We had a lovely evening sail on Madsu, our Catalina 22 on the 4th of July. We toasted all our US friends and relatives as we munched on pizza and sushi while on a lazy sail in light winds.

It doesn’t get much better than this.

We’re really happy with the Forespar Tiller Extender, purchased on a recommendation from the guys at Martin Marine in North Vancouver.

The lock box is super handy and means we were able to get rid of a mess of lines used for the ’tiller tamer’. The lock box is simple and works like a charm.

Garnet driving with the tiller extender. It’s particularly handy for someone small like he is.

Matthew’s doing hand jokes for Garnet who’s in the cabin having a bit of a rest after hard work grinding in the foresail.

EB’s looking pretty intent on keeping Madsu going on a nice flat reach about 5 minutes out of our slip at Thunderbird Marina.

Our new little boat has a new name.

For my sister Madeleine and my friend and mentor Susan, who both loved sailing the west coast. I miss you both every day. You’ll be with us in spirit when we trim the sheets and crush the egg shells.

We’ve jumped on the bandwagon. Small is it.

Our new (to us) sailboat is small – just 22 feet. That means less to maintain, tiny little winches even the kids can manage, and fewer $ paid for moorage.

Consequently, our new tender is the smallest Zodiak made – the C200. It’s just 6 feet long and can be pulled out of a bag and inflated in less than 5 minutes flat. Tired of rowing ? We push it along with a 2 hp Honda outboard. The fuel tank is a whopping 1 litres.

And we get to the marina and back in our tiny but mighty Yaris – a five-passenger five-speed ball of fun that seems to never need gas.