September 2006

Anacortes, Washington

Life continues to be blind date “interesting”….

September 1 st we left Prince Rupert in SUNSHINE hoping to reach Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island in time to celebrate my birthday on September 4 th. The boat was in the Quarter Deck Marina, Port Hardy, by 4:00 p.m. on the 4 th after a trip of 266nm and 46.5 hours underway. Unfortunately the last overnight run was foggy and radar wasn’t operating properly, so it was a little stressful to say the least. Several times we saw the lights of cruise ships and a couple fishing vessels, but they didn’t show up on radar…another problem to be dealt with on shore! The alternator was also acting up and not charging the batteries properly; this has been an on-going issue and one that we’ll address before heading out into the Pacific. Styker Marine Repair was close to the marina and able to look at the radar. We opted to remove the radar unit from the mizzenmast & take it in to speed up the process. Less than 24 hours (and $900) later, it was remounted and working perfectly with a new magnatron! The one downside to the re-installation was that Gary’s Wand’rin Star hat (that he’s had since San Diego) blew off and sunk in the stinky water of the harbor; an unfortunate end for such a special hat! This harbor was really smelly due to fish carcasses that were just thrown into the water and then ended up rotting on the rocks at low tide… putrid!

Port Hardy is a friendly community and I had the good fortune to be directed to the West Coast Community Craft Shop owned by Davida Hudson. She’s doing an excellent job showcasing artists from North Vancouver Island and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting this insightful, sensitive woman and wish her continued success in her endeavors.

One of the places we visited on both our north & south routes was Growler Cove on West Cracroft Island. On the way there, we were treated to a pod of Orcas as we motored into the cove in much different conditions than the 30k winds we experienced the first time. This route led us through Race Passage, which we transited at slack water with no problem and more Orcas were sighted. Seymour Narrows was the next “anxiety” area to be reckoned with as the miles slipped by. These narrows are located between Vancouver & Quadra Islands and run up to 16 knots on flood tide and 14 knots on ebb tide, needless to say, they are to be approached only at slack tide. Our timing was perfect; I was still nervous and asked Gary to tell me when we were half way through. He replied, “I can’t, we’re already three-quarters through!” What a relief! We bested our previous record speed, as the SOG was 10.4k as we were flushed out of the narrows. Our next stop would be Nanaimo, 100 miles farther south, meaning that we would run through the night again. I was on watch at 2:00 a.m. and decided to make popcorn to munch on, when Gary got up at 5:00 a.m. he commented that it was really difficult to sleep with the aroma of buttered popcorn in the air and suggested that we only make it when we’re both up! The night was beautiful with flat seas and a full moon, much different from the night run to Port Hardy in the fog with iffy radar! However, remember this is our “interesting” voyage. At about 5:30 a.m. Gary noticed coolant in the bilge, but the engine wasn’t overheating. We continued to monitor this and arrived in Nanaimo at 8:30 a.m. Nanaimo is another artsy town and we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the Modern Cafe before tackling the coolant issue by replacing the raw water impeller on the engine and trying to locate the missing fins from the damaged one. We only found one, not all the missing parts, however. We did what we could and decided that a failed heat exchanger was really the cause of the problem as the coolant level never decreased because seawater was mixing with it to keep the level up…just another issue to be resolved once we got to Washington.

The last place we anchored in British Columbia was Montague Harbor after a beautiful, sunny, warm day underway…it finally felt like summer as we sat in the cockpit enjoying the brilliance. Cap Sante Boat Haven was our destination in Anacortes, Washington, as we knew we could have our multitude of problems dealt with there. We officially cleared U.S. Customs at 3:00 p.m. on Sept. 13 th, feeling a little like we were “home” again, having left Port Townsend, Washington 5 ½ months earlier.

When I look back to our earliest logs, I’m a little overwhelmed with what we’ve seen, how we’ve grown, the wonderful people we’ve met, the distances we’ve traveled, and how much we’re still enjoying what we’re doing. We are truly blest to live each day the way we do.

Gary, the statistician, came up with the following data about life since leaving San Diego:
Total time underway: 1064.3 hours.
Total distance: 5154.8 nm.

Work has already begun on the “issues” we must address before heading south. The questions now are “How long will it take?” “ How much will it cost?” and “Do we attempt to go down the coast in late fall or spend another winter in the Pacific Northwest?” We’re waiting for parts and the mechanic to come back to install them and then we’ll be able to answer some of our questions.

There have been several “bonuses” in our return to Anacortes. Bill & Masuko, who own a sister-ship, S/V Cassiar, came to visit us from Bainbridge Island; it was a treat to be able to visit with them again. They also put us in contact with Nels & Loretta, owners of the very first HC 44 Pilothouse, S/V Marion. They spent an afternoon aboard our boat discovering similarities & differences as well as providing background information on the building of the boats. Gary was really excited to talk with a “primary source” regarding sister-ship history and we’re looking forward to seeing S/V Marion before leaving Anacortes. We also made contact with Jan & Juana from the Netherlands, who own S/V Black Molly, the last HC 44 Pilothouse produced. We’ve added information and pictures about both ships to our Boat Info Page.

The leaves are turning to brilliant reds and yellows as we’re enjoying the beginning of autumn in the Northwest. Plans have been made to fly back to Michigan to see family & friends at the end of the month and watch my daughter, Kate, run in the Detroit Marathon. When we return, we’ll have to answer the question, “Do we attempt to go down the coast in late fall or spend another winter in the Pacific Northwest?” Who knows…there are pluses and minuses to both? We’ll let you know our answer in the next log.

May the changing season bring new perspective to your life and may you do something you enjoy everyday!

Dorothy, Gary & Murray the Cat

Quotes for the Month

“We confess before Thee that if life were all smooth, there would be no patience; were it all easy, no courage, no sacrifice, no depth of character. We acknowledge before Thee that what is most admirable is the child of adversity and of courageous souls unafraid to face it.” ~ Harry Emerson Fosdick

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” ~ Walter Elliott

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Last updated onOctober 20, 2006