Mike and Beth's Adventures

A sailor sees many strange sights while traveling the salty main. But the strangest sight we ever saw was our encounter with the Black Pearl.  We were headed south in a foggy mist, traveling slowly and picking our way through the San Juan Islands. Constantly watching our radar and scanning the horizon for nearby vessels and hazards, when a fully rigged Brig took shape as it emerged from the fog.   Silent as a ghost she was.  Sails were full in the wind. She had the weather helm and laid a course to intercept! Closer and closer she sailed. We feared our goose might be cooked. for she had the weather helm.  Closer and closer still onward she came, we had no place to run.... and With a burst of power we passed port to post, her boarding party on their rail.  They missed their chance to claim a prize.  They couldn't catch us now.  Denied their chance, they faded into the fog from whence they came, to seek others less lucky than us.  We can only h...

The team at Ocean Pacific Boatyard did a fabulous job repairing the prop damage we suffered in the Octopus Islands.  We were so fortunate that Campbell River had a first class boatyard and prop shop.  Despite having a full schedule, the yard found time to haul us and pull the prop.  We then went back in the water until the prop was repaired and returned.  We were hauled once again and the prop was re-installed.  We immediately sea-trialed the prop.  Performance was excellent and it is balanced nicely.   Here the yard team is checking the shaft to see if it was bent.  No damage to the shaft, keel or other components was found. Here is the damaged prop shortly after Amy Marie was hauled This is the repaired prop ready for installation.  Isn't it beautiful!  I wanted to mount it on my wall as a work of art.  The prop shop gave us one day turn-around!  Beth and I walked to the shop and saw it being repaired.  It required ...

Cruising the azure waters of British Columbia is to bear witness to the awesome beauty of nature.  On a calm day the sea mirrors the sky and provides a perfect framing for the snow capped mountains, the vast forests whose towering trees stand straight and tall, and the harsh rocky shores along which the wild life searches for their next meal.  Visitors must be self reliant and well prepared to survive and enjoy their visit as it demands you be at the top of your game to survive the strong currents, rocky shoals, navigation challenges, scarce services, and wind and weather.  For boaters, it is the ultimate skills challenge.  The reward is the opportunity to immerse yourself in rugged beauty that is accessible if you are willing to accept the challenge. We waited for 4 days for weather suitable for crossing the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island,  to Secret Cove, on the mainland.  If you are lucky, you may encounter a calm day to cross. ...

Our ramblings this last week have included celebrating Canada Day in Ladysmith and then returning to the shelter of Newcastle Island to wait for a weather window to cross the Strait of Georgia.  This wait lasted 4 days as the wind made a passage untenable.  On the day we departed Ladysmith we could see that an extended wind event was arriving.  Our hope was we could sneak across the Strait before it built to a nasty level.  Our hope were dashed within the first mile of poking our nose out into the Strait.  It was one of our first warm days of summer so we left the skylights in the cabin roof open.  We did close the one on the top of the vee-berth.  We could see white caps out in the Strait, but thought we could use a technique where we pick up our speed and skim along their tops.  Wrong!  Didn't work this time.  The wave height and interval resulted in Amy Marie burying her bow and sending water over the top of the cabin, creating a love...