So it was quite thrilling to have the boat moored back on this side of the Strait, and would have expected there to be many entries posted here. So what happened? Well, life gets busy sometimes, doesn't it. First off, we got a chance to use, spend time with (and on) Volti a lot this season. After the past couple years, that was a priority for us and I'm glad we were able to correct that. However, with lots of other activity (a life outside of Volti? Really?), I simply didn't get much (okay anything) up in terms of updates to this blog. So with that said, the following is an abridged version of our time since returning Volti to PRM.
Back at PRM. Finally. We had always moored over on the north-west side of PRM. We had previously watched for a deep enough slip over on E-Dock (home of PRYC), but there were few that would allow us to remain off the silty bottom all year round (the -tides in Jan. and Aug. drop WAY down). With the abundance of slips available (including one that pre-closure was deep enough), we took a slip on E-Dock. As Commodore of PRYC, it seemed proper that I be more 'present', especially to welcome returning vessels if/when they chose to return. Settled in, we were glad to be back to regular access to Volti, and to be able to get started catching up on deferred maintenance and cleaning chores that go hand in hand with keeping a vessel in a proper manner. Around this time, I also noticed that there appeared to be less water below Volti's keel; after dipping a lead line and consulting tide charts, it turns out this area of the marina had silted in over 1' since we'd been away. This was not going to work for us -a boat is supposed to float in water, touching the bottom is taboo, even if it's just sediment. So we elected to move directly across the marina from E-Dock. While no longer on E, it was only a 100' span, and within shouting distance.
As others began noticing the same issue with depths, more considered -and began moving their boats over to N-Dock as well. There was a Club work party to clean up the couple years of accumulated filth of our Club float, and to put the vinyl roof back over the frame. Given the shallowing issue, some membership brought up the idea to consider moving to a deeper dock before too many boats begin returning to the basin. Lots of time spent negotiating that potential with the Marina and initiating discussion/polling the Club membership, etc., but bottom line was that we'd be moving across the basin.
PRYC Easter Cruise (Poet's Cove)
With most of the Club boats were still moored outside of PRM, our first Club cruise was to Poet's on S. Pender Island, but we were the only boat crossing from US waters. The Maritime Border restrictions/Closures were separate and on a different timeline than land crossings. In fact, as I dug into researching what the new (that weekend) requirements would be I was getting multiple interpretations from multiple agents. We had a late start to our crossing, and it potentially could be an even later arrival to the Rendezvous if we were asked to go all the way to Sidney before back-tracking to Poets. Fortunately, the agent allowed us to clear at Bedwell directly -although we were to phone in again upon our arrival for our Clearance number (a change in procedure?). As it turned out, there were agents attending to the seasonal office they keep at Poet's in preparation of its opening. I was still a little confused/uncertain after our check in the previous day, so went to speak with them directly. While I did everything correct on my end, it turned out that I really should have been sent to Sidney, so we dodged one there. They were actually very appreciative in my stopping by to discuss it, as they recognized the rapid changes to regulations was also hard for their field officers to keep up on.
It was great to get back and be able to start the season with a Club Cruise. While things were still SLOWLY returning back to normal, that was a nice first step. A great time was had by all.
In May, Lisa continued forging ahead with the enclosure portion of the canvas work. her 'workshop' was full of the various (11 pieces in total) window sections. We also had a Club dual destination cruise for the Victoria Day long weekend. We were 1 of 4 vessels that attended at Sucia. With quite a low tide and the deeper spots of our original destination of Shallow Bay already taken, we opted to go around to Fossil Bay instead. When checking the forecast for our intended Monday departure, strong wind warnings were part of the Maritime forecast. While we opted to head out that evening as a result, the others stuck around and found Monday to have Champange conditions for their trip home. Oh well.
Lisa got the canvas basically wrapped up in June, although there were still final fittings/fastener installations to do. As great as it was to have it finished, she also knew that shade and relief from the fast approaching summer sun/heat also needed to be prepared for. So began her fabrication of our shades & screens (can you see a pattern developing?). With school still in, sailing was mostly just Tues. night racing, with preparation for getting away for extended trips in July and August.
Looking forward to getting out for more than a weekend, we opted to head down into the San Juan Islands, rather than join the majority of the crew heading north to Desolation. We hadn't been able to head down there for the past 2 years, so wanted to re-acquaint ours with it. It became apparent fairly quickly that our solar issues, which I thought were dealt with the previous year, were still an issue. This meant that we weren't able to spend as much time away from the shore-power weather as we had planned. As frustrating as it was, I must say that, once diagnosed, Pacific Yacht Systems were great about follow up service. They had replacement panels (warranty) put aside for us upon our return, and updated controllers (we had changed battery types since our original solar install and for efficiency, opted to match their charging characteristics) on order. So although it took a couple weeks for all of that to shake down, when we cast the lines for the next trip, it was like new -and nice to return to 'forgetting' about fridge loads.
Looking forward to getting out for more than a weekend, we opted to head down into the San Juan Islands, rather than join the majority of the crew heading north to Desolation. We hadn't been able to head down there for the past 2 years, so wanted to re-acquaint ours with it. It became apparent fairly quickly that our solar issues, which I thought were dealt with the previous year, were still an issue. This meant that we weren't able to spend as much time away from the shore-power weather as we had planned. As frustrating as it was, I must say that, once diagnosed, Pacific Yacht Systems were great about follow up service. They had replacement panels (warranty) put aside for us upon our return, and updated controllers (we had changed battery types since our original solar install and for efficiency, opted to match their charging characteristics) on order. So although it took a couple weeks for all of that to shake down, when we cast the lines for the next trip, it was like new -and nice to return to 'forgetting' about fridge loads.
September was busy w/the Club Labour Day Cruise -returning to our traditional destination of Stuart Island. Turn out was less than I was hoping, but those there had great fun. With the Club jumping over to N-Dock, we got a work crew together for the weekend after Labour Day to barge the Club Float over to our new digs. I'm sure it was a sight of entertainment for all that got to watch! Fall racing also started up again. We had a few more boats join in, although still lots of room for the fleet to grow. We had a couple horrendous starts, but by consistently showing up (along with a few non-horrendous starts) we eek'd out First Overall for the Series. With a few adjustments to our rigging, I hope to improve on general boat performance for the upcoming Winter Series in February.
The only sailing for Oct. & Nov. was for Saturday Club races. There was less wind overall this year, it seemed. One definitely got rewarded (or hurt) with current calculations -and they weren't always what/where you would expect them). The Club replacement shed finally arrived, so there was an after-race assembly/work party for that one day. There was the Club AGM; I would liked to have seen another candidate step up for Commodore, but in the end I agreed to serve for one more year. We had a nice turnout at the Riverhouse Club Social at the end of November.