the 2012 Cruising Season

West Sound, Orcas Island

Reid Harbor, Stuart Island

Bedwell Harbour, Pender Island

Pender Harbour, Mainland BC

Westview Marina, BC

Prideaux Haven Marine Park

Prideaux Haven Marine Park, BC

Prideaux Haven Marine Park, BC

Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island

Roscoe Bay Marine Park

Roscoe Bay Marine Park, West Redonda Island

Roscoe Bay Marine Park, West Redonda Island

Walsh Cove Marine Park, West Redonda Island

Carrington Bay, Cortes Island

Rebbeca Spit Marine Park, Quadra Island

Rebecca Spit Marine Park, Quadra Island

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