Life on the water again

It’s amazing how after only a few months we forgot exactly how wonderful living on the water is. Life becomes simpler, we become closer as a family, more dependent on one another. The freedom from land based routines to routines dictated by wind, tides and currents. We have choices of where to go, and how long to stay. Then there is of course the breathtaking scenery and abundance of wildlife all around us.

 

Dawn. Rebecca Spit

There is nothing like visiting new places and experiencing a jolt of awe when you see something for the first time. It’s like shot of adrenalin. The second time you visit a place it’s never quite the same as the first time you visit a place. You might not experience the exact same feeling but it is different. Knowing where you are going to and what you are going to see when you get there is a different experience, it can give you a feeling of security and familiarity. As much as I like visiting new cities visiting new natural places are more rewarding for me. Cities these days are becoming more similar all over the world: same  chain restaurants and shops, cars, architecture, and people are even stating to look the same, all due, no doubt, to better communications and corporate globalisation. Natural beauty on the other hand seems to me so much more unique from place to place and thus still gives me the “jolt of awe” when I see something new.  To be honest, I like both. Having been in the wilds for a while it’s nice to go to a city but it’s always great to be back in natural surroundings, spring, summer and autumn at least!    

We departed Anacortes with the wind to the west, the direction we were heading, so we motored until we crossed the Rosario Strait and through Thatcher pass when we raised the sails and turned off the engine as the winds changed direction to north. We were all feeling very smug in our cockpit with its new covers sheltering us from the elements outside. It does take a little bit away from the sailing experience and you have to rely on the wind instruments to sail rather than the wind on your face, but it’s warm and dry! Marvelous. I am sure we will appreciate it even more as we head north.

We sailed all the way to Friday harbor, checked out with US customs and immigration, decided to buy some more beer as it’s cheaper in the US, and headed off to Sidney, British Columbia, Canada. Again fortune was with us as the wind had shifted again and allowed us to sail all the way to Sidney with the current behind us, where we checked in by telephone to Canadian customs and immigration and raised the sails again for Montague harbor in the Canadian gulf islands. We had a very peaceful night on a park mooring buoy and headed out the next morning to catch slack tide through Dodd Narrows. We sailed on a beam reach all the way to the narrows, up Trincomali channel and Stuart channel, 15 knots true wind and a reef in for comfort. In the end we fully reefed Sarita and just the headsail as we were making such good progress we would be arriving at the narrows early. Even then we were doing 6 knots.  Grin factor 9.

Once through the narrows we had a short passage to Mark Bay in Nanaimo where we dropped the anchor, went into town in the dinghy, bought the provisions we would not take across the border and went for a walk along the beach on Newcastle island.

We had planned to leave early the following morning for a long 80nm sail to Rebecca spit but the forecast was for 20-25 knot winds on the nose with gusts to 30knots. We decided to stay another day, 20-25 knots is not normally that bad but given we had 80 miles to go it would have been of a slog and we did not need to endure that. Instead we had another pleasant day in Nanaimo. Looking at the weather during the day the wind never got above 15 knots so we would have been alright. So it was that we departed at 6am on the dot for Rebecca spit. Out in the Strait of Georgia it was already 15 knots against the predicted 5-10 knots, it slowly built and by 9am it was 20 knots. We decided to raise the sails and beat our way up the Strait of Georgia. It would take us longer but would save using the engine. We made some good progress and sailed for 7 hours then the winds died and we motored for a while until the winds picked up again and we raised the sails again. The Canadian airforce provided us with a wonderful show of acrobatics for a couple of hours. Their ariel display team were practicing off the coast of Vancouver island and we watched them perform as we sailed the rest of the way to Rebecca spit, arriving at 8:30 in the evening and dusk. It was a long day but we had sunshine all the way and some great sailing. We dropped the hook off at the north end of the spit in sheltered water. We were the only one there, in fact we did not see another boat he whole day other than the Comox ferry from Powell river.  

Crab dinner

After a peaceful night and wonderful sleep we were up again early the next morning to catch slack tide at Beazley passage and then on to the Octopus Islands, only a short 15 mile hop. Now that we are in the smaller channels the wind is either on your nose going north or on your stern heading south so we had to motor the whole way. The Octopus islands are one of our favorite anchorages. We had stayed there for nearly a week at the end of last season and had a great time kayaking and exploring around the islands. We arrived at around 9:45am to an empty anchorage and dropped the hook in the same place as before. It was another gloriously sunny day so we rowed our dinghy, Little George, to one of the islands where we explored and caught some crab. We had also dropped the crab pot in the water on the way and our luck was in as we had a total of three worthy specimens for supper.   Sitting in the cockpit we watched all the wildlife around us: Otters, raccoons, seals, eagles and many species of wildfowl. It was also warm. Yes 17c so we were in t shirts and I did go for a paddle, although not a swim.          

Driftwood sculpture shack - Octopus Islands

Going up the Strait of Georgia

Going to weather. Sunshine though

Nanaimo

Staying extra night in Nanaimo as 30 knot winds on the nose predicted for our sail to Rebecca Spit. Nice and sunny though tomorrow.

Alaska here we come

We are off to Alaska!

Just before we leave....

Downright lax I say! It’s been many weeks since I made a post. Not only are we back from Australia we have left the US and are now in Canada. How did that happen so quickly?

We arrived back in the US on the 5^th March having had a wonderful time in Australia. The flight back was good up until the point we arrived in Vancouver. We were advised, after our 2 hour wait through Immigration and customs, that two of our bags did not leave Sydney and would be sent on the next flight. We then boarded the small twin prop plane bound for Seattle, took off and just as we were in US airspace we turned around and went back to Vancouver. The problem: a faulty engine temperature gauge.  Now back in Vancouver we had to clear Canadian customs and US Immigration and Customs again. 3 Hours later (insert appropriate expletives) we were on another plane to Seattle then a bus to Anacortes. Tiered and exhausted we arrived at the boat at around 10pm to find that our WONDERFUL Friends TC and Kelly had left us a food parcel with all the essentials including some lovely cheese and salami. How grateful we were not to have to go to the supermarket for breakfast.

We were surprised that the boat was in great condition. The bilge pump had not activated in the 4 months we were away, the decks looked like they had been cleaned (Was that you TC?) and all the sheets smelt like they just came out of the laundry. Now for those of you that don’t live, or have a boat this is, in my experience, unusual. I expected to have some damp smelling cabin, mildew covered bedding and moldy carpets. The heating was on and it was great to be back home! Yes it’s our home. I have to keep reminding myself of that fact.

Koji and Katherine

The weather was a shock to us at the start. Coming back from an Aussie summer to what was still winter, not that it was that cold, only 6-8c during the day and down to 4-5 overnight, it was the rain and clouds that made it a bit miserable. We can however look forward to summer starting very soon.

5 days after getting back our luggage had still not arrived. Let me correct myself, Jude and Katya’s luggage had not arrived. All mine and the Didgeridoo had arrived. We had to purchase some essentials including thermal underwear. After speaking to Air Canada 4 times a day for 10 days the luggage finally arrived. Thank goodness as it turns out that under a global convention, airlines are only liable to pay a miserable compensation of $400 per bag. That would not even pay for the suitcase.      

We planned to leave for Alaska on or about the 4^th April so we have about a month to complete the preparations. Cleaning Sarita, inside and out, fixing the freezer, some mechanical repairs and provisioning at the last minute. Probably the worst job on the list was to replace the forward head hoses. 5 in total. All of which seems to have been secreted in the most difficult to get to places. After two days, bruised and scraped knuckles, frayed tempers and 18 feet of very smelly old rubber hoses we now have a forward head that I hope is a little less pungent.

We continue to be surprised by all the wonderful people we meet. TC and Kelly, who I mentioned before have been wonderful. They kindly looked after our car whilst we were away, brought us wonderful homemade preserves, invited us to their house, which is a wonderful farm / vineyard in the foothills and made us all laugh. Tom and Jan, who invited Katya to their house to paint (Jan is a great local artist). Bernie and Mary, who again invited us to their home with a magnificent view.  Koji and Katherine who live on their most unusual boat – The Orca -  who have values that they follow and I can only aspire to. All of them have made our time in the marina that more pleasant.  

Tulip Festival in Washington....

Talking of friends, we took a trip down to see our friends we met last year whilst cruising, Dave and Stephanie, who live on their boat in Polsboro. We drove down in the car stopping off in Port Townsend, a pretty old style Washington town and had lunch with them. It was great to see them again. Like us they have a long list of preparation tasks to complete before they depart for their summer cruise up the coast. David was in the middle of replacing his windlass, which gave up the ghost at the end of last season. As usual he was doing a wonderful job, everything meticulously thought out and reconstructed. We had a lunch, a couple of beers and then had to get going. On the way back we stopped off in Tacoma to collect our liferaft which we had dropped off at Westpac Marine to be serviced in October– (Tick another item off the list – do not pass GO and pay another $200, or more).

Probably the most important task we have on our list to complete is to get the freezer repaired. We have had a technician out a few times to have a look at it but with no luck. Its runs for a few days and then without reason it stops. David had sent me some very detailed notes on how he had cured his freezer problems and kindly offered to come up and try his magic on my freezer. I gladly accepted his offer and David and Stephanie drove up to see us. We spent and afternoon working on the freezer and fingers crossed the unit will last through the season and allow us to enjoy a wonder variety of meals and ice cubes for drinks.

Looks like we are good to go! Wait. Not so fast. Another problem surfaces after our sea trial to Sucia Island. The 12v house battery looks like it is on the way out. It powers some of the instruments and the VHF and SSB radios. Replacements seemed to be hard to find and delays of two weeks looked likely. This would mean that we will have to rush up to Alaska rather than take a leisurely route. After lots of phoning around I managed to find a couple of batteries, albeit larger than I actually need. We have lost one week but it’s better than two.

Provisions

Jude and Katya went off to Costco to do the provisioning which we have to split into two trips as certain produce cannot be taken into Canada from the US and therefore has to be bought in Canada. They arrived back from the shop at 10pm with 4 large cart loads of food. This had to be ferried from the car to the boat and then stripped of all its packaging stored away in various cubby-holes where we hope we remember where we put everything.

The night before our departure TC and Kelly and Koji and Katherine came around for drink and nibbles, food provided by everybody. Koji and Katherine bought a lovely chicken and rice dish and TC bought some pizza. All food consumed we completed the evening with a visit from some new friends we met, Jake, Daniel and their children.  

Pre departure drinks. Dont be fooled by Koji's shorts. Its cold

All the packaging removed

At last! Off we go. We left at 8am. Koji and Katherine came to wave us off. How kind. First stop: Friday Harbour to clear US Immigration and then on to Sidney BC to clear Canadian customs and then on to Montague Harbour in the Gulf Islands. 50 miles and probably 12 hours.   

Just a bit of current behind us..

More from Australia

Well, we are still in sunny Australia and having a wonderful time. Katya finished the term at Maroubra Bay School and took part in the end of year school musical extravaganza. She settled in amazingly well and has made some great friends in such a short space of time.

Jude and I, with the kind help of Mike, went up to our house to tackle our somewhat overgrown garden. What a mess it was. 7 years of growth required some major work. We spent two days cutting and clearing and took all the mess to the local tip. Now a bit of gardening does not sound that bad to most of you, but here in Sydney it can be very unpleasant and even dangerous. Never mind the heat. We have all sorts of insects and animals waiting to pounce on you. A variety of poisonous spiders, venomous snakes and even venomous paralysis ticks are all residents of our garden. We were lucky and only got attacked by the paralysis ticks. Not very pleasant I can assure you.

Whilst at our house we were rummaging through the garage as we still have some of our belongings there. We came across my stash of wine bought over from the UK 10 years ago buried in the mess. The stash included a number of bottles of French wine, my ’63 port from my christening and a case of 2000 Margaux. All sounded great but had it stood the test of time and temperature in a Sydney garage? So without further ado we took the bottles back to Mike’s house for “tasting”.  We are still working our way through them. The case of Margaux has survived very well but a couple of the older French wines (86-93) have not fared so well. We have had a great time tasting them with Mike and his friend Serge, who bought a number good Australia wines to “Challenge” the old world wines. Oh what fun! We have now decided that we need to drink the remainder.     

I was lucky enough to be invited to crew aboard an ex America’s Cup boat for the day on Sydney harbor. I must admit I felt very humble by the experience of the rest of the crew. All of them were serious racing and Ocean racing sailors competing in numerous America’s cups, Volvo Ocean races, Sydney Hobart winning yachts. And here was me. A “cruiser” They must have thought what the heck, but they were very welcoming and I had a great time on the water. 

Christmas and new year came and went very quickly. Christmas day was spent at Mike and Irit’s house with lots of their family, and Jude’s, joining in the festivities. There was a true fusion of western European and Eastern European cuisine on the table which made for a very interesting meal. Still seems strange having Christmas in a hot climate.

Christmas lunch

Katya went down to Kangaroo Valley with Mike and Irit for New Years eve and Jude and I stayed here in Sydney to enjoy the celebrations. Dan and Carolin came over to the house and we watched the New Year being welcomed in from the roof top with the accompanying fireworks from all around the city.

On the 3^rd Jan we packed up our Land Rover Discovery with all our camping gear, including a tent I swapped for a water-ski from one of Mike’s neighbours and set off up north to tropical Queensland. We stopped off on the way to stay with Paul and Victoria in Byron Bay. They have a lovely house just across the road from an amazing beach and a short distance from some interesting towns and villages. Much food and wine was consumed and we had a few games of RISK. It has been great to catch up with them after so long.

Jude, Victoria and Katya in Byron Bay

Byron Bay

Jude at the Crystal Castle

From Byron we travelled up to Hervey bay for our first night in the tent. We decided that one small tent was not quite enough space and bought a small, and cheap, tent that will hopefully last the distance. Being the school holidays the campground was packed so we went to see if we could get a ferry to Fraser Island (the world’s largest sand Island, being about 150kms long) which might give us the space and solitude we were looking for. The lady in the ferry booking office told us that they were all booked up and suggested we come back after a week or so when there would be nobody there. This sounded like an excellent idea to us. The following morning we drove a few hours up the coast to Bargara, just outside Bundaberg, a town famous for its production of Rum, found a lovely quiet campsite just across the road from the beach and settled in a for a couple of days exploring the area and swimming in the surf.

From Bargara we drove north to two small adjacent towns: Agnes Water and Town of 1770 (so named after Captain Cook’s second landfall in Australia in 1770). These two towns were idyllic backwater summer destinations. We booked into the campsite, set up the tents and went down to the waterfront to swim and cook our supper. Later in the evening we went down to another beach to see if we could find the nesting Loggerhead and Green turtles that had been spotted nesting on the beach. No luck.

Sunset in Town of 1770

Town of 1770

We decided take a day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef and spend a day snorkeling on the reef, something that Jude and I have done before but it would be a new experience for Katya. It’s not quite the same turning up at an anchorage on a tourist boat laden with 100 souls clambering to get into the water and harass the resident population. Saying that we did manage to get away from the crowds and see shark, turtles, squid and a host of other incredible creatures.

We had been told that there was a great National Park campsite 20kms south of Agnes water that was worth a visit so we packed our stuff and headed off to see if we could get a spot there. We arrived just before dark and found a suitable spot only to be confronted by the acting ranger (Turtle watch team) that we did not have a permit to camp. We knew there were no camping spots back in town and that the journey back to town was 20kms down a dirt track. With some confrontation and pleading the ranger allowed us to stay the night. Although it was a great secluded spot it was infested by mosquitoes and other biting insects.

On our way to Deepwater National Park

Visitor to our camp

Our original intention was to travel up to Airlie beach, probably another 300 miles from where we were now. We decided that there was probably no need to go further north as we could not swim due to the Irukandji jelly fish, another deadly animal found in Aus. 7 people had been taken to hospital in the last week to be treated for stings. These stings can be fatal in as little as 20 mins. Although death is unusual it is apparently extremely painful and can leave one scared. So with that we decided to head back to Bargara and spend a few more days on the beach swimming. Katya met a Swedish friend, Cornelia, and they enjoyed some “kid time” and even had a sleep over together. We found a wonderful camp spot under a huge tree which gave us great shade from the heat of the summer sun.

Oh I forgot to say that whilst staying at Paul and Victoria’s I decided that it was time for a hair cut. The last time I had a cut was in early August in Denver, five months ago! I had one hell of a mop. Extreme measures were required and this took the form of Paul’s electric hair clippers. So down to the wood it went. This is the first time I have had such a short hair cut. Even at boarding school it was not this short. It felt rather strange and I think the girls though I looked a bit weird, even scary. 

Down to the wood

After our revisit to Bargara we headed off to Frazer island on the afternoon ferry. Who knows what was going to be in store for us. I was a little concerned that we might get stuck in the sand as the whole island could only be traversed by single lane tracks that were deep sand. There were a few moments where I thought we were doomed but a heavy right foot and the Land Rover diff-lock in place saw us through. The tracks are very bumpy and it takes a long time to go anywhere. We soon found out that the best was to move around the island is to get on the beach at high tide and zoom up and down the east coast of the island. The last time I drove on the beach was in my mother’s Renault 5 when I just passed my test (17). I got stuck and had to be helped out before the tide came in. Anyway all was good. The landrover dealt with it well and ploughed through where others got stuck. 

Lake McKenzie - Fraser Island

Dingo - Fraser Island

Our camp on the beach

Fraser Island has a few official campsites with basis showers and toilets with fences to keep the large resident population of Dingos out (indigenous wild dogs). We stayed our first night in one such camp and decided that it was not for us: too many mosquitoes and the bats crap on your tent at night. We drove up the beach and found great spot on the beach with a fresh water creek nearby, nobody else for miles around, and pitched our tents. We spent the afternoon building a dam across the creek to make a pond that we could swim in and cool off as it was not possible to swim in the sea (sharks and jellyfish). How wonderful to have such a wonderful beach all to ourselves.         

We departed Fraser Island after 5 days and headed south again to Bruswick Heads. Our intention was to stay at a rural campsite just outside Mullumbimby. We arrived to find the campsite was a bit too “alternative” and headed back to the coast. The following day we went back to Paul and Victoria’s to celebrate my birthday, last one in my 40s. Victoria cooked a wonderful meal and we had a great afternoon / evening. Unfortunately P&V had to leave for Sydney the next day but the very kindly asked us to stay in the house for a few extra days. Marvelous! A proper bed and shower. 

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