Saying goodbye to August with an afternoon on Madsu in Howe Sound. Plenty of puffs interspersed with dead spots made for a challenging hopscotch across the sound.
Category Archives: Photos
Photos, mostly.
Summer Never Ends
We had every intention of getting up early today and doing a circumnavigation of Bowen Island.
But given that this is the last weekend before school starts, we decided to let the boys sleep in.
So we got a late morning start on the boat, and managed to catch some nice in-flow breeze in Howe Sound with Madsu cruising to weather at 5 knots.
Heading back to Horseshoe Bay at the end of the day we played with the cruising chute a bit in the super light breeze ahead of the shift to an outflow.
Nice way to spend another summer afternoon on the west coast.
Liquid Sunshine
The day’s rain scented the neighbourhood with freshness impossible to duplicate. Grouse Mountain was nowhere to be seen, engulfed in a thick cloud that drifted down to the street and hung on the neighbourhood trees.
So I turned my lens on what was close at hand, fruit and flowers hanging on to the day’s raindrops.
Sadly, many of our neighbours had their automatic-in-ground sprinklers running.
Pie In Waiting
Some of my neighbours find it odd that I’ve got fruit trees in the front yard.
They seem to think that front yards are for golf-course-like-manicured-lawns that you pour water and chemicals on all summer, and heaven forbid you should walk or play on it.
Not sure they appreciate the tether-ball in the front yard either.
Guess they won’t be getting any pie.
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…
Get the Flash Player to see this content.
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.
February in Vancouver
When I was living in Winnipeg or Toronto I used to absolutely detest it when friends from Vancouver would tell me on the phone about a) crocus and b) sailing in February.
Now that I’ve lived in Vancouver for 20 years I feel completely comfortable presenting these two pictures taken while walking the seawall in West Vancouver today…
Cat in a PortaBrace
I was shooting some video this afternoon and while putting gear away discovered an interloper in my camera bag.
PortaBrace makes the best camera and audio gear in the world, even the cat thinks so…
English Bay In February
Whenever people who dodn’t live here ask how we can stand all those grey days and rain, I just have to pull out a shot like this one.
Late yesterday afternoon while passing through the West End on my way back to the North Shore, I pulled over to grab this shot of English Bay.
Vancouver Of The Prairie
Someone seems to have moved Vancouver to the middle of the prairie.
This is the view out my front door at 4:30pm 6 Feb 2008.
We should be swimming in croci.
WTF?
Oh well – just means more riding time on the local mountains. Sweet.
North Van Snow Globe
Vancouver Loves the Snow
The Lions in the Snow and the Sun
Even if you’re not from around here – and by that I mean Vancouver – you’ve probably heard of Lion’s Gate.
It’s a bridge that connects Vancouver with the North Shore. Lion’s Gate is also the name of a film production and distribution company that originated in Vancouver.
The Lions, to whom the ‘gate’ belongs, are two amazing huge bumps sticking out of our local mountains. Apparently, if seen from just the right angle, they look just like a sleeping lion, though to me, they always looks like, well, two amazing huge bumps sticking out of our local mountains.
Here they are in full sun and fresh snow…
And here’s the context…
Bunny Time
While in Richmond, waiting for EB at the Gateway Theatre – I paid a visit to the resident bunnies.
You Are Here
Rock-n-Chair
Spotted along Commissioner Street on Vancouver’s waterfront.