Boccherini And Sails

Just in the mood for a little piece that most people associate with the film of Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander

"Revising"

I really like this British term for studying for exams.  I had never heard of it until I read the Harry Potter series.  The point is, that's the stage I'm in at the moment - "revising" in preparation for final exams which start next week and end on the 10th.  Then I GO SAILING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sad Sight

We don't know what happened, but one evening a fellow decided to ground and abandon his boat.  He purposely steered it to a rock ledge near the entrance channel to the marina and grounded her.  The bilge alarm screamed for hours.  Now we have this sad sight from our dock of this half sunken wreck and whatever sad story goes with her.  The Fraser River Port Authority and the Coast Guard seem unconcerned.

In the Bright Early Morning Sun - A Grounded Abandon Boat 

First Trip of 2014

So to celebrate finishing exams, we have invited some guests aboard and are sailing on the Easter Weekend to Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island.  It's not officially opened yet, but the owners said come on down.  SO a quiet weekend doing my favourite stuff - reading and working on the boat.

From Our Marina To Thetis Island Across The 

Strait of Georgia.

We'll make a brief stop in Steveston to take on fuel which has been depleted by a winter of heating.  

Spring Is Almost Sprung

Boot Stripe

This year we need to match and touch up the boot stripe which is showing wear from the rubbing of the fenders.

Notice the Light Blue Spots on the Dark Blue Boot Stripe.  

Strange Being A Student Again

These past few months I've been taking courses to complete the course requirements of my PhD.  This include:

• Design and Analysis of Construction Operations
• Construction Engineering
• Decision Support Systems in Construction
• Ethics and Integrity

So I wrote on elf the exams (in Ethics and Integrity) last week and found myself finished half way through and I left the exam.  It was not one of the difficult ones - that is coming, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Home Stretch

We're now in the home stretch of the winter term at the University of Alberta.  Final exams will be right at the beginning of April and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel although there is huge work left this term.  It has been very interesting and the courses have been really good.

Looking ahead to the Easter Weekend just after the exams.  It will be our first outing of the season aboard Terratima.  We will need to haul here this year to refresh the boot stripe which is showing signs of wear, so we might as well do the bottom again.  We will haul the boat at another yard we think.   

Windy on the Georgia Strait

This was a clip from a trip we took to Nanaimo a while back.  It was a blustery day on the Strait.

Edge Flutter

In the clip, you can see the leech of the sail fluttering.  Not good.  Lost energy going into fluttering the sail and not driving the boat forward.  The leech tensioning needs to be increased.

All Is Lost

We had the opportunity to see Robert Redford in "All Is Lost" and must say we were totally disappointed with it.  It never got anything right in terms of what a real sailor would do 1700 miles from Sumatra on a 30 foot yacht.   No jack-lines, not wearing either life jacket or harness, no tethers, etc.  Poor Mr. Redford looked thoroughly unprepared for the trip he was undertaking including having fresh water, navigational and safety equipment, EPIRB, not to mention the tenets of basic seamanship.  All-in-all, quite badly done in the eye of anyone who has a passing acquaintance with sailing and cruising.