July 19 2011 - Family outing

Finally got to take my Dad's sister... Wendy... her daughter Michelle and Will out for a day of sailing / motoring to Elliott Bay. Due to lack of good wind, it was disappointing for me, as I wanted to show off my sailing abilities. Oh well, next time. :)
We arrived at Elliott Bay, with Will and Wendy taking pictures all the way over. They all had a good time at Elliott bay... All went for walks along the mountain trails.
Afterwards, the entire family had a picnic on the wharf right next to me. It sure was nice seeing the family enjoying themselves.
The home voyage, was the usual sail / motor trip... light winds.

All and all, a great day out on the water.

Trip down to Gibson (from Secret Cove...

Well, this was a trip to remember. Extremely rough water and high winds; everything below was on the cabin floor, ripped our Canada and Dutch flag from my stays, broke the starboard spinnaker winch, motor overheated (but thanks to Hank, the problem was solved)

We traveled for just over 8 hours (should of only taken 5.5 hrs) One of our friends in a 42 ft Benteneau stayed with us, but the other fellow (Patrick from Gibson) turned back to Secret Cove.
Believed it or not, Caroline made lunch along the way... some trick eh! it was greatly received.
Caroline remained below in the protection of my cabin, during most to the trip... she even had a short nap!
We all arrived safety to Gibson. For me... I have seen all this before I'm sure... after 38 years of racing, I'm sure I've seen it all. For an old lady like me I can still hang in there... it's just Hank and Caroline are new to this type of weather... I'm glad I held together!!

Hank and Caroline were greeted by Robert McDonald at Gibson.... going for a well deserved dinner at Molley's Reach.

Secret Cove again

Raining, got my deck washed by the rain.
We sat back and relaxed... for me clean water this time
Hank and Caroline just sat back and relaxed, enjoying the view and the local boater and staff.

Next morning, I overheard Hank talking to some of the other sailboaters, they were heading back to Gibson as well.

Arrived at Pender Harbour Marina Outstation

Upon arrival, we found that we were the only ones at our Outstation, to be joined later with yacht member. Hank found the place clean, great marina staff (had a tour of some of their cabins), showers were just ok, but the grounds were picture prefect, and the swimming pool
Hank and Caroline took that day tour I mentioned early, a great way to see the Harbor. The tour guide gave a great history lesson of the bay...

We stayed at our outstation for one day, then move to Garden Bay Marina... they have a Pub and closer to the "Town Center", so they can take little Tarkie out and explode the bay.

Tarkie had it's first big ride out into the ocean.... over to Madeira Park... they have a shopping center, coffee shops, liquor store. It was a nice ride around the neighbour (even ran out of gas... but they had extra gas with them).

The plan was to leave early next morning, but the weather was too rough, so they decided to stay for a bit longer and see how the weather progresses.
 In mid afternoon it was decided to at least go back to the outstatio.. On route Hank decided to continue on to Secret Cove.

Lesson learned the hard way... Hank! because we were only traveling to the outstation, the electrical cord, jib sheets, skylite covers, etc. was still topside. Hank found out the hard way, when we were out at sea. The sea and winds were a bit more than expected. All the "top gear" got in the way of sailing; after two hours we arrived at Secret Cove.

Vacation has started!!!

Well, it has been 6 days on the water now...

First at at Elliott Bay, stayed overnight, with Hank's Brother Will coming along for the ride... It was great having Will ride my decks to Elliott Bay. He camped out on the concrete wharf right next to me. It must of been some site, seeing a tent right beside me on the wharf.
.

The next day we had a great sail to Gibson, (winds were around 15 knots), the home of the beachcombers, there, we met Robert McDonald, a good old friend of Hank. Will left for home, taking the BC Ferry back. Robert took Hank to his recording studio,and informed him of a possible business venture he and a friend was considering.

The next leg of the trip was going to be the most challenging section... going into strange new waters, waters that I never sailed before. Destination Secret Cove! The sail over was mostly motored (4 hrs). Total time from Gibson to Secret Cover 4.5 hrs. The charts, compass and GPS were right on... Hank made it there perfectly. Little Tarkie, bobbed behind me without problem, but I'm sure he took at least 1 knot from my top speed. Hank read the currents correctly... we had a 2 knot current with us all the way. Top speed was around 7.5 knts, with an average motored speed of 6.0 knots.

We arrived at Secret Cove, greeted by friendly power boaters... only two sail boat at the marina. Hank and Caroline took little Tarkie around the Cove.... they say it was a great place to explore. I'm glad that Hank returned as I was being engulf by a red and white monster of some sort. Boy, did it stink!!! (see photo). I'm glad Hank thought of using Tarkie's outboard engine to scare it away; I was worried about my beautiful black bottom.
Hank and Caroline had a great time relaxing around, great dinners at the local establishment.
Omn the second day, it was time to leave... refueled... only $15.21 of diesel fuel... at least I don't drink up the fuel like most other power boats. This saving was used up in dinners out. :)

Well after a slow start, we are off to Pender Harbor Resort, only 3.5 hours away, sailing at 3.5 knots with the 2 knot current... needless to say, light breeze. Caroline made a great lunch along the way. We arrive at the Marina without any problems. Our West Vancouver Yacht Club has a dock here, so the cost is $ 0.00. With this saving and no fuel cost, I over heard Hank saying they're going to take a 2.5 tour around the Bay with Sol Cat tours.
Well, I'm all caught up now, except for the pictures to insert.

New dingy!

Well, I now have a new little partner sailing with me... an brand new aluminum rigid hull dingy! named "Tarkie", she is at least twice the size as my old little rubber buddy. She is gray and white with a very deep hull. Here Caroline and Hank can sit in comfort while touring the coast lines, while I sit and rest.

Hank is getting me ready for our 2-3 week cruise up to Desolation Sound today. He already has prebooked all the marinas that we will be staying at.

We will keep you posted with pictures and comments along our vacation!

Till then...

June 29 2011 - Wednesday Night Race!

Ah, good to be at the race waters again... Wednesday night race! sponsored by the West Vancouver Yacht Club.
Hank was not planning to race this evening, as he had other plans, but at the last second, we're racing! Winds were OK, around 10-15 knots at the start, going down to 8-10 knots at the finish. Max speed over ground was 6.2 knots.
A few points of interest, Never start too far above the race committee boat, as you will have to "barg" into the start line. (Being the windward boat, you have to give way). Well, we were too far upwind; Hank tried to "barg" the start line, just to get yelled at by the other sailboats, "to pull hard to port". Now this maneuver caused us to be at the BACK of the pack! About 30-60 seconds behind. This does not seem like a lot, but if you review the race results below you will see what difference it makes.

Division 5 Fleet - June 29, 2011 at 18:25 start
Rank	Boat	SailNo	Skipper	PHRF	Finish	Elapsed	Corrected
1	Windsong	1155	Terry Cloughly	229	192230	0:50:30	0:43:50
2	Mystique	33	George Streadwick	189	192327	0:51:27	0:47:10
3	Silver Shadow	396	Bev Parslow	215	192744	0:55:44	0:49:17
4	Tarka	19579	Hank Schut	205	192756	0:55:56	0:50:09
5	Avontuur	84	Dave Bruynesteyn	120	192344	0:51:44	0:52:33
6	Equilibrium	49581	Bob Johnston	176	192832	0:56:32	0:52:48
7	Lopeka	52	Jason  Bowman	185	193323	1:01:23	0:56:36
8	Baloo	74393	John Noble	153	193220	1:00:20	0:58:16

As you can see, third place was only 52 seconds ahead of us (Corrected time due to our handicap rating). Well.... at least we BEAT the Avontuur... first time! Oh ya, almost forgot to tell you... Hank sailed solo... just him and me (Tarka). He knows how to handle my sheets and gave me words of encouragement during the race. Using only the rear winches and keeping my main sail mid-ship, he seemed to have no difficulty handling me through the winds and waves. Speaking of waves... tacking up winds was quite a beating... 4' waves at times. It was really great coming towards the finish line...the "Silver Shadow" and I were neck and neck all the way down the finish leg... almost got him! Well, that was the last Spring Sailing Race for another year, next racing will be the fall series, and the Jack and Jill in August and the Fall Stag Race to Silva bay (overnight race).