As they say in football – today has been a day of two halves. From midday to midnight we romped along, reefed down, in twenty knot winds doing a comfortable six knots. At midnight, we had clocked seventy plus miles and all was good. After midnight we ran into a rain squall (probably a front) and after a brief flurry... Continue Reading →
SAILING INTO THE TROPIC OF CANCER
Looking at the log book for last night I see I was having a hard time. Sails up and down, in and out, tacking, gybing and engine on. Sometimes reducing sail as going too fast and others just no wind. I was surprised to find we had covered 109 miles noon to noon, a commendable... Continue Reading →
BACK IN NEW ZEALAND
I have been back in New Zealand for ten days now. So good to see family again, but It’s difficult to transition from being a freewheeling sailor to the role of domestic slave, taking orders from the ‘Boss’ wife. The creature comforts of home are however a welcome change, having a hot shower on tap... Continue Reading →
EL CAPITANO PASSAGE
We anchored overnight in Marble Bay, where there is a mine, marble I guess. The day started flat calm and the sun shone. The air was cool but by nine in the morning it was warm enough for shorts and t shirt. Taking advantage of the warmth I opened up the boat, all hatches, carpet... Continue Reading →
PRINCE OF WHALES ISLAND
I didn’t get much sleep last night. The selected anchorage looked promising on the chart but turned out to be a wind funnel and we were hit with gusts all night. The rain continued all night and into the morning but took a break this afternoon. Its back again tonight. I am on Prince of... Continue Reading →
PRINCE RUPERT – SOCIAL SCENE
Rain pissed down all day today, heavy in the morning and light in the afternoon and now what a local refers to as Scotch Mist in the evening. A busy day doing chores as this is the first port call for a couple of weeks. Garbage disposal, two trips to the launderette, ship chandlers, Library... Continue Reading →
GRENVILLE CHANNEL – CONTINUED
We caught the tide up Grenville Channel this afternoon from Lowe Inlet where we passed a comfortable night at anchor. We anchored just inside the entrance to the inlet on a bank and I expected to be disturbed by the wash from passing ships, but it was all peaceful. I have only seen two cruise... Continue Reading →
HUMAN CONTACT AGAIN
Curlew Bay proved to be a nice quiet anchorage and I had a good sleep. A bit of a late start today, we are heading up to the village of Hartley Bay and it’s not far so no hurry. The wind was very light from the south and we sailed under the jib slowly up... Continue Reading →
OTTERS AND JELLYFISH
The weather blew all night and into today. A gale warning in place so I decided to sit another day in the cosy anchorage and carry on doing bits and bobs. The sun came out and the weather was beautiful out of the wind. I completely filled my day with activities and the time flew... Continue Reading →
INTO SPIRIT BEAR COUNTRY
Another grey, wet overcast day in BC. First excitement of the day was passing through Meyers Narrows between Swindle Island and Princess Royal Island. It’s a very pretty narrow pass that is really not that difficult. This pass allows us to get on the west side of Princess Royal Island and away from the main... Continue Reading →
The Adventures of Captain Ray Penson 