Port McNeill - Just Waitin and Wishin

Port McNeill Harbor at Twilight

Port McNeill is our home for the next several days.  It has a population of only 2,700 yet it has a big modern Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center where I counted at least 4 employees.  This seaside village is geared for  summer cruisers looking for salmon fishing grounds. Later in the summer the marina installs a big party barge with a tent in the harbor - hopefully we'll be gone by then.

We spend the first few days here fixing the "fixed"  yet still non-functioning watermaker -  grrrrrrr.  Jim finally had to rewire the whole thing.  This is  the third time it's been repaired but we're really, really sure it's working now.  We won't find out for certain until we're at sea and that won't be for days since we have been sidelined by gale force winds In Queen Charlotte Sound.

Yikes

Every day for the last 4 days that we have checked the weather forecast, 4 times a day when the weather is reported, this is what it says: Gale Warnings.  So we are waiting to leave, which is not without it's advantages as Port McNeil has the best cinnamon rolls in BC.  I've taken on the task of critiquing them each morning to ensure their quality control standards  remain high.  Of course, if we don't get out of here soon, Jim will be able to use me as an anchor.

Eagle Guarding our Boat - 24/7

So we wait for the storm to pass, listening to the loons in the harbor and  just wishing and hoping and
thinking and praying,
planning and dreaming
each night.... of calm seas. 

Float Plane that Isn't

Northward Bound May 1, 2012

Our First Lighthouse Sighting

We push off at 7AM on May 1 for Nanaimo, BC, where we'll clear customs.  It is a 46 nm trip and we have calm seas and beautiful weather.  We call customs ahead of time, tell then our "approximate" arrival time -  1:15PM - and they instruct us to tie up at their dock - but - if we expect to arrive more than 15 minutes either side of 1:15PM we are required to call to inform them. They however, plan to arrive at our boat at exactly 1:15PM and if they aren't there by 1:16PM, we may leave - at 1:16PM.  This level of precision cannot possibly work - I mean we didn't even synchornize our watches. However, we actually tied up at their dock at exactly 1:15PM.   We're here, they're not - but we wait until 1:30 just to be sure but no one comes.

Meanwhile, we have a leaking water heater and our water maker isn't working.  We're on the water but can't access water,  hmmmm.   So Jim spends much of the afternoon diagnosing the watermaker problem and fixing it and we continue on the next morning to Campbell River.  Unfortunately, the fixed water maker still isn't making water and Jim spends much of the eight hour voyage in the engine room further diagnosing the problem.

Tug first in line for entering Seymour Narrows

 Two days are spent in Campbell River as Jim makes repairs.  The water heater and maker are fixed and we leave Friday morning, May 4th, for  Johnstone Strait.  This is a long crossing that takes us through the dreaded Seymour Narrows, a bottleneck  channel that must be traversed at slack water, and at that, a whole chapter of a book explains how treacherous the waters are.  Watch for the boils, avoid the tide rips, back eddies, forward eddies, swirls and ripples.   The author includes diagrams, a strategy chart broken down by whether we are in an ebb or flood tidal situation and cautionary tales worthy of a Stephen King novel. 

Charting the Straits

The fish boat exiting the Narrows and entering Johnstone strait

We  enter at the appointed time following a fishing boat (we respect "local knowledge") and watching him get thrown to and fro makes me dizzy.  Making it through without incident we continue up the straits as the water swirls and rips but our boat handles it well.  It turns out to be a long, long day and we arrive in Pt McNeil at 7:30 PM , after 10 hours of cruising.

The Departure - April 25, 2012

Finally, after months of planning, packing and provisioning, we are leaving Seattle for a five month adventure directly to Alaska and returning leisurely through the islands of British Columbia.  We are so full of supplies the boat feels like it's sinking.  There is a 5 month supply of cat litter,  kitty food - canned and dry -  dog food - dry and moist, dog biscuits, dog chews, and Zippy's coats.  By the time we finished with all the pet supplies there was hardly any room left for our stuff.  Still, I managed to cram 5 months and 3 seasons worth of clothing into the boat - I actually emptied my entire closet.  These are the times I appreciate Jim's simplicity of wardrobe - he only brought 2 small duffel bags.  I also emptied the contents of our refrigerator and cupboards.  We have hard-to-find grocery items, extra boat parts and  enough  medications to make a pharmaceutical rep envious.  Only days later do we realize Jim forgot a coat and I am sockless.

Zippy's Loo-Liner

This year we have a new boat aboard our boat -  a 6' homely, orange plastic work barge intended to serve as Zippy's water taxi for potty duty.  We needed a dinghy that didn't require a crane to launch it and could be rammed up on a rocky shore without fear of damage. 


We leave at 7AM for Roche Harbor in  San Juan Island, a favorite place of ours and our jumping off point for Canada.  Our passenger for this leg of the trip is an old friend, Brian.  He actually sold us our Selene.  In fact, he uses us as an example of how long it can take to buy a boat - 10 years.  I think other boaters might be more decisive.

We are going to a three day Selene Rendezvous - 27 boats make the gathering and about 3 of them have cruised to Alaska.  I pump these veteran cruisers for tips on traveling through the Seymour Narrows, traversing Johnstone Straits and making the reputedly dangerous  Queen Charlotte crossing.  They might as well have been frightening me with stories of dodging pirates and armed rebels off the coast of Somalia - I was gripped with fear.

Blue Heron Guarding the  Blue Boat

The event was fun and felt like a big send-off party as everyone was excited about our adventure and eager to hear our cruising stories.  On Sunday April 29th we left Roche Harbor and headed due west all of .5 nautical miles to the Seattle Yacht Club outstation on Henry Island to catch our breath and relax a few days before our official departure. We were the only boat there so we enjoyed some quiet nature watching - a red fox scouring the shore, a blue heron and nine deer grazing the grounds.

Yes,  just what you think

Homeward Bound; Monday September 26 - Wednesday September 28,2011

Monday brings sloshing rain, 50 MPH winds and   “ 'That Damn' Fuel Line Project.”   We start with great news from the boys who work on our boat in Seattle – by 8:45 AM, Jeff had a fuel line custom made and ready to ship on Kenmore’s float plane, arriving in Nanaimo by 1 PM.  The bad news is that due to the gusty hurricane winds, Kenmore canceled their flight for today.  The bad-bad news is that that was also their last flight of THE SEASON.

Plan B: Dan, our Harbor Master/Expert Tower, knows a guy on the island who knows a guy on the other island (Vancouver) who has the hose we need. Jim and Dan hop the ferry and within two hours they have a new fuel line, custom-made by Dan while  they're still at the auto supply store. A few new connectors, a bit of grease, a lot of muscle power and – voila!  Dan is like the Harrison Ford character in Six Days and Seven Nights – give him a Q-tip and a pocket knife, send him into the wilderness and he’ll build you a shopping mall.

Jim installs the new fuel line, bleeds the engine of air 3 times, and we start the engine up.  It looks like this might be our golden fix.  Of course, this is the third time we have tried to fix our problem, so…we are cautiously optimistic. Meanwhile, we monitor the weather web sites hourly looking for any break in the storms in which we can make our get away.

We head to the pub for supper but just today, they started “winter” hours, so by 7:15 PM, the kitchen is closed.  Dan, our new best friend, is there so we go in and sit with him and his wife, Jan, who runs the pub.  We have a beer with them and another local who lives aboard his boat at the harbor. Pretty soon three other locals join us for beers and we have a spirited conversation about politics, Bush, Perry and Obama. Most of these guys are from the states originally (Peaceniks - I love them ) and have a very sophisticated take on the state of the states. Pretty soon Jan disappears and at about 8 PM she hustles back with steaming plates of shrimp, chicken, fries, onion rings and cheese.  All on the house.  And more beer. A perfect end to a dismal day.




Sunrise Leaving Thetis Island

At sunrise on Tuesday, clear skies and light winds greet us so at 7 AM we skedaddle out of Thethis Island and five hours later we are in US waters, safely docked at our favorite place in the San Juan Islands, Friday Harbor.  This is our first trip - of the last three trips - that we actually manage to finish all on our own -  without a tow.



Sunrise Friday Harbor
Mt Baker

Wednesday is the day we make our break for home. A stunning sunrise and again, luck is on our side as the forecast for our 7 hour run looks promising all the way back to Seattle. As we leave the San Juan Islands, tons of seals put on a show for us, frolicking to and fro in front of our boat for miles. Of course every time I try to take a picture of their acrobatics, they dive under the boat. Camera shy I guess.



Once we get into the dreaded Straits of Juan de Fuca, the coast guard makes an announcement on the radio warning boaters that live firing exercises are being conducted by the US government - did they hear we were coming? - and later, that side-scanning sonar is also occuring. We make it safely through the firing range without any muzzles pointed at us.


Exactly seven hours later, we dock in Seattle - happy to be home but sad to be leaving our snug boat. We spent almost ten weeks cruising the BC waters without getting homesick or antsy. We are excellent vagabonds ready to live on board...someday.

Home Sweet Home ??



Comox to Thetis Island September 21 - 25, 2011

View from Comox Harbor


Yes, the weather has definitely changed.  It is fall with a vengeance.  We have had gale force winds - 20 - 40 knots for the past three days - and rain, needle sharp, prickly, side-ways rain.  And did I mention the wind?  At 25 kts it's enough to blast poor Zippy right into the drink.  

Jim has successfully repaired the fuel problem - we think, but won't know until we go back out and at 30 Kts of wind, that's not happening- especially since the engine quit in 0 kts of wind.  We are aiming for a Saturday departure as the winds should be 5 -15 kts. then.




Deer lounging in the park in Comox

In the meantime, we enjoy Comox but we know we have been here too long as the Harbor Master, Liz has invited us to her home.  On Friday night, our last night here, we have dinner with our new friend Gavin - the head of BC Search and Rescue - and his wife and daughter.  They send us off with fresh sockeye salmon, red wine and homemade  blackberry jam.  Provisions should we get stranded again.



Leaving Comox at Sunrise

On Saturday morning we leave Comox - again.  This is the first day without rain or gale force winds in 4 days.  We cruise out of the harbor at 7 AM sharp and 35 minutes later pass the scene of our last break down.  I hold my breath but we sail right by and continue on without incident. I resume breathing. 

Fog Rolling In

Clouds start to gather and heavy fog rolls in but we roll on.  The water is calm - I guess it's either fog and glassy water or wind, rough seas and clear skies.  Right now, radar is our eyes so we enjoy the smooth waters.  After several hours the fog breaks and we are in sunny skies - and still no wind.


This good luck holds for 8 hours and when we can see Thetis Island, our refuge for the night, the engine stalls.  Stopped. Dead. Finished.  Over and out. Deja vue all over again.  Veterans that we now are of being engineless in the islands,  we remain calm and  call the marina.  Dan, the harbor master, says he will come get us - and he does.  In a smaller boat than our last tow, he expertly tows us in and two hours later we are safely docked.  Only then do we find out he has never towed anyone before in his life, this is only the second time he has ever driven the tow boat, it is in fact not a tow boat, and it's not even his boat.  Hmmm....



Our Novice Tower

                                                                      The Tow Boat 

                                              The Welcoming Committee




Jim diagnoses the problem - again, a plugged fuel line - and we also discover it is a defectively manufactured and or assembled fuel line.  The lawyer in me is churning and I proceed to bag the evidence and mount my legal arguments.  But clearly, this will have to wait until later as we are now stuck on an island.

Oh, and did I mention our water line sprung a geyser so we also have no water.  We're on the water, yet we have no water.  We prioritize and Jim mentions that we are now aiming pretty low when all we are wishing for is some hot water to wash our hands. But on the plus side - we have wine and now seems an appropriate time to guzzle some.   




Thetis Island with storm clouds

On Sunday, Bob,who works on the fuel dock and lives on his boat here, generously lets us use his car (no rentals to be had on the island or within 45  miles of the mainland) so we can take the ferry - $46.00 and 30 minutes - to cross to the mainland, drive to the nearest city, Nanaimo - 45 minutes away (gas $38.00) - to buy 2 feet of water hose for 5 bucks.  But hey, they have a Starbucks!  Mochas for everyone!

50 kts gale force winds are again in the forecast so we have plenty of time to figure out how we're going to get off this island.  I noticed yesterday when we were on the mainland that our "summer" cruise is colliding with Halloween - there were costumes and Halloween candy all over.  Trick-or-treat anyone?



Not Us - But Outside Our Harbor on the Rocks



Comox to... Comox, Tuesday, September 20,2011

                                                     Sunrise as we leave Comox







We are off at 7 AM,  going south to Ninaimo, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. It should be a six hour trip and the weather looks like it will be beautiful.  The water is so calm it's like we're floating on glass.  We're sipping our coffee, enjoying the scenery going by when our engine stops.  Yes, just  25 minutes out of the harbor and we have no engine.  How can this be happening - it's sunny out!

Luckily, this is one of the few times we have cell service so we put in a call to our Seattle John Deer mechanic who confirms Jim's suspicions - we have air in the fuel line.  There is no wind and we aren't drifting toward the rocky shore so Jim heads below to bleed the fuel line.  And bleed the fuel line and...you get the picture - that air ain't moving.  But now we are as the wind has picked up and is blowing us to shore, and rocks.

I call the harbor we just left and Liz, my new best friend, puts in a call to a towing company who will be here in an hour or so.  The shore is quickly approaching and Jim drops our one remaining working anchor.  While we wait, the Canadian Coast Guard comes out to see if we are OK.  I love the Canadian Coast Guard.

At 11:30 AM our vessel assist arrives,  by the name of Ata Tude - which it will need as it is 28 feet long and we are 65 feet.   

Our Rescue

 They attach a towing line and sure enough, proceed to tow us in at a brisk 5.6 knots.  Once we get to the marina - the same one we just left - they remove the towing line, sidle up along our starboard side and nudge us to our dock while I operate the thrusters to guide us.  Of course, in all the confusion of  lines, our emergency windlass handle gets caught in the towing line and flies overboard.  This is the necessary tool for pulling up an anchor should hydraulics fail.  So now we have neither of our anchors fully functional.  But that's ok because we no longer have a functioning engine to get anywhere we could anchor. 




Getting ready to pull

And there we go

One more night in Comox - we are now on such a friendly basis with the harbor master that I've added her to my contact list.  Meanwhile, our BC Search and Rescue friend Gavin, whom we met in the bar several nights ago, invites us to his house for dinner and offers us the use of his truck while we're stranded.  We may never leave Comox. Of course if we don't get this engine fixed, we actually won't be leaving Comox.

Sunset

Comox, Saturday September 17 - Monday, September 19, 2011

Heading South in Discovery Passage

We head out of April Point at 7 AM sharp to another beautiful sunrise and purple mountains majesty - and we're not even in the USA.  The only thing we need to worry about today is crossing the feared Comox Bar - a shallow channel at the entrance to Comox that is marked by buoys and range lights that "may or may not be visible" but need to be lined up on our starboard.  Sure thing.

The trip proceeds calmly for 40 minutes until we reach Cape Mudge, described by Wagoner's Cruising Guide as a "known graveyard for vessels of all sizes."  Hmmmm...



Tip of Cape Mudge with storm clouds and a strip of sun

Sure enough the waters become more roiled, the wind picks up, the clouds move in and all hell breaks loose.  Our boat starts bucking like a Texas bronco and waves the size of a Hollywood disaster movie approach.  Think George Clooney in The Perfect Storm.  But we have a sturdy boat, no need to worry, it can handle this.  But Jim can't.  Get the bucket.



Waves starting

Still, we try to stay standing and steer the boat through this when suddenly an alarm pierces the cabin and an ominous yelow light starts flashing at the helm station.  Warnings flare - "fuel derate condition" - and other words that I can't read because we're tossing to and fro.  Jim goes to the engine room to repair it but several solutions he tries fail to fix it.  And the alarm continues it's shrill blare every 2-3 seconds.

 Meanwhile, we see the anchor on the bow bounce loose from it's tie-down. Jim makes a final bucket stop  before crawling out onto the rocking anchor platform, about 10 feet above the water, to secure the anchor.  As we go down each wave, the bow slaps the surface of the water and I watch Jim ride the bow up and down.


Now, a red light flashes and even I know that's much worse than a yellow warning.  More warnings scroll across the monitor and basically, it says things are bad.  We slow down until we are cruising at about 5 knots, making this trip even longer. 





This looks Biblical

Three and one-half hours later, alarm still blaring, we near Comox and...The Bar.  I am so rattled by the constant alarm I forgot all about this little challenge.  We are now in somewhat more protected waters and the rocking and rolling has stopped, Jim is less queasy and we easily see the range lights, make the crossing and are rewarded with a glimpse of  a rainbow at shore.



Rainbow over Vancouver Island

We putter to shore, dock and turn off the engine - quiet for the first time in four hours.  After settling in we head to the bar, the real one,  for a beer to calm our raw nerves and meet Gavin, the head of Search and Rescue for BC.  Good man to know. 


Jim manages to fix the fuel problem over the next two days - which requires much effort on his part and a rented car and drive to Campbell River by me (which we just came from by boat) for parts.  We have dirty fuel that was stirred up by the extreme bucking we endured.  Jim removes from the fuel line what looks just like one of Wiley's hairballs and I eye Wiley suspiciously - I know they want to get home but would Wiley sabotage the boat???? 



Comox Harbor

Comox is a charming seaside town with cute shops, great restaurants and super friendly people.  The weather continues to be iffy and fall is definitely here - it feels like a switch was suddenly thrown.  Time to head further south before the weather gets worse. 





Our Last Evening