Archives for May 2018

I’ve always imagined that one day I would be able to feed my family by catching fish and this summer sail seemed like the obvious time to get started.

Ellery has been so busy refitting our boat, so he nominated me in charge of fishing. This seems silly seeing as he knows a little about fishing and I know nothing.

I think I may have watched someone fish once and I like to cook and eat salmon. So really, that is all I know about fish.

I am passionate about learning to fish and naively, I am extremely optimistic about my chances.

Thanks to our fellow sailing friends, I was armed with a list of fishing gear when I set off walking to Trotac, our local marine store.

I had Amelia in the carrier and was hoping she would nap while I browsed fishing gear.

I was a little overwhelmed when I walked into Trotac and saw ALL the fishing gear. Amelia was not sleeping when I arrived but wide awake in the carrier.

Needless to say, it all went better than expected. The staff at Trotac were amazing, informative and helpful. They helped me find everything on my list, explained what each item was for and how to attach it together.

Amelia did not nap but was awake and looking around the whole time. I think she learned about as much about fishing as I did that day.

It was also very helpful that I did not have to carry all my new fishing gear home that day. Trotac kept it for me so I could pick it up the next day with the car.

When we did pick it up the next day, we decided to buy a crab trap too. Another quick trip to Russell books, where I found this gem.

Now that we have invested in fishing gear, I sure hope I can catch us some fish this summer! Don’t worry, I bought myself a fishing license too!

– Chari

Details matter but every detail takes time, and the end of May deadline to depart is fast approaching. I live and breathe this boat, it occupies my mind at every spare moment. Chari understands this pressure and we have worked out a system that lets me put in a few extra hours of work on days the Maddie is not in daycare. In the last post I ended by saying all I had to do was put the boat back together. I somehow made it sound simple, like it could be done in an afternoon or on a casual weekend and finish by having a few beers in the cockpit. I wish it was that simple.

Over the last several months the amount of boating related packages showing up on our doorstep has increased in frequency. New anchor, refrigerator, electronic gizmos, lights, etc… it’s a constant battle to keep up with the installation of each item so it doesn’t get lost in a big pile in the garage.

Here’s the list of projects I’ve completed in May:

• Installed new anemometer
• Wired up an onboard Wifi booster and Hotspot
• Sewed a new lee cloth for Maddie’s new bunk.
• Bolted on new stern pushpit
• Installed new Cape Horn Windvane
• Wired in dual USB charger
• Wired new 100 watt solar panel
• Cut out old icebox and installed new Engel MT45 fridge/freezer
• Mounted MOB pole and kisby ring
• Mounted new stern tie line

That largest of the last minute projects was removing the icebox and installing a new 12volt fridge/freezer. After all, kids need milk and cheese, and the side benefit is that the beer will always be cold!

I think we are ready to go now…. there’s always more to do but the rest can wait. We have an adventure awaiting us!

Ellery

This spring has seen an intense period of work go into Arctic Loon. Being on parental leave from work has allowed me the extra time required to attack the long list of projects and upgrades. In April the projects were big and important and our daughter Maddie’s time in daycare was increased to give me more time to work. With an end of May deadline approaching to leave for the summer cruise I knew I had my work cutout for me but was still confident that I could get most of it done.

The haulout should have been 14 days but windy weather forced a two day delay. We finally hauled out the boat on 12 April for 12 days on the hard to do bottom maintenance. One other challenge was the fact that I had to lighten the boat to be under the 20,000 Lbs limit of the crane being used.  The Westsail 32 spec dry weight is 19,500 lbs but I knew that I was well over that with all the gear onboard. This took months of planning and coordination and included the following tasks: emptied the water and fuel tanks, took the mast down (thank you Ben, Ryan, Andreas, Gerry and Ian), removed the bowsprit, landed all the anchors and chain as well as removed the majority of the miscellaneous items inside the boat. There were many car trips bringing items home and putting them in an ever growing pile of boating stuff in our garage. It was a daunting task but also refreshing to dig down to the bottom of all the lockers and give the boat a good clean inside and out.

You might be thinking at this point why I didn’t just take the boat elsewhere to be hauled out on a marine travelift that can haul boats many times larger. The answer is partly financial thriftiness ($ vs $$$) and partly travel time efficiency from home to the boat (10 min vs. 40min).

On lift day the boat weighed in at 19,000 Lbs, it was worth it but my challenges were just beginning.

Major work performed included:

• All new standing rigging done by Blackline Marine
• Sand and paint two coats of ablative antifouling bottom paint
• Replaced two thru-hulls
• Removed, repair and reattach the rudder gudgeons. Welding performed by Altech Machining
• Reseal hull deck join with 3M 5200
• Replace zincs

I was busy working until 4pm the day before relaunching to get the rudder bolted back on.

Relaunching went smoothly and then I had only to ferry the mountain of gear from my garage back to the boat and put it all back together! That should be easy right?…..

Ellery

I’m pleased to say that our short shakedown cruise went better than expected. We anchored in Esquimalt Harbour, which is very close to our sailing club. We didn’t leave the dock until 1700 on Friday so we motored to our anchorage and heated up cans of soup for dinner. Before we put the girls to bed, we had to figure where we were going to stow everything and tidy up.

Our goals for this weekend were to figure out how to live on the boat with our two young girls, test our new main sail and go for a ride in our new inflatable dinghy.

Our first night on the boat didn’t go that well. It was challenging to get Amelia to sleep and Maddie played and talked in her bunk for ages. I think she was just excited and maybe a bit scared to be sleeping in a new area that Ellery built for her. She finally fell asleep only to wake up and party in her bunk for a few hours in the middle of the night. Our boat really is a small space and if one person is making noise or talking, everyone can hear it.

The next morning was a lazy one due to lack of sleep. After fueling ourselves with strong coffee, we tidied the cabin, organized things a bit more and got out in the dingy. Ellery rowed us to a little place called Cole Island in Esquimalt Harbour. Amelia napped in the carrier while we explored the small island. Cole Island was an ammunition depot built by the Royal Navy in 1860 and is now a National Historic Site.

After getting back to our boat, we had a quick lunch and put Maddie down for a nap. At this point we decided to head out and test the main sail, which sailed beautifully. We tacked back and forth in Juca de Fuca straight under full sail in a fresh breeze for a few hours while Maddie had an epic 3.5 hour nap. This was lovely because Ellery and I actually got to talk to each other without interruptions. In fact, it felt almost like a date, except I also had Amelia napping on me.

After a lovely sail in the afternoon sun we headed back into Esquimalt Harbour to anchor and tucked ourselves in the lee of the shore a bit more to avoid rolling from the incoming waves all night. We are much more confident about anchoring now since we have a new 20 kg Vulcan anchor made by Rocna.

Bedtime went smoother on night two. We were all asleep by 2130 and slept until morning!

Our sleeping arrangements are working out well. Maddie has her new single bunk in the v-berth, secured with a lee cloth that Ellery made. Ellery sleeps in the double bunk in the v-berth. Amelia and I sleep together in the salon on a double bunk, which we make by lowering the table every night.

During the day Amelia is either in a bassinet, in the starboard salon sittee with a lee cloth or being carried by Ellery or I.

Our last morning we basically ate, tidied the boat and packed up to head home. It’s the packing and unpacking for trips that I dislike the most, especially with kids around.

We learned a lot this weekend and made a lot of lists of stuff to bring or buy. We still haven’t figured out all the routines with the girls but it’ll get better. We know it’ll be hard sometimes but it’s hard parenting on land too.

As for the boat, we are so pleased with all the work Ellery has done. Ellery still has a long list of things to do in the next couple of weeks but we are excited to leave on our sail up the coast very soon!

Arctic Loon at anchor in Esquimalt Harbour

Here we are only a few short days until our shakedown sail and there is still so much to do. I am overwhelmed with all the stuff we need to bring to the boat! Kids sure come with a lot of gear!

We are planning on anchoring nearby so we can get used to living on the boat with two little girls. We anticipate it will be a bit crazy at times and there will be crying I am sure.

Ellery is nearly finished putting the boat back together and is now organizing our things onboard.

Amelia and I joined Ellery on the boat yesterday to discuss storage of our food, clothes and toys.

We are so excited to just get going as this has been so long in the making. So much time and resources has gone into this plan. Just this morning, Maddie asked when we were going sailing and mentioned going on a dingy ride!

I will update more soon about how it all went down! We love questions so please feel free to ask if you have any! We also will post more pictures of the boat soon.

Cheers,

Chari