Sailing the Karina C

Vessel Name: Karina C
Vessel Make/Model: Spencer 35
Hailing Port: Nanaimo, B.C.
Crew: Jay + Anita Bigland
About: We are a crew of 2 ready to take on adventure on the Pacific Coast. We have returned from sailing to Mexico from 2010-15.
Extra: email us at jayanitabigland@gmail.com
25 July 2023 | Home port
25 July 2023 | Home Port
12 July 2023 | Poet’s Cove
21 May 2023 | Home port
14 August 2022 | Home port
20 July 2022 | Home port
15 April 2022 | Nanaimo Home
14 April 2022 | Nanaimo
13 April 2022 | Saltspring Yacht Club
12 April 2022 | Van Isle Marina
11 April 2022 | Van Isle Marina
09 April 2022 | Van Isle Marina
08 April 2022 | Van Isle Marina
07 April 2022 | Sidney Spit Marine Park
06 April 2022 | Montague Harbour
05 April 2022 | Clam Bay
30 March 2022 | Home Port- Nanaimo
10 February 2022 | Mill Bay
06 September 2021 | Home port
31 July 2021 | Home port
Recent Blog Posts
25 July 2023 | Home port

Ode to Old Age

We made it back in time to do a little work on a project we have going in the back yard: a retaining wall. We have bought 4 palettes of bricks and we are about to lay them. We've hired a young man who is a very good worker and he has been ever so helpful. Today I (Jay) went to the ophthalmologist's office [...]

25 July 2023 | Home Port

Poet's Cove to Home

Heading N on Trincomali Channel

12 July 2023 | Poet’s Cove

To Poet’s Cove

Beautiful costumes at Mexican Festival

21 May 2023 | Home port

First Big cruise of 2023

Jay & Anita at Tod Inlet

14 August 2022 | Home port

August Cruise

Rion and Michelle Berg at Gowland Point

20 July 2022 | Home port

Out for a couple of weeks

In late June, Anita’s shoulder and my eye healed sufficiently to make a little journey on Karina C.

There is no place like home

10 April 2020 | Home port, Newcastle Marina, Nanaimo
Jay + Anita Bigland | Good
Anita's writing:
We often ask God to guide us but refuse to listen. Years ago I did that in Mexico, refusing to listen, and now here again, we turned a deaf ear.
I was recuperating from a cold I got a month ago, and with my weakened immune system, thought it was probably not too prudent to be out on the boat, especially if Covid germs be anywhere nearby. I usually catch every disease as my immune system is bad at the best of times. Jay was anxious for a short hop to Pirates Cove. The car wasn't working right as the radio had a mind of it's own for turning off the radio once we stopped the car. We ordered the new door switch for it, and after an overnight visit to the service department tracking down the electrical problems, he discovered even when the radio turned off there was a voltage leak of 1 amp. It will be 10 days to get the part shipped from US. The marina said no to leaving the car plugged in while we were away, and I was worried after a couple of days away, that the battery would be drained too much to start.
Undeterred, armed with a long extension cord, trickle charger packed, battery booster unit and jumper cables, we untied the lines of Karina. We got about 15 minutes off the dock, in front of Protection Island when the engine alarm came on. A fast uncovering of the sails, and we sailed to a mooring can at Newcastle Island. Jay hadn't had his breakfast, as he had just come from a fasting test, so his coffee thermos was open, and was the last thing on our mind in the panic, as the cockpit got a coffee bath. We managed under sail to catch the mooring can on first try, due to my excellent Captain (I usually run around in circles doing nothing in a panic). Jay grabbed the temperature gauge for the engine to find out, it wasn't working, even with a new battery. So much for that diagnosis device.
After something to eat Jay dove into the job while I found the appropriate tools to hand to him. The engine had run just fine at the dock a week ago when tested for about a 1/2 hour (I"m sure the neighbours enjoyed the perfume of the exhaust. ) Anyhow, engines always seem to work when tied to a dock. Murphy's law. Jay tracked down the culprit to being the cooling system and flushed with French kissing it. Tested for an hour, and all seemed OK. Too late for Dodd Narrows, but thankfully problem didn't occur in the Narrows. Decided Newcastle would be the destination. The trails are pretty. The trails were open though facilities were all closed. Enjoyed a good walk though we cut it a bit short due to Jay's back bothering him from leaning over the engine. I hadn't thought to bring ibuprofen. Enjoyed my pre made supper and a movie. Quiet peaceful night, and the gentle bobbing of the boat felt good. Diesel heater made it cozy. After breakfast and ham nets, we rowed towards shore to find out new signs had been put up with warnings of Do Not Enter, with yellow tape and a gate across the dock ramp.
With winds predicted to come up later, and nowhere to go, we decided to head home. The wind was already up, and just before heading down our chute to our slip, the engine alarm went off again. Too close to do anything but to drift into the nearest boat to raft up. Despite Covid, and social distancing, nothing gets faster assistance than nervous boat owners seeing an 8 ton engineless boat quickly ready to collide into their pride and joy. The guy helped us tie, and said take as long as needed. With 35 feet of boat it were able to keep our distance. Jay took the dive tank this time to the cooling line. It seemed OK to run so with a prayer, we made our short hop to the safety of our own slip. Jay went up to Midland tools (car started ok), and bought a new thermostat and temperature gauge device for engine diagnostics. It's been years since the thermostat has been replaced, and the owner's manual recommended every 2000 hours of running time. We were well overdue on that one. Taking things apart Jay found the real problem. The water strainer was choked full of leaves and crap that has probably been slowly filling up for years. When Jay first removed it, we thought it odd that this device would be opaque for ease of checking it, but it only appeared opaque due to how overly full of debris was. Blowing air backwards through the system had just floated the debris temporarily and once settled stopped the intake of all but a trickle of engine cooling water on our raw water cooled system. We tied to the piling and gave a trial test. Both the engine seems to work and the stability of the marina pilings work well.
Jay:
As always, Anita is extremely modest about her sailing and mechanical skills. She is an excellent gofer (go for this or that tool) and a good set of eyes for my cataract clouded vision. Too bad as I might be looking for a new wife as she says the boat is gonna stay tied up until the car works and Covid is history, I always had trouble trying to get the top off of the water strainer. With Anita holding the pipe wrench in place, I managed to open the water strainer to discover the creature from the black lagoon hiding in the recesses of the strainer. Once the boat was put back together and the motor tested at load, we got the car loaded and headed home, Anita felt sorry for my aching back and we got into the hot tub to ease my aching back. Today I wore a back brace for a good chunk of the morning and that helped. We need to head back to Karina as we forgot a few things.
Comments

About & Links