Farewell to Fossil Bay. Some of us went home and some continued north into Canada. The BC Canadian islands are called the Gulf Islands. We spent one night at anchor in Bedwell Harbor where we checked in with Customs.
The following day was warm (for a change) as we set off for Portland Island. The tide was in our favor and also what little wind there was. It took four hours to sail nine miles, which is why many people do not like sailing.
But I must say, it was very fine!
One more night of revelry (indeed - in bed and asleep before dark - we call that revelry?) and the next morning everyone went their separate ways.
Jamie, in Wayward Lass, decided at the last minute to head north with me instead of south and homeward.
Here comes the best part.
We headed out into Moresby Channel just as the wind started to pick up. Jamie hove-to and put in a reef. He yells over to me "the best time to put in a reef is when you think of it".
Jamie is a very smart man.
I yelled back "Damn the maneuvers, go straight at 'um" and gave her all the canvas she had. We shot off the wind up Swanson Channel and surfed the waves for four hours. That's the beauty of destination sailing. You head off in a favorable direction and you keep going as long as it's favorable. No need to round up and beat back, just keep the sail full!
(I know if Adrain sees this he's going to insist I get rid of those shrouds.)
As it was, we were on the lead edge of a storm front and while anchoring in James Bay on Prevost Island that evening, we had time to contemplate our grand passage as rain came down on the Chebacco's cockpit tent. We shared some Scotch and I borrowed Jamie's phone to call Mary at home.
He tells me "Make sure you tell her Doryman is Crazy".
The storm continued the next day and though Jamie had to get home, I had nowhere to go in this kind of weather. Note that I have abandoned the plastic hoop frame for the tent. It was a good idea, but took too much time to put up and strike each day.
Since the boom is not attached to the mast with a balanced lug rig, to suspend the boom, yard and sail requires two halyards. It took some trials over a few days to get this right and even then a portion of the rig stuck out each end of the draped tent, which encouraged rain to drip inside. So here I am sitting in a dripping tent on a dark heavily overcast day, in a tiny boat on a lonely sea.
Perhaps Doryman is crazy.
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8 comments:
I think those shrouds are a real safety feature. Nice to have something to keep the boom at the right end of the boat if you lose the sheet.
Great photos.
Nice pictures of the boat! Man, that sail is BIG. That Jamie is a good guy to sail with (photo boat).
I'm with Robert; I like shrouds.
Baggywrinkle.
With the shrouds it's difficult to run downwind. You can see Jamie passing the little lighthouse with his sail fully out - a tack I can't imitate. He kept herding me, thinking I would be in danger if I jibed, but in fact I needed to jibe now and then. As it was we kept the same heading all day and there was quite a bit of pressure on that lee shroud. What concerns me is how the yard binds at the head of the mast. There are no signs of excessive wear on the rig however.
In the middle photo you can see the downhaul on the end of the boom is loose. I'm not sure how that happened (probably operator error) but I worried about it all day. Finally when we got in the lee of an island I had an opportunity to go forward just in time to see it come loose completely. The boom lifted on both ends and some wind came around the forward edge. The sail twisted. No one at the helm. There was a moment of panic then all was well. Thankfully that didn't happen out there in twenty knot winds! I'm considering attaching the boom to the mast and converting the rig to a standing lug. I think the sail geometry will still be fine.
Brandon - this boat sails like a dingy. A guy has to always be on his toes and keep weight where it needs to be at all times, which occasionally means crouching down on the floor boards. Though the freeboard looks pretty scary in these photos, the extra weight in the boat actually helped.
Baggywrinkle indeed! I'll get right on that, in my spare time. Maybe I can get that woman over on With Needle and Palm to take care of that for me.
(I just asked Mary if she'd consider it and she's on it!)
Oh, I didn't know if it would be appropriate for this boat or not.
I just like saying 'baggywrinkle'.
Fou, certainment. C'est bon.
Je vous remercie. J'en avais besoin.
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