S/V Songline - Our Sailing Adventure

The Past Month

2007-10-14T16:37:00.001-07:00

It's hard to believe that it's been a month since our last entry. The visit with Pat and John was really fun. We moved the boat on the second to last day of their visit. It's easy to stay too long at the Marriott, although there is a lot to do there we found it too noisy. There was a spot at Shelter Island that we found. Much quieter but a lot further to go to get to places.

Nadia I and went to the Red Bull Air Races. The skill of the pilots zipping around, 60' and less off the water, moving at 250 mph, while doing 180 degree rolls in less than 0.5 second and pulling as much as 10g is incredible.

Brenda organized a really good trip to Julien. It's a small mining town known for their pies of all things. And they are good. We stayed at a BB with an observatory. The owner takes people out for star gazing tours. It's off season now so we had the whole place to ourselves. We had a chance to see distant galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, Uranus, carbon stars, core of Andromeda galaxy and the moon through a 14" telescope. We had also planned to tour the wolf rehabilitation project but the lady who does the tour got sick. We toured a botanical garden and picked oranges earlier in the day as well.

We toured the San Diego Zoo. We bought tickets from the local hotel and arrived at the zoo to find that it was free admission day. Looking at the crowds we decided to leave and come back the next day. Brenda and Nadia also went to Sea World.

I stripped and varnished all the toe rails and rear trim. Lots of work.
We also spent a day at a beach cleanup as did thousands of other people all over North America.

Now the big news, we are back in Canada. It's hard to explain the number of times we have changed our minds on this trip. As the time went by we saw that it would be more and more difficult to get down to La Paz or San Carlos. If everything went right we would have easily made it. But since when does everything go right? We flew to Seattle then took a bus to Anacortes and had the boat trucked there. It took a couple of days to get all the rigging apart and wrapped for shipping. Dudley Trucking arrived as promised and all looked fine until Songline was put onto the truck. We were about 6" over the legal height for a direct route up I5. I had to make a decision on whether to try and take the hard dodger off or pay more money to hire a couple of pilot cars and have the truck run a much longer route through Nevada. I paid the money. The driver of the truck was none other than Max Dudley himself. Max is 73 old trucker who knows a lot about trucking and although I can't say everything he did I can say he delivered our boat in the same time as he said he would on the shorter route and charged us only about a third of the original extra quote. We had planned to re-rig and get on our way. We have known since we bought Songline that we would have to get the bottom completely stripped and new epoxy and urethane put on. With the rig off this is so much easier to do. So we left her in Anacortes to have this work done for us. With nothing to do there for a month we decided to hop on the ferry and head for Sidney and Ron and Cheri's place. The folks who rented our house have just purchased a house and will be moving in 2 weeks so we get our house back.

A couple of weeks and it's life back to normal. Both Brenda and I want to write a blog entry about our feelings about the trip. What we liked and didn't like, what we would do differently or not and just our general feelings about the whole trip.

Peter

Random Pictures

2007-09-13T21:27:00.001-07:00

Balboa Park Pictures 2

2007-09-13T21:24:00.001-07:00

We spent several days at Balboa Park.

Balboa Park Pictures 1

2007-09-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Nadia's Birthday and Pat and John Visit

2007-09-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Brenda's parents, Pat and John, flew in from Vancouver for a visit and to be here for Nadia's 6th birthday. Nadia was really missing them and enjoyed their visit a great deal.

Paragliding

2007-09-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Brenda and I went for a flight last week. Lots of fun!!

Surfing etc.

2007-08-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

Nadia surfing and at the animal park

Animal Park Pictures

2007-08-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

Nadia, Emma, Peter, Brenda, Terre and Wally

2007-08-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

The Emma Visit Pictures

2007-08-26T13:34:00.001-07:00

Our Back Yard In San Diego

2007-08-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Emma and Sharks

2007-08-26T13:25:00.001-07:00

These two events were the highlights of the past couple of weeks. Terre, Wally and Emma came for a visit. For those that don’t know them they used to live a couple of doors down from us but have since moved to Ambleside. Nadia and Emma have been good friends since they we were very young and until this trip, would still see each other frequently. Emma was only told that the family was going on vacation to California. The expression on her face was truly priceless when she saw Nadia at the airport arrival. They originally planned to stay 3 nights but after one day here they decided to re-schedule the rest of their holidays and stay a full week. We went to Coronado Beach, La Jolla Beach, The Wild Animal Park, Ocean Beach not to mention several trips to the hotel pool. We decided to stay on at the Marriot Marina for a full month. It has full resort status with swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool, gymnasium, tennis courts, it’s embarrassing but you can even get room service to your boat. The kids really loved the beaches. They took turns surfing on Nadia’s board. It was the first time both of them “caught” a wave. It was hard to get them to stop. They found live sand dollars. They snorkeled and swam until they shivered. The animal park also went over really well. We didn’t get out of there until nearly 8 pm after arriving early in the day. There were a great many displays and activities, too many to do and see in one day. We had a small birthday party dinner for Nadia at Ocean Beach so that Emma and Nadia could celebrate together even if it was a couple of weeks early. We are really happy that they had a chance to visit us. A few days later, Dale was back with us for a couple of days. He met a delivery skipper in Crescent City on our way to San Francisco who offered Dale a crew position on a delivery from Hawaii to Oceanside CA. Always the adventurer he accepted and when he called us he had just returned from their ocean crossing from Hawaii. Check out his blog for more details. While he was here we went back to La Jolla Beach. The last time we were there with Emma the surf was quite high and the sand was stirred up so visibility was limited and the waves made it more difficult to snorkel. This time the ocean had settled out and we had a chance to swim with the big attraction, leopard sharks. Dozens of them in water 5 to 10 feet deep, so they were up nice and close. Everyone loved it. They are a docile species that come in to the sandy bottom bay to lay their egg casing this time every year. As the name suggests they are spotted. My fish guide indicates they grow to seven feet but most of the ones we saw were 4 to 5 feet. There were several other fish species but funny how they were overlooked. We then went for a drive up to the glider port just a couple miles north. There is a 400 foot cliff there that catches the Pacific onshore winds and makes for a natural place to fly gliders. Model gliders, hand gliders and para-gliders. I think everyone, including Nadia wanted to go for a ride. Today we went to Balboa Park, home of many museums, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo. We didn’t do much except look around the gardens and architecture. We are feeling a little burned out from all the activities of the past few weeks. Time for a short rest and we’ll be back at it shortly.

Pete

Arrived In San Diego

2007-08-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

As you can see from the many photos I recently posted, we have been very busy. Emma, Terri and Wally are meeting us in San Diego this Monday so we to had move through the area quickly. We are happy to be in San Diego and consider it another milestone accomplished. The weather has made everything infinitely easier. I hardly have to check the weather forecast anymore. Another day of calm winds and seas. The water has taken on a much bluer look now, compared to the green I'm used to further north. It's also much warmer although I must admit I haven't been swimming yet. Brenda and Nadia spent a couple of days snorkelling in Two Harbours on Catalina. We've done some pier fishing with Nadia, she caught several Calicco Bass.

The day at Legoland was great fun for Nadia. The place was built for kids Nadia's age of which there were thousands.

We will probably stay in San Diego a month or so. It depends if we can find a slip to stay at.

Peter

Nadia Pics

2007-08-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Marina del Rey and area

2007-08-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

Legoland

2007-08-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

We made a 2 day stop in Oceanside which is a short trip from Legoland. It's built for kids Nadia's age. She had a very good there.

More Dolphin Play

2007-08-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Dolphins play in the bow wave of Songline as Nadia and Brenda watch.

Rounding Santa Cruz Island

2007-08-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

Rounding a fog shrouded Santa Cruz Island.

More Activities

2007-08-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

More beaches and fishing with dad.

Activities

2007-08-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Channel Islands Pictures

2007-08-11T14:12:00.001-07:00

Various views of Santa Cruz Island

Santa Cruz Island, Ventura and Marina Del Rey

2007-08-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

After spending 3 days exploring Santa Cruz Island we headed for Ventura. The Prisoner's Harbour anchorage was very rolly especially into the evening and night. We did get a good chance to look around. The island is very dry and the days were hot. One of my favorite activities was watching the pelicans dive fishing. They fly over schools of small fish then go into a dive attitude with wings close together, splashing head first into the water in an attempt to catch a fish. The hiking was good with many fine views of the island and Santa Barbara Channel. There is a great deal of fennel growing wild in the area. The trip to Ventura Harbour was an easy motor-sail. We found the harbour area unappealing, fortunately Ventura Harbour is a short bus ride away from downtown Ventura. There we visited the Patagonia store where the original forge of Yvon Choinard the man behind Black Diamond and Patagonia is located. Not everyone's idea of a holiday destination.

Another easy motor-sail put us in Marina Del Rey. This marina is huge, there are slips for 6,000 boats plus dry storage for countless more. The amazing thing is there were only 5 sailboats out in Santa Monica Bay when we arrived. It was sunny with a nice breeze. I think Americans work too much. There is a very nice spot next to a pubic park reserved for transient boats. A little bit noisy but nice. Saturday night was free concert night in the park with a symphony and Lorna Luft (Judy Garland's daughter) singing. A nice bonus. We took a walk through Venice and it's few canals. We took in the boardwalk at Venice Beach. It's a bit hard to describe Venice Beach and area. I'll try get some pictures posted next time we are at a fast internet connection. Quite the group of people, that's for sure. We also went to Santa Monica Pier and area. Our friends Steve and Kathy were at the same marina. We enjoyed a couple of BBQ's with them in the park.

We've moved again, this time to Catalina Island. We are on our way to San Diego where Emma (Nadia's friend) and her parents, Terri and Wally are meeting us for a visit. Unfortunately Pat and John, Brenda's parents had to delay their visit. Although we are all having a good time and experiencing a great deal everyone feels homesick about now.

Pete

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:

http://www.sailmail.com

Name Change

2007-07-30T08:29:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, We have decided to change the name of our blog to a more generic, "Our Sailing Adventure". Since leaving it has become clear that you can't always get to where you want to be in a sailboat. One reoccuring statement we hear from local boaters is "gee, it's not usually this bad here this time of year." We're in Ventura Harbour right now and met a fellow Canadian family who bought a sailboat in San Diego and are sailing it home to Richmond BC. There are 5 of them, the youngest looks to be about 8. They are doing it for the experience. They have no plans on keeping the boat and they will sell it when they get home. That's an adventure! I can't imagine heading back INTO the wind and waves that we sailed down on let alone with three kids and in a boat I only just bought.

Channel Islands

2007-07-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to Santa Barbara after a two week visit. By normal holiday standards that would have been a long vacation and I doubt I would ever budget that much time into a visit to Santa Barbara. Somehow time seems to go by quicker while cruising. There are all the usual domestic chores that need to be done plus because we have no car and rely on walking or public transit everything takes a little bit longer. No complaints though we all feel much healthier for it. In short we saw the butterfly exhibit, took in the Grossology exhibit at the Natural History Museum (yes you can smell armpit odor or learn how people vomit), rented a surrey (four wheeled covered pedal car), went to public library, went snorkeling and swimming, music festival, Harry Potter party, had a new windlass pump mount made, had new glasses made (lost them while dinghying in Morro Bay).

We headed for Santa Rosa Island on the west side of the northern group of Channel Islands. Unfortunately it was too windy to launch or land a dinghy. The island looked very interesting and everyone was disappointed. It blew fairly hard through the night and with no let up seen in the forecast we departed for a more sheltered anchorage on Santa Cruz. It was one of those nights sailors hate, having to wake every couple of hours and check the anchor hoping you won't need to do a midnight departure because of a dragging anchor (30kt + winds). The sail past the west side of Santa Cruz is very scenic. The island has steep sides and was shrouded in fog. Pictures to follow. Nadia and I are going fishing this morning, always an adventure.

Nadia's Notes: To Grandma, when you put lipstick on your lips your are really putting algae on your lips. I saw a sunfish on our trip to Santa Cruz Island.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:

http://www.sailmail.com

Starry Days

2007-07-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Nadia wrestles in a big star fish.

Anemone

2007-07-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

The enemy of my anemone is my friend??

Santa Barbara Beach

2007-07-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

With our boaters friends, Steve and Kathy.

Butterflly Exhibit

2007-07-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Natural History Museum

Hello From Santa Barbara

2007-07-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

It's happening, you now hear us complaining about the heat. Not the worst thing that's happened to us so far. Today we spent several hours playing in the surf. Nadia loved it. I suspect it won't be our last time. I've been catching up with the boat maintenance. Oil changes, dinghy repair, paint touch-up etc. It's a lot of work keeping these things floating.

Nadia's Notes: I saw five octopi, one sting ray, five starfish, three crabs (probably more), lots of mussels, limpets and nudibranch and their eggs, they had blue bodies and orange sticks, sticking out of their blue bodies (all in the wild). At a butterfly exhibit I saw, monarchs, zebra longwings, morning cloaks and lots more. I saw 4 great blue herons, one with a wound on it's wing that I named Heather Jean.

In Warm Santa Barbara

2007-07-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Dolphins riding by our boat on the way into Santa Barbara Channel

Blue skies and palm trees, a welcome sight

Nadia enjoying a day of fishing off the pier in Santa Barbara.

They were right, the difference in weather once around Point Conception is remarkable. The last 40 miles into Santa Barbara were so calm we didn't even raise the sails. We have stowed our down sleeping bags and dug out the shorts. Santa Barbara is as California is supposed to be. Warm and sunny. The marina here is huge by most standards I'm used to. The city is geared for vacationers with long sandy beaches and so much to do it's impossible to decide where to start. Brenda's mom and dad are planning a visit in a couple of weeks.

Pete

Out and About

2007-07-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

Climbing a ladder to get onto the pier at Port San Luis.

Life Aboard

2007-07-13T21:34:00.001-07:00

Hearst Castle

2007-07-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

South of Point Conception

2007-07-10T20:17:00.000-07:00

We're only about three miles past Point Conception but we are past it. It was another very calm day. I believe we are officially in Southern California. It was another very good day for wildlife sightings. Whales and hundreds of dolphins. Many times we had very large groups of dolphins around the boat. At one point I'm sure there was in excess of 100 dolphins jumping around us. We are currently anchored in Cojo anchorage. A temporary stop for us slowpokes who can't make the next stop before nightfall.
We were heading to the Channel Islands tomorrow but our windlass motor mount broke again. I should be able to get the anchor up tomorrow but doubt it will last long. It was fixed in San Francisco most recently. We need to go to Santa Barbara to have it repaired.

Port San Luis

2007-07-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Morro Bay is part of a wet lands area that supports many different shore birds. We rented kayaks a couple of times and went exploring the shallow waters around the bay. There is a large cormorant, night egret, great blue heron and vulture rookery on one side of the bay that is very interesting.

We left Morro Bay this morning. Although we only covered 25 miles it was the calmest 25 miles of the trip. The sails didn't even go up. There were quit a few sea lions in the open water along the way. They porpoise through the water much like a dolphin does. We saw three whales in the shallow waters of San Luis Bay. I found this unusual as the bay is only about 20 to 30 feet deep. There is a shark warning on the beach of all things. They sighted a great white here about a week ago. I think I'll just wade into the water up to my waist and clean a few fish.

We haven't talked to a sailor from California who hasn't said that conditions change dramatically for the better once you go around Point Conception. Tomorrow we should do just that.

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:

http://www.sailmail.com

Morro Bay

2007-07-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

We've been in Morro Bay a few days. The sail from San Simeon was very easy for a change. A bit of fog in Morro Bay but not too bad. Morro Bay is an interesting little town with lots of small shops along the waterfront. We met up with Kathy and Steve of S/V Psyche, a couple we met earler in Monterey Bay. They borrowed a car from a nephew they have here in Morro Bay and we tagged along with them to Hearst Castle. There is no doubt the Hearst Family made a lot of money. The castle is much larger and elobarate than I would have expected. 65 bathrooms, 4 pools 3 guest houses, zoo, etc etc. Very ornate.

Nadia

2007-07-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Songline

2007-07-04T16:52:00.001-07:00

Songline at Pebble Beach, anchored off Hole 17

Family Photo

2007-07-04T16:51:00.001-07:00

Driving Lessons

2007-07-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

Nadia trying her hand a riding a Harley and honing her skills as a dinghy boater.

Don't Throw Out Fishing Line

2007-07-04T16:37:00.000-07:00

This poor guy was sitting on a mooring buoy, apparantly the local wildlife rescue folks knew about it but were having a hard time getting the sea lion to cooperate.

Surfin' Safari

2007-07-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the beach on San Simeon Bay. It's a nice sandy beach and Nadia had a lot of fun doing the usual beach things. Brenda and I took walks and enjoyed views of the Pacific and the hills behind us. Hearst Castle looks huge even from where we were. The dinghy landing involved riding a gentle surf but it was straight forward. The exit was little more exciting when a wave hit then me slipping and bonking my eyebrow against the end of the oar while Brenda tried to paddle us of shore. Not
being ones that learn easily we decided to go to Hearst Castle this morning. The surf didn't look that bad until we were surfing along with it. Just as we were about to hit shore Brenda stepped off and was knocked over. We got things under control, Brenda standing there soaking wet, covered with sand, looking not that happy. It was difficult to continue on to Hearst Castle. The idea that we had to now re-launch the dinghy back to the boat was very unappealing. Waves go through cycles, first you
get some little ones then you get some big ones. The big ones were much too big to consider launching in while the smaller ones would have been OK. It was very difficult trying to figure out when the right time to go would be. We stayed there for 4 hours watching the waves. Finally I figured out that by watching the water on the edge of the bay where the waves came around you could predict when a lull would occur. We got away unscathed and happy to be back at the boat. While we were waiting and watching
the waves an elephant seal swam by. They don't call them elephant seals for nothing.
We may be here for several days. The winds are howling out on the open water right now.

A word from Nadia,

I saw 8 or 9 lizards on the beach. Not to say the ones I saw at Point Lobos. I saw a bunch of Monarchs, I saw a pretty yellow butterfly with little white spots on all four of it's wings.

Trip To San Simeon

2007-06-30T18:09:00.000-07:00

We pulled our anchor up at about 6 pm from Stillwater Cove (Pebble Beach). The trip to San Simeon is 16 hours more or less. We prefer not to leave and arrive in the dark so that meant doing another night passage. I'm not sure if we are wimps but it was another tough one. I sometimes think I must be downloading weather reports for the wrong region. What the weather forecasters say we will see and what actually materializes are two different things. We were supposed to get 3 to 5 foot swells. Instead
we saw these rather large, often breaking waves, splashing over our stern and sides. It was windy and rough. Neither Brenda or I slept. Under those conditions it's nice to have two people on watch. Nadia on the other hand seems to do very well in those conditions. It seems this part of the Pacific is really going to make us work.

After a rest we will explore the nice beach here and walk up to Hearst Castle which sits on a hill above the Bay.

Peter

Pebble Beach

2007-06-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all, we are finally on the move again. This was a neat day because Nadia and I met up with 3 marine biologists working on our dock this morning. They were removing an invasive type of Japanese kelp (the type you eat in Miso soup) from the docks in an attempt to prevent it from spreading further. Nadia took a keen interest and in short order she was helping them make measurements and we had the whole life cycle of the plants explained to us so now we can tell this type of kelp from the rest and
find and remove it's reproductive parts so that it cannot spread. Again, Nadia didn't want to leave! But we did leave and after a few hours we were anchored - off the Pebble Beach Golf Course. A good golfer (able to hit 250 yards) could hit our boat from the famous hole on the point. We have a great view of the homes, there are egrets and pelicans in the cove and sea otters frolicking in the kelp beds. George, the harbour master, came out in a skiff to greet us and show the best spot to anchor and
here is the kicker - we are the only boat anchored here. It is a slightly tricky spot to anchor in so I guess that scares most folks off. If the weather stays calm, we can spend tomorrow on the beach and walk the one mile to Carmel-by-the-sea. I saw in the newspaper that the first house in 3 years to be listed on the golf course is up for sale - just 28 million to get in now! Our next stop will be San Simeon which is the cove just below the Hearst Castle.
Brenda.

Good Bye to Monterey Bay

2007-06-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

We've been in Monterey Bay for close to a month now. Other tourists ask me for directions and I can tell them, more or less what they need to know. Hard to believe we have spent that much time here. Its been a very good thing. The "new" or as I like to think of it, "modified plan" has both of us very excited. It allows us to proceed with the original destinations in mind while adding several new places to the list. It'll just take a little longer.

We inflated our dinghy and used it to go out and explore some of the inner bay area. There are many sea lions, sea otters, birds of all sorts including pelicans. Nadia has a favorite little beach we stop at and she collects olive dove shells. She also likes going netting for hermit crabs in a shallow area of rocks. Today we took the bus to Big Sur and went on a hike in one of the state parks. We saw large redwood trees, a rattle snake on the trail and some lizards. Brenda and Nadia are working
their way through the Harry Potter series, they started book three tonight.

I hope everyone is keeping well. Nadia says hi to all her school friends and teachers. As in Mrs. Stephens class, she spends most of her spare time doing art projects. The boat walls are nearly covered with paintings and drawings, the ceiling and hooks all have something hanging from them.

We should leave tomorrow, assuming of course that the weather doesn't change yet again. A couple of stops and we will be around Point Conception.

Peter

The New Plan

2007-06-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Finally we have had enough rest and enough time to reflect on our predicament and have come to a decision about what to do. When we turned back after leaving San Francisco and diverted into Monterey Bay, that was basically the end of the opportunity to get to the South Pacific directly from the Pacific Northwest for this year. Had we continued we would have passed through the hurricane track, which is the worst between 10 and 20 degrees north, off the coast of Mexico, in the second week of June when
the risk was still relatively small (May would have been even better but we were very slow getting to San Francisco). However by July the risk is up to a 27% chance and these storms are nothing to fool with; last year one packed winds of 125 knots. So, that left us with 3 choices: 1) go to Hawaii, down through the Line Islands, Fiji, Tonga and then to New Zealand, sell the boat as planned 2) go to San Diego, sell the boat, fly to New Zealand like regular people or 3) take the boat to San Diego, wait
until the fall, and spend the fall cruising Mexico. The Hawaii option requires about 80 days at sea in the next 6 months and we would not see any of French Polynesia (Marquesas, Tuamotos, Society Islands including Tahiti, Bora Bora etc). Peter has had a, perhaps romantic, vision of visiting French Polynesia for several decades, we have been to Hawaii and although it is very nice, it is not a great place to cruise. As such we could not summon up the necessary enthusiasm for this option given the amount
of work it required. Although, the Line Islands really appealed to me. Option 2 was very appealing when we first arrived here, we have had very rough, cold weather for nearly all of the trip. Almost all of our sailing has been under double reefed main and staysail or staysail alone and our boat had never traveled so fast under sail. Also, this option frees up the capital invested in Songline and more importantly stops the steady drain of money required to keep her in shape. Nadia is right on the
cusp of being able to go on much longer hikes and she has just started rock climbing. The main reason we started sailing in the first place was that it is something adventurous that we could do as a family when Nadia was young (and our trips to the Queen Charlottes and around Vancouver Island alone when Nadia was nearly 3 and nearly 4 respectively were worth the entire effort of having Songline). We could then perhaps buy another boat in a few years; however, Peter has poured his heart and soul into
fixing, equipping, and learning absolutely everything about this boat and doesn't feel that the energy exists to do this again from scratch. This options also suffers from the "unfinished business" syndrome and the ability to admit that we have not only lost the battle but also the war. So, we have chosen option 3 - travel very slowly down the southern coast of California until fall time. There are some very nice anchorages and offshore islands that we can explore including the Santa Cruz islands
and the Channel Islands. Then we can leave San Diego or Ensenada in the end of October, travel down the Mexican coast and perhaps into the Sea of Cortez and then we will find a suitable dry storage facility to haul the boat out of the water and leave it for a while. We can then depart Mexico in April for the South Pacific and continue as planned. But (isn't there always a but) we can't do this the following April (ie not in 2008) since I am starting a masters degree in mathematics at Simon Fraser
University in January of 2008. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I have spent the last year taking courses and working as a teaching assistant at SFU to this end. This is the only thing I am not willing to give up. So, we are planning to leave the boat out of the water for 15 or 16 months and then continue in 2009. We will incur added financial burden with this option but we suspect (hope!) that it will actually be cheaper to have Songline on the hard in Mexico then floating
in Vancouver. I swore that when we first started on this that I would never cruise in Mexico (wasting time baking in the heat drinking Margheritas is how I labeled it) so I am eating crow on that one. This option does however have the significant advantage that Nadia will be 7 when we leave again and will be tougher. I have worried about her falling and hurting herself during the rough conditions (she spent several days in her bunk and most of May wearing her snowsuit) and while not suffering from
sea sickness per say, she had a severely curtailed appetite and she is only a skinny 42 pounds to start with. She was unable to read, colour etc without getting seasick so some of the days at sea have been hard for her. So, having learned not to make wild predictions about where we will be at any particular time, we are continuing down the coast and will continue to update the blog and the position report as we go. Thanks to everyone who emailed us encouraging comments, offers of help and suggestions.
They are most appreciated!
Brenda.

Life Under The Dock

2007-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Nadia and I went out on a couple of dock photo shoots. She would go off, scout an area and tell me where the best sea life was. All of these shots were taken between 1 and 15 inches of water.

Peter

Nadia's Projects

2007-06-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

Nadia has taken on several projects. One of her books "Nature Smart" showed her how to build a buttefly hatchery. With great luck a local park is right in the middle of a large butterfly (moth?) metamorphasis (sp?). We were able to see thousands of hatching butterfly and collect several chrysalis for Nadia's hatchery. She has placed them in her hatchery along with honey soaked cotton balls for feeding.

She is writing a book (a best seller) "Our Faithful Companions Life", which tells the story of Fitzroy, our labrador.

Nadia and Brenda also make many Fimo clay objects. A couple of which are shown on Nadia's fingers.

We are going to get kicked out of Monterey Harbour soon. They have a 2 week max stay here. There is an area where you can anchor but it is exposed to the NW swell. We will publish our intentions as soon as we figure them out.

Best,

Peter, Brenda and Nadia

Nadia's new Summer Dress

2007-06-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Point Lobos Scenics

2007-06-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

Nadia Playing In Grass

2007-06-12T11:58:00.000-07:00

What to Do?

2007-06-08T15:31:00.001-07:00

We are enjoying our time here at Monterey Bay. Yesterday we watched a mother sea otter float by our boat with a baby on it's tummy. They have done a good job at getting these creatures numbers up in the area. We have a sea lion (as usual) resting close by, barking up a storm when excited. The weather is much better, I would say it is actually warm out. We will probably make another hop down the coast in a few days. We keep getting told how much warmer it is once past Point Conception. The winds are still fairly stiff off the coast, typically 15 to 30 kts (some higher). This too will diminish once past Point Conception. We're holding off making any real decisions for a few days. Once everyone has rested and is feeling better.

Monterey Bay

2007-06-03T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not returning emails. As you can tell from our position report we are sitting in Monterey Bay. An obvious unscheduled stop. However after being here for a half day we see we should have planned this, as it is great place to be. Basically what happened is I got sick. I just could not shake the sea sickness. Not just that queasy feeling but the head over the toe-rail, fish feeding variety. I could not eat and quickly found myself useless. Brenda, the super hero, was doing double duty on
all fronts. It was clear we couldn't carry on too much further especially if the weather worsened which it was potentially going to do. It would have made more sense to run in to a location further south but gales were set for the area in a day or two and I couldn't fathom the idea of having to deal with that if they came sooner. So we decided to beat backwards to Monterey. Our fearless self steering system loves to beat into the wind. I am totally pooped. The last time I was this tired we did a
canoe trip then climbed Mt. Rainier a couple of days later. Getting this trip together has been one obstacle after another. The trip itself has been far harder than I could have imagined. Instead of resting during stops there always seems to be maintenance or weather gathering or something that needs doing. The weather has made it very difficult. Even though we are a fair way south, you get out in the ocean and it is cold. The nights are miserable at best. We often boil water and fill a liter Nalgene
container to use as a hot water bottle. On top of it all I caught a bad respiratory infection prior to leaving and I've only gotten it under control in last few days. Antibiotics always give my tummy a bad time. I'm not too sure what we are going to do now. We do know we can't go off on a voyage like this unless I can perform my share of work. Maybe we could get away with it if it lasts only a few days but the trouble is the weather never seems to give us a break. For sure I need a good rest. I
would have sold the whole boat for a buck a day ago if I could just have been in port and had my stomach stop hurting. It's more expensive today (Dale). So we are all fine, Nadia has lost her first upper front tooth yesterday. She accidentally hit her knee on her mouth and out it came. It was very loose and was set to come out very soon anyway. We saw several whales of which Nadia spotted the first about 50 miles out of SF. While returning to Monterey Bay we had 10 or 15 dolphins doing the bow wave
riding and jumping show for us. That was nice of them. The water here is amazingly clear. Even at the dock the visibility is very good. Many dive charters going out every day, perhaps in a few days if I feel better maybe I'll go tag along with one of them. Even though we are not going where we planned it has been a huge adventure for us so far.

Final Preparations

2007-05-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

It's time to go. The temptation to remain here in San Francisco is very high. Dock space is only $24 per night, there is lots to see and do. The food is great, transportation is easy. It's safe. On the 12N line off Mexico tropical storm Alvin has been degraded to a tropical depression. Behind it is a much more formidable hurricane Barbara brewing at about 12N off Mexico. Neither one will likely continue to the 135W mark we would like to pass but it makes one a wee bit nervous never the less. The area reminds me of a bowling alley where these spinning storms keep rolling off the Mexico coast. So, we have decided to continue on our planned path with a possible detour through Hawaii. We can sail about 600 nm out of SF before having to decide to continue on to French Polynesia or do the detour through Hawaii. If we do that we will likely continue on south from Hawaii through the Line Islands to the Cooks, not what I wanted to do but some very interesting cruising can be had through that area. It's beautiful night in San Francisco, the first night the winds haven't been howling. The Golden Gate Bridge is about 2 miles away and looks very nice. Time for bed, gotta catch the tide tomorrow morning.

Pete

San Francisco Photos

2007-05-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Going under the bridge, on the cable cars, on a carousel.

Nadia and Brenda By the Golden Gate Bridge

2007-05-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

San Francisco Holiday

2007-05-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all, We are enjoying ourselves on our San Francisco mini hoilday. Although I have spent some time doing repairs we are still getting time to go out and see many of the cities attractions. We've been on the cable cars (Nadia thgought they were fun but too noisy), Pier 39, the SF Zoo, had lunch in Chinatown, taken in the Exploritorium and had many nice walks throught the cities neighbourhoods. Nadia has really gotten involved in sewing crafts, she is working on a patch work blanket, doing beadwork, and reading her usual 5 books a day. Her and Brenda are working their way through Harry Potter and are now on book 2.

Dale and I put the repaired windlass mount back in place yesterday. It wasn't welded quite right (what else is new) but after some thought and a few modifications I think it is more likely to last than before. For you non boaters the windlass is used to raise the main anchor, without it we would have to use a much smaller anchor which can be hand hauled. Dale left us yesterday after a full month on board. I told him we would be about 2 weeks total, ha ha, that was a good one. He will be missed but I'm sure he is happy to get back to Suelaine and his regular life. I wish him all the best in all of his adventures.

We will get busy studying all the pilot charts of the Pacific and decide on the best route south of here.

Many thanks to everyone reading our blog and to all those who leave comments, we love reading them,

Pete

San Francisco

2007-05-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

We arrived yesterday (Wednesday) to much fanfare (on the boat) and hoopla. Sunshine, no fog and calm winds. We are staying at a marina in The Marina district. A short walk or bus ride from all the sights. There is a lot of activity all around us. Lasers and larger boats sailing in the bay, wind surfers, kite flyers, joggers etc. I spent my first full day doing maintenance. A few things have broken and need attention. I met a fellow on the docks who does a host of repair work and he helped me out
with getting a part welded. I still have a few things to do but have managed to complete most of the important work. Brenda and Nadia went to the Exploratorium, science center.
It's a pleasure to be here. I feel we really deserve it. There is a great deal of satisfaction in doing a trip like this all on your own. Making all the decisions and taking responsibility for the outcome. It has been a long trip, much much longer than I would have expected. Everyone learned a great deal. Now it's time to relax and get ready for the next leg. Whatever that may be.

Peter

Turning 50 in Bodega Bay

2007-05-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

Pat mentioned in an email that Hitchcock filmed The Birds here at Bodega Bay. Seems like a good place as any to turn 50 in. I had a very nice day, the weather was sunny and fairly warm. We made omelets and biscuits for breakfast, went out for a great lunch (courtesy of Dale) and had Thai curry with spinach salad and key lime pie to put the candles in. Nadia's idea and creation. Mercifully there are only 5 small candles on board for celebrations, we only used four of them. It was a small but fabulous
party. I'm now the proud owner of an underwater camera system. I can't wait to get to someplace where the water is a little bit warmer. The water outside Pt, Reyes is 49F. Also many thanks to Pat and John for the magazines and $$. Nadia, Brenda and I went for a walk and flew kites. Kite and other wind sports are a big deal here. The wind never seems to stop. The Bodega Bay buoy was reporting 29G41 kts at 7 pm and we hope it will subside so we can make the final run to San Francisco.

An apology to Suelaine for dragging Dale along on such a long outing. He's been very good to us and Nadia has grown quite attached to him.

Pete

Late Night Eats

2007-05-21T15:37:00.001-07:00

Dale sneaks a piece a chicken during the midnight to 4 am shift.

Sharing the Dock

2007-05-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sharing the dock with a big sea lion

Photo by Dale Sanders

More Play

2007-05-21T15:34:00.002-07:00

More Play

2007-05-21T15:34:00.001-07:00

Nadia at Play

2007-05-21T15:30:00.002-07:00

Nadia at Play

2007-05-21T15:30:00.001-07:00

Sea Lions on our dock

2007-05-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

These are sea lions on our dock by a catamaran named Blue Persuasion.

Photo by Nadia.

Sea Lions

2007-05-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

These are sea lions on a marker buoy.

Photo by Nadia

The Jelly Fish

2007-05-21T15:21:00.000-07:00

One man says that they are stinging jelly fish, dad has not gotten stung yet,

Photo by Nadia

Hiking

2007-05-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Thanks to Jayden and Ingrid for sending us a comment and to Mika and his family for posting comments. No worries, your dreams of waterfalls etc probably foreshadow some of the great things we are going to see. Peter is about to post a bunch of photos. These show sunny, calm conditions. Don't be fooled, this represents less than 5% of the time of the trip. Peter is paid the big bucks to put a rosy shine on all things he takes pictures of. That being said, when I saw all the photos, I realized that we have actually done quite a few things while at the various locations we have pulled into. Here are some of the highlights according to Nadia:
1) We have seen hundreds of pelicans, hundreds of sea lions (check out Nadia's photos of them), puffins, egrets, sandpipers, terns, and lots of jellyfish (see Nadia's photo of a purple bucketfull), dolphins and porpoises. Nadia had a giant mussel close on her net such that we had to wait 15 minutes or so until he let go.
2) Learning how to do a headstand on the grass and backrolls if I am going down a hill.
3) Gymnastics on the sail halyard and jibstay.
4) There is lots of kite flying here and kite waterskiing and windsurfing. I didn't know windsurfers could move that fast. There is a kite and candy store in the village of Bodega Bay. They have really beautiful kites there. Dad bought me two books of tattoos.
5) Fishing off the dock, catching jellyfish, and a couple of small fish.
6) I found 4 empty snail shells. They are very big. They like to live on what Mom thinks are Cana Lilies. I call them canvas lilies.
7) Nadia says it is taking so long to get to San Francisco and we are not there yet.
8) I made a ladybug, dragonfly and oyster out of Fimo clay. Also, I have done a lot of painting. We make lots of paper airplanes. After finishing a whole book of mazes, called MazeCraze, we tear out the pages, fold them into paper airplanes which we throw off the back of boat. Nadia has become an expert paper airplane folder.
Hopefully the next post will be from San Fran.
Brenda and Nadia.

Bodega Bay

2007-05-19T18:44:00.000-07:00

We are in Bodega Bay California just 60 sailing miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. What a nice feeling. We left Eureka after a slight delay waiting for the tide to lift us off the bottom. The conditions were very calm and we ended up motoring for most of the way. After all we experienced, Cape Mendocino was placid and calm. Exactly what it wasn't supposed to be. No complaints though. I was on the first shift for the night watch and had a very pleasant evening. I woke Dale at 12:30 who too had a good
shift. Just prior to turning it over to Brenda at 4:00 am the fog rolled in. She had a more entertaining time. The fog besides making it obviously more difficult to see other boats also deposits a fine mist on everything. Dale took over again at 7:00 am for Brenda, poor thing, who was very cold.
The wind here is very strong right now, we entered the skinny little channel that takes us to the marina in 30 kt head winds. First chance though we will make the final run to San Francisco. There are many interesting birds both in the bays we have been in and on route out at sea.

Peter

One of those days

2007-05-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

"By the way" our liveaboard neighbour at Eureka Public Marina tells me "the reason no one has this slip is because they couldn't dredge it properly and the water gets a little bit low at times". We'd been in and out a couple times since arriving and the sounder indicated enough water below us. There are two large boats either side of us, so what's the problem? Nothing really unless you want to leave during a below normal low at 5:30 am and find the boat happily sitting on it's keel. It's a solid
boat but if can't even make it rock back and forth, well...
The weather is frustrating to say it mildly. It is nothing but a twisting swirl of isobars in this area. We will head for Fort Bragg/Noyo Basin about 100 miles down the coast. That will be Friday and Saturday forecasts more gales for the area.

Peter

Waiting in Crescent City

2007-05-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well, 3 nights in Crescent City and we just got the bouy report just off of here - 10 foot waves at 7 seconds. So it looks like we are here for another night. This waiting is frustrating since we are already late in leaving from San Francisco in order miss the tropical storms off of Mexico. We may have to alter our course to Hawaii or directly to Tahiti, bypassing the Marqueses since we may not be able to sail safely south near the Mexican coast. The other option would be to head down the coast to
Costa Rica and then offshore from there to the Marqueses. Nadia is the best crew member in dealing with this. She is happy wherever we are, in fact her vote is to stay in Crescent City. There is a public pool for swimming, a beach, a good Thai restaurant, and yesterday a visit to Ocean World. This was a bit on the hokey side but Nadia loved the sea lion show and she got to pet a leopard shark. People continue to be very generous to us. We have been given crab to eat and been offered rides all over
town. Hopefully we will be underway again tomorrow.
Brenda.

24 hours

2007-05-11T21:09:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting on the cockpit bench watching the waves build. Dale is at the helm and mumbles something about placing the second entry way slat into position. Dales eyes widen and someone empties a bathtub full of water right behind and around me. The water flows around me and I watch the cockpit fill then quickly empty. Nadia and Brenda were having a nap in the aft cabin when this happened. Unfortunately we forgot to close the vent and they had a couple liters of cold ocean water dumped on their heads
into their shoes and clothes. We'd been sailing for about 4 hours at this point.
We'd quickly left Coos Bay once the bar restriction was lifted for vessels 30 feet and greater. The Coast Guard closely monitors the wave conditions on the bar and issues restrictions for vessel size depending on the size of the waves. We found the Coast Guard to be very generous with their evaluation of the bar because even though Songline is 36 feet it was a pretty rough go getting over the bar. After about an hour of bashing waves we came to the edge of the bar where the sea bottom drops away.
In a matter of just a minute or two the conditions completely change for the better. Until they get worse that is.
The weather report was good. 15-25 N winds lessening after midnight. It should have been a very nice run to San Francisco. Initially the sailing was perfect, we were doing a solid 7.5 kts under double reefed main and working jib. The winds kept increasing. I kept thinking, no worry we only have to keep things together until midnight when they will ease. So why is it 3:00 am with winds at 30 kts gusting to 40? Brenda couldn't sleep so checked the weather; gale warnings and a worsening overall report.
Time to hide yet again. We were abeam to Crescent City making it the obvious choice. The boat (and crew) handled the situation very well. Down below the motion was not too bad, above it was totally eye popping. We were running under stay sail only with average speeds of 6 to 7 knots and as high as 9+ during the heavy gusts. All this in total darkness. Dale referred to the boat as a bucking bronco. We needed to stay closer (15 to 20 miles) inshore to avoid even stronger winds further out so would
gybe the staysail every half hour or so to keep us on the required track. What a night. No one slept. Every now and then a big gust would come by at the same time as a large wave rolled through, the boat would dig one side in and scoop out a few hundred pounds of water to help chill our already numb bodies. The wind vane steered the boat through most of this. I'd have to reset it after each gybe but it's ability to hold track in those conditions was really remarkable.

Peter

Fishing

2007-05-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Blog,

We and dad went fishing. We had a game where who ever caught the most fish in one batch won, I did. Mom fell asleep five times in the laundermat. I saw six ladybugs and two chipmunks. We are in Crescent City California.

Nadia,

Dale's Parallel Blog

2007-05-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

Check out Dale's blog on the trip as well, more photos etc.

http://www.daleisanders.blogspot.com/

tadpoles

2007-05-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

We saw tadpoles, frogs, salamanders and the botanical garden.
Lots of love, Nadia

spiral gilled Tube worm.

2007-05-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

we saw a spiral gilled tube worm. we also saw 5 sea lions up on the dock. I spotted the fuel dock before anyone else did. (Ed. This is all happening in Coos Bay Oregon). I spotted the bottom by using a aluminum tube connected to a piece of rope.
lots of love, Nadia.

Hurry Up and Wait

2007-05-05T21:09:00.001-07:00

I've heard many stories of the conditions down the west coast of the US. Everyone different. I was sure we were going to get the 10-20 kt north winds the whole way down. Not quite. We've had a couple of days of excellent sailing but are motoring in zero winds as I write this. Fact is I couldn't write this if we weren't in zero winds. My tummy would not allow it. Oh well, it'll settle down soon. We're heading into Coos Bay to wait out some rough weather coming up around Cape Mandocina. The estimate is for 9-11 foot windwaves. No thanks. Miss you all.

Pete

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see:

http://www.sailmail.com

Nadia Steering The Way Into Grays Harbor

2007-05-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Nadia and Brenda in Victoria

2007-05-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Nadia and Brenda with Songline in front of the Empress Hotel, Victoria.

Flying Across Georgia Strait

2007-05-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

Dale and I enjoying a fantastic sail across Georgia Strait with full sails up.

Update from Westport

2007-05-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

It is Thursday, May 3 rd and we are waiting for the tail end of the southerly winds to pass. We expect to leave tomorrow morning. Having learned what it is possible to eat on the way here, saltines, baby cookies, and cans of fruit have been moved into the most accessible cupboard. Nadia had dinner of 20 or so baby cookies one night at sea! Yesterday was Peter and I's wedding anniversary, Nadia wrote us two lovely cards and we opened the gift that my mom and dad had stowed on board. An infusion of
cash (your kids never stop costing you!) and a great pair of shorts and t-shirts for both of us. Thanks! So far we have been dressed in heavy weather gear most of the time (I slept in my foul weather gear for 2 nights and Nadia wears her snow pants while in the cockpit). I keep telling her it really is going to get warmer. People here have been really friendly to us, Nadia so far has been given an inner tube (from the Billings Montana family), a necklace, and 4 postcards (two of which people have
addressed to themselves and want posted in New Zealand). Perhaps they don't think we are going to make it? Westport, Grays Harbour, is a commercial fishing port (that stinks! says Nadia) that is moving towards tourism including sport fishing, surfing and kite flying. When the sport fishermen come in, they throw the guts of the fish into the water, triggering fights between the sea gulls and the sea lions over the skins and carcasses. There are also loons in the bay and, in the state park just south
of here, we saw brown pelicans, sandpipers and deer. Nadia got a certificate for climbing to the top of the highest lighthouse in Washington state (135 steps). I thought the volunteer guide was going to have a heart attack and Nadia and I were going to have to carry him down. Nadia zooms around on the pavement using her Razor. Peter discovered that it is very upsetting to try and use the computer (he was getting weather info) when the seas are large (we had a 12 foot swell and 4 foot wind waves on
the way here with about 20 to 25 knot NW winds. We sailed under double reefed main and staysail the whole time averaging about 5.5 knots). Dale was brilliant off the start, I had to lie down for 4 or 5 hours after rounding Cape Flattery and he helmed until Peter and I recovered in the early evening. The forecast is for better conditions as we leave here but I don't expect there to be much communication until San Francisco. Finally, thanks to everyone who has posted comments to our blog and sent us
email. We enjoy hearing from you.
Brenda.

Plan to change your plans

2007-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

Try as we may it's the weather that has the final say on where we end up. Tucked away in calm harbour certainly has it's appeal. Grays Harbour has plenty of things to do keep us occupied. However we are not making any miles. Looks like Thursday or Friday until we get moving again. I'm finding it a challenge to get out on Winlink, our Sailmail account on the other hand is working well.

Peter

Message for everyone especially Emma

2007-04-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Emma we have seen sea lions two places now they are very playful
we saw an albatross he was swooping very low over the water I was intending of a
name for him (Fred) but I forgot to tell my mom. we went into Grays Harbour because
the weather was too rough up South. Dad threw up.
Lots of Love, Nadia.

Thanks from Neah Bay!

2007-04-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Neah Bay, the jumping off spot for San Francisco and we
are waiting for the weather. Right now it is awful- cold, pouring rain and
windy (ok the wind isn't awful). Now that we have a couple of minutes of time
in which we are not trying to complete a zillion items on a list, it is time
to thank everyone for the help that we have got over the last couple of months.
There are many people, here are some singled out for particular attention:
1) Brenda's parents, Pat and John, for a new para-anchor (grandparents go for the
safety items!) and a ton of help in the last week helping to get our house ready
for rental and keeping us alive by cooking and buying food for us. They are here
with us in Neah Bay for the final send off. They are also going to be looking
after our dog for the next eight months.
2) Terre, Wally and Emma for a fabulous t-shirt and lots of playtime for Nadia
at their house while Peter and I were getting the final things done. Dinner at
the yacht club wasn't bad either.
3) Jason, Theresa for the world's best thermos and also a great pressure cooker
and filet knife (note, shop Puddifoots in Kerrisdale) and a fantastic send off
dinner. And books for Nadia. WOW!
4) My brother Aaron for advice on the first aid kit and the donated supplies.
I sincerely hope we don't have to use any of that stuff.
5)Alan, Dieta, Sarah and Julie for a new favorite mug for Nadia and a supply
of emergency dental supplies. Again, I hope that I don't need be gluing teeth
back together in the middle of the ocean.
6) Dale for coming with us and not complaining about anything (well except for
his computer difficulties with email).
7) Karla and Eric for living next door to us and agreeing to show our house
to prospective tenants (this is a really big one since we are trying to escape
a financial implosion).
8) Ron and Cherie and Robert for finding us a fuel pump in Sidney in less
than 45 minutes and cooking us a great dinner. Hopefully we will see you in Tonga
or somewhere thereabouts!
9) Nadia's kindergarten teacher, Heather Stephens, who made Nadia's last
day of kindergarten special and stress free. Thanks also to all the kindergarten
students and teachers and moms who signed two very special cards. Two of the
moms, Annalise and Teresa deserve special credit - the cupcakes, the compass
and the helium balloon (which is here on the boat with us) thrilled Nadia.
If there is someone left of this list, sorry. Updates will occur regularly!
As soon as the weather permits, it is show time.
Brenda.

Three Days and Counting

2007-04-21T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a mad rush trying to get everything in place. Only a couple of days left until we start to make our way to Neah Bay. Brenda is writing her final exam today. I can't think of a busier time ever in our lives. I picked up our Visas today from the French Consulate. One less thing to worry about.

Peter

Automatic Position Reporting

2007-04-04T17:26:00.000-07:00

We will be making regular position reports via Winlink so for those who would like to know where we are you can click on one of the following links,

http://www.shiptrak.org/
Search for callsign VA7BDN

http://www.winlink.org/positions/PosReports.aspx
Search for VA7BDN

Nadia and Brenda on Songline

2007-04-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Nadia and Brenda on Songline showing off some shells they found on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

The Crew

2007-04-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

Hi again,

For those of you who don't know us let me introduce ourselves.

Peter 49 years old, Photographer.
Brenda 41 years old, Math student.
Nadia 5 years old, kindergarten.

For our Vancouver to San Francisco leg we will also be taking along Dale Sanders, ultimate sailor, world renowned photographer.

The Boat

2007-04-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

For those interested in our boat Songline please read on. I'll try not to make this too boring. She is steel, round chine cutter manufactured in Sidney BC by Waterline Yachts. When we bought her she was well rigged and equipped for lond distance cruising. We've had a storm jib made and added a parachute anchor to her inventory. I've changed the charging system around to include a high capacity alternator and automatic charge relays. She has 3-90W solar panels which seem to work quite well keeping the 400A of house batteries charged. I added a SCS-IIusb PACTOR III modem to the iCOM 710 SSB. Unfortunately we had to go to the "dark side" and buy a Windows laptop. We had the radio opened up for HAM frequencies. I really like the way the systems works. Getting weather information, sending and receiving emails and voice communications all seem to work very well. It is however electronics and I know well enough that if it keeps working for even a week or two I'll consider it lucky. We have a Village Marine water maker. Probably one of the best pieces of equipment on the boat is the hard dodger. It extends over the entire length of the cockpit. When we first bought the boat I was considering having it removed. It didn't look very "yachtie". Soon after that while heading up Georgia Strait I noticed the crew on a boat beside us all wearing foul weather gear while I still had my t-shirt on. The notion of removing the dodger quickly waned. We have pressure hot and cold water but no shower. Out on deck for that. I wanted to install a below decks autopilot but didn't have time or money. We do have a Monitor wind vane steering system which should, from everything we hear, become one of our best friends. There's a diesel heater but for the South Pacific I might as well pack the boat with down sleeping bags and parkas. We have all the required safety gizmos like EPIRB, flares, 6 man life raft etc.

Peter

Last Minute Repairs

2007-04-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

I took the boat out with the family last Sunday for a harbour cruise and to do a quick test to make sure everything was working properly. Ignorance is bliss. I should have left it tied to the dock. The transmission started to slip. It's probably been slipping for a while but became abundantly obvious on Sunday. After two missing knuckles, a sore back and the usual assortment of expletives I managed to wrestle it out of the boat. Now I'm scrambling to get it repaired. Everyone tells me that I'm lucky that it happened here. That's like being lucky you had a heart attack in front of the emergency ward.

Peter

Three Weeks to Go,

2007-03-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

With three weeks to go everything (except our passports) are looking good. Canada has completely dropped the ball with issuing new passports. Getting them is using up lots of time that could otherwise be spent working on the boat.
Songline is back in the water after spending 5 days on the hard at Mosquito Creek. New bottom paint and zincs, a bit of grease in the prop and a quick polish of the topsides. We keep packing equipment and provisions onto her. The waterline is slowing going down. Dale Sanders has agreed to come along with us to San Francisco. This will make the trip down the coast much easier.

Greetings From Songline

2007-03-06T15:58:00.001-08:00

Greetings and welcome to our blog. In the summer of 2003 we purchased Songline, a 36' steel sailboat manufactured by Waterline. We knew we wanted to go on a cruising adventure but didn't really know exactly where and when. In 2004 we took her up to the Queen Charlotte Islands. In 2005 we went around Vancouver Island and in 2006 we did a short but pleasant trip to Victoria and the Gulf Islands. Songline is our first boat and we bought her with very little sailing experience. We hired a very good instructor to spend five days helping us to get to know the boat. Since then we've spent about 8 months total cruising the waters of British Columbia.
The end of April 2007 will be our launch date for a cruise to the South Pacific and New Zealand. Meanwhile we spend very little time sailing while preparing for the trip. The details that need to be dealt with are seemingly without end. Making sure everything is properly dealt with is very time consuming. Insurance is a problem unless we are willing to take extra crew which we do not want to do. However most of the big hurdles are behind us and it's just a matter of pushing ahead until the last of the details are complete.

2007-03-06T15:57:00.001-08:00

Crossing Hecate Strait to the Queen Charlotte Islands.