On day two, we continued our plan B, “work and cruise, cruise and work”. Plan B, just as it implies, wasn’t our first choice, but plan B’s have been our plan A’s a number of times in the past, so it was nothing new. Sunday morning we woke to an empty San Juan Island anchorage, a nice contrast to summer’s alternative. I put some water on the stove for the coffee press and switched on the diesel heater. It was a quintessential setting, a cool autumn morning, a lone boat in the middle of a polished lagoon, surrounded by the quiet, patch work of deciduous and evergreen trees (for effect, add the wail from a solitary loon here ;). Enjoying a warm cup inside a warm cabin seemed most appropriate. There was no rush, we had all day to make for our next stop, Tsehum Harbor, home to Van Isle Marina and an official Canadian port of entry. After a relaxing breakfast, the dishes done, the cabin tidied and the bed made, we were ready to weigh anchor. After snaking our way out of Mosquito Pass, we set a course for B.C.’s waters via Haro Strait. Sunny, warm, but windless, we motored across the strait, along Sydney Island’s north shore, tying up at Van Isle Marina about noon, two hours later. Erika stepped off Jomo and into the phone shack. She dialed up a Canada border agent, jibber- jabbered for a few minutes and jumped back aboard with our customs reference number in hand. We were officially free to sail beautiful British Columbia… ![]() The first night at anchor, we plugged our heating blanket into the Jackery 1000ah power station, the alternate source of energy we wanted to experiment with during this cruise. The LED on the unit’s display showed we only consumed about 20% of the stored electricity for the night. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack it’s very unique charging cord and therefore stowed the remaining 80% of it’s capacity away for the remainder of the cruise - flex and adapt I guess. Along with it’s conveniently small size (think of an Igloo Playmate cooler) I purchased it as an alternate or emergency power source for Erika’s work station and sat-com, in case the house bank failed - for whatever reason. Luckily, we didn’t have to use, it but it was comforting to know it was on board. -Keith
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Our original plan was to take vacation days and sail around the Canadian Gulf Islands for two weeks in early September. Unfortunately, Erika got sick and spent those two weeks in bed. If the first rule of boating is don’t crash into anything, the second could very well be to remain flexible or adaptable. Plan B would be marginally different, we’ll leave in October, cruise for one week, while Erika continues to work full time - flex.
Power and internet service was suddenly our top priority. I spent the next month fitting Jomo out with solar and the requisite Starlink, as well as purchasing an electric portable power supply (Jackery 1000), just in case - adapt. We cast off our dock-lines Saturday morning and made way for Westcott Bay, San Juan Island. Westcott, south of Roche Harbor, is about 32 nm or 4-5 boat hours from Port Angeles, a very manageable distance regarding weather and currents, and a good launch point to Canadian customs in Sydney. Oh, and did I mention it’s October, both Westcott and, the normally much busier neighbor, Garrison Bay, were utterly and completely empty. After a day of motoring across one strait and sailing across another, Jomo arrived at the entrance of Mosquito pass about 4:30pm, plenty of daylight to help us navigate the narrow corridor into Westcott Bay. Erika and I dropped the hook nearly the same spot we use to anchor Resa (our SY41) with it’s 8 foot draft, the deepest part of the bay. I shut off the diesel engine and flicked on the anchor light. It was official, we were finally cruising Jomo after its purchase back in May. Six months of local Wednesday Nights races, two regional regattas, and a couple overnight trips to Victoria kept us busy, but our primary goal was finally in action. Next stop, Van Isle Marina, one of the many port of entry telephone reporting sites along B.C.’s Saanich peninsula. (to be cont.) |
AuthorA UCSC graduate in Marine Biology, Keith holds a 100 ton USCG Capt. License and is an ASA/US sailing certified instructor. Archives
November 2024
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