Arctic Loon Sails Again

We did it! We left the dock for another summer sailing voyage. There were moments that I wasn’t sure it was going to work out but thankfully it did and here we are. I hope you will follow along on our family sailing adventure this summer as we hope to sail farther and longer than we did last year!

The whole process of leaving felt so much harder this year. Maybe it’s because the girls are older and have more stuff or because they are busier so it’s nearly impossible to get anything accomplished while looking after them or maybe it’s just that I’m one year older and totally exhausted from motherhood. Either way, there was so much planning, packing and late nights to make this happen.

It is day 4 and we have already enjoyed Poets Cove on Pender Island, where we went for a lovely swim in the heated swimming pool and had nachos and beer at Crane & Robin in Montague Harbour on Galiano Island.

We even had friends meet up with us our second night out at Sidney Spit. We enjoyed their company and our daughter Maddie loved having a friend to play with.

From here, we are heading through the Gulf Islands to Silva Bay and the across the Strait of Georgia to Vancouver. Then we will sail up the mainland coast to Desolation Sound, where we are excited to visit some of our favourite places from last summer.

One factor that made prepping for this trip harder than last year was that we are trying to buy provisions for longer. This year we bought and stored 6 weeks worth of dry/non-perishable food on board and 7-10 days of fresh food. This will enable us to go longer before needing to reprovision and will also save us money because we purchased food in Victoria rather than the higher prices you find in small towns or villages. We also have about 500 diapers onboard, which should be enough to last Amelia all summer. This means that our boat is pretty packed right now.

Needless to say, even if the boat is organized and everything is in its place, we still have 2 small children on board and that means there are often clothes and toys everywhere.

Ellery installed two baby gates on board this year. One gate is to keep the girls out of the galley and Amelia from climbing the companionway ladder. The other gate can block off the head or it can swing to block the girls from going forward into their bunks. Both gates have been extremely helpful so far, for safety, containment and sanity reasons.

As for any trip the first few days can be challenging as you settle into a routine. I am telling myself the first week may be rough as the girls get used to sleeping in their bunks, riding in the dinghy and sailing for hours everyday.

Our motto is to keep sailing as long as it’s fun. Ultimately, we want to spend quality time together as a family, while showing our girls the beautiful B.C. coast from our sailboat.

More pictures to come.