Comox and Other

We left Schooner Cove on Sunday for a slog in rough seas and 10kts of winds on our stern. The wind helped keep the jib full except it was right on the stern so we flopped around now and then. The seas were the biggest problem with rolling swell and breakers as big as 6 ft. We slopped and rolled and rocked all the way to Deep Bay which is just inside Baynes Sound. That was a relief as it was behind an island and calmed immediately. We thought we were going to Deep Bay, but we got an answer to a call that told us there was no room at the Harbor Authority and no room at the Yacht Club, so we opted to go on to Comox. We gratefully cruised in around 4:30 and got tied up next to lots of big fishing boats. Our group is all together, and we got to go out to dinner. We are doing laundry and buying supplies. We don't need much, but we will be going to Desolation Sound in the next few days, we hope, weather permitting. It's not looking good because of the weather. We're going to see what the weather report is for tomorrow before we cross the Strait of Georgia. Today might be the day actually.

The cruising so far has been OK. Things are wet, and we have found a few things about the boat that make it interesting. The bilge is all along flat under the floor boards, so whenever we lean over or bounce, we have water all over the floor. When we were bouncing about yesterday, we had water everywhere, and everything was falling on the floor and getting wet. That was a disappointment. We need to work on that. We also fought with the depth sounder that went off every 30 seconds. We tried everything to get it to stop. When Jim was on the Round Whidbey Race, they had the problem, too. I am determined before we leave here we will have that stupid thing fixed. If anything else, we will work on that while we are here. We have also discovered the lack of our big cover on the cockpit makes it less comfortable. We know we were spoiled last year. We miss the dry cover and warmth. Every day so far we have sailed in foulies, and I have been cold. Jim could use a better pair of boots, too. Another problem Jim solved early on was a missing handle for the windlass. He forgot and left it home, so while we were at Prevost, he grabbed a piece of wood, a stick, and cut/carved a handle. It was drift wood and works just great!

We haven't made the decision about whether we leave today or not. We'll post about that tomorrow if we get a chance. We'll let you know. Peace, Jim and Virginia

Here Goes

Well, we made it to Canada. We left Oak Harbor in rain and it's rained every day since then. The first night at Coronet Bay we gathered for fresh herring caught off the dock. We are only three boats, Gary and Brynn on Sweet and Loyal and Ann on September Time. Sweet hosted everybody and Gary cooked the fish. He and Loyal are fishermen, so we hope to have more as we go along. It was actually pretty good-the fish that is. Gary dipped it in corn meal to fry in butter. I was surprised at how mild it was. The next morning, we jumped out of Deception Pass at 9AM and cruised up to Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island. That was on Thursday, May 27, and we had forgotten it was Memorial Day weekend. There were lots of boats in Prevost, but we managed to get the last three mooring bouys. Lucky us! That evening we went ashore to have a campfire and marshmallow roast. It was not raining and we had a peaceful night. The next morning, Friday, we moved out early(8AM) to get across to Bedwell Hbr to check in at customs. That was uneventful and then we motored all the way up to Clam Bay between Kuper and Thetis Islands. We were in there with only one other boat. During the early evening we heard a loud noise and it turned out to be a Canadian Coast Guard hover craft. Wow, do those things go. He zoomed by and then hung out for a while out at the reef outside the bay. Jim says he might have been checking out depths and other marine info'. It was a very fancy rescue boat! I had a long nap as soon as we got anchored. Our new anchor windlass works great. The radio works, the oven works, the lights work, the fridge works. So far so good. Right now we are in Fairwinds Schooner Cove Marina just a little north of Nanoose. It's much smaller than it looks in the books, but we got in pretty easy. One problem is they only have one 30 amp plug for our dock and we needed more than that. I guess bigger boats come in needing 50 amps. The bathroom is a hotel room and visitors go in and use the facilities one at a time. We will all have a shower no matter what! Tonight we'll have Happy Hour on the Karen Marie and plan our next day. Tomorrow we head to Comox. Hope we can quit wearing yellow slickers and rain pants but it doesn't look like it right away. Sure glad I bought my new boots. Next time we post, I hope to have some photos for everybody. Think good thoughts for sunshine. Signing Off-Jim and Virginia

Desolation Sound, Here We Come!

Hello Friends and Family,

We are leaving today, May 26, on our first day of a trip to Desolation Sound in Canadian waters. Our traveling companions are three other WINSA boats, Sweet, September Song, and Misty Isle. The tides are very low, so we'll leave the dock around 1PM and travel to Coronet Bay to stay overnight before we head out through Deception Pass the next morning and then on to Prevost Harbor. We are traveling in our new boat, the Karen Marie, and have lots of questions about how we'll manage our long trip. We are unfamiliar with how well our Windlass will work; whether we'll be able to cruise along with our homemade awning; if the oven will work (we've never tried it out before); if the fridge will really work all the way up to Canada and back; and whether we'll have constant rain or great warm days like last year. Jim has set up new charts on the computer, and he'll learn about those as we go along. We have a new radio, which I've never used. We have a different chart plotter at the helm, which I've never used. All these things will make the first days busy and exciting. When we have access to the Internet, I'll add where we are and the latest about what we see, along with photos. Keep a look out for us!

Cheers, Jim and Virginia (SV KarenMarie)