End of Season

Late October afternoon light at Vancouver Rowing Club

Trip to Revelstoke for Thanksgiving

David and I drove the Duffy Lake Road (Hwy. 99)  to Lillouet on our way home to Revelstoke for Thanksgiving.  Spectacular vistas of the Fraser River en route, as well as sweeping views of ranchlands  between  Cache Creek and Kamloops.  

Newly refurbished brightwork.

On The Beach

We sailed from Comox Harbour up to Cortez Island in a day, motoring when the wind dropped and we could see our reflections in the ocean beside Spring Moon. We arrived at about 6 p.m and moored the first night, August 24th, in Gorge Harbour, and celebrated Jackie's BD with her family and friends. Next day we moved Spring Moon to Manson's Landing, and took a day trip to Shark Spit for a romp on the beach and a swim in tidal waters. The kids had been painting shells before we arrived, so I took my paints and brushes and joined them for a little painting of my own. This needs to be an annual event as I can't imagine not doing more driftwood art in the future.

How's the weather up there?

After we left Hornby Island, we headed up the channel between Vancouver Island and Denman Island. It was howling down the passage and we were doing about 6 knots with the current, the tide and just the genoa up. We wanted to see how she would go wing on wing, and decided to put up the main, something we had been hesitant to do earlier, with such a strong following wind. We came into wind, hoisted the main, let the wind push us around and took off. We hadn't gone 100 yards before the halyard let go, and the mainsail fluttered down on top of the cabin. The snap-shackle had blown, and our halyard was at the top of the mast. This necessitated a call to the local rigger in Comox, Steve, who used a 2 rope system to self-propel up the 58' mast. Alan belayed him on the 2nd rope. We decided to have a diver come to clean the bottom as well, and with these adjustments behind us, we made good speed on the rest of the trip.

Hornby Island Mini-Regatta - August 2011

During our stay in Ford Cove, on Hornby Island, we attended the local mini-regatta which was taking place at the end of the dock next to ours. The course was set, and the fleet had already left the starting buoy when we noticed that the event was taking place. We had a good view from Spring Moon's cockpit, but decided to take a closer look at the contenders from the race head-quarters. It was a very colorful event, for reasons that are more easily explained by photos than text. Needless to say we were stunned by the creativity involved in the design work on these sleek racers.

Tashi Townely on the bowsprit of Spring Moon, making our way to Coulter Bay, on the west shore of Cortez Island. We anchored and visited with the Townley family for a few days on their beautiful island property up on the escarpment, high above Spring Moon. Met Olivier the Dancer on the beachfront with his new friend Lisa, John & Jackie's neighbor, and went for a day cruise to Shark Spit, a few miles from our anchorage.