Lessons and other things; Desolation Sound

L

localboy

New member
So M and I just returned from two weeks on-board 'Au Kai. A trip to Desolation Sound and back. 423.4 nautical miles total; our longest trip by far. We had a GREAT time! We even met up w/ JD and Camille (Berta's Boy) and friends for a few days.

A few lessons learned:

-Have an extra water pump. I did and it saved our trip. The power connection on the pressure pump on the one installed rusted away. I had to make the switch mid-trip. More on that later.

-Water, water, water. 23+6 gallons is not enough, and we are very careful. I carried an extra 6.5 gallon jerry-can and we used it. Gonna look into adding another tank in the bow; 10 more gallons would be great.

-You can drain a group 31 deep cycle at anchor. We did it. Three days and even w/ all LED lighting installed. The refer I imagine, although we did use a small inverter to watch movies on my laptop.

-You can also fill a 9 gallon black water tank in three days @ anchor. Trust me.

-Radar is essential up here. We crossed the Strait of Georgia in zero viz (fog). But we traveled slowly and trusted the screen.

-Check the weather often. We stayed another night in Ganges as the outlook called for 25-35 knot winds in Haro Strait w/ a high wind warning by Environment Canada. We found a restaurant that had the Seahawks game on so it was perfect! Seahawks 29 Forty-Whiners 3!!!!

-I did not miss the internet although having it for weather access etc would have been nice.

-Don't forget your shoes when you row to shore to run a stern tie! Those rocks etc are sharp.

-Beer in Canada is ridiculously expensive! :thdown

-Some people get pissed no matter what time you run your generator and for how short a time. Some passive-aggressive, uh,....uhm...."woman" on a catamaran yelled "YAY!" after I shut it down. It was 1700 hours and it ran for 1/2 hour. Bite me. I wanted to yell back "Yep..YAY!!!!....HOT SHOWERS!!!!" but M thought that would be uh....uhm....oh, never mind.

-Traveling w/ good friends makes it all the better!

Quote of the trip: "We can go over there...behind the 'little one'....."

The owner of a 40'-ish Bayliner to his wife, who was on the bow getting ready to set anchor, while pointing at us. We were anchored at Prideaux Haven. We WERE the smallest boat in the entire anchorage...but we had just as much joy as everyone else at being there!!!!
 
Great lessons learned, thanks for sharing. But it does make me wonder if I could ever survive a long trip.

As for the generator, I would have started it right back up and let it run for an hour. :oops:
 
Nice Mark. Sounds like you were well planned and trained and it paid off. As to the generator.... she was just jealous.

I had 2 experiences with gen sets at different docks over a past 9 day trip. One guy asked if I would mind if he ran one on the dock, and offered if I wanted to plug in too, and the other, came in right off my stern, I am sitting in the cockpit listening to my music pretty quietly and they set the Honda 2000 out on the swim step, not 8 feet from me and crank it up, with obvious effort to avoid acknowledging that I was even there. (I came close to dropping a line off my cleat around it as I left the dock about 06 the next morning.) I'm sure it would have been an accidental incident :twisted:

Thanks for the learning lesson list. You make some good points. Sounds like the battery issue was probably the main thing. That and the learning to trust the radar. That is a really good lesson.

Thanks for sharing.

Harvey
SleepyC

:moon
 
Nice Mark. Sounds like you were well planned and trained and it paid off. As to the generator.... she was just jealous.

I had 2 experiences with gen sets at different docks over a past 9 day trip. One guy asked if I would mind if he ran one on the dock, and offered if I wanted to plug in too, and the other, came in right off my stern, I am sitting in the cockpit listening to my music pretty quietly and they set the Honda 2000 out on the swim step, not 8 feet from me and crank it up, with obvious effort to avoid acknowledging that I was even there. (I came close to dropping a line off my cleat around it as I left the dock about 06 the next morning.) I'm sure it would have been an accidental incident :twisted:

Thanks for the learning lesson list. You make some good points. Sounds like the battery issue was probably the main thing. That and the learning to trust the radar. That is a really good lesson.

Thanks for sharing.

Harvey
SleepyC

:moon
 
But it does make me wonder if I could ever survive a long trip
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We could, if we pay attention & plan. Like I said; lessons learned. We have a house battery (group 31 by Dyno Batteries, Seattle) and a separate starter battery (by Interstate). I always made sure both were "on" when we traveled, so they'd charge and always set on "#2" while at anchor; first thing. Thereby, we were assured we could always start the main w/ #1. I think I need to idle the main during the day though, to re-charge the house battery if we are going to stay longer on the hook.

We also just filled water and each & every opportunity, even if it was 5 gallons. We never ran out or came close, but we did use the jerry-can to top off the tank. We also used two "solar-showers" when we could; another 7.5 gallons total. I'm torn about an extra tank install. The water would be great, but that means one more pump, hoses, a switch, wiring, labor, money....and violates our KISS rule.

Waste is an issue up there; both human and garbage. Thank god we could pump the black water overboard, which we did. For the record, it was according to Canadian rules. We only purged in large bodies of water between ports etc never in an anchorage.

I'd also carry an extra macerator pump. We didn't have one. It's on the list.

Now...on to the Broughtons next year??
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There is still so much we have not seen, Barry. We did not make it to Princess Louisa Inlet or to Chatterbox Falls at all. We simply ran out of time. Nor did we make Toba. We barely scratched the surface it appears. M is all for a similar trip again next year and perhaps we will do it again. We do have those damn work schedules too.... :x

We got back to Squalicom and who greets us? Ruth and Joe's smiling faces! They were there working on their Tug; the radar was not working but was repaired and Joe was installing it. :smiled :hug
 
Hi M & M,

You passed us in the Tricomali Channel (Gulf Islands). You were heading north, we were heading south to the Sidney gathering. I did wonder where you were heading? So glad that you enjoyed Desolation. Next years Canadian gathering is Pender Harbour, on the doorstep to Desolation. We carry 18 gals of water. That usually lasts the two of us 2 weeks. Yes, our beer is expensive, but at least it tastes like real beer
:beer



Pat and Patty. Broughtons next year eh! Pick us up on the way. I am retiring in 2014

:lol:

Martin.
 
DuckDogTitus":1ww1jlep said:
localboy":1ww1jlep said:
-Beer in Canada is ridiculously expensive! :thdown
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and selection is limited to not so desirable beers. :thdown
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Yep. I tried some "IPA" in a green can; something "Keith's". Horrible swill!! Tasted like Bud(not)weiser. No offense to our Canadian brethren, but I'd take a WA. State micro-brew any day.
 
lol dont get me wrong, our Canadians are the most welcoming folks I've ever met, but when I was bar hopping in vancouver I asked the locals if they had good beer, and the answer was "yeah! we have Kokanee!".

we drank a lot of guiness that night.
 
Great report and good you were so well prepared! We lost a macerator pump on our Broughton's trip--and found another one at Nanaimo, with a large holding tank (older boat with aft tank) almost over-flowing!

The water issue is really a problem in those parts of the woods. A lot has to do with water management--including washing both body and dishes with salt water. I believe "AU KAI" has the fresh water rinse for the head, which does take extra water. I usually carry two 6 gallon water cans in that situation. As I recollect you get water in Refuge cove, as well as fuel and get rid of Garbage at "Dave's" barge for $5. Our years of sailing have helped to learn to conserve water.

With a refrigerator or Freezer , we have always put on a second group 31 battery, just for that. But it is hard to keep the batteries up with the outboard, if you don't go quite a long distance each day.
 
You are correct Dr Bob. Dave's is at Refuge Cove, but he was "closed" for the season. We jumped over to Squirrel Cove and paid $4 for trash there on the honor system. We do have the fresh water head and use bottle water for drinking, coffee etc. I froze three gallons prior to leaving and used them as ice then water as they melted. :wink: Two jobs; one item. :idea
 
Ah yes, the price of beer (any alcohol) in Canada is outrageous! And don't even mention the price of gas. I know I pay it all the time. I will however beg to differ on the quality of the beer, especially if one chooses one of the many micro brews available. Of course if your tastes runs towards Coors or "This Bud's for You" then I can understand how our beer may not quite do it for you. :lol: Glad your trip went well other than the water pump. You really would have been the smallest boat in Prideaux! I think a lot of the boats I saw there in August had tenders bigger than a 25 C-Dory. We usually choose one of the smaller less "showy" anchorages in the Desolation area. Next time you are up let us know and we'll point some of them out to you, and provide you with a bottle or two of Zunga from our local micro brew, Townsite Brewing.
Cheers
Ron
 
We also did a couple weeks in Desolation Sound the later part of July. Unfortunately we had a family emergency that cut the trip short.

The good news was that it is fairly inexpensive to get out of Desolation Sound in an emergency. My wife took a Beaver ride from Gorge Harbor to Lake Union, with a shuttle to Sea Tac, and home to ID the same day. I was able to get the boat back to Bellingham with an overnight at Ganges waiting for better weather, in two days.

It was good experience for us as well using the radar and I am now hooked on the AIS. A little late in the trip I learned that you can call the Canadian Coast Guard on the radio to find out if the oysters are safe to eat at your location. I would have consumed more than my share if I had known this earlier.
 
All you have to do is tie the two tanks together on the intake side of one pump.

Bill Kelleher

localboy":19vck5hd said:
But it does make me wonder if I could ever survive a long trip
Click to expand...

I'm torn about an extra tank install. The water would be great, but that means one more pump, hoses, a switch, wiring, labor, money....and violates our KISS rule.
Click to expand...
 
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