Trip from San Francisco to British Columbia & Bull Rails

[Ron Hill]

Guys : A boathook heads up!!
 
On time I caught the dock with my trusty boat hook only to have the rubber/plastic handle slide off the tubing. Talk about surprised   

From then on I always took the handles off and used some caulk on the handle inside before reinstalling!!

A thought

[Noah]

Stu- I can invision your new signature now Rocna 33 (China model) 

[Stu Jackson]

Stu- I can envision your new signature now Rocna 33 (China model) 

Could well be!

I've finally finished posting the photos.

[Paulus]

Hi Stu, had a chance to look at your pics today.  Great job.  Enjoyed it very much.
Paul

[Craig Illman]

Stu - I also enjoyed your pictures. We're planning on exploring around the Sidney area next summer, also probably Ganges and can't miss the Hummingbird Pub on Galiano.

Craig

[Stu Jackson]

Season 1  2017   

This is a summary of our first cruising season here in the southwest corner of British Columbia.  Our goal, developed during last winter and as the season began, was to explore as much of the Gulf Islands south of Nanaimo as we could, to find anchorages and park docks as well as marinas.  We also ended up visiting the American San Juan Islands twice.  Anchoring while singlehanding was limited due to my right shoulder which has improved markedly since I began working with a physical therapist.

We arrived in Maple Bay Marina on September 18, 2016, 3,224 engine hours, left San Francisco on August 8, at 3061 = 163 hours.  We got Graeme (our autopilot) back and recalibrated it on Maple Bay with Len on September 26.  October 1 to Genoa Bay, anchored in 28 feet.  November 9 to Conover Cove on Wallace Island, nice park dock. November 21 to Musgrave Landing, docks, too.  November 30 back to Wallace after removing mainsail for the first time in a decade, replaced on April 16.  The winter was spent doing boat fixits:  new Bluetooth stereo in March, new electric heater, new LED lamps in the downlights over the galley and saloon table, fixed the saloon hatch leak with Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure.

May 3 – 7  Catalina Rendezvous at Roche Harbor, San Juan Island  started at 3245 engine hours.  Met John Shepard, Craig Illman & Les Troyer.  John & Les repaired the leaking port cowl vent. May 8 dinner with John Langford in Sidney, at Van Isle Marina check back into Canada.  New fuel hose barb into Racor.  New ignition key in cockpit panel.

June 3 – Musgrave Landing.  June 6 cleaned the dodger back at the slip.  Started doing cockpit wood.

June 22 to 24 – Clam Bay on Thetis Island, anchored out with Morgan

June & early July – Daysailing and cockpit teak.  It rained a lot between early May and early June

July 13 – 15  Catalina Rendezvous at Telegraph Harbor, Thetis Island

July 27 – 28  Cory overnight with daysails, cut the foam for the V berth

July 30 – Buzzed our house sailing on the jib on Satellite Channel

August 7 – 13 – San Juan Island Trip  Friday Harbor (with John Shepard), Lopez Island, Jones Island, Deer Harbor on Orcas (with Ken and JoAnne Cross), boisterous sail across Haro Strait back to Canada in Sidney, vintage automobile festival.  Smokey trip from fires inland.  Smoke & Hubris Trip:  a huge Ocean Alexander at Sidney Customs Dock was poorly skippered, almost hit us as the tried to leave in heavy winds, followed by our engine shut off when approaching guest dock in high wind.  Don't get cocky about other people until YOU are safely docked yourself! 

August 22 – 23  Telegraph Harbor with Cory

August 25 – 28  Otter Bay on North Pender Island.  Pretty place, great marina.  Circumnavigated Saltspring Island on the way home

September 1 – 2  Tod Inlet with Morgan   Anchored out.  Finlayson Arm, Morgan swam

September 6 – 8  Conover Cove with Morgan  Walked to and then poked into Princess Cove, good anchoring spot further in

September 12 – 15  Winter Cove Saturna Island anchored out.  Annette Inlet on Prevost Island anchored out.  Ganges Saltspring Marina great brisket at Moby's, T shirt in town.  With Morgan.

September 28 – October 2  Telegraph Harbor for two nights, planned a layday for rain, singlehanded.  Met up with Sea Sparrow (Len & Judi) and Kagan (Deb & Eric) in Trincomali Channel and moored in Montague Harbor for two nights

October 4 – 6  Musgrave, then back to MBM for electric heat!  3361 engine hours, started season at 3245 in May = 116 for the season;  137 since we arrived last September

October 10 – Cut the table with Len, Iain and Emile, reinstalled on October 22

October 24 – 29  Indian Summer Cruise with John Shepard   Otter Bay, Ganges, Port Browning     Spaghetti dinner on Aquavite,  Moby's, Bistro    3376 engine hours – 3245 = 131 for the season

**********************************************************

Learning experience:  Bull Rails and midship spring lines don't go together!!!  John Langford was right, back in our "Singlehanded 101" discussion (Single Handing 101.2 HOPPING OFF THE BOAT IS UNNECESSARY
http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5445.msg33766.html#msg33766).  I've found, at least here in the Southern Gulf Islands, that either dock staff or helpful boaters help with dock lines, although not all boaters are wise enough and some tend to pull the bow in waaay too much!  .  The issue comes with going into a dock when there is no one there, like Conover Cove on Wallace Island or Musgrave Landing on Saltspring.  I have rigged an extra long bow line that comes all the way back to the jib sheet winch, and a long stern line.  This allows me to step, not jump!, onto the dock and hold the boat when I tie up. The extra height of the bull rails makes it easier to get down to the dock.  Once settled in, I use the spring line around the bull rail doubled back to the boat.  I found this on the internet but haven't learned how to do it yet:  Douglass Hitch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neEVkss3ZlI&feature=youtu.be  This would work for the bow and stern lines while hanging on to the spring line when casting off.  Running the last line UNDER the bull rail allows disengaging from the bull rail much easier though, so I use that method for the spring line.  Also, going in port side to allows me to use prop walk to our advantage to get the boat up to the dock without moving forward.  At our home slip, the aft end of the bull rail is like a cleat, so I lay on the spring line first, and leave the bow and stern lines on our dock and pick them up with a boat hook.  I still have the grapnel hook I bought in San Francisco before we left! 


AQUAVITE's First SNOW:

[Noah]

Great post Stu! BTW-did you have to go through the whole winterizing rigamarole us west coasters fortunately don't need to do?

[Stu Jackson]

Nope.  I followed local custom here.  The H2O is 47F, so no freezing.  During the snows last year, until I put the heater in, it rained inside the boat!!!  Water was warmer than the air and the snow on deck.  Like a G&T in the summer.

[KWKloeber]

I found this on the internet but haven't learned how to do it yet:  Douglass Hitch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neEVkss3ZlI&feature=youtu.be 

Cool knot, except the Capt should redo the vid and do the half hitches correctly!

k

[Noah]

Stu- Do you use Sampson-style braided lines or 3-strand for your docklines? Looks like the Bull Rails have a potential to leave splinters in the lines and to tear up both lines and hands. Use any chaffing gear around rail?

[Stu Jackson]

3 strand.  I never got into that hoity toity high end stuff.      The only line on my slip that is brought back to the boat is the spring line.  The bow & stern breast lines are tied onto the bull rails as if the rail was a big cleat.  I've been after the marina to repair/replace the rotting old bull rails.  So far they did the bow one, but the aft rail is just a horror show.  The marina is in a rebuilding mode (might take decades!!!) so they're in no hurry to fix old stuff that they will eventually replace completely.  I understand that, so those of us there who need repairs couch the requests as safety items, which they are anyway.  That said, it's a nice, well protected location, with minimal exposure even to heavily nasty weather.  That and it's very pretty.