It was a lovely moonlit night at the anchorage. Full moon is still a few days away, July 7th
Categories
Category: Madsu
Categories
Screaming Fun
Had a super fast beat up Howe Sound north of Bowen and all the way to Keats Island.
The wind was funneling up Collingwood Channel, and with a reef in the main and the new 100% jib from North Sails, Madsu was flying. Check that starboard side window and you can see the base of the stanchion awash on the lee side.
I’ve been playing with sail combinations since I got the new 60% and 100% jibs, and with the wind at around 18+ knots, this combination (single reef, 100% jib) was perfect. Madsu was heeled about 25% and pushing to 35% in the puffs, but the helm felt just right and I screamed with delight when the GPS was showing consistent 6.4 and 6.5 knots SMG.
Madsu’s no rocket sled, but I did manage to (almost) keep up with a couple of 30 footers ahead of me (you can see them just ahead). Ok, I didn’t keep up, but I didn’t get my clock cleaned either 😉
It wasn’t as windy or as rough as last week’s trip up the same bit of Howe Sound. Highly recommend it for a good workout and some nice little surprises in the wind department.
It’s really tough to pull the Nikon out when I’m solo and beating into a breeze. I keep the D70 in a waterproof bag just inside at the base the companionway, and I have slide forward enough to reach in an get it. By the time I get to it, things have settle down considerably. Maybe I’ll have to start shooting more with the waterproof pentax.
Categories
Classic Beauty
Lazee Gal hails from Vancouver BC. With the sun glinting off her windshield, she’s pulling in to Plumper Cove, Keats Island.
Some info on Lazee Gal found here…
“Hi there,
Lazee Gal is my family’s boat. It was built in 1953 for the Dueck family (the car company, yes) by Thorton Grenfell. It is 64′ including the swim-grid, and is Mahogany over oak frames. My great-grandfather, who is a Bentall, bought it, and it now belongs to my grandmother and her two brothers. Any other questions, feel free to ask me.”
Categories
Happy Canada Day
Another hot and sunny day on the water – lots of flags out and you couldn’t ask for better boating weather.
If you can’t hoist the main, might as well hoist the Maple Leaf.
Categories
Beauty, eh ?
After yesterday’s fun and intense inbound trip, our trip home was at the other end of the spectrum.
We left the dock on Keats Island around 8, and ended up motorsailing all the way back to Horseshoe Bay, with barely a ripple on the water the entire trip.
Hard to complain when it’s so darned beautiful.
Categories
Dock’s Eye View
From the outside float, looking out into the Plumper Cove.
That yellow can marks a big rock, just off the float.
Years ago when I did my cruise and learn course, we did docking practise here.
The rock wasn’t marked then, and we did manage to hit it going dead slow, in a Banner 37.
Hiting a rock with the keel isn’t a sound you ever forget.
Categories
Makes You Wonder
There’s a big yellow can marking this rock, just off the outside float at the Plumper Cove Marine Park.
I’d love to know the story behind the engineering decision to build out the docks right next to rock just below the surface at chart datum.
Categories
New Sails Pay Off
We had a crazy ride up Howe Sound from the northern tip of Bowen to Keats Island.
The wind was a gusty 25+ knots on the nose – I had a deep reef in Madsu’s main and my new 60% North Sails jib up.
Fantastic combination – we ploughed through the waves at a steady 5.5 knots, heeled at about 25 degrees or so.
It was a wet ride, with spray well into the cockpit as we pounded through the steep waves.
I loved the feel of the boat riding through the rough stuff – she was working but under control and seemed ready to scream along for days – comfortable and in the slot. Loads of fun in brilliant sunshine.
I didn’t get the camera out until we were approaching Keats – I’d pulled one of the reefs out of the main by that point and the wind and particularly the waves had let up considerably.
Categories
A Tad Damp on the Foredeck
With a reef in the main, and a brand new 60% jib from North Sails, Madsu’s doing 5.5 knots beating to windward, and slamming into some lovely waves. Madsu’s in her favourite spot – heeled about 20 degrees with lots of power off the main, despite the reef.
Another sunny and warm day in Howe Sound, with a strong (southerly) inflow that started to lighten up around 3:00 pm.
Categories
Composting Mariner
The original article is tongue in cheek, but there are some interesting tips and ideas coming from the comments section.
I really like Carolena’s system for dealing with food waste while on a kayak trip.
Photo:
Madsu’s minimal galley – a sink, a single burner alcohol stove, a portable cooler and a pushpit mounted bbq. You need more why ? That blue line is from my boom vang.
In the winter, we use Madsu’s Origo 1500 stove at home as a table top fondue stove – works brilliantly. The gimbals stay on the boat 😉