Canada Trip

Monday August 4th:

Plans have been changed.

One of the main reasons we wanted to stop in Nanaimo was to go scuba diving on a sunken (on purpose) battleship. The name of the ship is The HMCS SASKATCHEWAN. It was sunk on purpose in 1997 as an artificial reef just outside of the city of Nanaimo. This would have been a very cool Awesome dive, but the wind was blowing 25-30 knots today, and even the dive charters were not going out to the dive site. The waves were just too big. So we decided that if the dive charters were not going, it would probably be a smart thing, not to go ourselves.

We found this out at about 11am. So we wandered around town, trying to figure out what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. I just happened to check the tide/current tables at the marina information booth and saw that slack tide was in a little over an hour from now. In order to head south we had to go through one last narrows, Dodd Narrows.  And it just so happens that the narrows were just under an hour away from where we were. Soooooo, We hauled ass down to the docks, jumped in the dinghy and made a mad dash to the boat. Hauled up the anchor and headed south. We decided that we’d rather be anchored out in some small out of the way anchorage than hang out in town for another day.

Luckily for us, the wind that kept us from scuba diving was blowing out of the north and we were headed south. So we had a fast down wind run to Dodd Narrows………

As we were sailing along, Tawn pulled up a floor board to check things out. And noticed that there was a huge amount of water pouring in from around the prop shaft.

SHIT! Is putting it mildly.

We had to make a decision, and make it fast. Tawn took the helm and I grabbed my toolbag and flashlight and went headfirst into the bilge to see what was going on. The plan was for Tawn to sail the boat towards Dodd’s Narrows so we could make the tide if I could fix the problem before we got there. If not, we would turn around and get out butts back to Nanaimo and get the problem checked out.

Luckily as soon as I turned on the flashlight I knew what the issue was. It’s hard to describe, but basically, there is a metal collar that is fitted around the prop shaft and is pushed up against rubber boot. Much like a shock absorber boot. The prop shaft goes out from the engine through the bilge to the outside water to spin the propeller. Since it has to spin, you cannot make this a water tight seal. So water flows in from the outside into this rubber boot. The metal collar pushes up against the boot and is held there by two set screws. Those screws had worked their way loose and the boot pushed the collar back just enough to allow it to leak like crazy.

So as Tawn was steering us towards the Narrows, I pushed it back into it’s proper place and tightened the screws…problem solved. Vacation still on.

We actually ended up getting to the Narrows a little bit early. So we hung out for a bit and waited for the tide to turn in our favor and cruised through.

Since we had left in such a rush we really did’nt have any particular destination in mind, so we pulled out the charts and decided to go to Montegue Harbor which is located at the south end of the Gulf Islands. Dodd Narrows in at the north end.

However, our alternator had other plans.

As soon as we exited the narrows, the wind completely died, since it was out of the north and now completly blocked by the islands we had just squeezed between. So we fired up the motor. Since we had already had a few issue with the alternator, we were more than a little bit paranoid about it. So after starting the engine, Tawn checked the regulator to make sure the alternator was working correct.

It was not.

Hooray!!!

I spent the next 4 hours tracing every frackin wire coming from and going to that alternator. I knew that regulator had to be good. I knew that the alternator had to be good. Both were brand frackin new. So it was down to wiring. When I tell you it was the last, LAST absolute wire I had to check, I am not lieing or embellishing. I ran, tested or replaced every wire that went between the alternator and regulator. They all checked out just fine. I had one more to go.

I had actually tested this one earlier and it passed. I tested it agian and it failed!? I then replaced it and WAh-fucken-hooo! it worked. One stupid ass $1.39 inline fuse holder was the reason I was upside down in the engine compartment/bilge for the last 4 hours.

Give me those damn killer hornets anyday.

Since the wind was none exsistant, Tawn had spent the whole time keeping Palarran off the rocks and tweaking the sails doing some awesome light wind sailing, and dealing with currents. We did’nt make it very far in those four hours, less than 2 or 3 miles. So we decided to pull into the nearest bay, Clam Bay, for the rest of the day and spend the night.

Clam Bay was big and open, but fairly well protected. We picked a spot on the north end of it and dropped the hook.

The bay is on the east side of two islands (Thetis Is. & Kuper Is.) These two islands are divided by a very narrow, very shallow water way called “The Cut”. On the other side of The Cut is Telegraph Harbor. The Cut is actually pretty wide, but there is a very narrow section through the middle of it that you could get a dinghy through or very small motor boat. The picture below was taken as we were just getting to the Telegraph Harbor end of the cut in the Dinghy, looking west.

Once on the other side, we stopped and got some ice cream and beer. We did’nt do much else in Clam Bay. In fact we just lounged around the boat once we got back.

Map of trip

Sunday August 3rd:

Today was AWESOME!!

We woke up to a sun shiny day. We pulled the anchor and headed out of Secret Cove around 7:30am or so. There was no wind so we decided to motor through Welcome Passage  and once past Pirate Rock and had b-fast we would raise some sail and head towards Nanimo on the other side of the Straights of Georgia.

As I mentioned before, the day started off nice and only got better. As we motored past Pirate Rock and started hoisting the mainsail and foresail, the wind picked up to about 8-10 knotsout of a clear blue sky to the north, we took that as a good omen and hoisted our third sail the Yankee (The Donger).  As the day wore on, the wind kept increasing to about 20 knots. But since the wind only started at about the same time we did, the waves had not had the chance to build. So we were abolutly hauling ass across the Straights on a broad reach.

As the wind picked up a little more and gusting even higher, we decided to drop the Yankee sail. By now we had 3 – 4 foot waves and were doing a very little bit of surfing down some of the bigger ones. Unless you sail, there is no way to describe how fun this is, the whole thing. Wind, waves, weather, the unknown…It’s just awesome.

We took the next two videos about 3/4 of the way across the Straights of Georgia. They of course in no way show just how fast we were going, or how the boat would surf down the waves. Or how hard the wind was blowing. But trust me….it as absolutly a blast!! Probably my best day sailing to date.

Look out! Cappy CB at the helm!

What we thought would be a 4 hour trip over, only ended up taking us a little over 2 hours. We were in Nanimo and anchored just after lunchtime.

Of course, all that wind on the way over meant that there would be wind in the anchorage as well. And it did make for a few anchoring “discussions” between me and Tawn :P , but before long we were settled in and checking out the town and the historical island before too long.

One other thing we wanted to check out while we were here was a bar called the Dinghy Dock, which turned out to be a very cool little place. Really the only way to get to it is by dinghy or small boat.

Two bars in two days!! Holy crap, we are out of control!!

We did a little hiking in the state park island here and checked out downtown a little as well. The picture below was taken from the island looking back across the bay the boat was anchored in to downtown Nanimo.

Of course it was back to the Dinghy Dock for a few cocktails to close the place down.

The big plan for tommorow is to get directions to a sunken battleship and go scuba diving on it tommorow.

Map of the trip

Saturday August 2nd:

So with the altenator fixed, and a cooler restocked with fresh veggies and beer, we left Westview Marina headed south towards Secret Cove about 20 miles away. The day started out nice and just got nicer as we went. As soon as we rounded Grief Point we put up the Spinnaker and had a nice mellow downwind run for about 6 hours.

About the only WTF moment we had was about halfway there we were sailing along and all of a sudden we feel/hear this gigantic BOOM BOOM BA-BOOM!! For some reason to me it sounded/felt like it was coming from over my head at the top of the mast. And as I was looking up, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of something launching out of the water right beside the boat! Just then a HUGE log, about 30 feet long and a foot or more around slides up the side of the boat and out of the water about 3 feet and splashes down and floats away…..!!

Up until then, we had seen a random log or two floating about and sailing around up here in the Pacific Northwest you always in the back of your mind keep an eye out for deadheads and floating logs. But this was the first time we had hit one this big. We hit it right in the middle of the log and it rolled down our keel to the middle of the boat and then slid/floated up.

Tawn ran below and started pulling up floorboards to make sure we did not get a hole poked in our bottom. No harm, no foul. But we kept an extra close lookout for the rest of the trip.

We got to Secret Cove about 3pm and found a spot to anchor and did a little dinghy exploring, and much to our surprise we found a pub!

It sucked but it was the first bar we had been to in a couple weeks. So we had to stay for at least one drink. Oh and it was not really a surprise to find this pub. We knew it was here and wanted to check it out becuase it was named “The Jolly Roger Pub”. Which made it’s suckyness even that much more hurtful.

 Map of the trip

Thursday-Friday July 31st & August 1st:

Today did not really get off to a good start. The first indicator was it was still raining when we got up. Not much, but it was a gloomy overcast morning. We had to be five miles south to make it through a narrow passage called Surge Narrows by 9:45am. So I wanted to have the anchor up and be on our way by 8:30 at the latest. As usual, we planned to just get up, raise anchor and have breakfast and coffee on the way.

Luckily, for some reason we decided to start the engine early and charge the batteries since it had been overcast for a few days and not much wind. That was when we noticed the problem. For some reason, the regulator (small device that controls the amount of power the altenator puts out) was not working. It was not getting any power at all, so the display lights were not even on. This was not good. It meant that with out the regulator doing it’s job, their was a possibility that the altenator could over charge and damage our new batteries. Also, not good.

I was fairly confident that the altenator was not the issue. I based this on the fact that I paid 500 bucks for a new one less than a year ago. So with that bit of knowledge, I decided that the issue was the wiring between the altenator and the regulator. So I start testing wires and connections with my multimeter. I’m up against time and tide here. Since I had to get this figured out in less than 20 minutes or we would have to wait 6 hours(till the next tide) to leave or longer. Luckily, I find a loose wire and clean it up and reconnect it.  TADA! and holy shit! it’s working!

So up goes the anchor, wave good bye to Curtis & Cynthia on WindDancer and away we go south towards Surge Narrows and only 5 minutes behind schedule. Our destination today was a small group of islands we had passed on our way up that looked like a good place to explore. This island group is called Copeland Islands and was about 25 miles away.

We made it to and through Surge Narrows on time and with no problems. But that was about to change. As we rounded the bottom of Read Island and turning east Tawn checked the regulator and noticed that while the regulator was working just fine, the altenator was not doing any sort of charging, at all. Shit! We do not have a working spare altenator, so we decided that instead of going to the Copeland Islands and anchor out. We would head for Lund and get a spot on the docks and find a mechanic to look at our dead altenator.

As we approached Lund and got a cell phone signal (the first in 2 weeks) we called the only mechanic in town. He informed us that his “alternator guy”was out of town till next week. He gave me the number to another guy about 15 miles way. This guy said he could look at it, if we could get the alternator to his shop. We figured we could hitchhike, get a cab or steal a bike and get it to him.

The plan was set, except for one problem. The marina, probably due to the storm we were sailing through, was completely full. Not one spot to tie up in the whole marina. And by storm, I mean it was raining buckets! At times it was raining so hard I could barely see 50 feet away. The next town south, Powell River was 15 miles away or basically 2.5 hours. We decided to head there and hope to get a spot. It was a bigger town and would hopfully have more than one mechanic.

We pulled in and tied up right in front of a giant tug boat in the Westview Marina at about 6:30pm.

Did you know that tugboats keep retarded hours and are loud as hell when they start up at 4am? I do!

It was to late to deal with the altenator issue, so we went into town, did some laundry, took a real shower and had some really good Thai food.

The next day we got the alternator pulled out and tested (it was dead) and totally rebuilt ($378) and we would be on our way the next day. Only lost one day to this breakdown. And really it did not mess us up to bad, since we got to visit the town of Powell River, sorta.

As usual, Map of trip is at this LINK