It has been my experience that the Canadian marine weather forecasts are relatively conservative with winds generally forecast to blow about 5 knots more than what ultimately occurs. The forecast for the Strait of Georgia on Monday was for winds 20-25 knots out of the northwest. Based upon this forecast, I planned on sailing to Porlier Pass which would put me on a broad reach (sailing slightly downwind and not confronting the wind waves which were expected for those wind conditions since that had been the forecast for the last few days, and I had seen the wind waves in English Bay on Sunday). With winds of 15-20 knots, it would be a very pleasant sail. I awoke on Monday morning to dead calm in False Creek, which was a good omen for getting out of English Bay since that first leg was in a northwest direction and under power. I weighed anchor and, once entering English Bay, the winds were light and seas relatively flat. As I reached the western part of the bay, the winds began to increase as expected, and by the time I rounded the outer buoy to head towards Porlier Pass, the winds had filled into the high teens. I quickly discovered that the winds were more favoring the west, so my angle of sail ended up being a close reach with waves coming at me from the starboard quarter. I decided that this called for a single reef of the mainsail and the use of my solent headsail. The waves were not too bad, so I felt pretty good about the fact that I had not relocated the kayaks from their outer hangers to the foredeck. As time progressed, the winds increased to the 20-25 knot range as forecast, and the waves did as well. It was too late to move the kayaks inboard, but things seemed to be under control until a series of two larger waves, back-to-back, popped the leeward kayak out of its hangers, and it was dragging in the water along the port side. I furled the headsail to make room to work on recovering the kayak which was still tied to the toerail. With PFD vest in place, I proceeded onto the foredeck, and with great effort, I was able to lift the kayak onboard, placing it just inboard of the safety lines, and tying it to a padeye on the deck to keep it in place for the remainder of the journey. The only downside was the fact that the recreational life jacket which was stored inside the kayak fell out. Hopefully someone will ultimately retrieve it and put it into good use. I reset the headsail to put in two reefs as the winds were now blowing a consistent 23-25 knots for the remainder of the crossing, and I was consistently taking some water over the bow when the larger waves cycled in every few minutes. After three hours, I reached Porlier Pass and successfully transited it under sail, reaching speeds of 9 knots in the trailing, 3 knot current. Once inside, the winds died, and the seas were once again flat. I started the engine and furled the sails for the remainder of the journey to Ganges on Salt Spring for an overnight stay on Bob and Brenda’s mooring ball.

I arrived in Ganges and once again secured Lion’s Paw to the mooring ball using the rear hooking of the ball and walking the mooring line to the bow for securing her. All went smoothly, and Bob offered to come out on his dinghy to bring me ashore so that I did not have to launch my dinghy. I brought a load of laundry ashore and was very happy to have a land-based shower with unlimited water to wash off all of the salt water to which I had been exposed while on the foredeck recovering the kayak. I had a relaxing afternoon at their condo and finished the day with dinner at Auntie Pesto’s and a round of Mexican Train with Bob, Brenda and their two granddaughters. The granddaughters then dinghied me back to Lion’s Paw because they wanted to see her up close. They had often been on Rampart, Bob’s boat, and they wanted to compare the two. They were quite impressed with my interior, the youngest swooning over the TV and the older one appreciating the free-standing shower where she could stand upright (she is quite tall). I used the remainder of the evening re-securing the kayak mounts which had become loosened, and putting the kayak back in place.

Tuesday was a leisurely motor trip from Ganges to Sidney. At one point, I found myself in a trailing current of 3 knots in an area I had transited on prior occasions without experiencing this strength of current. It is a period of high tide swings, which would explain this phenomenon. As I approached the marina, I radioed in, and my slip was available, so I came straight in and secured Lion’s Paw to await Debra’s arrival. I spent the remainder of the mid-day cleaning the inside and outside of Lion’s Paw. The amount of salt on the deck, fittings and windows was significant, so a thorough washing with soap and brush was in order. Debra’s flight was delayed, so I headed for a long overdue haircut when Debra texted that she had landed at the airport. I texted back that I would not be at the boat upon her return. I finished with my haircut and did a bit of grocery shopping before returning to Lion’s Paw where Debra was safely aboard. We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing and finished the evening with dinner at our favorite Greek restaurant.

Today is a day of relaxation as we await the arrival of Linda tomorrow. Sorry about no pictures for this blog, but a single handed crossing in heavy winds and waves is simply not suitable for taking time to shoot any pictures. It was a very taxing day.