Fynn, meet crab. Crab meet Fynn

Kristine, Fynn and Kyber in front of the frozen Tod Inlet

We set off on December 31 for our first venture into winter cruising. Sure it was cold… and wet… but we loved it! We stayed in the Gulf Island and visited many islands we had never been to before, mainly because they get to crowded in the summer and we tend to avoid them.

Enjoy the video!

This summer we had our two weeks vacation during the most perfect summer weather. Instead of pictures we did videos! You can visit our YouTube channel at SVAsunto or click on the links in following posts.

July 20 Skinny Cove- after endless mornings of To Dos we finally got off the dock at 3:45 PM only four hours [and one day!] behind schedule. Dinghy davits on and working well but not finished. Kolby gave the hull a quick clean and the combination was noticeable for increased boat speed. Very gentle trip to Skinny Cove, sails are too small, especially the genoa :(. Anchored in the sunset. Good holding, as per usual. Very quiet night.
July 21 Copeland Islands- 50 Kms today! Made it into Copeland’s around 5 PM. Very quiet and uneventful passage, with a short sail past Powell River. Installed new outdoor shower on route. Arrived at Copeland and went for a walk and impromptu swim. Kristine fell in the hole when we were changing water tanks to fill our drinking water and broke the pipe from the forward starboard tank. Tanks bunged and unfixable without new pipefitting.

July 22 Susan Islets- Working morning: finished the install for the blocks for the davits, fixed the leaking propane and water lines, and screwed in the new shower. Davits are working fantastic and look good too! Motored to Susan Islets which is a nice anchorage. Wooten Bay looks lovely! Maybe try there next year. We’re missing the crab trap bait holder so no crabbing. Lots of current ripping in and out Theadosa Inlet. Still active logging in the area. Very big tides!

July 23 Squirrel Cove- fun morning goofing in the eddies on the paddleboard draining Theadosa Inlet. Quick diesel stop at refuge where we bumped into Mike, Joanna, Ken and Val [rafting and Laura’s Cove] and also grabbed some ice cream. Anchored mid bay at Squirrel Cove
and enjoyed the perfect swimming water. Trek over to Von Dolop Inlet- The tide came up quick! Set the crab and prawn traps after supper. I put the Asunto stickers on the boom.

July 24 Walsh Cove [via Teakarne Arm]- Left Squirrel Cove after taking the paddleboard through a great ebb tide at the lagoon. So fun! Motored over to Teakarne, the days have been so hot! We did an excellent job of our anchoring and stern time. The new reel works great. Dropped the prawn trap and brought the paddleboard to the lake – it was worth it! All cleaned up we headed back to haul the prawn trap from a Asunto [works much faster than from the dinghy!]. Nothing! Just those weird crayfish prawn things. Too deep? Motored to Walsh and stern tied for the night. Kolby dropped the prawn trap off the fishfarm in Waddington channel.
July 25 Walsh Cove- hung out for the day. I got the name on the hull, Kolby installed the new battery monitor, we cleaned the dinghy and the hull. Lots of swimming and relaxing. Hauled the prawn trap- 12 prawns! Dropped it again hoping for at least 12 more.

July 26 Toba Wilderness Resort- 6 AM wake up, to catch the flood up Toba Inlet. Only two prawns. Quiet trip up Toba, lots of fun with the waterfalls. By the time we reached the end the wind had picked up to 15 knots and the anchorage looked really gnarly so we headed back out. Winds built to 20, choppy waters but still sunny. Glorious views. Docked at Toba Wilderness Resort [$1.25 per foot] and hiked to the waterfalls. Kyle and family have been here permanently for the last 10 years. Campfire marshmallows, Yum.

July 27 Octopus Islands- We had a great sail up Pryce Inlet. Forced our way through Hole-in – the – wall after the Rendezvous Islands or a no anchor zone not even for a ‘stop and check out the shore’ visit. We were one hour past slack tide by the time we reach the west end of hole –in- the – wall and had 5.5 knots against us with some fantastic eddies. Just pushed through at 1 .3 knots. Dropped the anchor in the Octopus Islands and found the boat name cabin! Marveled at the cold water only 53°F.
July 28 Octopus Islands- took Otto to the Surge Narrows store but it was no longer and very much falling to bits. Post office is still there. Hiked to the lake in the afternoon and discussed Alaska. Contributed to the boat name cabin.

July 29 Thurston Bay- pleasant motor over. Weather continues to be perfect. Tried to find the trail to the lake but it is long gone. Went hunting for crab in the shallows from the dinghy. Kolby caught one and flung it into the dinghy. Lucky it hit my belly! Made for a tasty appetizer. Dropped two crab traps on one line and the pawn trap. Fingers crossed. Alaska still in our minds.

July 30 – Bird Cove [Read Island]: first visit to Read Island, excellent anchorage in mud. The island has a very communal feel, from the docks to the trails. Took Steamboat trail from the public dock to the road, a lovely trail. Went left on the road and found an orchard with a woodfired pizza oven and ripe plum tree. Three prawns.

We took the ‘Mothership’ Asunto across to Saltspring Friday morning along with Ben, Kolby’s fellow racemate. All seemed great as we left the dock…. then just as we were coming under the Granville St Bridge….. Silence.
Kolby ‘we lost the engine. You two unfurl the genoa’
Kristine looks around ‘there isn’t much wind… How about I get the dinghy ready?’
Thinking we may have run out of diesel Kolby tries to solve the problem as we drift though False Creek. The engine would start, but then stall under load. Finally we killed the starter battery and we went to plan B: Otto drives the boat. Ben and Kristine lash Otto to the starboard stern and Kristine drives. We are underway. We make our way to the fuel dock and we nailed the docking. Looked like we had practise this for years!
By the time we had filled the diesel tanks Kolby had solved the problem. The bleed screw on the filter housing was slightly open. Problem solved and the engine ran as per usual and we were off. After we rounded Pt. Grey we had a great sail over to Porlier Pass. Ben hand steered the whole way and learned just how different a 50′ boat handles compared to the J29 he usually sails. Kolby and the rest of the crew reunited in Ganges aboard Rhumb Line, a J29 that Kolby races every Wednesday and Thursday evening in English Bay. With a brand new main and experienced crew, Rhumb Line was ready for a great race.

The Round Saltspring Race 2013 started at 10 am. Boats have to circumnavigate Saltspring in less than 24 hours. Typically this isn’t a problem. And this year looked like it promised to be a good race. There was a perfect 15 knots at the start line and boats quickly made there way out of Ganges Harbour. The wind held all the way up island, and back down to Samson Narrows. By 3pm Rhumb Line was through Samson Narrows and starting the home stretch. Back in Ganges, Kristine was busy perusing the market and ok with not being sailing when random rainstorms came down and she could just duck into shops. At 7:30pm some of the first boats crossed the finish line and Kristine was hopeful that Rhumb Line would make it in before dark. By 9pm there were no more boats in sight; only a dozen or so boats had finished. Kristine went to bed expecting a midnight wake up for a pick up. She woke up in daylight slightly disorientated it was 5:30 am and the fleet of 50 or so boats are on the horizon. By 7am most of the sails seem, if not farther away, then more lateral and no where near closer to the finish line. By 9 am the wind picks up from the NE and Rhumb Line crosses the finish, second boat of the morning.

We finished off the weekend with family on Gabriola Island and came home under sail into English Bay.

We left Friday night at 7. Motored to Gambier in the sun. Watched it set as we anchored.

The rest of the weekend was glorious. Sunshine and temperatures in the mid 20s. Saturday we hiked and played with the paddle board and took a part the diesel heater (can’t all be fun and games!)

Sunday was even warmer! We left mid morning for Bowen Island, dropped the anchor in Marion Bay and headed for Killarney Lake. Only there was a slight catch! literally! Our anchor was really hard to bring up. We had to drive forward and sideways and backwards before it finally came free. When we got it to the surface we had over 20 feet of 1.5 inch steel cable on the anchor. Halkett Bay has a long logging history and the bottom is littered with debris. Lucky for us we brought some of this relic to the surface, rather than having to leave our anchor on the bottom! On route Kolby’s parents called. They were taking their little Ranger Tug out and we planned to meet up later. The lake was lovely. So lovely in fact we both went swimming, something neither of us had done in that lake before! The water wasn’t even very cold, although the little one growing in Kristine objected and gave her a big kick! Later that afternoon it was still so hot on the water we jumped in the ocean! In May! Imagine that!