Monday, May 29

Early morning view out the porthole

4:00 AM has a different feel than other morning hours.  Not quite night, not yet morning. Even the shrimpers haven't departed the marina yet.  I peek out a porthole and notice only one other boat with lit cabin lights.  I put water in the kettle to boil, and notice that I’m not chilled.  The night was warm, fog wrapped us in a fuzzy blanket and didn't let the heat from the previous day escape.  Coffee made, I take a mug to Tim, encouragement in a cup.

Our crewman Steve came aboard and we shoved off just before 5:00 am for the crossing.  The bay is calm, the surface glassy and we can hardly believe our luck.  This crossing has a bad reputation and many boaters will wait for days for favorable conditions.  It was actually too calm, for our hopes were to sail most of the day.  Over the port side, we see nothing but flat ocean from Japan. We passed sea otters up close and cruise ships passed us in the distance.  The fog lifted after nearly 6 hours, the wind picked up and finally we had the sails full for nearly three hours non-stop.  Only other sailers will understand that “beating” at up to 9 knots speed-through-water, 8.5 knots speed-over-ground for three hours is pretty darn fun! I was at the helm mostly while Tim and our helper, Steve, trimmed the sails.  Allusion was in her element and heeled over to her chines.

Yahoo!

Fury Cove is our anchorage tonight, a sweet little cove on Fury Island.  The white shell beach reminds one of a tropical location.  We took the dingy over to explore the tide pools, shells and the view across and over into Fitz Hugh Sound.  Yes, the Sound and The Fury!  (Not furry!) We have an onboard meal of fresh greens and beets that I pressure cooked yesterday. We’re tired and need to sleep. Golden honeyed light pours into the cove from across the white shell beach. The boat swings on her anchor. I yawn, trying to finish this. I don't think I’ll stay awake to see the stars tonight.

Driftwood on Fury Cove Beach

Hoping for a day of replenishment, Sunday was a relatively short journey from Echo Bay in the Broughton Islands, westward again to Port McNeill on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.  The channels and bays were a minefield of logs, debris and bull kelp, all of it hazardous to the hull and/or propeller.  It's exhausting to watch constantly.  Tim and I traded places often to keep fresh eyes alert over the deck to the waters ahead.
The great art of travel is the balance between the concentrated work and joy of the adventure and the mundane requirements of maintenance. Think; laundry, re-provisioning, cleaning the boat inside and out.  All completed, I had hoped to have a few hours to rest or blog but we had another potluck on the dock and a salad needed making.  Accomplished!  As much as we love the camaraderie of this interesting group of travelers, the weariness is now closing in with a departure time of 5:00 AM.  That translates to a 4:00AM wakeup, get dressed in smart wool and layers, pull on the XtraTuffs, chug down some caffeine, take down the dew curtains, unplug the power cord, coil, tie and store in the interior lazarette, close the hatches, open the side curtains and prepare to shove off.  Power up the navigation instruments then go below one more time to store the coffee cups and make sure all the cupboards are secure. (Breakfast is later when we are under way).  After we leave the dock, the morning lines are coiled and stored in with the power cords, the fenders are removed and stored in the sail locker and the dingy is double checked for secure lashing.  Phew, now we get underway.
Tonight is our last stay before the big push across 40 miles of open water.  We hope to take on another crew member from the flotilla in the morning, a veteran sailer. We're also hoping for favorable winds for a brisk crossing.  Tim and I are happy to have an extra set of hands to work the sheets (lines that make the sails work). We might not have to tack, we plan on a port beam reach all the way.  But, winds can and do change often,  we'll see.

Allusion at rest

No more posts for a while, we'll be off-grid. Those of you who are tracking via AIS can watch our crossing.
Over and out.

Though we have electronic navigation, we use these to get the big picture and to plan the return route.

Our charts

They are numbered and placed in the bin from south to north.  As many as we have, there are quite a few we would love to have yet.

One of our joys is meeting fellow sojourners. We're all in a diaspora of our own making from all corners of this globe.  Most astonishing is the number who have had sailed but now power, not willing to give up the freedom of marine travel.

Tim exercises his hands with his old friend.

Light diminishes slower each day.  Last evening, the rose colors barely even tinted the calm waters of the lagoon harbor where we landed yesterday in Echo Bay.  It's the entrance to the Broughton Islands, magical, sparsely populated yet utilized by shrimpers.  Their boats are ubiquitous in these parts and the harvests are huge.
Our day was launched with cinnamon rolls served from the dock by our hosts in Port Harvey.  Our First Mate, Margaret goes out on a limb to deliver to one of our flotilla!
It was a Merlin Perkins day, for those of you who remember him; bears, whales, eagles, seals, and harbor porpoises greeted us to these islands.  The sun never ceased, the SPF 100 liberally applied however I still ended up with a red face glow at days' end.

Perfect handoff by Margaret!

Fresh baked cinnamon rolls.

While at Echo Marina, we hiked over to the other side of the island to meet Billy Proctor.  He is 83 and lived here most of his life, created a small museum of all his memorabilia.  He's written two or three books, we bought two, just because.  I'll start with Heart of the Raincoast since it is his life story.  I had a chat with him, and his parting wisdom was, "Go on and write your own stories, everbody got good stories, you know. So true...

Billy Proctors boardwalk

Our hosts in Echo Bay, another fascinating family run marina, provided us with all the crab and prawns we could eat.  The second act was a talk by one of the local women who shared her story of living off the land, eating only what creation provided by her hands.
At last light, corrugations of silver ran across the surface of the harbor as the final breezes settle.  It was a quiet, clear and peaceful sleep on Allusion.

Allusion docked at Port Harvey

MUSINGS: Every journey is a process of discovery.  As a reader, I've learned that the two nearly universal narrative structures of good literature are; "The hero (protagonist) takes a journey", the second is, "A stranger comes to town". Think of your favorite novel.  Does the hero go on a journey or does a stranger come to town?  Sometimes both happen, and occasionally the hero discovers the stranger within.  What gives each story tension is known as the "destabilizing event".

Thinking about that led me to wonder what I'll discover as I take the journey with my best friend.  In addition to the wonders of this magical northland, most likely all my weaknesses, strengths, likes and dislikes will be flayed open for all on this flotilla with me to notice!  As I share a cockpit with Tim, sometimes for ten hours a day through terror, awe, mistakes in judgment, courage in risk-taking and all-out honesty in review at the end of the day, I think about how crazy it really is to master such a technical, challenging and (sometimes scary) skill such as sailing, at the age of 61.  Good grief....  Maybe the destabilizing events will lessen, as this girl continues on with the journey.
Pictures will be coming again as soon as the wifi is stronger.
BTW, we are in Port Harvey, the entrance to the Broughton Islands.  It's gorgeous! Fresh caught shrimp and crab are for dinner.....oh also pizza, special ordered and cooked in a wood fired oven.

Our pizza order

Crabs caught from the dock, a few keepers amid the females

Blind Channel Resort and Marina

The timing was perfect to get us from Prideaux Haven to Blind Channel via a series of rapids that are potentially treacherous when approached with naiveté . "The key to this day is arriving at Dent Rapids at slack...."our master guide from Waggoner advised.  First Gillard Passage then Yulculta Rapids which seemed to lead right into Dent Rapids.  The currents grabbed us a few times but we maneuvered better than some due to our deep keel.
I couldn't upload the video I took of at least a mile of dead fish (Pollack?) floating on the surface.  One thought was that the currents during this new moon may have forced these deeper fish to the surface and drowned them. Yup, sort of like when a ling cod is pulled up too fast, its eyes bulge, stomach distends and the air bladder prevents returning to the depths.  The eagles were taking advantage of this easy feast.  A few miles along, we spotted a bear swimming to shore, maybe also relishing the easy catch!
We pulled into Blind Channel Marina and Resort to be greeted by fellow Poulsbo Yacht Club members who were also at moorage in the marina.  This resort is in the hands of the third generation and is an excellent facility.  Our flotilla opened its restaurants' season.  The newly arrived chef prepared fresh caught halibut or schnitzel.  Halibut for me, of course!
We tucked in early since morning departure takes place at 5:00 AM to catch the ebb into Johnstone Straits.  It's another notorious stretch and we will treat it with caution and respect.

Tim pulled in the anchor with the first light.  Desolation Sound is magical, always sunny and peaceful.  We slept well, much needed after the previous night.  As we rounded out of Prideaux Haven, the sun kissed us good morning and with it came the promise of more.  This place is one of God's best ideas!

Leaving Pender Harbor after a rocky night in the boat with winds gusting up to 25 knots, out in the straits, it was reported to be blowing gale force so we were grateful for the relative calm.
Next day the seas were 3 to 4 foot seas on the bow, lots of salt spray christened this sweet boat against the tide but we make it in last of the flotilla to beautiful Desolation Sound.  The sun welcomed us and we lowered the transom to soak in the warmth.  Tim got busy charting the next day's course as friends from the Cutwater, Bella Luca, kayaked by to check in.

Prideaux Haven with Drew and Katrina

Transom Deck in the sun!

Silva Bay 

A beautiful morning in Silva Bay, we headed out across the straits, getting in some sailing as the winds came up.  We docked in the John Henry's Marina within Pender Harbor.  There isn't much here but again, we find a spirit of joy and adventure in the faces of the local folks.  I think this proprietor has it all figured out, only the essentials!

This map is only for the southern half  of our journey.  We are in Port Hardy, 1/7th of the way up from the bottom.

 This is Tim's library for a summer of reading.

 A portion of Cynthia's reading material.  Hmmmm

There’s no routine yet, each day starts with a new destination, a different departure time, varying climate, and endings.  We sailed amid islands to bunk at Salt Springs Marina on Sunday, making good time with some gentle winds in our mainsail.  Salt Springs Island is famous for it’s abundant alternative lifestyle choices, music, and old hippies.  I found local grown greens and plenty of organic vegetables at the grocery 1/2 mile away from the marina.  The town has everything from aruveyda spas, naturopaths, yoga, spiritual mediums, gem and crystal shops, and, shops keepers with many body piercings, multi-hued hair and big smiles.  Oh, also found a fujifilm developing shop.  Who (but my son, Brandon) shoots film these days?   

Each month, BC has a three day weekend and I think this was BC Day Weekend. The marina was full of sailers from an earlier race. The tiny town of Ganges was bustling so we stayed close in and had dinner with our flotilla group. 

Monday morning was quiet, up at 6:00, walked into town for coffee, sun already warmly above the the bay.  Allusion headed out before the group hoping to get a head start to take advantage of any sailing we could muster but the wind didn't cooperate, though we gave it several good tries.  We landed at Silva Bay on the southeast  edge of Gabriola Island by 2:30, a stress free four hours of quite puttering north. I attended to some needlework in between my turns at the helm.

Tonight is a potluck with our small flotilla of ten vessels’ varied and interesting group of mariners.  There’s no wifi so will post as it’s available.  Tomorrow we cross the Strait of Georgia northwesterly to Sechelt Peninsula.  The winds are looking favorable for a hearty sail;  good news to us, not so good news to the trawlers in our group. We’ll berth in Pender Harbor.

Fog

Resting in the bow of the boat, lulled by the gentle up and down motion from waves birthed by a cutter 50 yards away, I recap the day.  It began with dock launch at 7:00am into pea soup fog with Tim at the helm navigating by radar and AIS.  Keeping to my promise to feed our bodies with kindness and nourishment, after the boat was sea worthy, I retreated down below to the galley to try out our inverter.  I was elated to have that amenity!  I proceeded to use every vegetable in our small fridge to create a smoothie for breakfast.  My other agenda was that I was NOT going to let customs seize my stash of luscious, organic, non GMO greens. I hauled the BlendTec out of the lazarette, poured in a dash of coconut milk, tossed in all the veggies, plugged in the blender to create an emerald green concoction.  Thicker than pea soup, it was a fitting complement to the "pea-soup" fog, to start our day.

Of course, Canadian Customs never even asked about our food; it was an effortless entrance at Bedwell Harbor.  Departing with papers in order, passports approved, we arrived at Salt Springs Island a few short hours later, our destination for the evening.




After errands and marina check in, Tim and I reviewed the day and addressed what we felt needed improvement in our communication, deck, dock and boat handling and realized that I needed another reminder in tying a clove hitch knot.  After some practice, I think I got it!

     "In Maeterlinck's book called The Fourth Dimension (Time), he used a curve to illustrate a theory of time.  Standing in the Present, on the highest point of the curve, you can look back and see the Past, or forward and see the Future, all in the same instant.  Or, if you stand off to one side of this curve....your eye wanders from one to the other without any distinction.
In dreams, the mind wanders in and out of the Present, through the Past and Future, unable to distinguish between what has not yet happened.....This was supposed to prove that Time is just a dimension of Space, and that there is no difference between the two, except, that our consciousness roves along this Curve of Time."*
     It seems fitting that my mind roves between these dimensions, remembering the Past score and a half years of boating with Tim, the Present with him on our sailing vessel Allusion, and the hoped for score and a half years more of sailing off on Future adventures.  Wylie Blanchet wrote in Curve of Time, memories of many years on her 25 foot boat with her 5 children. The "Caprice" took them up the coast of British Columbia every summer and time expressed itself in the sea, the land and the moments with her family in the endless coves of the coast. I recollect that story now since in much the same way, this journey really is just a moment to moment "this-ness" along the curve of time.  I am humbled and joyful as I anticipate the next 3 1/2 months.  Already my dreams are vivid, a scramble of time, and I wonder if this will be my Maeterlinck summer.

 

*The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet

Returning from the Yard

Up early to drop off a car at the home port, walk to the bus that took us to the ferry to Seattle, taking an Uber to the Lake Union to pick up the rejuvenated Alluion.

John and Josh from Signature Yachts give us a tutorial on the new Code Zero "Super Sail".  We'll love having it in low winds along the way north.

Back through the bridges and through the Locks, took us over three hours.  We shared the Locks with these two big tugs.  It's always and adventure to go through the Ballard Locks!

It's been along, arduous day. Tim's at the helm heading home, still a few hours from PYC, homeport for ALLUSION.
We'll spend the better part of the next week with provisioning for departure.  First stop, Port Townsend to say goodbye to Brian and Lilly.

Allusion's new Code Zero Sail designed by Tim

Test sail on Lake Union

We're getting antsy to leave!  She's looking good but needs a few more tweaks to be journey worth.  Our technicians took her out for a test sail yesterday with the new sail. Yes, it's huge but designed to keep a good clip going in low wind conditions.  Yahoo!

This shows the wind speed and the boat speed with the new Code Zero.
Pretty fast in low wind!