Circumnavigating Vancouver Island

chromer · Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 6:51 pm Post subject:

We should rename you Sam Waterman

rogerbum · Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 7:01 pm Post subject:

20dauntless · Posted: Wed Jun 26, 2013 10:26 pm Post subject:

Back in Walters Cove. It's been rainy and windy the past few days. Poked the bow out today (gale warning, gusting to 35 knots) and it was ugly!

Friday looks like it'll be calm and I'll head south again.

My Wallas died today. Slow ignition, lots of smoke, wouldn't stay lit. I'd seen this before and suspected it was sooted up inside. I pulled it out of the counter and opened it up. Tons of soot. After attacking it with a a wire brush, vacuuming the soot out, and replacing the mat, I reinstalled it. It worked! Whew...

Last time it took 300 hours to soot up. Not sure how many hours this time, but basically just last summer and this summer so far. Not the most reliable piece of equipment...

hardee · Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:04 am Post subject:

Sam, Good on you for the Wallas fix. Know what caused the sooting up? Looks like you should have some weather improving through the weekend.
Travel safe and keep the cruise going.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

20dauntless · Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 10:36 am Post subject:

I'm anchored near Tofino and my cell phone has come buzzing back to life.

Stefan, on Ornery Rover, another CD22, spotted me in Friendly Cove a few days ago and stopped by. He's out fishing with his brother and dad for a few days. Most of the boats I've seen on the west coast are in the 20-25 foot range, all out here fishing.

The last several weeks have been great. Sunshine every day! But a high pressure system has been bringing gales every day, making boating on the outside a bit challenging.

I left Friendly Cove to go around Estevan Point with a forecast for NW winds 25-35 knots and 3-4 meter seas. The winds were more like 15 knots with seas at 2-3 meters with some bigger waves thrown in. Luckily they were on the beam or stern. Our boats sure surf well! Unfortunately, no pictures...I was too busy with the throttle. These ocean swells are way bigger than what any of us normally find on the inside, but they're nowhere near as uncomfortable as a close, 3-4 foot chop.

More blog posts later when I have better internet in Tofino.

Hunkydory · Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 6:17 pm Post subject:

Sam

Your adventure has & is keeping me checking your spot location frequently, some days several times a day. It is always interesting seeing where you choose to anchor for the night or wait for improving weather. I'm not surprised to see you several times choosing to anchor in the same places I would have chose. It's great to be able to follow along with you. I sure admire you doing this adventure especially single handed.

Perhaps its to early to be thinking about it now, but following this, I'd sure like to read an account of your exploring the outside of Baranof & Chichagof Islands. I think the conditions would be very similar to the outside of Vancouver Island, just no towns, lodges & fewer other boats.

Jay

AJF · Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2013 3:14 pm Post subject:

I've always enjoyed cruising the outside of Baranof & Chichagof and Prince of Wales Islands. But the one thing that would always bring me to a standstill was the heavy fog that could set in along these coastlines. I'm curious to know if you have had any heavy fog along the outside of Vancouver Island on this trip.

hardee · Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:09 am Post subject:

Sam,

Nice to get to follow along. Your pictures are great. Understand no pix in the big waves but the C-Dorys do surf well, like you say.

Again, Thanks for doing that trip and sharing so much.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

Hunkydory · Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2013 1:46 pm Post subject:

Sam,

As I continue to follow your web site & SPOT my respect & admiration for you & this years endeavor continuous to grow. Your not doing just a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, which in its self in a 22 foot C-Dory is quite an accomplishment & adventure, especially being solo, but included is a remarkable exploration of the many inlets & anchorages. You really have me tuned into your SPOT map & blog & feel very fortunate to do so. Both your writing & photos are exceptional & you have my sincere gratitude for their sharing.

Jay

20dauntless · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 10:56 am Post subject:

In Ucluelet now, after spending the last several days in Barkley Sound. I just updated the blog with the last many days.

Terry, from Thalassa, kindly introduced me to his friends who have a cabin in Barkley Sound. I stayed a night at their place and had a great time. Thanks Terry!

Jay, thanks for the compliments. I hopr JoLee is recovering well and you'll be back on the water soon. The outside of Baranof and Chichagof are high on my list of places to explore. Definitely on my next trip to Alaska! Haida Gwaii (range is an issue) and the outside of BC's central coast are also on the list. So many amazing places to see and experience!

20dauntless · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:05 am Post subject:

I also saw Chromer on Checkpoint II a couple of days ago. He was out fishing when I cruised by...it sounded like the fishing has been slow..hopefully you've had a good trip to Barkley Sound nonetheless!

dotnmarty · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:26 am Post subject:

Holy Mackeral! If you haven't done it yet, go read Sam's latest blog entry. All I can say is I'm glad he's meeting mom tomorrow. By the way, that Chromer is everywhere! Looked for you on the lake yesterday, but it looks like you had other fish to fry.

Hunkydory · Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:05 pm Post subject:

Sam,

Jolee continues to improve & each days improvement makes another Alaska Cruise next year more likely.

We too have found our encounters with grey & humpback whales in some settings, perhaps best said, unsettling, but very close, especially right under the boat in thick fog, all alone like you it would be especially so. In the C-Dory we have had more very close encounters with the humpbacks then greys, though with the greys in our experiences being maybe more spooky due to their being in the waters on the outside of Chichagof Island & very close off shore as we were entering & exiting remote harbors & passages, sometimes in fog or rougher water than preferred.

As for motors off or on in conditions where that choice can be made, we left them on at idle, hoping it would give the whales another reference point of just where we were in relation to them. It's certainly a heart rever when you look down under a small boat & see only the dark surface of a whale underneath.

Our all time whale experience was during a Alaska & Canada trip exploring remote areas in a 12.5 foot RIB. While approximately half way between Skagway & Haines, Alaska we had a humpback whale raise up with us positioned in the water between its back & tail & could almost look directly into the blow hole as the tail entered the water on the other side & slipped underneath us.

Jay

ShellBack · Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 12:53 am Post subject:

Hey Sam. Glad you connected with John & Bev. They do have one of the great spots on our little planet. I have seen that moon many times on the West Coast but the pic from from the Pinkerton's is amazing and now sits as our background. Keep em coming.
T

Mike_J · Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2013 10:00 am Post subject:

Hi Sam, do you know of any way to view an archive of your SPOT track points. On the main page it seems to only go back about 6 days... I missed two weeks while I was in Peru and would love to review your track in more detail. heading up to the Tofino area next week in Natural C-lection to fish.
When are you swinging by Victoria (if you are going to be on this side of the strait)?