Well the first sail of the year did not go as well as hoped. Let`s see if the first trip of the year goes better. After a short say over a Paul`s place in Prince George we are now out at the cabin. Well actually we are starting out by putting in the boat at Birchbay. It is the only place in the area that has a boat launch that I can use that will work for launching the sailboat. It took some work to get Gotcha set up but we got there and had her wet about 1.5 hrs after we arrived. Birchbay cabins are a nice little place. I don`t know about the cabins as I have not stayed there. But thy only charged me for the boat launch and not for the week that I left the van and the trailer parked in their lot.

Once we had everything loaded into the boat we motored over to the cabin (54 00.33 N 125 16.03 W) as there was no wind to make use of at that time. Once we made port there it was time to unload and get settled in. took the kids no time to scatter on the beach and in the tree`s. They had been cooped up a little too long in the travel and boat prep. Paul`s family cabin is a nice little place with a guest cabin and private beach. There is no other cabin in the bay area and it has been there for a very long time which lends to the name 1 Cabin Bay.

The wind kicked up in the late afternoon so I took Paul and Ryan out for a run on the lake. After nice trip down lake to the island (53 59.02 N 125 13.22 W ) the wind started to really kick up. The island and the bay sheltered behind it are very beautiful. There is an abandoned cabin on the island and from what Paul was telling me the island and cabin is owned by a couple in the states and they have been trying to sell it for awhile now. Must be wanting too much if it hasn`t sold yet.

After checking over the island from the south side we slipped between it an a smaller one a little further east and back out into the main lake. The wind was really starting to work for us now and Paul spotted a buoy out near the middle of the lake (53 59.34 N 125 13.02 W). Out of curiosity we made a heading out to it found as we passed by it was one of his friends ling lines that had drifted. After a brief discussion we decided we would retrieve it for him. Boy did that turn out interesting.

To keep it entertaining we decided to stay on sail power and see if we could successfully retrieve it. Well, after 3 passes and a fishing net that is now broken, we snagged it and while trying to keep us just off the wind so that we were moving a little as possible under sail Paul brought in the weight line for it and secured it in the bottom of the boat. That was a feet, 120` of line that is, so glad I was on the tiller and not the one trying to wind that in with a weight of 15 pounds on the end and the current pulling on it. ;)

After that we beat our way back to 1 Cabin Bay and secured Gotcha for the night to the dock. All in all it was a great trip and Paul seemed to really enjoy the outing. Let`s hope the rest of the time up here has equal blow ups for fun. :) As an additional highlight we sailed right to the dock for the first time.