August Full Moon Sail

When I put Madsu in the water this spring, I challenged myself to get in as many full moon sails as I could this summer.

The weather has been super cooperative - with another clear night last night (August 16th) for my third full moon sail this summer (see June and July).

It was one of the hottest days of the summer and I’d hoped for a nice offshore breeze once the sun went down, but no luck - just a few puffs off the bluffs at Whytecliff Park. So, I didn’t get as much sailing in as past full moon nights, but it was still inspiring to see that huge orb slow rise over the West Van hills.

Perhaps as a way of making up for the lack of wind, there was a wonderful sunset. The sky over Bowen Island turned crimson and reflected back on Madsu’s wake. Nice. Also out and getting an eye full was the massive motor yacht Nova Spirit which passed me inbound to Vancouver.

Now if I could just figure out how to do a long exposure on a moving boat, maybe I could get an actual shot of the moon…

Moonlight Sail with Bella and Aron

Garnet and I were lucky enough to be joined by Aron and Bella on our FullMoon Sail last Friday night.

I got a bit of video footage - fun night. Sorry the video’s so dark but it WAS already quite dark (it’s gonna get darker), and I left the good camera on dry land…

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Mannion Bay Lunch Hook

Sometimes things just line up right.

Pushing aside the fear I may be turning into a big softie, I’ll just go ahead and say it. We had an incredible, magic day on the water.

Madsu is ship-shape after a spring of upgrades/fixes and it’s a real pleasure to see and feel the difference every time we go out.

Today, MB came along (my oldest son) and our friend’s daughter who’s interested in sailing.

We took off from Sewell’s Marina in Horseshoe Bay around 11:30, and at 1:30 we were comfortably on the hook in Mannion Bay on Bowen Island.

(click the image for a large panorama shot from the cockpit)

The bay is pretty deep (a few hundred feet) until you get close in then in drops rapidly. We anchored in about 30 feet of water near a lot of other boats on mooring bouys.

The local Canada Geese were out in full force, with a honking and chirping family paying us a visit within minutes of us setting the hook. Looking for handouts, they stayed a while then moved on to check out a more generous group of visitors. I don’t know how long the immature geese stay with their parents, but this bunch looked not quite ready to take off on their own.

MB fired up the Sea-B-Q and we had some delicious hot dogs, sitting in the sun enjoying what has to be British Columbia’s greatest asset; itself.

The sail back was incredible - we close-reached across in about half-an-hour, never dropping below 5.5 knots the entire way over. Again, those new North Sails are keeping us smiling every minute under way.

Hot Moon Cruise

Some of my fondest memories of sailing the west coast were as crew on board a Spencer 51 owned by brothers Ian and Colin Morse.

We did a lot of night sailing and those cruises under the full moon in the Straight of Georgia will be etched in my mind for a long time. They were magic, and I learned a lot on those trips. Inviting me along was a gift I’ll never forget, and for which I’ll always be thankful to ‘the boys’.

There’s nothing quite like sailing under a full moon, especially when the wake is streamed with bioluminescence. About the only thing that comes close, for me, is seeing the Northern Lights.

With the full moon on Wednesday this week, I’m hoping the clouds clear so we can take Madsu out for a night cruise.

According to the Farmers’ Almanac, this month’s FM is known as Full Strawberry Moon, Rose Moon, or Hot Moon.

Full moons fall mid month throughout the summer and fall and we’re planning night sails for as many as we can get.

Fathers’ Day Perfect

I’m a dad and I don’t really make a big deal, or expect a big deal on Father’s Day.

My two sons and I spent the day sailing on a picture perfect BC day, and I must say it was the best Fathers’ Day ever.

Another great day on the water with a steady 10 – 12 knots inflow wind in Howe Sound. We hoisted the main and didn’t even bother with the jib.

We made great time on a close reach over to Bowen Island. Passing a gaggle of kayakers we did a quick tour around Manion Bay, gybed, and scooted back across on a reciprocal course.

There were loads of sail boats heading over from the mainland to Snug Cove perhaps for a late Fathers’ Day lunch. Hope their day was as fun as mine.

thanks boys.

Madsu Boom Mod

I’m getting set to paint the mast and boom on Madsu before putting her in the water this year.

But before I get there, I’ve got a few modifications to make, so I’ve commandeered the picnic table and set up for some serious mucking-about-time.

I started with the boom, stripping all the hardware so I can replace the self-tapping screws with tapped versions.

I’m also fixing the outhaul - the previous owner seemed to think a piece of line wrapped around a becket at the end of the boom was a proper outhaul. It drove me crazy last season, but since the main was pretty bagged, I put up with it.

Since I’ve got a brand new North Sail main for this season, and I was stripping the boom down anyway, I thought it was worth the trouble of making an internal outhaul system based on Gene Ferguson’s excellent 1997 design. Using Gene’s diagram, I ad-libbed a bit, using Harken 225 and 226 microblocks and New England V-100 1/4″ braid and sticking with wire for the 2nd block and exit out the thru-deck at the aft end of the boom to the clew.

Since the exit at the boom-end is wire, the thru-deck block is nice and small, and through the magic of the Dremel tool I’ve managed to cut a nice slot for the block. It sits in the foot channel and is just big enough to reach into the main section of the boom where the guts of the outhaul are hidden. Having a swaging tool makes working with wire a breeze - I picked up a hand tool at West Marine last year and have used it a lot more than I thought I would.

I’ll have more pictures soon - the outhaul is rigged and sitting in my cupboard with the new sail.

Crazy White Stuff Falls from the Sky

Lightning and weird snow pellet action this afternoon.

Springtime in Vancouver. Never dull.

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