We arrived in Vancouver city yesterday afternoon to drop off the German young folks. Mike has a friendly relationship with the broker for our boat and he lives in Vancouver. He told us about a very convenient place to anchor that is situated right in downtown Vancouver. We had to be here because we needed a part to repair something that broke connecting the holding tank to a line for pumping the poo either to the tank or out into the water. It’s very important in harbors and moorages because it’s forbidden to pump it into the water. After five days of sailing, using the diesel engine for an hour in the morning to cool the fridge and get the batteries recharged and then again for an hour or so in the evening when coming into a harbor or bay or cove for the night to charge the batteries again, to cool the fridge, and also to help us anchor and operate the windlass. The batteries we have are old and not very good. We eventually want to replace them, get a solar panel and a mini wind mill to charge the batteries. Then we would use the diesel even less. But what I set out to say, is that this last week the engine has been running well without burning so much oil. So changing the oil and doing a few simple things the mechanics told us to try, really paid off. Yesterday I learned how to use the dinghy with the outboard motor. I really am a luddite by nature but necessity is a great teacher.
So we parted ways with Ben, Anna, and Keke yesterday, but told them if they needed a place to sleep they were welcome. So last night they were back around 9:30 in the evening. The sun had just set and we sat outside watching the beautiful colors in the sky and then an orange crescent moon slowly set as well and the stars came out more feebly than they have in the little bays and coves we stayed in the last week. We drank a schnapps or a shooter in gratitude to one another and luck for them finding a used car for a trip north to the Yukon territory and river. They plan to paddle in a canoe on part of it.
Yesterday we bought the needed part for our septic system and this morning Mike had success installing it. So tomorrow we will be heading for Point Roberts to go outside of Canada for a day so we will be allowed to return again without having to take their boat safety course. Apparently they have some rule that if you are a foreigner in Canada and boating for more than 45 days, one has to take this safety course. We have technically been here much longer than that sooo, Point Roberts here we come.
I had my first real day of sailing in choppy waters with whitecaps on Thursday when we sailed across the Straits of Georgia from Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. It was a little ominous at first because there were lots of clouds the first hour or two and I thought, “oh boy, it’s not only going to be windy but it’s going to rain too!” But luck was with us and the clouds blew away and I had a chance to begin learning how to raise the sails when the wind is truly blowing, not just puffing gently. I learned that one adjusts the boom so the sail is raised to the top of the mast in less time and using less space. This was thanks to Keke’s knowledge of sailing. It was so much easier to raise the sail by raising the boom and tilting it a bit. Then once the sail was up we readjusted the boom so the sail was it’s normal size for optimum speed. Things are beginning to make more sense and come a tiny bit easier to me now. It’s been almost two weeks since we first set sail. Learning so much at once hasn’t been easy, it’s hard on the ego, making foolish mistakes a lot of the time, not understanding the directions given to you to do something,but with patience in myself, it gradually has become easier. All the struggle and feeling idiotic and inadequate are beginning to recede into the background. I’m beginning to have more confidence in myself because all the new stuff I’ve had to learn is a part of the daily routine. Having the young Germans has been good too, because they have been very supportive and I could watch how to do things the right way instead of Mike trying to tell me what to do while he was also busy navigating. For me the watching has been very helpful. Ben pointed out that it takes courage to learn something new and so that has been a thought I have carried with me when I really was feeling stupid or frightened about having to learn this or that. I am in charge of lowering the anchor which didn’t terrify me but definitely made me feel uncomfortable. I’ve made a lot of mistakes learning it, nothing earth rending but frustrating. I definitely need time to learn technical things, it just doesn’t come naturally. However, I know with certainty that no matter how long it takes, I will learn this stuff eventually.
The weather continues to be beautiful and sunny with breezes thus far since leaving Canoe Cove almost two weeks ago. I guess this is typical for summer weather in British Columbia. When there is no breeze it is still pleasantly hot although with the water reflection one needs a hat and sunglasses. I hope that soon the summer monsoons are beginning in New Mexico. Are the forest fires still raging? I miss New Mexico and everyone there but I am happy to be around all of this water. We have seen dolphins and seals numerous times, Canadian geese, Sea gulls, and Cormorants. We have yet to see any whales. Until the next entry, in a week or so, all the best to all of you readers,
Tina
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