Summer Cruise 2012
Summer 2012 was a great 3 month trip along the central BC coast, travelling 1500 miles in all. It was the summer of many firsts.
Chronicles of Rainshadow
Replacing the Engine Mounts
If you need to replace the engine mounts on your Perkins 4-108, here’s the simple answer: use Bushings Inc. DF 2207-2 mounts. Now, it was a lot of work to figure this out, so I am going to give the long answer too.
Overwinter 2011-12 Improvements
Rainshadow overwintered at her slip at the Port of Poulsbo. It’s a good slip, but we were spoiled rotten having our boat only a 1/2 mile walk away prior to this – now it’s a 35 minute drive each way. Anyway, it didn’t stop us from making a lot of improvements this winter/spring.
Boom teardown–outhaul revealed
OK, so the sailing season is over for us, and I have started several projects, including tearing down the boom.
Cruising the South Coast of British Columbia – Late Summer 2011
The Pacific Northwest is fantastic cruising grounds. Many people say this, but prior to spending 6 weeks cruising the south coast of British Columbia, I didn’t really understand what they meant. Here’s my version of what it’s like to be on a sailboat in these protected waters during late August, September and early October.
San Juans and Gulf Islands – 2011 South Coast BC
In my mind, the San Juan and Gulf island groups are similar, though the San Juans are in the US and the Gulf Islands are in Canada.
Strait of Georgia – 2011 South BC Coast Trip
The Strait of Georgia is about 140 long (stretching NW to SE) and about 20 miles wide. Unlike in the island groups, there are not many convenient anchorages available, so you must travel some distance between overnight stops. If the wind kicks up there are big waves and swells, so this is an area where it’s great to be in a sailboat rather than a motorboat. We enjoyed 4 excellent days of sailing when there was some frontal systems passing, but sadly we had about the same number of days motoring in dead calm during the hot settled weather.
Johnstone Strait – 2011 South Coast BC Trip
The typical summer weather forecast for Johnstone Strait is “Strong wind warning. Light wind, becoming NW 15-25 knots in the afternoon and building to NW 25-35 in the evening.” I guess most days there is a chance that a strong onshore flow will be funneled down the ~80 mile long strait. The resulting waves can be fierce if the wind opposes the current, which is the other notable thing about Johnstone Strait – it is ~ 2 mile wide fast flowing reversing saltwater river, complete with rapids in a few places.
Broughtons – 2011 South Coast BC Trip
Once you reach the Broughtons, you no longer feel like your sailing in someone’s backyard. This island group is dominated by nature, with the occasional human settlement.
Desolation Sound – 2011 South Coast BC Trip
We hid in the Desolation Sound area for more than a week while a series of intense low pressure systems repeatedly caused storm force and hurricane force winds on the central coast. Because Desolation Sound is 100 miles or more from the central coast, we mostly just experienced gusty wind and some heavy rain – we guessed about 7” based on how much water needed to be pumped from the dinghy.