S/V Ragtime

Vessel Name: Ragtime
Vessel Make/Model: Pacific Seacraft Dana 24
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23 June 2018

Gulf Island Cruise 2018 #11

We were up early in order to make Gabriola Pass at slack water (0755 hours). All went smoothly, but out in Georgia Strait we found 1 foot waves rolling down the strait very close together, and some were bigger. This made for a bouncy ride and made eating breakfast difficult. One big wave threw Don across the cabin. He crashed into the chart table breaking one of the supports, but happily he was not injured. We got the sails up and had a fast sail in 10 – 15 knots of NW wind almost all the way home. Got the boat cleaned up, dinner at White Spot, long hot showers at home without having to put money in the meter and a big, comfy bed that doesn’t move. Aaaaaah, bliss!

22 June 2018

Gulf Island Cruise 2018 #10

Time to start heading for home, so we motored north picking up some wind as we passed Porlier Pass, and had a nice downwind sail to Pirates Cove Marine Park.

21 June 2018

Gulf Island Cruise 2018 #9

We were surprised to get a cell phone call from Jay confirming the morning arrangements. In the middle of nowhere, when my cell phone won't pick up a signal at home! The hike to Princess Cove was further and hillier than we expected, especially as Don was carrying his accordion, but we made it to the [...]

20 June 2018

Gulf Island Cruise 2018 #8

We left mid-morning to motor to Wallace Island, yet another marine park with an interesting history that we had not visited before.

19 June 2018

Gulf Island Cruise 2018 #7

Up early to catch the 0924 slack water at Dodd Narrows. Went through with the knot-meter reading 5 kts, but the GPS said we were doing 6.3kts over the bottom with the current! A SE breeze came up so we had a nice sail until it died. Tied up at what used to be one of our favourite marinas, Thetis Island. Looks like the new owners are doing some work – replacing or upgrading the docks and building a new deck off the pub. But we found that the laundry and washrooms were not very clean, and moorage was a bit pricy. However, we needed to buy a few groceries and fill up the water tank, and it was nice to be able to plug into shore power, run the refrigeration and use the WiFi. We had dinner at the pub, but the food wasn’t great and they were short-staffed so the service was incredibly slow. Maybe we’ll try the other marina at the head of the bay next time.

18 June 2018

Gulf Island Cruise 2018 #6

Newcastle Island has an interesting history:

Through the rapids

17 June 2017
Up at 5.30 (tough for a pair of night owls!) and away from the dock at 6.30. We motored back out through Uganda Passage and headed up Sutil Channel. No worrying fluctuations in the engine revs this time, but we weren't making as much speed through the water as we should. We couldn't figure out why, maybe the knot-meter just isn't working properly, but we were concerned that we wouldn't reach the rapids in time. The currents today are much weaker than they would have been a week ago, but still, we didn't want to mess with Dent Rapids. Initially, the GPS was showing that there was some current against us, but as we got closer we seemed to pick up some favourable current, and by some miracle we started through the rapids only about 15 minutes later than planned. Looking back through the log, this seems to happen every time. We got through the rapids with no trouble at all, no turbulence or whirlpools. We carried on until we got to Mayne Passage where we turned south and were soon tied up at Blind Channel Resort. No issues getting in there either, although on previous occasions we have sometimes met a strong opposing current with rips and turbulence, and, on one memorable occasion, a back-eddy on the inside of the floats that had us heading for the pier at an alarming rate when we went in to dock.
We registered at the store, admired the new cabins, tidied the boat and were sitting and chatting when the bilge pump came on. Not necessarily a big deal, water does get into the bilge from various sources, but our pump rarely comes on. So, where is the water coming from? A short search revealed that it was the packing gland, which is the device that allows the propeller shaft to pass through the hull without also letting in copious amounts of water. They are supposed to drip slowly when the shaft is turning, to lubricate it, but apparently they should not drip when the boat is tied up at the dock. Ours is dripping about once every four seconds. Don says we won't sink, and it's ok to go and have dinner at the restaurant. We had planned to stay for two nights anyway, as there are supposed to be strong south-easterlies in Johnstone Strait tomorrow, but I had hoped to go for a hike, not fix the boat again. This is getting to be not so much fun.
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Ragtime's Photos - Main
A gentle Gulf Islands cruise
44 Photos
Created 30 June 2018
6 Photos
Created 14 June 2017

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30 June 2018
44 Photos
14 June 2017
6 Photos