What is the most critical detail for a cruise in the Pacific Northwest?
Shelter.
In the northwestern rain forest you will find (surprise!) a lot of rain. Just because it's mid-summer means nothing. If you are cruising in an open boat, you will get wet.
Doryman is preparing for a month long cruise in the Salish Sea starting next Friday. All of the requisite gear is stacked in the boat-shed with charts and tide tables wrapped in plastic.
Saga is a completely open boat, which will afford little comfort if a Pacific storm sets in. So we've been working on converting an old boat cover into a cockpit tent for those rainy nights at anchor. The cover is made of tan canvas, which we cut in half then sewed in a wedge of sail cloth. The white sail cloth is opaque and lets in a lot of ambient light. The whole thing is supported by a frame of PVC water pipe.
A few more adjustments to the tie-downs and it will fit perfectly.
What exciting news!
ReplyDeleteWill you be alone?
I'll enjoy reading anything regarding your preparation.
Most of the preparation has been making the boat seaworthy, redesigning a more powerful sail rig, then getting used to the boat. This last part has been truncated more than I'd like by poor weather and a myriad of other interruptions.
ReplyDeleteAs for gear, I am a minimalist. No electronics. No laptop. No SPOT tracker. In fact, no itinerary.
I do carry a GPS but only turn it on when I'm lost, which happens once in a while. (Not lost exactly, but one island looks much the same as the next sometimes.)
I have a good set of charts stowed in a sealed chart cover.
The initial stop will be the Sucia Rendezvous - three days of camaraderie with other gunkholers, then probably a few days of sailing in company, followed by a couple weeks of solo sailing.
Try a search on this blog for Sucia Rendezvous or just Sucia to see pictures from 2009.
Sounds a like a terrific trip. I wish you'd reconsider your completely unreasonable no electronics rule - not for your safety, mind you, but so we can hear about the trip sooner. A month is too long to wait.
ReplyDeleteNo iPhone, no twitter, no Facebook, no Skype. Just me and the deep blue sea.
ReplyDeleteAll good things are worth waiting for. Everything in due time.
One of the best vacations I ever did was three weeks of gunkholing in a 15-foot open boat in the San Juans. You are more courageous than I - we stayed ashore and day sailed. But that has to be the best way to see those Islands.
ReplyDeleteIf your boom tent has any leaks, you will find them in the San Juans.
You got that right, O'Dock! I'm a bit concerned about the old tent, but we've sealed it judiciously.
ReplyDeleteThe San Juans are truly beautiful and the Salish Sea only gets more scenic the further north you go.
Canada is the destination. I'd like to visit friends who live on Savary Island, which is 200 nautical miles from Anacortes, the point of departure.
The true danger (if it can be called dangerous) is that one might find a spot so luscious, he would never leave.
happy sailing! sounds delightful.
ReplyDeleteHave a good trip, I have to say I'm more than a little envious.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you take plenty of gaffer tape (duck tape) amazing what you can do - It'll make quick work of a leaking tent - I sealed up a leaking cockpit drain once with it, it was under the floor boards, lasted over 2 years and I forgot about it until after I'd sold the boat (guess that says a lot about surveyors too!!)
Max
Duct tape; check
ReplyDeleteSail Repair tape; check
Electrical tape; check
Self Adhering Chafe tape; check
First Aid tape; check
Bon Voyage!
ReplyDeleteIf you get chance to post details and photos of your cockpit tent, that would be very interesting.
PS. I totally agree about about duck tape. I'm thinking of building a boat out of it.