A Happy and Healthy 2011

From the skipper and crew of S/V Terratima in Richmond British Columbia.

What's It LIke?

A week to go before returning to the working world.  We've taken this time to rest, recharge and do a few things around "home".  One question that keeps coming up from friends is: "What's it like to live on a boat?" The simple answer is "home is home".


We miss absolutely NOTHING we left behind in storage.  We are not cold and we are not wet.  In fact, the boat is as warm as any of you own houses and we are dry.  Even in the heaviest rain, we're fine.  When we leave the boat, it is with umbrella in hand for those rainy winter days. We have TV, internet and e-mail, books - all the comforts of home.  What we do not have is a lot of space - and that we don't miss either.  It helps to simplify things and not accumulate (which is what everything out there seems to want you to do).

One More Week

AH, Christmas is near and we have decided to stay at home here aboard Terratima and have a quiet Christmas.  I will be travelling next week (all week) and when I return, vacation time will begin and well recoup from a long and busy year.

The Steveston Run

Winter fast approaches and we have been using heat since the end of September and most of November quite continuously.  As the fuel level gets lower, we have to do the "Steveston Run" to fill up.  This is not a 15 minute exercise.  Going down the Fraser River for a dozen miles takes time - especially if the tide and currents run against you.


Today it was not too bad.  We left at 9:45 and were refuelling at 12:30.  The tide had a full 1.5 knots running up river and we started the return trip at slack water and managed to do the entire round trip between 9:45 AM and 3:15 PM.


So we'll see how we do over the next number of weeks and when the next Steveston Run has to happen.

Off Yet Again

I leave tomorrow for a few more days of business travel.  We have our Wabasto heater working again and the boat is snug and warm as the temperatures go down.  We are moored at our slip and aside fro motoring down the river on a nice day, I think we're here until the spring.


We have never  felt the loss of the space we had in our house or the goodies that littered or lives.  We have a lot less space, many fewer goodies and we miss nothing.  We love living on this boat.


All our "stuff" (I'm reminded of the great George Carlin and his rant on stuff ) is in storage in Edmonton.  I am tempted to put the entire lot on e-Bay under the title "house full 'o stuff".

Bowen Island 2

I am a really lousy blogger.  I can only get to sit down occasionally to write the blog, edit photos and so on.  I am travelling extensively for work.  At least I come back  to a  beautiful boat and relax.


So we set sail with our marina neighbor aboard on the canadian Thanksgiving weekend and headed to Bowen Island.  The sailing was superb although it was cloudy and a bit rainy.  Winds were from the southeast at 12 to 15 knots.  A broad reach and the boat loved it (as did we).

The marina office.  Great facilities

The crew leaving Terratima for a walk ashore

Kids playing on the beach

Union Steamship Company grounds

Nice spot but dull day

Signs of fall

Bowen Island

Canadian Thanksgiving is approaching.  We plan on going over to Bowen Island for a short cruise to spend a couple of days.

It's always a hassle going downriver past the Sandheads to go out into the Straight of Georgia and up to Bowen, but such is life.  We like the marina and a fresh water berth is not bad.  We just have to ensure we do things at the right time both going and coming back or progress can be really slow for a sailboat on auxiliary power.

Update

We've been quietly at the dock now since late July.  Work and school as well as a death in the family has made the months of August and September fly by quicker than any of us wanted.  We traveled by car to Edmonton for the funeral of the family member and then drove back.  It's a beautiful drive, but the circumstances made it tense and unenjoyable.


The weather has been mixed and we have had a few days of high winds.  It becomes a little "rolly" with our slip on the outside finger of the marina.  We bought a couple of Polyform buoys to act as additional fenders against the dock.  They work quite well.


Work has been extremely busy for me although the office in Vancouver could use considerably more work.  We are organizing internally to go out and shake the trees to see what falls out.

More Cruising

Taking up where we left off.....


We met our friends from Halifax at Port Sidney Marina which is about a 5 minute cab ride from Victoria International Airport.  We stayed in Sidney that evening, but set out for a few destinations that our friends might like to see:  Saltspring Island, North Pender Island and the waters in-between.  Here are a few pictures of the 3 day cruise:

Fishing equipment in hand:  the young lad gets

some pointers from a pro

snacks for the fishermen...

...and audience

OK -  back to the serious stuff...

...local seal retreat on the rocks

Ganges Harbour - Saltspring Island

Coffee shop

Walking around Ganges Harbour

Ganges Harbour

GH views

GH - anchored boats

..ye ole fish market

..more than impartial observer

Small cafe and eatery

...off to North Pender Island

North Pender Island - Port Browning

Tranquil and sheltered Port Browning

ditto

Moored at the marina

With this view on the port side

Back to Sidney By The Sea

No wind...so trolling instead

Dinner dockside

Port Sidney Marina

And a farewell to our friends as they return to the other coast.

Ahhh..Finally Cruising

We so looked forward to getting away.  We left Vancouver on June 26th to sail across the Georgia Straight to meet our friends from Halifax.  We spent the evening of the 26th in Montague Harbour:

A boy and his dog

Under sail across the Georgia Straight

Smooth sailing

Reading en route

Across and in the Gulf Islands

Countdown

I haven't made many posts the last while because of work deadlines and travel.  However, my calendar shows a bunch of red "X"'s counting down to our summer cruise.  We are readying the boat and have to go out this weekend and buy a small outboard for the dink.   Although the rowing is good exercise, taking the dog for his walk rowing a RIB  (which rows poorly) at least twice a day at an anchorage really hurts after a while, so outboard here we come.


So we'll have posts on the trip starting next week!!

Travelling

I haven't had a chance to update things the last while.  Closely spaced deadlines and travel across the country has made it a bit difficult.  However, vacation time approaches and it will be fun posting the sailing.

June Already

Life is busy at work and the marina is quiet.  Lots of boat maintenance going on, but I have yet so se people head off to sail.  We will be in late June and the blog will pick up a few entries then - hopefully with photos.

Jazz

OK, I like jazz.  My daughter is a jazz musician and she was in Vancouver not long ago playing at the Cellar.  She just sent some photos from the western canadian tour the group recently completed.

You can find more on her music at this site.  

Here she is with her little brother on board:

Thetis Island Cruise

We joined the Gulf yacht Club at their Thetis Island get together this weekend.  it was our first outing across the Georgia Straight for quite a while.  We had a slow leisurely sail across and a really great sail back with 11 to 15 knots of wind on a close reach at 7.5 knots from Porlier pass to the Sand-heads near Steveston Harbour.

Thetis Island and Porlier Pass

Celebrity Cruise Ship on the straight

3.3 Kts in light winds

Sailor pooch inspecting

port side Genoa sheet

Telegraph Harbour 

Moored at Telegraph Harbour Marina

Pretty spot with cafe in the background

More Chores

In spite of all the office work on our plate this week, the toe rail is Cetol'ed and the stainless steel is all bright and shines.  The Yanmar has had the oil changed and all the other bits checked.  The lines are all in good shape and we look forward to a little trip across the straight this Friday - off to Thetis Island for the Victoria Day weekend.

This Weekend will be a Boat Weekend

I was away a part of this week on business.  I've caught up with a bunch of stuff so I will take the forecasted good weather to make a dent in our to-do list.  Filter and oil change for the Yanmar, and toe rail touch-ups with Cetol.  It's all part of the joy of life on the water.

In Memoriam - Chris Faulkner 1972 - 2010

One of the lessons of Cruising Live Aboard life that we have learned is one of kinship.  We met Chris when he and his dad had returned from a 4 month cruise in the Pacific Northwest.  They had been living aboard for a years in what was for us a new home.  Chris and his dad became not only neighbours but friends. Of all the neighbours we've had on land, none have become friends the way John and his father had.  

 A short time ago tragedy struck and Chris was missing.  He was found almost a month later.  He had drowned.  Needless to say, his family was devastated.  So too were we.  Our marina's community is a strong one, and one gets to know people. We help each other.  When something like this happens, we all feel grief and sorrow.

To his family we extend our deepest condolences and assure them that he is in our hearts and in our prayers.  

Chores

I'm trying to find time to tend to some items on the boat:  change the oil, change the filter, service the raw water strainer, change the water purifier filter, touch up the toe-rail....  I haven't had the time.  Work has kept me very busy - which of course isa  good thing.  I'm looking forward to a weekend where I get through some of these.  Maybe next week.

MIT Geek

OK, I admit it.  I'm an MIT Geek.  The truth is, not only am I one, I'm damned proud of it.  So for all the sailors out there, I came across this little article about a research initiative into

a new way of desalinating water for use at disaster sites such as the recent earthquake in Haiti.  Think of the possibilities for an onboard water-maker that doesn't require high pressure pumps and tricky membranes.  Good work from my fellow Geeks.

A Day In Steveston

We needed to top up our diesel tank, so we set out for Steveston.  It was a very pleasant day which worked out wonderfully because we had to make the trip no matter what the day might have given us.  A great day on the Fraser River:

BC Ferries Maintenance Dock

Terratima and Crew at Steveston

Steveston 

Terratima Moored at Steveston

Steveston