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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Galley set up |
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| 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.
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| Morning at Halkett Bay |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
