Routing for Friends

From Cabo we went to San Jose del Cabo where we had planned to stay just one night.  However, it was lovely and we were happy to stop for a post-Cabo break.  It's a lovely spot and we had some great meals with BCA friends both onboard and ashore.  The girls had a great afternoon walking/shopping and eating.  After three nights we decided it was time to go so headed across the Sea to Puerta Vallarta. 

Our route was not the usual one chosen by cruisers but we wanted to meet up with great friends (from our Moose Jaw days our old neighbours Linda and Paul) who were in PV at an all-inclusive.  We all had just a great time and even left the dock one day to take them out for a swim and lunch at anchor at Los Arcos - a gorgeous and popular tourist snorkelling spot. 
From there it was time to turn back north to meet up with another pair of great friends (this time military friends Susie and Marc) in Mazatlan.  Again we had a blast, played two rounds of golf, sat by the pools (theirs and ours) and wined and dined (some more). 
So as any cruiser will recognize by now that it was time to get back to work.  Boats don't let you play for very long before it's time to get back at it.  In fact, we stayed another 11 days.  Working and trying to take time out to see Mazatlan and sit by the pool.  We did all that and hung out with fellow cruisers as well. 
So finally we decided it was time to pull ourselves away and head back down to Puerta Vallarta where we're booked to fly back to Canada for Christmas....well, Toronto/Ancaster/Chicago (hey....that's not Canada!)/Ottawa, Toronto/Ancaster.  As I write this blog, we're anchored off what they call Stone Island at the south of Mazatlan. Gently rocking with a light breeze. I love this part of it all. After the busy times it's so nice to head to a peaceful anchorage.
Tomorrow will be a long one (14 hours) over to Isla Isabella where we're anchor, eat, sleep and then head on to San Blas.  We'll again just anchor and overnight (this is the second time we'll anchor off San Blas but, the next time we will definitely see the town!).  Then just one more day down to La Cruz where we'll tie up and leave Iridium over Christmas.

On our return to Mexico after Christmas we'll likely stay put in La Cruz for a month or so just to enjoy (oh....and do boat work)!

Leaving Cabo San Lucas

I will tell you more but for now let's just say it was amazing!  On the one hand a wild and crazy place, on the other a rolly, but gorgeous anchorage, breezes blowing to keep us cool, fabulous water to dive into whenever we wanted and the wild and crazy city just a dinghy ride away.  The Bajahaha parties and awards evening (we came third!....more on that later) (oh well okay....everyone who didn't come first or second came third!) were fun and the days after it was all over were pleasant.  Lots of boat work and repairs as usual, but lots of eating and drinking out too.  Off just now for a nightcap at our favourite spot.  Tomorrow wrapping up bits and pieces here at the dock (we moved in yesterday so Mel could do boatwork on an even plane), a visit to the Port Captain, the marina office and we'll head back out to the anchorage for another night.  Some more bits and pieces to fix up there and then we'll pull up the anchor and head for Mazatlan, stopping overnight at Los Frailles (sp?) and then one overnight passage.  We've had some great times here in Cabo, the most recent a moonlit dinner on the beach last evening with our feet in the sand! 

Next stop Santa Barbara

Have had a great time in Monterey but it's now time to move on.  Mel rebuilt the water pressure pump today so another job crossed off the current list.  We plan to leave before 0800 hrs tomorrow morning and sail overnight hopefully getting into Santa Barbara Monday around 1800 hrs.  The winds and waves all look pretty good so we hope to have an uneventful but pleasant trip.  More from there!

We Survived and Arrived!

Much more to come but suffice for now to just say that we had "one hell of a ride", gained lots of experience and hope never to do "that" again!!

San Francisco is amazing and we are getting sorted out and enjoying the city a bit.  I will update you with more details very soon.

California Here I Come!

We are leaving today....yes TODAY!!!....for San Francisco.  We are totally pumped and mostly ready.  It is crystal clear to us after three years of preparation that you are NEVER "ready" so mostly ready is just fine.

Nancy and Gary Davis are coming with us which eases our stress hugely.  Gary is a very experienced sailor and has done this trip several times before.  He will boost our confidence for sure by sharing his knowledge.  They are also lots of fun and ready to help so we should all have a great trip together.

You can follow us on http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/reporter_list.php just look for VA7MMD.

So, all for now....next post will be from the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge!

I'll be back soon!

Just to let you know that we are fine and now safely tied up in Victoria.  I know there is a large gap in our story but we had very few internet connections and little time.  I will catch you up as soon as a I can!

A more comfortable ride

The next day we set to work on numerous projects some we want to have ready before we head offshore, others have been waiting for a good moment.  With Mel somewhat slowed down by his bandaged thumb we spent time picking up the parts and bits and pieces we were going to need while having a look around PR.  We also decided to move out to anchor across the harbour as our spot at the PRRYC was pretty rocky on the outside of D dock with no breakwater protection.  At the last minute, we got a call back from another marina with space available.  Rushbrook Floast is not far down the shore and is mostly full of fishing boats.  It's quiet, inexpensive and a much more comfortable ride at a more reasonable price.  It means a longer walk to town but we don't mind as the exercise is certainly not a bad thing.  The trick here though is to get to the dock.  The 20 ft tides create a very strong current making it all quite the challenge.  It was good that we got settled in at a dock though as unfortunately Mel ended up in surgery two days later.  His wound developed an abcess under the stitches (nothing to do with my stitching!) but he's fine now, finished his antibiotics and back to work.

An Accident at Sea

As I was saying we started to do jobs as we motored our way north.  On the way to Baker's Inlet where I left you off Mel was cutting a tubular piece of stainless steel when it slipped.  He hacksawed his thumb.  Needless to say it was a bit of a shock.  I knew it was possible for the doctor to get the injury but it certainly wasn't in the plan.  He compressed the wound for a good long time and finally had to admit that he needed some stitches.  Hmmm.....guess that meant I was now the stitcher!  We drapped the cockpit table and got to work.  It helped Mel's pain (and likely shock) to instruct me through the process.  It all went very well and I even took a photo.  I had planned to include it here but on second thought you might not want to see it!  We decided to continue on as far as we could that day in order to make the next day  a short one into Prince Rupert.  We anchored in Kumealon Inlet, a lovely little spot with lots of rocks and islets to manoevre around.  We both crashed early exhausted after our traumatic day!  In the morning the water was covered in foam chunks from the waterfalls.  We headed off  in totally calm conditions and motored our way up to Prince Rupert.  We moored at the Prince Rupert Rowing and Yacht Club which was very near Breaker's Pub where we planned to watch Game 6.  Enough said.

Following the Canucks!

4 Jun 11 - Now although in retrospect it seems a little strange to have worked so hard to see the next three hockey games....we did it and it was fun!  So....after anchoring we now needed to find a place with a TV so we could catch Game 2.  And did we ever!  The pub at Shearwater was a happening place.  Great service and just a wonderful crowd.  Fascinating mix of people locals, orientals, lumberjacks, coast guard crew, natives from Bella Bella across the way, the very rich , the very poor, Americans, Canadians.... all cheering together.  What a great night!  We couldn't remember when we'd ever paid for food that bad but it just didn't matter. 

5 Jun 11 - The next morning I spent a couple hours in the laundromat with other cruisers chatting about the game, various marinas and the weather forecast.  We were dithering as to whether we'd stay or go.  The general concensus was to stay put but we were convinced that the gale warnings were not going to touch us on the inside channels.  And so just after noon we left.  It was a gorgeous sunny day with no wind for hours.  We motored through Gunboat Pass which was just beautiful.  When we got to Fisher Channel the wind came up and we were able to sail for a bit but it didn't last.  We passed our first cruise ship in this lovely channel with numerous waterfalls.  As we approached Ocean Falls a beautiful big wind came up behind us and we were able to sail wing-on-wing right up the channel.  It was also actually hot so we changed into summer clothes for the first time.  Ocean Falls is a "busy ghost town" according to the guide book.  It still has a lovely big falls which used to run a sawmill and pulp and paper mill but all that has closed.  Some of the old buildings are still there but most have been demolished.  Still there is lots of enthusiasm amongst it's 30 remaining citizens.  When I went into "The Shack" to register I was met by a group of four from a power boat having drinks and appies with a local who's known as "Nearly Normal Norman Brown".  I recognized him from his photo in the guide book.  What an interesting man with a heart of gold.  He evidently meets all the cruisers, chats with them, takes them on a tour of the town and then I think gets paid with a beer or two.  Wonderful entertainment to be sure. 

6 Jun 11 - The next day we did boat work and then wondered through the old town and up to the waterfalls.  Later we walked into the town where the remaining locals live to Salo's Saloon which opens once a week and this particular week it was for.....you got it....Game 3.  Fun but very small crowd.  Terrible game....who was that team?

7 Jun 11 - The next day dawned sunny with the calm broken only by our engine as we motored out at 6:10 a.m..  I always feel guilty about waking everyone but have learned that if not us, some other cruiser would be the rooster.  We usually fall back to sleep anyway when someone else turns the key.  It's the only way to get a lot of miles in or arrive at slack to get through a tricky narrows etc.  On days like this we have breakfast in the cockpit enroute.  Although most mornings are calm they are often cold but with our new enclosure it's just fabulous.  Definitely our best addition!  Back to Jun 7th.  After breakfast we had a few rollers and then the wind picked up as we got to the mouth of Seaforth Channel.  We turned and were able once again to sail wing-on-wing (thank you Lisa for talking us into our amazing, wonderful pole) at 6.5 to 7.0 kts. Just a great sail but then the wind just died.  We left the sails up hoping for more while we had lunch but that was it for today folks.  Or was it?  Maybe we didn't have any more wind but we did have glorious sunshine and then.....a sound.....what was that?  A whale!  Our first grey whale!  We'd seen killer whales/orcas in Georgia Strait a couple of times but this time we finally heard the blowing and then saw the fin and then the whole real whale tail!  Yahoo!  And then....we heard and saw him again!  We ended this great day at Klemtu, a very friendly native village.  We walked up to the Band Store and met a few people while we bought a few staples and tried to find someone to pay for moorage.  We ended up calling for anyone in the town on the VHF radio.  Got a response and were told they're not charging yet.  Now that was a pretty perfect day!

8 Jun 11 - The next day was again sunny and calm as we motored down yet another narrow deep channel this time with waterfall after waterfall.  Initially I took pictures of them but soon realized that there were thousands up here!  As we turned into Mackay Reach the wind picked up and we tacked back and forth in 16-18 glorious knots.  And then....another sound!  This time it was the dolphins.  Four of them playing in the bow wave for a good 20 minutes.  Mel and I each had a really good long time with them out on the bow.  They are so fast you can't help but laugh.  We've seen them many times but I just adore them.  Or is it the seals big eyes that are my favourite....oh but the eagles piping and soaring....aw but then the otters are sooooo cute and goofy....hmmmm.  And then we arrived at Hartley Bay.  A very friendly "modern" native village (as the guide book says).  The streets are really sidewalks and are wooden.  They have 12 quads in town that they all share.  It's a very clean, organized functioning town.  I asked if there was a community centre or somewhere maybe to watch the game and was told "oh yes everyone's welcome over at the gym where they'll be showing it on the big screen, just bring a snack".  So with homemade pizza in hand off we went.  It turned out that someone had gone by boat to pick up Chinese food in Kitimat so with my pizza we all had dinner!  We were most welcome and had a lovely evening watching a terrible game.  Yikes Canucks!

9 Jun 11 - Off to Bishop's Bay.  It was drizzling and foggy so a perfect day to head to the hot springs.  After a dull day motoring we snagged our first mooring buoy, grabbed our towels and headed ashore.  What a great spot!  Members of the Kitimat Yacht Club had built two concrete hot tubs one with a roof over it and one without.  A pipe pours continuous hot, colourless, non-smelling water into the tub.  Wow!  Later we fell asleep to the sound of a nearby waterfall. 

10 Jun 11 - Well although we'd snagged our first mooring ball easily in dead calm conditions it wasn't that easy a deal when it came to freeing it the next morning.  Another lesson learned.  Then we motored until we reached the Kitimat arm (can't think of the name of it right now) when we had a following wind and once again sailed wing-on-wing all the way up to town.  We moored at the MK Marina and then took a long  taxi ride to town to watch game 5.

11 Jun 11 - Today we had wind on the nose all day but had self imosed time constraints so motored the whole way back down from Kitimat into Stewart Channel where we moored behind Brody Pt.  It was sunny and windy gusting to 20 kts with 3 ft waves and in retrospect we should have said to hell with the schedule and sailed.  Hindsight....

12 Jun 11 - Going on a bear hunt.  On and off all day long I search the shores for bears.  We eat in the cockpit as often as we can while I search for bears.  I think it's all a big story.  BC doesn't have bears.  I've seen bears in Ontario and I've seen them in Alberta but never in BC.  All this wilderness.  Miles and miles of trees, islands, granite, waterfalls, seals, eagles, dolphins, whales and NO BEARS!!  There are no people up here for miles and miles.....and no bears.  Maybe tomorrow........back to the story.  We were prepping to pull up the anchor and head out by going quickly through our checklists.  As I raced past "adequate fuel" a very small voice said "maybe not" at which point we prepared a nice big breakfast, relaxed, wished we'd taken our time and sailed yesterday because.....we'd have to fuel up just around the corner at Hartley Bay which was not supposed to be open on Sun.  The thing is you see that there is no fuel between Hartley Bay and Prince Rupert.  Lucky for us, the fuel dock at Hartley Bay had just opened when we called at 0900, so all was not lost.  While Mel fueled up I talked with the the fuel dock attendant about the whole bear issue.  He said that they had actually been very fortunate and hadn't had a bear in the village for some time.  (see...told you there weren't any bears).  Then he directed me to the owner of another boat moored in front of us and told me to ask him about the bears.  I noticed that his boat was called "Great Bear".  He was an adventure guide taking people fishing and to see bears!  Aha!  I learned that Lowe Inlet was probably the best spot on our route.  So off we went.  It was cloudy and calm so we motored to Lowe Inlet.  It was too early in the day to stop but we went in and looked around.  No bears or at least not when we were there.  Oh well.  On to Baker Inlet where the guide book said the furry beasts like to hang.  As we motored along we decided to do jobs to try to get things done. 

Queen Charlotte Strait and Cape Caution

Dead calm.  Seriously.....dead calm!  We crossed the fabled Queen Charlotte Strait in waterski perfect water.  Floating logs were our only concern.  This continued the whole way to Port McNeill which we had chosen as our place to prepare for the next big step....Cape Caution.  We also had to catch a hockey game, buy parts, charts, mail things etc.  A great spot with everything we needed.  We stayed three nights and then got up at 3:45 a.m. Jun 3rd (did I say relaxing retirement?....not!) and wished we had the waterskis as we headed out towards Cape Caution.  Now Cape Caution is as the name conjurs up is a much feared and dangerous piece of water.  Rounding it is a sailor's coming of age.  Well Mel already came of age and I'm about to follow but our experience at Cape Caution was totally benign.  We had ripples and 2 ft rollers.  We played Scrabble.  I have photos of the famous Cape that day but have not figured out how to post them here yet.  I'm sure it's very simple and promise to add them later.    Later we raised sails and were able to sail up Fitz Hugh Sound to our chosen anchorage at Kwakume Inlet.  A lovely little bay which according to the guide book might have bears and even the lonely howl of the wolf.  Alas, nothing.

Heading North

This next section will be a whole lot of places all in one long story as I try to catch you up to where we are now on Jun 16th!

We left Campbell River and headed up Discovery Passage into new territory.  We had no problem going through fabled Seymour Narrows.  At this point the wind picked up and we set sails to fly wing-on-wing up to Johnstone Strait where we ducked in behind Turn Island to anchor overnight.  Early the next morning we raised anchor and motored to Port Neville where we looked but decided to press on.  We downwind sailed along Johnstone Strait into Lagoon Cove where we again anchored.  In the morning we rowed over in the dinghy to the marina to check it out.  The guide books described it as a lot of fun and it looked like it had lots of character.  The owner was a little unreceptive as we hadn't paid and moored with him but we promised to do so on our return visit (what return visit?) which warmed him up.  On May 28th (thought it was time to throw in a date) we mostly motored on to Echo Bay.  This is another place that has a lot of spirit in the summer when the cruisers converge for big suppers and the Sat night pig roast.  In May however, it's pretty quiet.  But not for long!  Just so happened that the guy who came down the dock to catch our lines was.....you got it...another pilot from our days in Bagotville, Mike McKay.  He and his wife Jeanie had stopped at Echo Bay several times over the years and now spend half their year there helping out.  Pierre the owner came down too and soon we had gathered the cruisers from the other boats and had the first appetizer/drinks party of summer 2011 on the dock in the sunshine!  I might be missing the pig roast but I'm not going to miss the party!

Getting off the dock and leg one

This first phase of our travels was supposed to be an April to July trip up the west coast of BC to Alaska, then over to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), back across to the top of Vancouver Island and down the west side, around the bottom and into Victoria.  However.....things change and so did our plans.

Mel did retire April 1st so that part didn't change.  Yahoo!  But the boat was really, really not ready and he needed two weeks to at least get all the unfinished projects stowed onboard!  Then we couldn't wait any longer and decided to at least get off the dock. 

We sailed into the San Juan Islands and met up with Clive and Susan (an old fighter pilot friend and his wonderful wife) on Planet and had a great time!  Spending two days at Friday Harbour and two at anchor in Garrison Bay. 

We left the Catons and moved on to Port Townsend where we've spent a lot of time.  It's always an intriguing and fun time.  The boatyard is such a busy place and there's always lots to see.

We returned to Canada at Sidney where we spent a wonderful evening with Hugh and Heather Bacon (another old military pilot and his wonderful bride) who recently completed a circumnavigation onboard Argonauta II.  It's always great to learn from them and to laugh and drink champagne with Heather!

From Sidney we headed north to Comox overnighting at Schooner's Cove on the way.  In Comox, the fun was to visit with all our great friends and the project was to install all the floorboard latches with the ease of using Chris Tuck's (another old fighter pilot) wonderful workshop and tools.  These latches are to hold the floorboards in place should the unmentionable "knock down" occur (we don't say those words out loud).  Things will be enough of a mess without the danger of loose floorboards flying around.  The other project (my side) was to sew new winch covers.  We had a great time with all our friends and completed both projects and a few more as well over the 10 days.

We left Comox and headed up to April Point where we moored overnight and joined Dawn and Jim Ritzel (another military pilot, not old as he's a leap year baby and his wonderful wife) and their party of 14 who were booked in for the Islander's Special.  We were able to join them for drinks, dinner and a sing song party that evening.  Great fun!

They all left the next day and so did we but not to go very far.  We motored across to Discovery Cove Marina .  We did lots of running around picking up bits and pieces and parts preparing to work on a few projects.

The next day we motored over to nearby Gowlland Harbour where we anchored and did boat work for the next four days dinghying over to the April Point pub to watch the CANUCKS!  One such trip was on the 24th and we met up briefly with Ron and Jane Fentiman (another old....you know the drill....and yes she is really wonderful too!) who were also up for the Islander's Special with a whole gang.  Great fun!  And the Canucks won the series and were now heading to the Stanley Cup!!  (ya...well....)

We spent one more night in the Campbell River area, this time moored at the Fisherman's Wharf.  That afternoon we did some shopping and met up with Susan (the wonderful wife of) and Chris Tuck (previously mentioned) and had them to dinner onboard.  Lots of laughs and fun.

Okay so all fighter pilots are old (now) and their wives are all wonderful!

Paying Our Dues

The big news is that we slipped lines in Vancouver on April 20th at 7:50 a.m..  Whew!  We did it!  We're cruising!  We're "doers"!  Although we left two weeks later than planned.......it's still April 2011!  Three years almost to the day after purchasing our 1992 Bristol 47.7 we left to" live the dream"!
Well, so far although it's not the "dream" dream....it's not a nightmare either.  Our journey has begun very slowly.  A leisurely pace with long stopovers, not unlike most cruisers.  However, we haven't really gone very far and our stopovers are spent working on the "things to do before we leave" list!  My fault I must admit as I was the one pushing us to go, saying "let's get this show on the road".  Yes, we know full-well that "cruising is doing maintenance in exotic locations".  That's okay we're prepared for that.  They also do regular maintenance all the time.  We're okay with that too.  But what we're facing is just not being ready so....we'll take our time.

You might have noticed that I didn't say we bought Iridium three years ago and that's because we didn't.  We bought a boat called Boat-Itch that needed a great deal of loving care and attention, along with many, many ``boat units`` (one boat unit = $1000), not the boat we have today.  We searched long and hard for a name and finally came up with `Iridium``.  As we peeled off the old name the dockyard crew cheered!  We all felt the same.....that this beautiful boat deserved a much prettier name.

How did we choose the name Iridium?  Well, from day one we knew we had to come up with a new name and the sooner the better.  We tried all sorts of names but nothing seemed quite right until one night while eating dinner and listening to jazz the DJ said "and that was from the "Iridium" Jazz Club".  We loved the rhythm of the word.  When I say it I feel her reaching across the water, slicing the waves, in rhythm with the sea...... Of course it turns out that iridium is a lot more than just a beautiful word and means different things to different people.  It's an element of course, which we already knew, it's number 77 on the periodic table which Mel already knew (lucky 77....you need all the luck you can get owning a boat!), it's the most non-corrosive metal (another plus when owning a boat), it's white (she's white), Canada has the largest deposit of iridium in the world (we're Canadian) and so she was christened Iridium.  Now nautical lore says it's bad luck to change the name of a boat.  Well, we're sure you'll agree that in our case it was worth the gamble!  Having said that though, we did not treat it lightly.  After much searching and planning we performed the proven luck changing rituals with great pleading to the gods of the sea and the four winds (taken from the internet and proclaimed word for word in the presence of great friends and sailors Clive and Susan Caton) so that we can confidently state here that all hints of evil heading in Iridium's direction have been halted and wiped out.  Oh yes forgot to mention that all of the aforementioned gods must also be apeased with copious amounts of champagne (poured into the sea and thrown to the winds).  And of course, the thirsty actors and audience are expected to partake also.  It was a great day and the sun and gods smiled on Iridium!  Skipper and crew were smiling too!

I know, I know....the whole iridium thing doesn't end there.  As some of you know there is also a large satellite phone company in the US called Iridium.  Unfortunately for us we just hadn't bothered to think about it.  Iridium originally had 77 satellites and almost went bankrupct etc. etc. but....they're still alive and well and the best satellite phone company around.  We have one onboard which we'll activate shortly.  As previously mentioned we were very "green" and just hadn't connected any of that yet.  As soon as an American cruiser sees the name though they immediately wonder why we would name our boat after a Satellite phone company.  Well we didn't and it doesn't help that there are an awful lot of wealthy americans out here all with Iridium Satphones onboard constantly reminding us.  I had the owner of a US mega yacht come up and ask me why we named our boat Iridium.  I proceeded to tell him all the reasons but most of all that I just loved the word.  He agreed it was a pretty name for a boat.  He then proceeded to tell me that a good friend of his owned the company.  Guess we'll be thinking of his good friend drinking his vintage wine as we pay our satellite phone bill, won't we?  That's okay I guess,  as long as he's listening to jazz and knows where the name comes from!

Iridium has had a huge amount of work done on her as is the case with all used and many new boats preparing to go offshore.  I think we've had a bit more than our share by now but suffice to say (without boring you all) that we've paid our dues.  So on with the story.

In the beginning

Well never let it be said that our lives are dull.  We`re primed for another adventure and your popping in here means you're ready to follow us! 

After months of hunting for just the right boat we bought a Bristol 47.7 sloop in Vallejo CA in April 2008.  We were very ``green`` but would still buy the same boat today after three years of reading, courses, presentations, and meetings.  We just wouldn`t have paid the same price!   

So here we go.  It`s hugely exciting to think that we are finally almost ready to head out.  We hope you enjoy reading our story.  We`ll try to make it sound like we`re having fun!

More to follow.