And we're off! (Summer 2025)

After weeks of plumbing repairs 😢 on Pelagia by David, we're finally off.

Headed up to Pender Harbour yesterday (Monday), even getting a nice sail for almost half the way.

Today we are headed up Malaspina Strait with 10-20 kn winds behind... great easy sailing! Hope to get to Desolation Sound today.

 

[Update: Indeed, we had a great sail from Cape Cockburn (pronounced "coburn") to Cortes Island.]  

Current plans are 6 (maybe 7-8) weeks on the boat, going at least as far as Sointula and the Broughtons.

You can follow us here:

https://track.myzoleo.com/livelocation?edibh9jc5d

Mainland coast: south from Chapple Inlet, to Sointula (North Vancouver Island)

Heading south: Chapple Inlet to Sointula

 

Our stay in Chapple Inlet after our long daytime sail across Hecate Strait turned into a 3-night stay due to gales. We SHOULD have high-tailed it south the next day, but we were too tired from the preceding 92-mile trip. So we got stuck in Chapple bouncing around while gales blew outside. It wasn't comfortable.

After 3 nights, with a gentle forecast, we took off south. But we quickly ran into fuel starvation issues: the rambunctious Hecate crossing (and perhaps the two days bouncing at anchor) must have stirred up junk in the fuel tanks (OR we had received some bad fuel... more likely the former). We changed the primary filter and started off again. Within an hour, the problems were back. We were able to motor at reduced revs and speed, so continued on to the (lovely) anchorage at Meyer's Narrows. We changed the filter again, and kept our fingers crossed.

Next day, we headed to Klemtu, intent to get fuel and water (we had been given the heads up that there was no water at the docks at Shearwater... due to a big leak in their lines) and perhaps change the filter again.

We wondered if we would have to get our fuel and tanks "polished" in Shearwater (pricey and time consuming... something better to do in Vancouver). As it turned out, we had no further fuel starvation issues, and that day we went all the way from Meyer's to Wigham Cove, surprising our cruising friends Wayne and Lee on SV Chanter, who kindly made dinner and provided wine for us.

We spent a couple days with Chanter then went to Shearwater to stock up. Indeed, there was no potable water at the docks (but they did find the source of the leak while we were there... they have some excavating to do) -- we topped up our tanks using jerry cans from a potable water tap ashore. Provisions were scarce at Shearwater as they now only stock up every 2 weeks (to save money on shipping?), but Michelle took the shuttle (free for us "elders") to Bella Bella and its store was well-stocked (weekly) and everyone was very welcoming. Laundry was done and David purchased SIX new primary filter cartridges just in case...).

We left Shearwater and joined Chanter for 3 nights at Rait Narrows then at Forit Bay. It was great to be cruising with friends (almost all of our time since May we were alone).

Soon it was time to head south. There was a weather window to go around Cape Caution the next day, so we did a long trip (mostly motor, though we did have a rambunctious, nail-biting sail between swells crashing on rocks for the final 2 hours) from Forit Bay all the way to Millbrook Cove in Smith Sound, setting us up for going around Cape Caution next morning. To our surprise, friends on SV Darwin Sound (who also live in Whistler) followed us in to Millbrook.

We left early the next morning, with a "relatively gentle" motor/motor-sail past Cape Caution (relative because it is usually quite rolly on this passage). Of course, David was worried the rolly trip would stir up more junk in the tanks. But the trip went fine, with a little fog thrown in; we arrived in Port Alexander, only a few miles north of Port Hardy by 1pm'ish. Al and Irene from Darwin Sound joined us for dinner on Pelagia. Port Alexander was new to us, and a little too windy for our liking, but it wasn't a bad night (new anchorages with wind tend to stress David...).

Next day, we headed down to our regular favourite, Sointula, where we spent 3 relaxing days/nights.

We were back on the south coast (albeit, at its northern end).

Week 1... ending in Sointula

Desolation Sound: Towards Prideaux Haven

We've made fast progress North. 

Ballet Bay on night 1, Then Prideaux Haven (Desolation Sound) for nights 2 and 3. We chose Prideaux to get out of the path of a southerly storm (winds 30-40 knots),  which worked well. 

Next was through Hole-in-the-Wall and Okisollo Rapids to Owen Bay (night 4). Caught the ebb up Johnstone Straight for most of the way, unfortunately no sailing, for night 5 in Port Harvey the Broughtons.  A couple short hops (Cutter Cove, night 6) and Mound Island anchorages (nights 6 and 7), and finally to Sointula (nights 8-10).

Since day 1, we have been struggling with a mechanical issue: the propeller shaft "stuffing box" (this is the link between the "inside"  and the "outside")  has not been dripping (as it should) and has been heating up. David has been adjusting it 1-2x per day. VERY frustrating because we had hired a mechanic in Nanaimo at Stone's Boatyard to repack the stuffing box. Clearly it was done wrong. In Sointula at the dock, David pulled the stuffing box nut off, and still little water came out (it should gush out!).  Clearly, it was time for help! David called a couple mechanics in Port McNeill and got a bit of a run-around,  with no real positive help (and timing that suggested waiting for a week to be even looked at)... they didn't really seemed to want to deal with this non-engine issue. It was looking depressing. Then a local marine electronics dealer suggested I walk over and talk to Tom at the Tarkanen  Marine Ways here in Sointula. Such a refreshing change. Somewhat shocked, they sent a mechanic over to the boat within an hour. 

The likely problem: mechanic in Nanaimo used the wrong packing size (too large) which stopped water dripping through (the slow dripping normally lubricates shaft/stuff box and keeps it cool). So, while Pelagia was still in the water (some suggested we'd need to be hauled out), Ken, the Tarkanen mechanic, pulled out the old too-large (1/4") now-burnt packing, and repacked with 3/16" packing. First tests indicates the stuffing box now staying cool. Fingers crossed. (REALLY angry that "professional" work in Nanaimo so screwed up!). 

After some stressful times, we've added a true "rest" day here Sointula, and will head over to Port McNeill tomorrow for provisions, fuel,  etc. 

Malcolm Island Harbour (Sointula)

Haulout in Nanaimo 2022 -- bookended by great sailing

Nearing completion...

 

We booked a haulout at Stone's Boatyard in Nanaimo for 8am on April 5th. (Why Nanaimo? Well, we had an excellent experience at Stone's in 2013, so we thought we'd give it a try. Booking and getting marine work done in Vancouver has its issues.... As it turned out, so does Nanaimo.)

Big winds were forecast for Georgia Strait for April 3rd and 4th, so we headed across on April 2nd. We had a wonderful sail over to Silva Bay on Gabriola Island. A beam reach with mostly 10-15 kn winds, comfortable sailing with both mainsail and genoa. No distress; all fun.

The next day, April 3rd, winds were pinning us against the dock at Silva, and we wondered if we could get off the dock; but slack times for the passes were awkward if we didn't leave early. Seas were up on the outside (north side of Gabriola) as were winds. So we were not sure whether the outside might be a little to unpleasant. As luck would have it, a sailboat we knew left in the morning; we called SV Hannibal on the VHF, and Oliver indicated it wasn't so bad on the outside. So we decided to give it a try... if we could get off the dock, which we managed successfully (on our second try...). Out in the straits, we found rolly seas but 15-20 kn SE winds. A reasonably comfortable downwind sail under genoa to Entrance Island, where the wind and seas decreased, and we motored in to Nanaimo and caught a mooring buoy at Newcastle Island (which was nearly empty).

Two nights at Newcastle Island, we had little chance (or wish) to go ashore due to a constant sequence of gusty cold winds, sun, heavy rain, seeming to repeat every 30-60 minutes. And it was cold: fresh snow was low on the hills around Nanaimo. Our Espar hydronic heater was much used!

Tuesday April 5th, we arrived at 7:55am at Stone's, and they were ready and waiting to haul us out. Haulout went smoothly, and Pelagia was pressure washed before being put in the stands by about 930am. We then waited for work to begin (we had decided to hire Stone's for painting, wash & polishing, and some minor mechanical).  By 3pm, nothing significant had begun. So, we went off and checked in to our motel room at the Buccaneer Inn (highly recommended), just down the road. 

We were happy with the 2018 application of Micron CSC bottom pain. After 4 years, the bottom primarily had only a thin algae coating, and the bottom paint still looked pretty good after pressure washing (except for mussels under the keel, and worn pain at the bow, along the waterline, and the trailing edge of the rudder).

 

Lifting out of the water at Stone's

 

Pressure washing Pelagia: the 4-yr-old bottom paint was in pretty good shape!

Work finally began in earnest on Wednesday 6th -- better late than never: Two coats of Micron CSC anti-fouling (we were surprised by it being black --we never asked for this colour change -- but decided we liked it), stuffing box repacking, a new throttle cable, and another try at the small leak in the hydraulic steering.

We were pleasantly surprised by friends Gillian and David from SV Carousel, who offered to drive up to Nanaimo for us to get together. We had an nice dinner together at a nearby Greek restaurant. Thanks G & D for entertaining us!

We had hoped to "splash" back in to the water on Thursday 7th. But this was not to be. The second coat of antifouling, which we expected to be applied on Wednesday, was done Thursday. The stands were moved and a 1st coat on the new bare spots were finally applied late Thursday.  Waxing and polishing didn't start until late Thursday (4 pm'ish). It was not finished that night. 

We also did some work ourselves: the topsides were waxed/polished; the pilot house non-glass windows polished to remove yellowing and some scratches (Novus7100 Plastic Polish Kit); windshield wiper motor connections repaired; several new zincs added.

Friday April 8th: We were worried we would not make the ~12-1 pm tide window (it is very shallow at the haulout): waxing/polishing still had to be finished, plus the 2nd coat on the stand patches needed to be done. Management further encouraged the waxer/polisher to rush the job (which he did, with some patches missed and lots of splatter).  By noon'ish, we were essentially ready to splash. Once in the water, the mechanic came to adjust the stuffing box after some "burn in" time.* We got away with only about 0.5 metre extra depth to spare, and headed back to Newcastle Island to the same buoy to decompress -- a day longer on the hard than should have been needed. But we celebrated it being finished.

Heading back in to the water... better late than never

 

Saturday April 9th: The forecast for the Strait of Georgia was suggesting 15-25 kn NW winds. We decided to give it a try. Just before Entrance Island, we found winds of 10-15 kn, so we rolled out the genoa. We ended up have an excellent fast downwind sail (genoa only) all the way to Stanley Park, at times a little rambunctious with winds 20-25 kn (gusting to 30 closer to Vancouver). But again, no distress and mostly fun (except for trying to get into our berth at VRC with a 15-kn crosswind).

Downwind sailing to Vancouver (visible in the distance)

Our new position tracker at: https://followingsea.net/track/PELAGIA (only the endpoints with dates are accurate!)

Conclusions: it was a long way to/from Nanaimo, to find boatyards there now have some of the staffing/timing issues found in Vancouver. BUT: the work got done. And the sailing was excellent. Not so sure about the next haulout location... we'll see. [Update: NO, we will not return!]

 

Update: One week since splashing and sailing back, the hydraulic leak is almost stopped... perhaps only 1-2 drops since splashing.

* It turned out that the Nanaimo mechanic put in packing that was too large: 1/4" instead of the required 3/16". This caused much problem, stuffing box over heating, constant adjusting, until we had it re-packed while in Sointula.  Later, in September, Nanaimo boatyard (Stones) apologized and refunded 2 hours of labour.

Repairs and more delays...

June 25, 2021
Decided to head up to Ha'thayim/VonDonop... a little closer to the rapids but still in warm water (swimming in the sea).

Just as we were coming to our usual anchor spot, our gear shift at the binnacle stopped working. After a minute of (usual) confusion, we found we could still use the gear shift at the inside steering.

After anchoring, we inspected the cable in the engine room. Didn't look good (we eventually found it had snapped within), so a trip to Campbell River for repair would be required. Of course, it was Friday afternoon, so nothing could be done until Monday morning.

We also had a very tiny leak (1 drop/day) at a joint in our hydraulic steering (duscovered the day we left Vancouver), so we decided to get it looked at too.

We headed over to Discovery Marina on Sunday, and were at the Ocean Pacific Boatyard at 8am Monday morning. Although very busy, a mechanic came to our boat by 11am.

Gear shift was simple (a new cable). The tiny hydraulic leak seemed more problematic. It was so small, Mike the mechanic seemed to feel we shouldn't "open a can of worms". But since we were there and had his attention, we decided to try taking off the connection. Doing so, Mike couldn't see anything wrong, and importantly, the flared connection was nothing standard. To replace would mean replacing 2-3 metres of copper line. Parts would need to be ordered. There was always the small chance the fitting simply needed tightening. We decided to have Mike put alback and tighten, and we'd reconsider issue in the off season.

After two nights in Campbell River, we headed back to Von Donop (we couldn't go North from CR because Seymour Narrows was flooding strongly (12+ knots) against us.

We had lost at least 4 days due to this repair trip. By then, the gales in Johnstone Strait had started up. We would have to wait for another window.

On the other hand, Von Donop was nearly empty, not even 25% of the usual number of boats. And the weather was sunny and the ocean temperature warm (22°C).

We were planning to meet up with cruising friends (SV Carousel and SV Chanter) up in the Broughtons, supposedly tomorrow or the next day. But delays (COVID-19 restrictions, 2nd shots, repairs) and then Johnstone Strait gales have set us back.

Never a good idea to try to adhere to a schedule when cruising. The cruising gods will have other ideas.

Frankly, we felt like spending more time in Desolation Sound; we had hot weather, warm swimning to cool off, and once-in-a-lifetime empty anchorages (anchorages that will be filled-up soon, especially if the USA/Canada border reopens late July).

So, we headed from Von Donop back down to Roscoe Bay in Desolation Sound, which we found also nearly empty (only 4 boats, compared to 30+) and warm swimming.

On another positive note: we have yet to see a drip from the hydraulic steering!

Windlass woes (and eventual win)

Windlass motor with broken "up" stub (circled)

 

 

June 16, 2020:

Can't always be fun and games.... 

Windlass problems occur every once in a while (in case you are wondering, the windlass is the equipment we use to raise/lower the anchor). But our problem turned out to be terminal: our positive "up" terminal had sheared off, and this meant the end for the motor. 

Of course, it happened when we had a lot of chain out (230'). Fortunately, back in 2008, we purchased a "manual recovery kit" for the windlass. Unfortunately, it was very hard work for David to bring it all up. Nearing the end, he was sweating hard and taking multiple breather breaks. But up it came. 

We headed to the docks of Refuge Cove, where David removed the motor/gearbox assembly. It did not look good (as we said, it was "terminal"). At least it was easy to remove. 

Next morning, we started making calls. First call was to Ocean Pacific Marine in Campbell River. Using our part number, they said it looked like it would have to be ordered from England. Yikes! We started planning a fast return to our docks in Vancouver. But, 20 minutes later, they us called back, saying there was a new part number and indeed, there was a replacement in Victoria. It was Friday morning and they should be able to get it to Campbell River by Monday "11ish".

Only $2300.... 

After a couple of nights at the dock at Refuge Cove (where we sorted out our backup - - and much lighter -- anchor line), we headed over to Gowlland Harbour (very near Campbell River) to try anchoring without a windlass for a couple of nights. Turned out to be a great anchorage (tons of room with only 1 other boat). Later, using a winch on the mast, we had no problem getting our anchor (with lighter line) up. 

Monday morning, we headed over to the Discovery Marina in Campbell River, where Ocean Pacific Marine was conveniently located. By 1130am, the new windlass motor assembly had arrived. After some concern it was the wrong part (it may have been mislabled... but phone calls to distributor indicated it would only fit properly if it were correct), David installed it (in between torrents of rain). And it worked! 

Next morning, we headed back over to Cortes Island, to Hathayim/Von Donop Marine Park, a favourite of ours. 

A pricey part, but still a "win" since we could do our own repairs, and get back  cruising. 

Some serious wrist bling!

Bionic wrist bling

Six weeks post surgery, Michelle's wrist is making good progress. Xrays show some pretty substantial bling in her left wrist...

Side view shows the screws

A fairly large metal plate and perhaps 7 screws.



Outside, the wrist is looking better. Physiotherapy and regular exercise has been improving wrist movement and strength, with a lot more (expected) to come.

6 weeks after surgery

Far better than 12 days after surgery when the bandages were removed and staples taken out:

12 days after surgery, still with the staples. Looking pretty ugly!

Michelle has received great medical, surgical and physiotherapy care here at Whistler (with actual surgery at Lion's Gate Hospital in North Vancouver). Final follow-up with orthopaedic surgeon earlier this week (her in Whistler) indicates wrist is progressing very well and increased exercises called for. (Skiing, however, would be best delayed for another few weeks.)

So, we have decided to head back to Nepal for a trek. Hopefully the various airport metal detectors have no issue with Michelle's new wrist bling!

2018: A very "bumpy" year!

Hiking in Bavaria, 2018: on top of the Shottelkarspitze

Quite the year.... 

Started 2018 with Michelle's knee in a brace recovering from torn ACL, MCL and meniscus (from a fall while skiing December 2017). Michelle returned to skiing mid-March.

Spent a great summer cruising on Pelagia to Haida Gwaii and back.

September, biking and hiking in Europe. Michelle's knee feeling good.

November, ski season starts slowly, but surely. Now there's tons of snow.

Then comes December, Michelle's mensis horribilus. December 15th, she slipped on ice on our sidewalk (not skiing!), and broke her (left) wrist. As always, Whistler Health Clinic was excellent, her break was "reduced" and casted. But doctors not optimistic and surgery may be needed. A little over a week later, follow-up x-rays reveal surgery required. So, on Boxing Day December 26th, Michelle undergoes surgery on her broken wrist, with a metal plate and screws installed. The bionic woman.

After surgery...

We end 2018 as we started the year: Michelle recovering with no expectation of skiing before March, and David skiing alone. Really sucks.

BUT: Plans for 2019 are formulating. A trip starting mid February planned (approved by doctors).

Best wishes to all for the New Year 2019! 

(maybe we should stay away from snow/ice in December....)

Mid-(ski)season Progress Report

"Triumphant" return to Winter sports: Snowshoeing February 1

Two months of steady recovery for Michelle, diligently doing her daily exercises and seeing the physiotherapist 2x/week. Follow up visit with surgeon in mid-January concludes 2+° tear of her MCL and slight (1°) of her ACL, both healing well and, importantly, no surgery required! Yeah!

Early January: Michelle in her first "bionic woman" brace (later replaced with much less obtrusive brace)

Yesterday marked a milestone, with Michelle getting out for over an hour snowshoeing (on the Whistler Golf course; actually, a tough slog).  Next up will be x-country skiing.

Looking very good for a return to (downhill) skiing mid to late March!

X-Country skiing Feb 10th...

Late January 2018: on top of Spanky's Ladder

Meanwhile, the snow is piling up on Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. David has some good days, but missing his skiing partner.

Back skiing!

3.5 weeks after tearing his right calf muscle, David is finally back on the mountain. Just in time as we received 31 cm of powder in the past 24 hours (not that he went near the pow... calf is not ready for that yet).

A little less of an "old man" today.

Instant old man...

 

Tons of snow for opening days at Whistler (November 23rd) and Blackcomb (November 24th) -- over 200 cm new snow in a week.

Unfortunately, a gentle forward tumble in the powder on Day 2 has put David out of action for at least 3-4 weeks: a Grade 2 right calf pull (or strain, tear, etc.). This injury feels very similar (and not worse) to his left-leg injury back in 2012 (running to catch the bus here in Whistler) -- it required 3.5 weeks to get  back on the mountain. This time, though, help from a physiotherapist has been sought (who informs him that it gets worse with age...).

So much for being in such great shape after our 12+ day trekking in Nepal!  🙁

Meanwhile, Michelle is skiing up a storm ⛷ in all the new snow.

Pelagia back in the water...

Pelagia "splashed" Tuesday. 

All went well until we tried to start the engine. Nothing. Yet we had brand new batteries. Looked for a loose wire but saw none. So, we called Rafa, who had done all the work on the engine over the Summer and last week. 

Indeed, his shop had left off a wire. Bingo, engine started easily. But, now, no water out of the exhaust. (We had worried about this possibility, and David had looked for any blockages before going back in the water, finding none.) After going through the same things plus a few more, and a lot of head scratching, Rafa and colleague discovered a gear had gone on our just-rebuilt raw-water pump. No problem, it is "guaranteed". All this after we had to be towed over to a dock at the marina.

Next day, re-rebuilt water pump back in and engine running well and spitting out water as it should.

On the positive side, the new windows look great, the welding looks great (new system holding the anchor and additional bracings for the pushpit railings), the hull has a smooth newly painted bottom (all the old bottom paint had been removed and a new barrier coat added), and above the water line nice new blue stripes and waxed hull.

But, elsewhere, Pelagia was a mess, we had a LOT of cleaning inside to do. Decks still need cleaning. And to top it off, David has the flu or something -- and cabin temperature reaches 35 degrees C by mid afternoon.

So, we are working out problems, suffering in the heat. (No, there is no swimming pool.)

Loving the life....

Back to Mexico (Mazatlan)

After three wonderful weeks in our home at Whistler, we are now back in Mexico. At the Mazatlan airport, Michelle got the "green light" at Mexico Aduana (customs), so no issues there (wouldn't want them to discover all those Red Rose tea bags...).

Hauling Pelagia (at Fonatur) tomorrow morning (October 21st) for bottom-work and other miscellany, including some minor welding (to strengthen bimini/solar panels, and to better-secure the Rocna anchor), boot-stripe repainting, and new portlights (5 of 7). Unfortunately, we discovered that the new pilot house windows we had installed over the summer (while we were away) are totally inadequate. So, we will also have these redone with thicker, more-appropriate windows. More time (and money) required....

On the positive, the engine is all shiny with new or overhauled parts, the teak shiny, the boat clean, and there does not appear to be any mold/mildew. Oh, and the tacos and margaritas are pretty good.

Will likely be here for 2-3 weeks -- may take a road trip.

Haul out at Fonatur yard, Mazatlan

Haul out at Fonatur yard, Mazatlan

Free to pee again...

Middle of the night, an unpleasant surprise: the head (toilet) has stopped working. Plunger jammed; will not go down. 2 am and David is taking apart the head, hoping to fix it before Michelle wakes up. This didn't do the job. Clearly, more is wrong....

First problem turned out to be most of the hoses totally clogged with calcium deposits. 1.5-inch diameter hose reduced to  <0.25 inch! This even though we regularly flush vinegar through the system.

hose filled with calcium buildup -- yuck!

Although other cruisers suggested several flushes with muriatic acid should clear the hoses -- which David tried -- this was not good enough. The only solution was to open things up, pull out hoses and replace with new hose. This is not an easy job, and required removal of the large "vanity" in the bathroom.

Vanity removed -- white hoses are the new replacements

 
A few of the shorter pieces of hose were extra-flexible hose, needed to make several sharp turns. As this type of hose was not available here in La Paz, David elected to "ream out" these pieces, flush them, and re-use them. 

Finally, after all the hoses were replaced or (mostly) cleaned out, the head (toilet) itself needed a rebuild. The primary problem was the "joker" valve, which was distorted and would not close  properly. Fortunately, we had a full replacement for the pump unit.

a used joker valve; ours looked way worse

All put back together, everything worked as new. Free to pee again!
 
All in all, a smelly, messy and physically demanding job. (But a job that would have happened back home as well as here.) We will have to be more vigilant with our head maintenance.

Ahhhh... boat work in exotic places. We celebrated our restored head by going out for dinner.

VANCOUVER to SAN FRANCISCO: The culprit (of our steering problems)

Here it is, the cause of our steering problems:

Bad seals on cylinder shaft

The seals on our Wagner cylinder were nearly gone -- especially on one side. Amazing the system steered reasonably well (under power). But totally understandable why the rudder couldn't hold under any weather helm when sailing. Seal on right side looks more like a wrapping of electrical tape rather than a double-lipped rubber seal.

Rodney at Svenson's Boatyard thinks the seal on right side of the shaft may have been damaged when it was installed. We'll never know.

New seals and all seems good now.

A short sail out in San Francisco Bay (sea trial of steering fix)

Yes, it is true, we went sailing yesterday!

Our hydraulic steering was deemed (and seemed) "fixed" by Svenson's late Friday, so we decided to do a sea trial on Saturday and perhaps catch an America's Cup race.

Success on the first: the steering worked fine, even with weather helm while sailing (admittedly, we only had 10-15 knots of wind, so not much weather helm). Yeah! It turned out to be a nice sail out under the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge along treasure Island. Tons of boats out for the AC race.

Sailing towards SF Bay Bridge

Happy Admiral -- the steering works!

Skipper is happy too!

As for the AC 72 racing... as usual, the race was postponed because of weather. Previous cancellations were because of "too much" wind (25 knots corrected for current is max), or because the race took more than 40 minutes (not enough wind). Saturday it was because the wind was in the wrong direction. Huh? We had a nice sail; seemed fine to us.

Emirates-NZ AC72 speeding back to base (outpacing the speed boats!)

The AC 72s are pretty spectacular -- more like airplanes on the water -- but seaworthy they are not. Too many postponed and abandoned races due to "weather". The America's Cup will become interesting again if/when it returns to its roots.

Back in Alameda, we are provisioning today and will settle-up with Svenson's Monday morning and actually try to go cruising in SF Bay Monday.

Repairs in exotic places... we must be cruising!

OK,  Alameda is not exactly "exotic" (but it is a nice,  friendly and relaxed place).

We have done a number of fixes/improvements,  but we are still shut down trying to figure out/repair our hydraulic steering.  (Rebuilt helm pump but slipping still a problem.  Now will rebuild ram/cylinder. Fingers crossed.)

No idea when we will be done.

VANCOUVER to SAN FRANCISCO: (recap) Neah Bay to San Francisco Days 5 to 7: Gales, steep seas & steering problems

We had 48 hours of gales and steep seas off of the southern Oregon/northern California coasts. It was not fun, and made much worse by concern over problems with our hydraulic steering.

The forecast called for 20-30kn NW winds, with a warning of "steep hazardous seas".


COASTAL WATERS FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR
259 AM PDT FRI SEP 6 2013
COASTAL WATERS FROM FLORENCE OREGON TO POINT ST. GEORGE CALIFORNIA
AND WESTWARD 60 NM.

PZZ376-061600-
WATERS FROM CAPE BLANCO OR TO PT. ST. GEORGE CA FROM 10 TO 60 NM-
259 AM PDT FRI SEP 6 2013
..SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM PDT THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...
..SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM
PDT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING...
..GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY
EVENING...
..HAZARDOUS SEAS WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH
TUESDAY EVENING...

WeatherFax for Sept 10, 2013: Surface and Wind/Wave(m) forecasts

By 3pm, the winds had built to 20 knots; at 430pm, seas were building and winds were 24-27 knots. By 9pm. we had winds up to 38 knots with steep confused seas (12 feet with 7 second period!), sailing under mostly furled yankee only. Fin our Hydrovane was having significant trouble holding course, and we found our hydraulic steering was significantly slipping with any weather helm sailing. We decided to run under bare poles with the autopilot holding course while we made 5 knots. There were definite times we (or, at least, some of us) feared for ours and Pelagia's safety! 

Next day was supposed to decrease to 20-25 knots. However, that night, we again had gale-force winds up to 36 knots and large seas. A lousy night. We kept the motor on due to our concern for the hydraulic steering. We also had Fin steer while motoring for about 12 hours -- but we stopped that after the Hydrovane rudder tube was found to have turned a bit off centre (turns out, the bolts all needed tightening: note for future routine maintenance).

By Day 7, winds and seas were down considerably. Such a relief! Nevertheless, concerned over the hydraulic steering, we motored on to Pt. Reyes, arriving at Drakes Bay in thick fog at 11:45pm.

Regardless of the late night, anchored in Drakes Bay, we quickly caught up on or "state-line" rums, plus a "few" more.

After arrival in San Francisco Bay, we headed to Alameda to arrange repairs. We were exhausted and needed days to catch up. (But at least our underwear were clean.... ;-)

The first 3-4 days of the trip were a good, albeit rough, sail. The last 3 had bad weather (gales and hazardous seas), significant equipment issues, fog and way too much motoring. The three of us -- David, Michelle and crew Jim -- did well together. We were very fortunate to have Jim join us as (very experienced) crew: Thank you Jim!