Cruise to Halkett Bay Marine Park

If I picked a theme for this year it would be to 'explore locally'.  We like to cycle and hike and dine out and it was amazing to me the places that are close and that I after years of living in the same place I have never experienced.  Halkett Bay Marine Park is on the south shore of Gambier Island that we pass by regularly on the ferry to our Sunshine Coast cottage and I have never been there.

Weather was forecast for sunny, 19 degrees high and 10-15 knots south west winds.  With no particular commitments I decided to go for an overnight mini cruise and visit Halkett Bay Marine Park    (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/halkett_bay/).

I arrived at Gibsons Landing Marina around 11:00 and by the time I had Bluster rigged and purchased launch ramp (such a deal at $10 including secured overnight parking) it was noon and the wind was certainly picking up.  Once free of all the Sunday kayaks, powerboats and sharp corners of of the marina I was able to catch my breath and pop the jib for a nice little downwind run through Shoal Channel.  The wind was quite fresh and even under jib alone I was hitting 4 knots.  I just love the Chebacco jib for this kind of work.  It is only thirty five square feet so it is plenty of pull for higher winds when the (relatively) huge mainsail work be just scary for me.  More on this later.

4 knots

This is the first time I had ever seen fishing trawlers in this part of Howe Sound.

 Rounding KeatsIsland the run was turning into a reach so I set the mizzen and by tying off the jib sheet to the tiller enjoyed miles of self steering goodness. 



Chilling with the self steering

Eventually the winds slacken and it was time to raise the main sail.  When alone I don’t usually run the jib and main as the number of lines required becomes a bother.  When attempting to furl the jib the furling line became jammed under the spool and the so I used a three mainsail ties to manually furling it around its own stay.  Crude but it worked. 

By this time the wind had again freshened so I decided to start out with a deep reef in the main.  It did not look pretty but worked well enough as a short time later I was racing along with green water soaking my back.  Great fun but admittedly a little scary too.  Starting to experience excessive weather helm (and the resulting rudder cavitation when corrected) I eased the mizzen until almost feathered and this settled things somewhat.  At some point the GPS recorded a maximum speed of 6.9 knots.

Deep reefed main and jury furled jib

Here is a link for a brief video of the action:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS9oejhKwVk&feature=youtu.be

Halkett Bay is the furthest east of the bays along the south side of Gambier Island and eventually I reached a point where I would leave the reach and begin the run into the bay itself.  Because this was new territory for me I thought it prudent to drop the main sail and run in under power.  While starting the engine, without giving it my full attention due to the flapping sails and wind, the cord locked in mid pull which jammed my hands against the tiller.  I hit the little plastic clamp the holds the tiller extension in place, breaking it and slicing a bit of skin from the back of my hand.  Bleeding, I\managed to get the engine started and the sail furled.

Not having fun if someone does not get hurt!

At the head of the bay I dropped anchor within the marine park and enjoyed the next couple of hours relaxing in the sun, tidying up and sorting out the jib furling.  Bluster is a very light, unballast boat and she tends to wander around in any sort of breeze while at anchor.  

At anchor

With this mizzen set and sheeted in flat she holds fast into the wind. 

Around 7:00 pm the last of the day trippers vacated the dingy dock so I weighed anchor and relocated there for the night.

The park itself is very fetching with groves of sword ferns and maples.  There are several camping sites along the shore with picnic tables and pit toilet.

 I set about making my dinner of instant fried potatoes and scrambled eggs after which I finished cleaning up and securing the boat for the night.  It was 9:00 pm and still quite bright out but the long day was taking its toll so I crawled in the cuddy, relocated my gear to the port side, spread my sleeping bag out on a mattress of seat cushions and crashed.  First test for the new bug screen drop boards.

Galley set up

Dinner

Up at 6:00 for to take some photos and prepare a hot breakfast.  Virtually not wind so I fired up the Honda and motored out of Halkett Bay.

Morning at Halkett Bay

Hot breakfast - very civilized

For my route back to Gibsons I decided to take the Georgia Straight side, between Keats Island and the Paisely Island Group.  The incoming swells were on the uncomfortably large size but the wind was much less than  yesterday.  Bluster was tossed around quite a bit but lashing the boom to the gallows kept things tight and secure.

Bashing through the swells

Rounding the tip of Keats Island I entered Shoal Channel and around the corner to Gibsons Landing and the Marina.  I was a little worried because the tide was very low and only a bit of the float at the ramp was still floating but I managed to just tie up.  This is a good low water ramp so I had no trouble retrieving Bluster.

Low tide at the ramp

This was a very enjoyable trip that included solo sailing in the the highest winds yet for me.  Although it was both exciting and a little frightening for me I was very pleased with Bluster's performance and has given my confidence a nice push.  In higher winds I usually furl the main and use jib and mizzen combination so it was a good experience in main sail reefing.

Bug Out

Another little project that I had on the books was to come up with a practical bug barrier for the companion way.  I thought about a velcro and netting but this would require unsightly PSA velro strips and these are also costly.  In the end I settled on a design utilizing some nice scrap plywood and netting left over from some screens I made up for the cottage.

Using the current drop boards I marked out the outline of on the plywood and the opening for the screens.  I decided to go with two plywood/screen drop boards (versus the four solid fir ones) to maximize the opening size and keep things simple.

While I was at it I outline a second lower drop board that would be kept solid (no screen) to allow for partial closing on cool nights.

The plywood drop board edges (and bottom of lower one) were rabbeted slightly to fit the groove in the companionway and then each piece was sanded and given a couple of good coats of marine varnish

Netting was simply attached to the inner surface of the boards using stainless steel staples.

The inner opening of the cowl vent I installed last year is is bug proofed with a bit of scrap screen and an elastic band.

When installed I now have a well ventilated and bug free cuddy cabin.  Looking forward to some good sleeps!

Sailing Weekend

Granthams Landing

In much of Canada,Victoria Day weekend is considered the start of summer and the unofficial start of the boating season.  For us the weather was not particularly summery but we did start our boating season!

Lisa and I enjoyed an extended long holiday weekend at our Gibsons Landing cottage and I was really happy to get Bluster into the water for the first time this year!

I launched at the always friendly Gibsons Marina ramp and at the same time booked Bluster a marina slip for the next two nights.  The weather was gusting with some dark clouds but I thrilled to be getting out!  I started out with a jib run north down Shoal Channel and when the wind moderated I raised the mizzen and main sails  for some fun dingy like sailing.

Down wind jib sail

 The southerly inflow winds are such that my starboard tack was pretty much straight across the channel towards Keats Island but the port tack was straight up the channel.  Great fun hitting five knots sitting on the coaming.

Racing a couple of cement trucks

Readout is still set for km/hr not knots!

Rain clouds were forming up so I tied up to the Granthams landing public dock and went below for lunch, book and a little nap.

Granthams Dock

Shelter from the rain

 Discovered a small leak in the companion way hatch - likely due to dried out sealant.
When the rain eased up later in the afternoon I motored back to the marina and my slip there.

Gibsons \Landing \Marina

The next day was pretty crumby weather so we did chores around the cottage.  Boating consisted only of relocating Bluster to another marina slip and then hanging out there in the evening when sun finally broke through.

Sunset

On Sunday Lisa joined me for a jaunt down Hopkins Landing then over to the north side of Keats Island.  Again we had some good winds and saw lots of other boats enjoying the day.  It was chilly and touque (Canadianese for knit cap) and gloves would have been nice.

First mate at the helm with Gambier Island in the background

Just before we wrapped it up I noticed the horn on the gaff crutch had broken off where I had made my repair last year.

The dangling bit is part of my gaff crutch

With the gaff no longer attached to the mast lowering sail consisted of more than the usual flapping and tugging but eventually things were furled and we motored back to the ramp.

Motoring home

Bluster was hauled out of the water and to her new temporary home in a local storage yard.  Before covering up with the tarp I epoxied the gaff horn into place and backed up the repair with some counter sunk screws.

New storage site

A great weekend with some nice sailing and a renewed enthusiasm for the season ahead!

Here is a link to short sailing movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltP0_f_5b9k&feature=youtu.be

Not Really Marine Equipment, But Useful On A Small Sailboat Post No. 5

Dual Eyewear - Bifocal Sport Sunglasses

Since my early twenties I have worn corrective lenses, glasses or contacts, to correct my near sighted vision.  All was good with this arrangement until I hit my fifties when my close vision started to go.  Progressive lenses solved the glasses issue but I like to wear contact lenses for outdoor activities and digging out 'cheater' glasses to read digital camera settings or GPS is a big pain.

I stumbled upon these bifocal sports sunglasses (non-corrective tinted lens with bifocal corrective inset) on the Internet and ordered up a pair.  I am very pleased with the coverage and the bifocal works well and is easy to get used to.  If you look closely in the above photo you may just make out the bifocal bit.   At less than $50 this is a good deal.

http://www.dualeyewear.com/

Now I can look cool while sailing or cycling or reading a menu.

Yaviza and Friends Cruise Howe Sound

Cal Cran is a Chebacco builder/sailor from Alberta who got together with legendary Chebacco builder/sailor Jamie Orr with Wayward Lass from for a fall cruise in Howe Sound.  They were joined by Curtis Patzer sailing his Siren 17, Nautilus.  The following is Cal's report of the cruise with some photos  courtesy of Jamie.  Thank you both for sharing!

Yaviza my Chebacco cat yawl had not been away from Mabel Lake for 2 years so during the last week of September I checked the weather forecast for Howe Sound, found the conditions were to be excellent and hatched a plan to drive out and sail for 4 or 5 days.

Emails were sent out to Jamie Orr, Curtis Patzer and Randy Wheating. All replied and agreed to try and meet up, except for Randy as he was in France.

I arrived in North Van. At Sunset Marina Wednesday afternoon and rigged the boat for a morning departure. Cooked supper at the marina in the parking lot and slept in the boat.

Thursday morning was pure blue skies and calm winds so after a leisurely breakfast motored out of the marina towards Gibsons which I estimated as 4 to 5 hours away, where I was to met Jamie near Plumpers Cove marine park. Jamie was crossing the Georgia Strait from Crofton, Vancouver Island. The meeting went perfectly to plan, as I arrived at the same time as Jamie! I motored for about 3 hours before the wind came up and allowed sailing. This motoring time gave me time to play with my new 5 watt solar panel and charge the 18amh battery I had just installed. This system powers a LED cabin and anchor light that I just bought from Bebi Electronics in Fiji, it has enough power to power the lights, GPS and handheld VHS for at least 3 days without the sun.

Plumpers Cove was not collecting fees as it was the end of the season so we tied up to the dock for the night.

Next morning a light breeze was blowing so we played around in Shoal Channel before going into Gibsons for a second Breakfast at Mollies Reach. After breakfast it started to rain lightly so donned the rain gear and set sail for a trip around Bowen Island through Collingwood Channel , the rain turned to real rain and the wind was 10 knots from the NW which made for a nice reach into the channel!, once in Collingwood the run was made pleasant by a return to sunny conditions. Once to Hutt Island the wind became light and as it was getting near dark we motored over to Snug Cove for the night and tied to the dock, cooked supper and slept like a baby.

 

We were to meet Curtis today some where in English Bay so we set out into Queen Charlotte Channel towards  Pt. Atkinson with a following outflow from the Sound.

Around noon we approached Pt. Atkinson in waves as big as my house! At one point I looked over at Jamie and ¾’s of his bottom was showing as he climbed a wave and crashed down, later he told me on one wave he saw my center board!! During this learning experience I looked up and saw Curtis motoring right beside me saying lets get out of here and into Howe Sound, I quickly agreed. We then sailed on the afternoon inflow slowly towards Halkett Bay Marine Park. Arrived in the late afternoon and anchored out in about 30ft of water. Jamie inflated his tender and took us to shore for a hike. Cooked supper and after dark we met on Yaviza for wine and dark chocolate.

Wayward Lass (front) and Yaviza at anchor

 

My new Bebi 15 LED anchor light was the brightest in the cove, I hoist it on the topping lift.

Morning arrived and it was time for everyone to start for home, Curtis to Port Moody, Jamie back across the Strait and myself to Sunset and eventually Mabel Lake. Winds were calm and I motored back to Sunset where I prepared the boat for trailering  and started home by about 1400 arriving home at 2100.

All in all a most enjoyable trip and I plan to explore Howe sound more next year. Hoping to have Randy in Bluster along for the fun.

Repairs and Reflection

A few days after my disastrous mast versus overhead cable event I started to review the damage and formulate my approach to making it right again.

 

 

My brother generously offered to store Bluster at his farm that is conveniently located between my work and my home. 

The first step was to remove all the hardware and bow plank from the damaged area.
   

Next was to 'clean up the wound' as it were by trimming the ripped plywood in to a straight sided hole to facilitate the patch.  Two things were definitely in my favour - the hull was undamaged (foredeck and front bit of the cabin took the brunt of the damage) and the fact that I was intimately familiar with Bluster's construction details even though it had been over ten years since finishing the build. 

A cardboard template was then taken for the deck piece and the radius bit for the cabin front.

The templates were then used to cut the shapes from marine plywood - even had a big enough scrap piece left over from the original build! 

These pieces were then fitted and attached used epoxy and screws.

  Flush cut and 1/2" round over router bits plus some coarse sand paper tidied up the edges. 

Epoxy and fibreglass cloth (also a left over from original build) followed by several sessions of filling and sanding that preceded the final epoxy sealing.

Brushed the entire repair with Intra Lux Topside white (because that was what I had) and ...

 

...then spray painted a beige  that was as close to the original colour as I could find off the shelf.

 

 

 Epoxyed and clamped the split in the mast that occurred when the it was forced back against the locking bolt in the tabernacle.

 

Final steps remaining are to re-attach the bow plank and hardware.

 

Overall I am pleased with the repairs although the quality of the finish does not match the original due to this being an outdoors 'rush' job whereas the original build was indoors with controlled conditions, access to air tools, etc.  The mismatched paint is strictly cosmetic and my thinking is that the whole boat could use a complete paint job in the couple of years anyways.

 

It was a bummer to miss out on the late summer and fall sailing season but the stretch of awesome weather we experience on the BC coast was very conducive to working outdoors.   Who knows, still have fresh fuel and valid trailer licence I have been sailing in November and February in past years...we are back in business!