Dinghy Project

The new/old dinghy on it's new mount.

For those of you have cruised on the SEA WEASEL you are probably familiar with my tender SPARKLES. SPARKLES is a 10' Zeppelin inflatable dinghy I bought off craigslist for $50. It was a steal and after two and a half year's use SPARKLES doesn't owe me a thing. Two leaks have made it almost unusable. Repairing it would cost between $150 - $300 I don't have. Enter fate. Viggo, the previous owner of my boat, let me know that he did not need his dinghy anymore as he bought a new inflatable. He told me I could have the old dinghy for free! What a nice guy!

The dinghy is about 7' x 4' fibreglass boat with a glassed in foam centre for buoyancy. There is a padded rub rail around the side. The dinghy fits nicely on the bow and will track well when towed. All in all it is a nice little dinghy with one problem: Where do I put it? The dinghy dock at my marina is a graveyard and I would be foolish to leave it there. Leaving it in the water will result in it being instantly fouled. Putting it on the bow would be a pain in the rear or bow rather. The solution was to create a dinghy rack.

The rough plan involved mounting it horizontally.

I went around the marina and looked at what designs people came up with. Most were 4"x4" pressure treated posts mounted to the the 6" of wood that runs on the side of the cement docks. I did see one that I liked. Rather than mounting the upright pole on the horizontal surface it was mounted on the vertical surface giving it more support. Now it was time to go to Home Depot to see what I can come up with. I am lucky to have had a Dad that was a very hands on kind of guy who could solve problems himself. While I was never much of a hands on kid growing up I did learn from him and this has helped me in everything to do with maintaining my boat.

A detailed shot of the base for the dinghy rack. The wood "feet" are visible and the three "shrouds" can be clearly seen.

Basically I went with 1"x 10' metal conduit pipe for the "mast". I found two metal hooks for a base. Since the mast was hollow I could use the hooks as a great base. To provide horizontal stabilization I used a "U" bracket mounted vertically and a "L" bracket with a hose clamp to hold it from a horizontal base. Now this would not be enough. I opted to use "shrouds" at the top of the mast running back to two cleats on either side of the mast and a third one to an eye bolt I mounted into the dock. To mount the shrouds to the top of the mast I used a hose clamp and amsteel rope.

The 4:1 purchase is tangled in this photo but was very easy to hoist. This was easily handled by one person.

I now had a supported mast to work from. At the same hose clamp at the top of the mast I attached a Ronstan double block with a additional tie off point. At the other end I rigged a double block and a SS caribeaner. This would give me a 4:1 purchase. I also mounted two "feet" which were 1.5' pine planks mounted from the dock out so that they would take most of the load of the dinghy. To wrap up the project I used a hose clamp to mount a nylon mid-duty cleat. In the end the solution worked beautifully. I now have a all metal solution that can be worked easily by one person or very easily two people.

The only thing left to do is protecting the dinghy rack. The dinghy rack is made up of steel for the most part and much of it not stainless so I need to protect it from corrosion. For this I bought trimclad rust paint. I will apply this shortly.

Looking good and smellin fine. The whole affair cost me $80.

In conclusion I can say this was a really rewarding project. It took 4 hours and was fun. The real test will be to see how it holds up in a year but I have confidence in it.

We should have just...

Yeah there are just some days when a greater power tells you that you shouldn't even try. Last Thursday was one of those days. I was rushed to the boat to begin with; which is when I usually make the most mistakes. I was being hoisted to the mid-mast to replace steaming and spreader lights minutes before we had to leave the dock for Thursday night racing.

We had motored no further than 5 minutes out of the marina when the engine sputtered and died. There was no metallic clank of systems breaking just a slow sputtering death. I lept down below and bleed the line and emerged to start the boat before we drifted into danger. The engine fired up right away and ran for another minute before dying again.

Immediately I began over analyzing the situation. I figured that their was air in the system or one of the fuel filters was fouled. Finally Thomas said: " Hey; when was the last time you filled up?" I tapped the tank and heard a loud hollow clank. Man I am an idiot. I luckily always carry an extra 20 litres of fuel (all you hardcore racers can laugh now) so there was no problem and we made our way out for the race.

I thought we had beat our bad luck at first. The conditions were perfect. 10-15 knots of SE breeze and we had a good start being the third boat over the line and gaining on our competitors quickly. We rounded the first mark in a tight group and were ready for a bare away hoist. Which is when we discovered that the kite had not been packed after the last use. We were missing our usual foredeck guy and dousing the fowled chute and redeploying it was painful exercise which resulted in the pole up being hoisted out of reach without being attached to the spinnaker pole. Dave, utilizing his rock climbing skills, somehow climbed half the mast without a harness and retrieved the line.

At this point were at the leeward mark and needed to get rid of the whole affair. We limped around the mark in dead last place and made our way back to the windward mark vowing to make up for lost time. With the boat rigged we approached ready for our second hoist. Now it was decision time. We hoisted the sail and found that the spinnaker sheet had been attached through the pulpit fouling it. We even managed to wrap the kite around the forestay in a big mess.

Rounding the last mark we made for the finish line with our tail between our legs finishing dead last. I swear that was one of the worst races we had ever done. The other shocking element is that none of us had been into the sauce; we had no excuse. Oh well there is always next time.

Ultimate Dock Lines

The new dock lines connect to a short lead intended to be left on the boat at all times.

When I originally got the boat I tied it off like everyone else did. Simple dock lines wrapped around cleats. These however required a lot of repositioning and moving around to get it right. It was also a pain to do when you were single handing and it all took time. So finally I went on a campaign to rig up the docking situation so that it was simple and as turn key as possible.



I thought I had achieved this quite neatly when I attached fenders to the dock and permanently attached pre-measured lines to the cleats. The springs even had clips so I didn't have to tie them off. It was all good I thought.

Now my crew complains that the lines are too tight and you have to do them in a certain order and it can be difficult. It is also tough to get the lines on the cleats. So finally after a few years I have decided to go big or go home and do the ultimate dock line setup.



Like the bow lines the stern tie has a leader intended to be left on the boat.

I started off with the same concept as before: dock lines attached to the dock that were pre-measured and ready to go. This time though I went a little overboard on convenience. I started off by drawing out a plan. There would be two bow ties, two springs, and one stern tie. At the cleats rather than tie off line that was chaffing badly after 2 years I would attach them to the cleat with chain. The chain would be 5/16" and would have a shackle that would create a loop through the eye of the cleat. This would protect against chafe at the dock cleats.



Yellow floats would stop the lines from totally sinking. The chain at the cleat protects against chafe.

Next I spliced in galvanized eyes into some 7/16" black three strand dock lines. I used galvanized as the shackle and chain they would be in contact would be galvanized. I ran the dock line to the predetermined length and spliced in a stainless steel eye at the boat end as it would have a stainless steel clip that would attach to the boat. However before I did the final spice I slid on a "doughnut" float and used a stopper knot to keep it at the end of the line. This would stop the lines from sinking if/when they were dropped in the water and make them easier to retrieve.

As for attaching the clips to the boat I used stainless steel shackles on the toe rail for the springs. The stern line attached to a cleat. As this cleat was on the back quarter of the boat and past the dock out over the water I opted to create a easier system than a looped eye. I took some dock line and spliced a looped eye and then spliced in a stainless steel eye about 10" off of the rope eye. This created a small lead I could clip the new dock line to. This got rid of the need to get to an awkward spot on the boat to tie up.


At the chalks I used leather sleeves to protect against chafe; plus they look slick.

For the bow I followed a similar process. I took dock line and knotted a rope eye for attaching to the bow cleat leaving two pieces of line. Then I spliced in stainless steel eyes leaving about 2' of dock line on each side so the eyes hung just over the guides on the bow. Now instead of fighting with sails to put on the dock lines they would simply be clipped on. I added leather chaffing sleeves to the dock lines where they came into contact with the guides on the bow to prevent wear.



Some Considerations:

• False Creek is really sheltered and I have every confidence in the heavy duty caribbeaner styled clips being able to hold the boat. If you are in a more exposed area I would re consider this.
• I used 3 strand as it was easy to splice. I also used a dark colour as it would not show stains as easily.

End of Summer Cruising Calendar

Okay all you WEASELs here is the end of summer cruising calendar:

August 24th - 26th Mini-Guy Cruise
This one is open to anyone who can get the time off and come with us. So far Curtis is in and we will leave Monday morning sometime.

• Monday - Port Graves


• Tuesday - Plumper Cove/Gibsons


• Wednesday - Vancouver

August 28th-September 2nd Jedediah Island Sheep Hunt

This one is open for one - two people who can either get-away early Friday or take the ferry over to the sunshine coast.

• Friday - Sechelt


• Saturday - Jedediah Island


• Sunday - Jedediah Island


• Monday - Gibsons


• Tuesday - Vancouver

September 9th-15th Montague Harbour Run

This one is open for delivery crews or one - two people for the whole thing. We're going to Montague Harbour to hang out with my old man and have some fun on the way.

• Wednesday - Pirate's Cove


• Thursday - Thetis Island


• Friday - Montague Harbour


• Saturday - Montague Harbour


• Sunday - Montague Harbour/Princess Cove


• Monday - Vancouver

If Only All Power Boaters Were Like This!

While doing the English Bay Scramble this weekend Curtis and I were on a windless run with the kite up about 1.5 nautical miles SE of Point Atkinson. We were barely moving and trying to get the kite to hold some wind when the Granville Island Water Taxi (the one that runs to Bowen Island). Passed at full speed (about 20 knots) within 10 meters of us. I was shocked and infuriated. I am not proud to say but I shouted obscenities and offensive hand gestures at the surprised skipper and his passengers as we were rocked violently in their wake.


Now I have come to expect this from some of the power boaters out there but from a professional; I was angry. With Curtis on the foredeck messing with the sails it put us at risk of a serious injury. In Canada a vessel is responsible for its wake so I called the Coast Guard and complained. They in turn contacted the VPD Marine Unit who contacted me. The officer I spoke with was professional and said he would deal with it as he knew the owner of the company well and that he was a good guy. I thought nothing of it and we went about our race.



The next day I got a call from Simon Faulks *sp, the owner of Granville Island Water Taxi. Turns out he was not only the owner but the one who blasted past us. Now I have to say I am used to companies messing things up and dealing with them poorly and in a confrontational manor, but I was shocked by the way Simon handled this. He apologized, took ownership of the situation and said that he would make sure that it did not happen again. I was surprised to get a heart felt apology and he offered us free tickets.

So often in life people make excuses or get defensive but how he handled the situation was so professional and honest it left me deeply impressed. In fact I would argue that it is more business like this that we need out there. It is easy to handle a good situation but I think it is a true test of integrity to see how someone handles a bad situation. I intend to do what I can to support his business and recommend it to all I can. I also would like to thank the VPD for dealing with this in a community oriented way by getting the two parties together to talk. I was impressed.


So here is my plug. These guys are a excellent way to get out to Bowen. It is a great service to meet up with the SEA WEASEL if we are overnighting in Snug Cove and you couldn't make it for the sail over. It is also a great way to get out to the pub and back for a very reasonable price. Plus it runs from Granville Island so you don't have to deal with getting out to Horseshoe Bay! Here are there details:



Granville Island Water Taxi
& Tourism Information Centre
102 - 1311 Howe Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2P3
Dispatch/Reservations 9:00am to 5:00pm
604-484-8497
Fax 604-628-7047
E-mail info@giwt.ca - Web http://www.giwt.ca/

2009 English Bay Scramble Report

SEA WEASEL ready for battle.



The English Bay Scramble was one of the first yacht races we did on the SEA WEASEL when I first bought the boat. I had always liked it and found it to be a fun and challenging event. The after party was quite good too. This year I was involved in putting it on as the Fleet Captain. Up until the last minute I had planned not to race and let Curtis and Cheryl take the boat out while I worked on the Committee boat. However thanks to many volunteers in the club I was able to do the race. This turned out to be a good thing since my entire crew bailed on me (except for Curtis; if you cont him). So it turned out we were double handing the race.

Friday night we attended the Skipper's Meeting at the Maritime Museum and listened to Peter's "pearl's of wisdom" on how to approach the race. In a nut shell; there was no strategy; you can get screwed no matter which way you approach it. - Thanks Peter.




Skipper's meeting.




Niko in the chase boat taking photos.



you - "Hey where's all the crew?" me- "Curtis and I figured we could do better without them."

The day of the race Curtis and I headed out on the WEASEL into the Bay. There was little wind perhaps 4 knots NE, and a huge 11ft flood. We opted to run for Passage Island and get that often hellish mark out of the way. There was a reported 11 knot inflow near there so we thought we should sail for the wind. We also planned to reach south in a westerly that was expected to develop in the afternoon and round the PG Bell Buoy before doing our first S/F crossing. We would pick up the other two marks if we had time.



The start line with light wind and a ton of traffic.


The official video of the start sequence.



Spot the WEASEL in the thick of it all.


The start was the usual chaos but the light winds made it less deadly and we were in a good position to broad reach on a starboard tack across the line. The majority of the boats went south looking for tide relief and favourable winds. Six of us went for Passage and the promised winds. We hoisted the kite and were off like a herd of turtles.


Heading off to Passage Island.

In these light airs we made 2 knots until the wind shut off and we drifted in the back eddies out towards Point Atkinson. We stayed close to the back and even held off KRIKKIT and TIGER LILY for a time before they took off. It became unbearable as we watched the wind cruelly fill in hours later and take the lead boats first. The boats to the south did not appear to be doing much better than us.


With hardly any wind we drifted along with the kite up.


Curtis the navigator.

Finally the wind picked up from the SW and we began to move towards Passage Island at 5 knots. With the wind slightly ahead of a beam reach and with the tide hitting us we began to drift sideways. It became more and more apparent that we would not be able to clear Point Atkinson. We held off taking down the kite hoping the wind would veer around closer to the point. No such luck; we nearly grounded and did a messy bare away and gybe (if you could call it that) we tore the kite taking it down and made a messy recovery losing several minutes before getting back on course.


The hated Point Atkinson.

Now the wind was now filling in and we whipped around Passage Island and raced over to the mark near the PG Bell Buoy. We hoisted the kite for a rough run back to the Start Finish line. At that point we made the decision to play it safe and go to the West Vancouver mark and recross the S/F line. If we had time we would try and pick up the Kits Barge Buoy. With time not on our side we gave up at 4:45pm and finished the race.


Finally wind!


Ouch! - Please don't rip!


SEA WEASEL Finishing the race.




"Only one mark left!"

Following the race we had a pleasant sail to pick up the two race marks. On the last mark I picked up two different salmon lures tangled around the rode of the mark. It was awesome; I just got $30 worth of salmon fishing gear. With our final task completed we motored back home and proceeded to the after party that was well underway.



Recovering the mark's was a pleasure.


Prize time at the after party.




The band.

The party.
Details:

SEA WEASEL finished 4th out of 7 in Division 7.

SEA WEASEL finished 37th out of 50 boats.

54 Boats registered for the race.

Link(s):

• English Bay Scramble Website (full results) -click here-
  

Holy Shit!! - I am Speechless

THIS IS THE CRAZIEST THING I HAVE SEEN!

I could not believe it when I saw this video from Sweden's 2009 Tjorn Runt. I believe Tjorn Runt directly translates from Swedish to: "I hate my boat". This is absolute insanity.

If you watch the last boat you will see that there is a Swedish version of Curtis and a skipper with about as much concern for his safety as me.

Race Committee Duties Over! ... For Now...

The TCYC 2009 Summer Shorts Video.

Well we're back in the saddle now; no more Race Committee duties for the SEA WEASEL and her brave crew until the Last Chance Regatta in October. It was fun being RC. Most nights there were beer and BBQs. It was a nice change of pace but now it is time for us to get back into fighting shape. The SEA WEASEL will be doing the False Creek Yacht Club's Thursday Night Fall Series; and this weekend will be doing the English Bay Scramble.

See you out there!

Bilge Pump Installation

One of the annoying things about the SEA WEASEL was it's bilge pump configuration. It, in my opinion, was not well thought out on a number of levels. With some spare time on my hands I set out to do something about it.


The first problem is how water gets into the boat. There are really three main ways this happens:

1. The Stuffing Box - our traditional stuffing box should drip once every 8 seconds when in use. In reality it is quite old and drips probably every second leading to a increased flow of water. While I plan on switching to a drippless stuffing box this is how it is currently rigged.


2. The Ice Box - some genius thought they would drain the ice box into one of the lockers under the port settee. I guess one could plug it and put a bowl under neath it. Instead a previous owner thought they would drain it into a "pre"bilge under the engine (where the stuffing box water collects). This water is always ice melt with a bit of food debris.


3. Crew Error - basically if someone leaves a hatch open and rain or spray get down below or when a head gets left in the open position in heavy weather and wills the boat up with 100 litres of see water.

The solutions that had been put into place to manage these had been as follows:

The nasty bilge with the old manual hose. The hose would not suck the bilge water out unless it was overflowing.

• A Manual Bilge Pump - the traditional type worked from the cockpit with a 1.5 inch hose glassed into the sole of the boat running into the main bilge. This is fine if there is a lot of water but does not work at all if the bilge is not overflowing.
  

One of the weirder designs I have scene with the old eclectic pump dumping water into the cockpit.

• A Automatic 500GPH Bilge Pump - this device is located underneath the engine in the "pre"bilge. Now this in itself is a good idea except someone had obviously not wanted to cut a hole in the hull and instead ran the hose into the cockpit through the lazerrette. So you get the cockpit floor soaking wet when you run it. If you leave it in automatic you get surprised every thirty minutes or so when water jets out into the cockpit. Not smart.

Another problem with the design of the boat is that this bilge water is designed to flow down and collect in the bilges. Of course what comes down can also come back up again when you lay a sailboat on its side in heavy weather. This water can collect in settee lockers or soak various vital components and generally makes a mess.

So now it comes to solution time. Firstly my long term solution is to replace my traditional stuffing box with a PSS dripless stuffing box. This will eliminate the main source of water in my boat. The next part of the solution is how to get water out of the boat once it gets in. I wanted to redesign it and have it arranged to be as professional and problem free as possible.

A overview of my new bilge pump plan.

I went with a 3 bilge pump configuration. I would have one high capacity manual bilge pumps and two automatic electric bilge pumps. The manual pump would be intended to be used in more emergency situations where as the electric pumps would be used to take care of any routine water. I wanted the electric pumps to be rigged up to work in automatic and manual modes. I also wanted to have them empty out to sea instead of into the boat. With this in mind I set about getting the appropriate components and tools.

The items I acquired were simple and easy to install with simple tools

• Ratchet screwdriver (a normal flat head would work too)


• Knife (for cutting hose a hacksaw works too)


• Wire strippers/cutters/crimpers


• Heat Gun


• Drill


• 1-1/4" Hole Saw

The items I purchased to do the job were also simple and straight forward:

• 2x Rule 500 GPH Automatic Bilge Pumps


• Rule Automatic-Off-Manual Bilge Pump switch and Plate


• 3 strand 16 gauge marine wire


• Hose Clamps 3/4"


• T-Valve with 3/4" barbs


• Nylon thru-hull with 3/4" barb


• 16 Gauge wire but connectors with heat shrink seals


• 3M 4200 Marine Sealant


• 2.5 Amp In Line Fuse


• 2x None-Return Valves

With all of the items in hand I set about the work. The first problem I found was running a new bilge hose into the main bilge. It was glassed in such away that it was impossible to run another hose. I had a tough decision to make. I could not go ahead with the project or cut the manual hose and use it as a conduit. I cut the manual hose off in the "pre" bilge under the engine. It could still be used if there was at least +3" of water in the boat. I could now use the old hose section as a conduit to run the wiring and the new hose.

Wiring with heat shrink butt connectors are dead easy to use and look good too.

The non-return valve was essential to this setup.

The pump rest was easy to do there were three wires to connect a negative, manual positive, and automatic positive. I used but connectors that already had the heat shrink sleeves so I fired up the heat gun and sealed them. Now one of the things I had to go back and do but should have been done at this point was adding a non-return valve in the bilge hose as close to the engine as I could. This stops water from flooding back in after the pump shuts off. It was easy to install and well worth it.

Using the old hose line as a conduit I ran the new bilge hose and wiring out of the bilge.

The second bilge pump in the "pre"bilge under the engine.

I ran the hose and wiring to the second bilge pump. I ran into another issue here when I tried to use the old bilge pump that was a older model with a two wire configuration. It was not compatible unless I wanted the other pump to run constantly so I went with a new identical pump. Here I used a T-valve with barbed ends to connect the bilge hoses. I also made sure to add a non-return valve to the 2nd pump. As with all of the hose fittings I added hose clamps to all the connections for added protection. The wiring was connected into the line so both pumps would be controlled off a single switch. I did not want the pumps requiring separate hoses and switches because of the cost and the holes required.

The new bilge pump switch with three settings.

Next I cut out a hole for the new switch and connected up the corresponding wires making sure to have a 2.5 amp fuse between the bus and the switch. I selected a 3 position bilge switch that allowed for the pumps to be set in automatic or manual mode. It was dead simple to install.

The final chapter was perhaps the hardest for me. I hate cutting holes in the boat; especially the hull. I chose the location carefully. I could not do it on the transom so I decided to mount it on the aft port side just below the hull deck joint. My intent was to have it as high up from the water as possible. It is very unlikely that this thru-hull will be fully immersed; for that reason I went with a nylon fitting and added sealed it with 3m 4200.

All in all it was a fairly simple job and if it wasn't for a few screw ups would have taken less than 4 hours to complete. I now have a very good bilge pump arrangement that looks slick and is easy to use. I found the West Marine advisor video to be very helpful.

West Marine Video click here

Beating the Heat SEA WEASEL Style

The SEA WEASEL in cruising mode.

Cheryl and "little-man" as we sail into Centre Bay.

The recent heat wave had reduced most Vancouverites to motionless panting wrecks. We're designed for cool drizzle not mid-thirties temperatures. After over a week of sleeping in a apartment that was 34 degrees at night we decided enough was enough and we were going on a cool down holiday to Howe Sound on the SEA WEASEL. It was one of the best ideas we've had in a long time.

As usual Dave was the only one without a social life.

We extended the invite to the usual suspects and as usual the only one without a life was available. So Dave, Cheryl and I loaded up our gear and Kingsley (the Boston Terrier) and set off for our ultimate swimming hole. Saturday morning Dave had just got off a night shift and after getting the boat loaded went down below and crashed in the V-berth leaving Cheryl and I to deliver him to our final destination, Centre Bay on Gambier Island.

The trip was a pleasant one with light breezes in the bay and little action around Point Atkinson. We sailed out of the Bay and found ourselves trying to over take a sluggish Hunter 33. We would get in its lee and then slow to a crawl. It didn't help that we were dragging a dinghy. Still we got ahead of them but not before getting panicked calls from the crew of the Hunter for getting too close to them. Funny when two boats are on a starboard tack and over lapped I assumed the leeward boat had right of way. But what can you expect from a crew that didn't even put tell tales on their sails (man I am a snob).

With the wind shutting off we fired up the engine and motored around Bowen where we found a stiff breeze blowing in from the strait. We hoisted the sails again and took off and made good time sailing to the mouth of Centre Bay. We found our prized spot North of the islet at the North West corner of McKenzie Cove vacant and set about anchouring on the shelf (see the last blog post on this anchouring job).

The stern line made it possible to anchour in this location.

Our stern line at low tide.

The SEA WEASEL at anchour at high tide.

Cheryl and I soon realized we were going to need a hand. Dave awoke for shouts for him to get into the dinghy and row the stern line ashore. Not a pleasant way to get up I imagine. In the end all was well and the WEASEL was tied up protected from the prevailing inflow with a stern line run to the island.

Time to bust out the hammock.

Now it was time to relax. We spent the next two days eating like pigs and swimming in the ocean. This island was perfect; with its rope swing and high cliffs we spent much of the day throwing ourselves into the water. When we were tired of that we snorkeled around the island watching the abundant undersea wild life. I hardly wore a shirt the entire trip and was never too hot or too cold. I was so glad to be out of the sweltering city.

"Pass the sun screen!"

I am graceful like a butterfly.

Kingsley is now a boat dog.

Too much sun and fun for this little puppy.

Kingsley, our 14 month old Boston Terrier was becoming quite the little yachtie. He now has the complete run of the boat and is able to scale and descend the companionway. In the dinghy he proudly stands on the bow like George Washington crossing the Delaware. He was not so graceful during one of these rides when he slipped and fell off the dinghy head first. He shot up to the surface with a panicked look in his eyes and we hauled him aboard. He took solice in Dave's arms for sometime after before recovering his nerve.

Cheryl rowing the dinghy Niko lent us.

We were not totally alone although our snagging of the best spot limited the proximity of others who attempted to anchour near by. A succession of power boats came by fort short stops and carried on. On the last day we were joined by two sailboats. While on the island we even had a visit from a rather forward stout young man who told us that the island was (he thinks) owned by WVYC and is for the kids. We were polite and carried on. After radioing for back up and probably finding out he was wrong he hopped on his dinghy and rowed away. All in all it was quite peaceful.

Dave reading Pacific Yachting after an epic breakfast.

Meal's over time to go.

On the final day we had another epic breakfast packed up and headed back home. The wind was blowing in our face and the tide against us but it was one of the most pleasant sails I have done. We beat back and forth making excellent time despite dragging the dinghy. This time when we got home I was not exhausted but pleasantly satiated. It was a great trip.