Captain's Log

Despite a strong wind warning and the threat of rain, I had a very enjoyable sail under main and jib. Wind was steady at 10-15 Kts from the South West. Flood tide, sunny skies.

Returned to mooring buoy just as the wind started to pick up. Soon there were breaking waves along 10 mile point driven by strong Westerlies.

After putting T2 to bed, I fired up t he Sea-B-Que and had seared Ahi tuna and Caesar salad. Yum!

As I have the kids on Saturday mornings, I didn't sleep on the boat. I rode my bike home and then picked up a few groceries.

An invigorating sail under main and Jib. Southwesterly 10 Kts. Sunny. Flood tide.

I was working from aboard T2 so I had to run the engine for 15 minutes to charge my laptop.

Instant oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. Pepper's turkey sandwich for lunch. Bought Ahi tuna, salad and ganosh for dinner.

Received a call from Tania as I was passing Cattle Point. She had to go to the hospital to meet with Dr. regarding Max so I headed for home.

Plan to return tomorrow morning.

Fleeing the mind numbing boredom of the Social Isolating Carona virus, I packed some groceries and set out to sail Cadboro Bay. There was plenty of sunshine although It wasn't all that warm. Perhaps the lovely 10 Kt Southwesterly had something to do with that. Approaching T2 I noticed a fresh wound on her port side. A three inch gouge right through the gelcoat, exposing raw fiberglass. I'll have to stop by Trotec to see what they have to repair it. My initial research indicates there is a product that comes in a tube. I had a very enjoyable sail and finally managed to break hull speed.

The tide fell to below zero and the ragged end of Bon Voyage's mast was just barely exposed. It's a very nasty hazard and not having anything to mark it with for others, I recorded it's GPS location on my Navionics chart. I noticed someone else had the same idea and rowed out from the Yacht Club to have a look. The ebb tide was screaming through Banes Channel. At one point I was reduced to standing still so I turned around and was soon doing 7 Kts with the ebb!

I managed to avoid using the engine entirely today. I sailed off and on my mooring. I sailed with main and jib which turned out to be just perfect in the 10 kt. wind. Later, as I prepared a succulent strip loin for the bar-b-que, I briefly considered raiding a crab trap for a little 'surf and turf' but reason won out in the end and instead I enjoyed steak and potatoes. I thought about spending the night but finally gave in to the temptation of a comfy bed and a big slice of lemon meringue pie. Before leaving T2, I had the fire burning so hot that I was actually sweating in the cabin. It's the Arbutus I'm burning. An awesome fuel.

As a footnote, I discovered the last remaining vessel of the 'Freedom Flotilla' hard aground across the bay. She must have fallen victim to a rare North Westerly to be pushed in that direction. It's amazing to me how she managed to navigate the very narrow inlet where she eventually came to rest.

Wind was a little light (Southeasterly 5 Kts) but a delightful sail all the same. Main and Jib. Probably should have flown the Jenny. I checked transmission fluid level think that maybe that's why I'm not able to go faster than 3 Kts. under power. It was fine so the search continues.

In another attempt to source to performance problem, I motored off my mooring and removed the transmission cable from the transmission. I was concerned that perhaps the transmission was not engaging fully in forward. Alas, it made no difference and I still only managed 3 Kts. So, either the problem exists somewhere else in the engine or it's, as the mechanic at Gartside said, there's too much growth on the bottom.

It will be interesting to see if I can do better than 3 Kts under sail. That will be the next test.

I finally managed to get out for a mid December sail. Tania was in Vancouver and Brooke was looking after the kids. I hauled my outboard down to the beach and was soon planing out to Trouper 2 in Skully.

There wasn't a whole lot of  wind and, in fact I wasn't going to sail. I was more interested in trying to get to the bottom of what's going on with her Yanmar Diesel. I've experienced reduced performance the last two trips so I engaged the transmission and then, from the engine tried to muscle the shifter to see if it wasn't engaging the transmission fully. It was.

Next I tried to open the governor to see if I could wring more speed out of her that way. The result was startling. Thick black smoke from the exhaust pipe and not a lick of difference in speed. Alarmed, I quickly shut down the engine and rigged main and jib to get me back to my mooring buoy. Putting events in context, I enjoyed a couple of hours sailing in the light breeze knowing I had Skully with me so as a last resort I could tow T2 back to the pin.

As I passed my new neighbours (Freedom Flotilla) I was addressed by one of the 'residents' who remarked it looked like I had done this before. (Sail I guess). Not wanting to get on the wrong side of these squatters I engaged in polite conversation before grabbing my buoy and retiring below deck to start a fire and have some lunch.

Initial research shows the problem with the engine is likely either a faulty fuel injector or a possible blockage in fuel or air. Since I just replaced the fuel filter no very long ago, I'm wondering about the injectors. Trouble is, the engine seems to be running fine. There's no missing or anything out of the ordinary. I'll continue to search on-line for a possible solution. I'll also likely contact Gartside Marine to see what they suggest.

Mid December Sail

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Tania is away on course in Vancouver and Brooke is at home looking after the kids, so what better time for a little Cadboro Bay Sailing?!

Actually yesterday would have been better. More sunshine and wind but hey, at least I got the cushions off the boat yesterday. I rigged main and Jenny and managed to get almost an hour of sailing in before the wind died. I returned to the mooring buoy and soon had a warm fire crackling in the wood stove.

I'm concerned about the mighty Yanmar diesel engine. I couldn't seem to get past 3.8 Kts. She sounded fine, wasn't missing at all, just couldn't get T2 up to hull speed. One thought I had was perhaps the transmission isn't fully engaging in forward. Since my modification of the broken throttle cable, I've always wondered if there is enough play left int he cable to fully engage the transmission. Guess I'll have to play with it some more.

Cadboro Bay Sailing

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Generally when I'm cruising I tend to stay in bed for as long as possible. I think my record is 10:00 a.m. However, upon checking the tides I realized that I had the ebb tide with me until 10:30. Meaning if I left immediately I could enjoy a quick transit home to Cadboro Bay.

Quick is right! It only took 3.5 hours to get back to Cadboro Bay from Portland Island which is very quick. The wind was up from the South (of course.) which meant it was on my bow the whole way. Not too much wind but just enough to make it fucking cold. Shirt, sweatshirt, down sweater, rain shell, scarf and earmufs. Standard August cruising regalia.

Approaching Banes Channel, Chatham Island disappeared in a heavy fog, snaking down Juan De Fuca strait. Despite reduced visibility, I managed to successfully navigate back to my mooring buoy. I put T2 to bed and returned home for a hot shower. The end to another epic journey in Trouper 2.

Cadboro Bay

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Tania and I made plans at Finnerty Cove. I would take T2 to Portland Island for the night, before heading to Ganges to rendezvous with the family on Thursday. But first, I had to motor to Vanisle Marina for gas, water and ice. Somewhere along the way the tide started flooding which helped push me along.

After fueling up, I stopped by Fisherman's wharf to see Tom. He'd recently been hired by BC Ferries, so we had a congratulatory drink. The visit was short and sweet and I was soon on my way to Princess Cove, Portland Island.

Vanisle marina

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Having postponed my usual Wednesday evening sail due to a strong wind warning, and a forecast 80% chance of rain, I was eager for some Cadboro Bay sailing. As it turns out, the strong wind warning continued to be posted through Thursday night. It's too bad no one told the wind. I managed only an hour of sailing tucked right into Cadboro Bay before the wind completely died. It rained overnight but never did blow. I presume the strong wind warning has since been cancelled. Just goes to show you can't always count on the forecast to be accurate. That's where listening to your gut comes into it. So I jibed back and forth along the beach for an hour. It was lovely. Main and jib up, Jolly Roger flying proudly.

As the wind continued to recede, I dropped the jib and sailed back onto my mooring buoy before dropping the main sail and jumping into Skully. I had a lot of fun, screaming out to Chatham Island at 15 Knots. I brought a colander with me, thinking the blackberries would be ready. They were not. It's amazing how far behind the berry season is, compared to Tom's farm. Must be the proximity to the water.  So, no blackberries but I did find Rio a really cool stick and some rocks for the girls. I also picked up some cedar for kindling. Hungry for some Ahi tuna, I left Chatham and was soon grilling my dinner on Trouper 2.

As the sun slowly slipped away, I retired to the main salon, lit the fire and drifted off to sleep listening to the blues. The rain started falling overnight and continued through breakfast. I was reluctant to roll out and could have easily re-lit the fire and lounged about for the whole day. Sadly, UVic was calling....

Cadboro Bay Sailing

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I didn’t get to sleep until after 1 a.m. and the crabbers woke me up at 5:30. So, I took my garbage to the dumpster on the foreshore, made some coffee and hot oatmeal and then cast off for the four hour trip back to Cadboro Bay.

I had the ebb tide with me until 0800 so I made good time against a fresh Southeasterly. It was great to  be back home. In retrospect, the strong winds made the trip more uncomfortable than any of my previous cruises. And my experience at Royal Cove made me realize you can never be too reliant on the marine forecast.

Cadboro Bay

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