Dec 31 2011 - New Years at Snug Cove

I'm happy to say, that we are presently resting at Snug Cove, to enjoy New Years eve with their boating friends. Hank sailed me over with Caroline on Friday, staying over until New Years day. (3 days).

Needless to say, this time of the year, it is very cold.. two heaters, two hot water bottles, good sleeping bags,, hot drinks, kept Caroline and Hank warm. :)

Because of the extremely temperature difference, Hank found that the exposed fiberglass hull at the waterline, has extreme condensation built-up. Hank stated that he needs to install foam insulation in these areas. this will keep me warmer inside and curb the condensation. Sounds like a good plan to me.

When Hank plugged my power cord in, he noticed that the boat side plug-in was melted a bit. This is cause for concern, as it could start a fire. Luckily, Snug Cove had a replacement plug, but this was a "Smart Plug". Regular plug-in end and electrical breaker only deal with current, Not heat! But the Smart plug deals with heat and current. Over $200 dollars later the new Smart Plug was installed. At least now Caroline, Hank and me of course, can sleep peacefully knowing we have a safe connection.

The plan for this evening is to meet our friends, go to the community Bon fire and then to the pub for drinks and snacks.

Talk to you in the NEW YEAR!!




Tarka.

Dec 23 2011 - Howe Sound Tour guide for Jeff and Christine

Good day all!

Just finished providing a wonderful sailing tour for Hank's relatives... Jeff, his girlfriend Christine and Hank's brother Will.

Sunny with light winds, but we did get enough wind to push me over about 15 degree and get up to may be 3 knots or so. I think my crew got a bit of sailing experience today. :) The temperature was cold but was made bearable with proper dress. Hank even heated up some water and filled the hot water bottle to warm up Christine' s hands. The hot water bottle trick works really well in cold weather sailing a must of my hearty sailors.

Both Jeff and Christine loved my bow seat, sitting taking lots and lots of pictures. Drinks were served once we were underway.

We sailed / motored into the sunset, watching the sun sink behind the mountains, in a blaze of reds, yellow and orange.


Hank will add a few pictures later, when his brother sends them over. right?

Dec 15 2011 - Week day outing with Aaron

Another two day stay at Snug Cove... what can I say eh... I guess since Snug Cove is only a short trip over with BC ferry for back-up; Hank must feel relaxed in coming here... winter and all. The storms can get quite rough at times, so it is nice to  have a fall back Hank to go home if needed. For me (Tarka), I don't mind staying here, matter of fact I would prefer to be moored here... no Ferry soot, better shelter from the winter winds, no waves to speak of, better docks and nice boats to be moored with. But I know... Hank and Caroline don't have easy access to me... having to take the ferry over.

Due to light winds, "Serenity Now" and I only sailed over with our jibs, Hank says it is too much hassle hoisting up my main sail for such a short trip. :( It was a peaceful trip over, coming to rest at Snug Cove; tied starboard side, stern to stern with Serenity Now, near the Marina office building.

The next two days, just resting at the dock, with Hank, Aaron and Kia (Aaron sidekick), going for walks, lunches, dinners, frisbee catching for Kia and movie watching in my cabin.

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Set sail a few days later for home after a great two day "veg out".

Till next time.....




Tarka

December 10 2011 - Overnight stay at Snug Cove

Yup, it is winter, cold!.

Hank called Snug Cove to see if there was room for us... We are the only ones checked in since Thanksgiving, lots of room. They stated not to be alarm with all the white stuff on the wharf, looks like snow, but not to worry, it is only frost...lots of it. When we arrived, sure enough, lots of frost! I kept thinking... I am a sailboat, NOT an icebreaker. :)

It took both of my electric heaters to keep Caroline and Hank warm that night,. However, in the morning, the temperature warmed up a bit, just above freezing and the beautiful frost was melting away.

Oh ya, remember, a few weeks ago, Hank fixed the leak in my cabin ceiling... he used spray foam to seal the large hole.... well it worked great!, but now I have lost a bit of head room in my cabin. Apparently, the foam expanded a lot, enough to push the fiberglass ceiling down. I think Hank has now learnt the hard way, only to use the foam spray sparingly. Finishing the ceiling off will now be a major chore. Oh well, live and learn.

Not much happened at Snug Cove... a lunch at Doc Morgan, a walk about, dinner at the sushi bar, rented a movie, breakfast at the Snug Cafe, and a nice motor home (no wind).

Arrived home... Hank reinstalled the snow fence to keep the otter from visiting me. It does not look very nice, but works really well so far. :)



Tarka sitting by... ready for her next sail.:)

Nov 15 - 17 2011 - Time away with Aaron at Bowen Island

With my engine repaired, oil changed, fluids up... we set sail for a short trip to Bowen Island with Aaron in his new sailboat "Serenity Now" as company.

On the sail over, we ran into hundreds of Pacific Dolphins. Dolphins everywhere, going in every direction. While Hank was filming Aaron, he noticed that a sea-lion surfaced at Serenity's stern, dolphins seemed to be all over him. The sea-lion surfaced the second time, with his large flipper exposed, seemingly to ask Aaron for help. He surfaced a third time, then he was gone.

Hank check the web, and found that dolphins do eat sea-lion on occasion. Humm, maybe they were wearing him out before the kill. Wish the sea-lion best of luck.

We moored at our old slip at Snug Cove (A07); the dock was frozen! so a cold night tonight. Hank and Aaron when out for dinner, then watched a movie with me. It took two electric heaters to keep them warm!

That night the winds and rain where very strong... so Hank and Aaron decided not to sail the next day.

I just laid around with Serenity Now, with nothing to do, but wait for the rain / snow to stop

Hank found a few more leaks in my cabin roof... where my old instrumentation wires when through the ceiling. Oh well, he likes working on me :)

Sailed home on Thursday.... as we came into my slip at home, we found it was completely plugged with logs. Hank had to clear out the logs before I could be moored.

Now sitting at dock once again, waiting for my next adventure.

Nov 13 2011 - First Video attempt

Hi all, this is my first video - taken from various locations... Race back from Sliva Bay, around Howe Sound, by passage island

Nov 13 2011 - Anti-Freeze change - Problems!

On a boat, no job is small, what you think should take minutes, could last up to days! Changing the anti-freeze is "normally" around 15 minute job. Well, it has been three days now, since Hank started, and is still not complete. Richard and Arron (Hank's friends) and Hank must of spent over 10 working hours on this.

As Hank was opening the drain valve, it BROKE! right at the engine block. The valve was pot aluminum! why would they install that type of soft metal? the engine block is cast iron!

To get access to make repairs, Hank had to remove the alternator, cooling hoses, electric wiring, and oil filter. To repair this, you have to remove the broken off piece inside the engine block. To make the story short... after a lot of work, they finally got it out by retapping the threads. All better now!

As said before, no job is small... while hank was working in that area, he noticed that the oil drain pump was rubbing against the  rubber cockpit drain hose... wearing down the rubber. Good thing he noticed this as it could of been a major problem, if left unchecked. A simple fix... move the oil drain pump to another location and replace the drain hose.

All to do now is the replace the antifreeze, change the oil, and relocate the pump.






Til next time... more adventures eh!