A Christmas Story, Part I

Picture this:
It's Thursday afternoon. The clouds are high and the seas are calm. I'm stuck in the office, on my third hour of mindlessly crimping and coiling cables, pondering why I always have "indoor" jobs when it's not raining, when John asks,

"So, what should we do this weekend?"

"Let's take the boat out. We can anchor somewhere nice. We can catch dinner, and go hiking, and play games. Maybe even hoist the sails on the way!"

It sounds glorious. I crimp and coil a little faster, thinking of a relaxing weekend away.

On Friday afternoon, though, John has the gall to CHECK THE FORECAST...The Nerve...

Gale warning in effect, says one source. Winds 30-40 knots, 100% chance of precipitation, says another. My heart sinks. "We'll check again in the morning," John says with a forced smile, "maybe the forecast will change." I go to bed preemptively grumpy.

Saturday morning's forecast is worse and we begrudgingly make the "smart" decision to stay put. With spirits dashed and no back up plan in place, John reluctantly starts on an indoor boat project (with all that rain coming...) and I pout. Our frowns deepen when Saturday night rolls around and there are no halyards clanging, no waves slapping the hull, and no rain pelting the dodger. THE FORECAST WAS WRONG. A common occurrence in this complex meteorological topography, but I take it as a personal offense. Why would they do that to me?! They just don't want me to have a fun weekend away. How rude. 


This story, unfortunately, is not fiction. I have wasted more than one weekend grumbling about non-existent foul weather. So when we decided that for Christmas we would take the boat out, anchor somewhere nice, catch dinner, go hiking, and play games, I was prepared. I assumed the worst, banned all thoughts that allowed anticipatory excitement, and made other plans. 


Gale warning in effect for the central coast starting tonight, December 25th, through tomorrow night, December 26th. Winds southeast reaching 40-50 knots. Rain likely. 

And the debate begins: 

It's not supposed to start until later, 

we could already be tucked away in a protected cove

But what if it comes early

But what if it doesn't come at all?! 

We don't want to get angry at the forecasters on Christmas, 

that's just not fair

So LET'S GO!
 
To be continued...

The requisite 'Year End Review'...

And 2011 comes to a close. It was a great year for us, full of adventure, transitions, development, and happiness. We achieved all of our goals for the year (and how often can you say that?!), including some huge life alterations.

A few highlights--

Where we live:
-spent many many weekends driving all over the Pacific NW looking at boats to buy (Jan-March)
-bought our first home (which also happened to be a sailboat) (March)

-moved out of 8035, our residence for 3 years (April)
-started living aboard Halcyon (April)
-sailed our home up the coast of BC (June-July)
-became Canadian residents (and therefore qualified for Canadian health care) (July)

Where we work:

-received unofficial job offers from PacificWILD, pending work visa (February)
-(finally) received Canadian work visas (June)
-moved to Canada (July)
-started our jobs at Pacific Wild (July)

What we do:
(perhaps not surprisingly, I have many  more pictures of "what we do" than I do of "where we work"...) 


-raced sailboats ALOT (Jan-June)







-went to Mexico (March)
-were initiated into the world of never-ending boat projects (March)



-won the Van Isle 360 (with the help of the extraordinary crew of Kotuku, of course) (June)

-caught lots of salmon (July-September)







 
-started planning our wedding (August)


And a few things Stayed the same:


-Chaco stayed with us through every transition, adapting perfectly to life on the boat, and relishing life on Denny Island




-The way my heart feels when I hug my husband-to-be

2012 promises to be an equally pivotal year, with sailing adventures, vocational successes, travel expeditions, and a new piece of jewelery!

Winter Projects

When we bought the boat (9 months ago now!) we talked a lot about our "winter projects" list.
This is an imposing list of things to fix or change, best done in the "quiet" months of the year. The list contains such daunting tasks as:

-add refrigeration
-remount engine
-replace water tanks
-refinish sole (floor)

Now it's the end of the December, and we're still talking about our "winter projects". I'm starting to recognize that this "winter projects' list could simply grow year after year without shrinking much at all. There is always a reason not to start the project yet.

Well, I worry no more. Two nights ago, I came home to this:

This is John, crouching on the seat under which rests (one of) our completely useless leaky water tank, surveying the best way to saw open our perfectly functional settee.

There were no power tools out yet, but a whole lot of head-scratching had already taken place. I encouraged it. In fact, I went to the shop to retrieve the power tools!

And three hours later, it looked like this:

Night number two saw us scrunching ourselves uncomfortably trying to finagle the tank out the boat with out scratching the wood.

We now have a very practical...pit...in the boat:

While our maimed tank sits, broken and dejected, on the dock:

Sorry broken and dejected tank, but had you not sprung so many leaks we would not have disowned you quite so readily!

Next step: order new tanks in strange dimensions and hope Santa's sleigh has a cheaper delivery option than Shearwater and Canada Post... 

And the first (of many) winter projects is underway.

Same and Different

Over Thanksgiving this year we spent a week in Seattle- visiting friends, eating lots, and buying things! The pertinent part for this blog is all the questions our friends in Seattle had. They made me realize I have not done a very good job portraying our life on this blog! So over the next few blog posts I'm going to try to paint a picture of life in our home, at our job, and in this wonderous place.

Let's start with life on a boat. We live on a sailboat, a unique lifestyle we have taken for granted, surrounded as we are by other boat-centric people. Our boat is 40' long and 12.5' wide at it's widest point. If you exclude the cockpit and take into account the tapering hull, we probably have about 250' of living space. This may seem small. That's because it is. We downsized considerably to move aboard. But it's amazing what you learn you don't need when you don't have the space for it!

To see pictures and to get an idea of the layout of our home, read this post.

Taking an average land-dweller's home, here are some similarities and differences between our life and yours.

The Bedroom
Same:
~We sleep in a full sized bed with plenty of foot room (enough, even, that there's extra so Chaco can keep our feet warm on the coldest nights).
~We have a hanging locker [closet] with plenty of space for our limited selection of hanging clothes.**

Different:
~Aside from the bed, our bedroom consists of 4 square feet of standing space. Only one person can stand in there at a time
~We get gently rocked to sleep most nights (and violently pitched around some nights...)
~The hanging locker butts up to the hull, so we have to watch for condensation (it's also, technically, outside the bedroom, but just barely).
~There is a small entrance into the bed, so some acrobatics are involved if the person on the inside wants to get up first

The Dog Bed:
Same:
~Chaco has a dedicated bed where he spends most of his time when we're home

Different:
~His bed is above the couch!

The Galley [kitchen]
Same:
~We have a full galley complete with a stove, oven, two sinks, counter space, and lots of storage. I challenge you: anything you can make in your kitchen I can make in my galley. I bake lasagna, make bread, and cook homemade pizza.
~When we are at the dock, we tie directly into a hose that runs from a rain collection cistern and so we have pressurized water

Different:
~We don't have refrigeration, but this time of year that is not a problem. We keep things we want cold in a box in the cockpit, easy to reach from the companionway [doorway].
~We have a manual foot pump that pumps in salt water to conserve freshwater when it doesn't rain enough (ha!) or if we're not at the dock
~When we are not at the dock, our freshwater comes from a 5-gallon jug (*this is only because our water tanks leak, once we replace those, we will have running water all the time)

The Work space 
Same:
~Our [nav station] desk houses work, electronics, and paperwork, and is frequently cluttered! 
~We have a great sound system with speakers throughout the boat including in the cockpit [back porch].
~We can listen to our Ipod or to the radio (though we only get one station- that's not because we live on a boat, that's because we live in a very remote place!)
~When we are at the dock, we plug into shore power and have all the lights, electronics, and hot water we want

Different:
~We get our internet through a cell "dongle" that connects to John's computer. (My computer is too old to support the software, so I go to the house to use the internet).
~When we are not at the dock, we are limited to the electricity our batteries put out. This means less lights, limited electronics, and no hot water (unless the engine is running)

The Head [bathroom]:
Same:
~We have a bathroom with a toilet, sink, showerhead, mirror, and storage

Different:
~The toilet has a manual hand pump to flush, and flushes with sea water. It can either go into a holding tank and get pumped out or go overboard.
~We use marine-grade toilet paper that degrades quickly
~We do not have a separate shower stall, so the whole bathroom gets quite wet during a shower. We chose to shower up at the house, since that option is available to us right now, and much simpler. 

The Vee [guest room]:
Same:
~We have a guest room!
~It has a bed and lights and shelves and sheets and pillows (it's comfy, come try it out)

Different:
~It is in the shape of a "V", so you play footsie with your sleeping partner
~It rocks gently in the wind and waves
~The window is above your head, and provides a beautiful view of the stars (or...clouds...)

Heat:
Same:
~Our home has a heater. While I don't think I can call it centralized heat, the heater is quite central

Different:
~We use a diesel stove to heat the boat
~To turn on the heater, we prime the stove by letting some diesel into the cup, soaking a piece of paper towel, lighting the paper towel, dropping it back in the diesel, and hoping it catches before the paper has burned up.
~The fuel comes from our main fuel tank, there is a small electric pump that pumps the fuel into the heater. It makes a dull 'thump' every 5 seconds or so from the engine room. I've come to expect the sound, like the ticking of a clock, and miss it when it's not there

Cockpit [back porch]:
Same:
~We have a fantastic back porch, which is great for parties, summer evening dinners, and sunbathing
~We enter our home through a doorway from the back porch
~This space is unhelpful in the winter, and serves primarily as a wet, slippery entrance to our home

Different:
~We also drive our home from our back porch
~The door into the boat is two wood panels that slide into place vertically and a large panel that slides horizontally over the top. There is no door knob. (but don't worry, mom, there is still a lock)
~The use of this space practically doubles our living space in the summer, when we can leave the door open because it's warm and sunny (ahhh)


**After I wrote this post, I read it to John and he pointed out how skewed my vision is- the hanging locker I describe as having "plenty of space" is 3' wide, 4' tall, and 2' deep. Everything we hang, hangs in there.  I'm sure many other things I think of as "same" are actually quite "different", at least in scale!

Good Morning!

This morning, I woke up and got dressed for work. Like most of you probably did. But that may be where the similarities end.

Here's what I put on:

-a pair of smartwool leggings
-a pair of mountain khaki work pants
-a pair of wool socks
-a short sleeve shirt
-a long sleeve shirt
-a fleece
-a pair of waterproof sailing bibs
-a waterproof puffy winter coat (the warmest thing I own)
-a pair of rubber boots
-a beanie (they call them 'toques' (too-ks) here)
-a pair of very thick diving gloves

And I was cold. It's not so much the temperature, but the constant biting wind and the perpetual precipitation falling from the sky.

But then the sun peaks out, and the stunning beauty makes it easy to forget how cold and wet you are.

And to help you experience that beauty:
Coming soon to a blog near you: a photo blog by John!

Shearwater

I recognize this post is a bit...late. But I never remember to take my camera when we go to town!

"Town" is generally Shearwater. Which, you will see in this post, is not much of a town at all. The "big city", on the other hand, is Bella Bella.

Now first, it seems many of you still don't really know where we are. For shame! Google maps is your friend. But to help you out, click on this link. Zoom in, zoom out, click on markers, go crazy!

http://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=283792&x=-128.1196&y=52.1583&z=6

Now that you know what part of the world we live in, here's some Shearwater details. But first, I can't let a post slip by without mention of the weather! So notice the beautiful sky in all of these pictures, and how everyone is out and about, enjoying this lovely Saturday afternoon.

The town:

The restaurant/bar/only place to eat out:

The shopping strip- includes laundromat, showers, toy store, and coffee/boutique/hair dresser:

The grocery store and post office in foreground, the hardware store/marine store/boat yard/engine repair in the background:

The hardware store/marine store (boat yard/engine repair in background):

Main Street:

The "sporty lodge", where all the sport fishermen stay in the summer. This lodge came in on a barge, and is still on a barge. They simply filled in gravel behind it. You can still see the rubber barge edges as you walk in the front door. This way you have a waterfront view and if (when) the fish all bugger off from this coast because there is a -ok, I said no more political blogging- They can simply move the resort to the new great fishing spot - which hopefully someone discovers soon on an as-of-yet undiscovered perfectly habituated planet in a new solar system...

The dock. Filled with fishing boats this day because of a gale coming in (it blew 50 knots that night). In the summer- packed with cruisers. In the winter- completely and eerily empty:

And there you have it. Your Shearwater tour is complete. Now COME VISIT and see it for yourself.

Occupy the Media

I don't usually post political things, I try to stay out of all that mumbo jumbo....and this article is distinctly Canadian, which most of you are not....BUT I like what he has to say, and I think this is a good one to get out to the masses. So I ask you to read it, think about it, and maybe pass it along if you think it's a message more people should hear.

“

Don't let the corporate media define 'Occupy' ...   

Media focuses on camps, ignores issues - as usual   

The Corporate Media is the propaganda arm of Corporate Canada. Right now the media is trying to 'define' the Occupy movement in a negative way. And all of the rest of us 99% must remember that The Media is the mouthpiece of the 1%; it is not our friend, it cannot be trusted, and we must always watch the corporate media with an eagle's eye because it never stops trying to lie to us and mislead us about everything of importance.

Since the big 'Occupy Protests' of a few weeks ago, the media has focused all of its attention on 'the camps' that have been set up across Canada. Here in Victoria, the focus is on the camps around Victoria City Hall and in Vancouver. It is relatively easy for the media to make the camps 'look bad', and now someone has died in Vancouver and the officials are saying that the camps have to go. There may be trouble and it will all end with anger which is what Corporate Canada wants.

But the camps are not the Occupy Movement, only a small part of it. The media is focusing on the camps because that is where they want the focus to be. They DON'T want the focus to be on what the movement is really all about, and that's because they want us to forget about that. Occupy is about the lack of democracy in Canada, but there is little mention of that in the corporate media. Occupy is about the corruption of our governments by the billionaires and the elites, and how those people are bankrupting entire nations and destroying our planet. Occupy is about the 'free trade deals' the 1% have imposed on us; deals that have cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs and led to record corporate profits and record homelessness and record food bank use. Occupy is about the nuclear disaster in Japan that is going to kill millions of us, and about how all the Big Media is corporate and how it lies to us and misleads us every day of the year. All of that is what Occupy is about, and The Media's job is to make us forget it - if they can.

The media could be leading us in a discussion about how to improve our democracy and make it work better for us, but they aren't. The media could be giving us information about how we can fix up our tax system, but they aren't. The media could be telling us about climate change and fracking and how we can move towards a sane environmental policy, but they aren't. Instead the media are focusing on a few dozen people living in tents. Why are they doing this? Because that is where they want the focus to be. And until the rest of us come to grips with how corrupt and manipulative the Canadian media is, we are going to keep losing. We've got to keep our eyes focused on our real enemies; and the real enemies are the corporations, their politicians, and their media. And we have to keep some real solutions in mind, and in my opinion two of the best solutions are more democracy and a free press. Let's Occupy That.

jack etkin

”