About The Crew

With great joy, we retired in 2006 and moved aboard our 35 foot Beneteau First 35s5 sailboat, DreamWeaver. We have spent every summer since cruising in the Pacific Northweast, from the San Juan and Gulf Islands, an area now known by its historic name of The Salish Sea, to Desolation Sound and the Broughton Group further north. In 2008 we spent the summer on a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, a journey away from the boating crowds and into the stunningly beautiful wild coast and serene anchorages beyond our comprehension. In the winter we live in our house, Casa de los Suenos, in La Manzanilla, Mexico, a small fishing village on the Pacific coast. In 2010 we purchased a condo in Courtenay, B.C., once again establishing a land home in Canada.

Monday, 16 May 2011

Welcome to our Journey

Three years after our circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, DreamWeaver and Melody, a 36 foot Islander crewed by Bob and Helen Manning of Nanaimo, B.C., will again cruise together to Glacier Bay, Alaska via the fabled Inside Passage, a nautical distance of about 2000 miles roundtrip.

Here's our theme song.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSt0NEESrUA&feature=related

Our plan is to go straight there, taking advantage of prevailing southeast winds, then taking time later in summer when the weather is warmer to leisurely explore the coastline and inlets on the return trip. Hopefully our diet will shift more towards fresh-caught fish, crab and prawn. If weather patterns hold true, the winds will shift to northwesterlies, allowing us to sail much of the time. 

"Let's go to Alaska", Pam blurts out last summer

With an average "speed over land" of 6 knots / hour, 7 hours per day average, we hope to reach our destination in approximately 30 cruising days, allowing for 10 non-travel days built in for: rest, bad weather or, God forbid, mechanical problems. 

We have secured permission to enter Glacier Bay on June 28 and will be allowed to stay up to 7 days. They are very strict about the number of boats allowed entry to protect the fragile ecosystem.   Each skipper must undergo an orientation  prior to entering the bay.

Over the past few weeks we have been busy preparing for this journey - adding more chain to the anchor rode, installing a new GPS and e-charts,  buying more paper charts and tide/current tables, another crab trap, new starting battery, fishing license and gear, high capacity freezer, and doing the usual general maintenance of the boat.   

Back at the condo, we have provisioned the boat with homemade tomato sauce, chili, chicken/vegetable broths, mango chutney, packs of chicken, fish, and freshbaked muffins.  All this is necessary because of the limited supplies one finds in coastal community stores.

Amani has been busy preparing her fur coat for the cold days and reminding us to ensure she has enough food, treats and kitty litter to see her through the long journey.

                                                            Amani, the ship's rat catcher

May 18:  DreamWeaver casts off the dock at Ladysmith to go through Dodd Narrows at slack water (water will be calm as the tides are changing) to meet up with Melody outside Nanaimo Harbour. Depending on weather and winds, cross Georgia Strait and anchor in False Bay, Lasqueti Island.

May 19: Travel north through Desolation Sound area into Squirrel Cove, Cortes Island, Desolation Sound, anchoring for the night.

May 20: Continuing north to transit Yuculta, Gillard Passage and Dent Rapids (see note below) at first slack and continuing to Shoal Bay to overnight.  
  
May 21: Transit Greenpoint and Whirlpool Rapids rapids to overnight in Forward Harbour. If weather and time permits we may instead proceed down Sunderland Channel and into Johnstone Strait.  Johnstone Strait is always an anomaly given the tidal currents and winds that can blow up to 50 knots. Good conditions may allow us to get to Port Harvey or Lagoon Cove, a point at which we will be able to do a Blog update.


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Tidal Rapids

As tides ebb and flow, huge quantities of water are forced through narrow passages between land masses. This creates river-like movement of seawater, with currents that exceed the speed of many vessels, powerful whirlpools and strong undercurrents and back eddies. Boats can be forced, out of control, onto rocks or literally sucked under. A vessel's crew must carefully plan to transit these passages at "slack" tide, a short period of time when the water is calm, flowing neither in nor out.