Tag Archives: pictures

Leg 2 Photos

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Its taking forever and a day to load pictures, so here’s a quick taste…
The dancers on Hiva Oa. They are all from the same family and the youngest is the little girl in the red – 7 years. We hit it off well.

The church on Nuka Hiva
Skipper catching a dorado
Aputaki in the Tuamotus, best snorkling ever! I have photos from someones underwater camera I’ll upload when internet is more cooperative
A kid on Tahuata, Marquesas.
Church in Pape’ete, Tahiti
Sunset
Playing with the kids on Aputaki in the Tuamotus.
Some of the kids from Aputaki eagerly awaiting their turn to come on board and use the rope swing
Aputaki in the Tuamotus

Finally Pictures

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Back here again with all the appropriate pieces for uploading photos! They aren’t in order because that is too much work, but they are captioned! Enjoy…


Restocking the boat one side at a time in Honolulu. We had to pile all the bags and mattresses over on one side and do half the bunks then shift everything over to the other side and do it again.

Waikiki beach, Honolulu. I’ll be staying 3 blocks up from this next week on my days off!

The NaPali Coast on Kauai. Nouri and Naomi cross the river which was fairly swift. It leads into a beach where we couldn’t swim.

Butterfly on the NaPali Coast trail.

Me at the Waimea Canyon, Kauai. I guess this pose is tradition now…

Travel buddies for the day in our lovely van: Sara, Me, Christina, Nouri, Elske, Tavish, and Becca at Waimea Canyon.

The Mango pickers/eaters: Elske, Sara, Nouri, Christina, Bec. We saw this random guy with a huge pole with a net at the top along the side of the road on the way to the canyon and sort of stalked him to some mango trees. Tav and Nouri climbed up the first one and shook mangos down at us and poked at others with a stick. We then drove down the road and found another tree (Sara hanging on to the mango hunting stick out the window because we didn’t want to leave it behind it was so good). Everyone went up this tree except Sara and I and they kept throwing mangos down at us. We ate about 30 on the site and had over 40 to bring home with us. Nothing like freshly picked mango!

Anchored off of Maui. The water was so clear, you could see the bottom at 50 ft. I snorkled off the boat and some of the guys dove down to do some repairs on the props here.

Two of these guys found us in crazy winds en route from Maui to Kauai. I think it is a silverbill of some kind. Jacob is holding it in his hands. Eventually they flew off the boat – no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t make them stay. They probably didn’t make it to land which is kind of sad.

Taro fields on Kauai.

The NaPali coastline.

The sign at the beach where we couldn’t go swimming… don’t worry Dad, I didn’t go in the water!

Getting dunked while bowsprit hanging. The water was so warm, but it is a weird feeling out there – I kept thinking the boat was going to run me down. I guess you could say we are sort of like the carrot that is dangled in front of the donkey, just hanging off the bowsprit.

The Mauna Kea Observatories, 14000 ft up on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Our rented trucks at the top of the world. I feel like it should be an advert or something. I drove the hideous blue Durango. The road up was so steep I was only able to make 15miles/hour with it floored. Granted, there were 9 people in there, but still. It was steep.

Mauna Kea from the water as we sailed by at sunset the next day.

The Island of Maui.

The flying fish we “caught” – it came on board in the mouth of one of the durango we caught.

Noah dragging the Wahoo we caught with the flying fish as bait. The Wahoo was about 30lbs and about the same length as Noah (age 9-ish). It fed us all with leftovers.

Me in my bowsprit hanging atire.

Antony perched percariously on the end of the main boom doing some sail wrangling while underway.

Sunrise en route to Hawaii.
!
Simon holding the flying jellyfish we brought onboard in a deck bucket.

Deck shower time!

Reflection of the Main in the Binnacle.

Elske and Christina bowsprit hanging.

Our Menu board in the Galley… the day of the big Wahoo (30lbs) that fed the entire boat with leftovers!

Time Sails Away…

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The last week is a bit of a blurr. Jen arrived last week, and so did my food and I don’t think I’ve slept since. There was a fair amount of anxiety going on, between deciding how much food to order (and what food to order) and then figuring out where to put all the food I did order. Eighty-five hundred dollars later…It took us about 2 days to stow all the food: under 8 bunks in the hold, 2 bunks in the fo’c’sle (the produce bunk has 7 x 50lbs boxes of potatoes, 2.5 boxes of carrots, 4 boxes of onions, 1 box each of sweet potatoes and beets, some garlic, and a box of margarine… yay Jen for cramming all that in there!), and under the entire floor of the fo’c’sle is cans, cans and more cans…
Now that we have most of the work done, I am able to sleep again. Or spend all my time thinking about all the thousands of things that I might, just might have to do.
Its been great hanging out with Jen and wandering around Victoria, having her help us at the shipyard, and just sitting on the couch chatting (or watching TV). Tonight, all the crew, shipyard, and office staff were taken out to dinner for a farewell to the Grace crew, meaning I got to have birthday dinner with everyone without having to organize it! Hard to believe we’re gone in 6 days…

Sailing and some videos

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An Evening Climb

We had a fantastic sail today just before we dropped the kids back in at the Inner Harbour. I took some video footage to let you have a glimpse of what it is like. Pretty much all you can hear is the wind and me mumbling in the background. We were going about 9 knots (which is the fastest I think I’ve seen) close hauled and were, therefore, quite heeled over. Some of the kids were less than enthused, but I was having a great time (especially since all my galley duties were done for the day). This is what it will be like Offshore, except even more heeled over and for days at a time.

“Coming About”

“Sailing” – I’m sitting on a deckbox less than a foot up from the water…

Week Two: In which Gillian learns that stoves are still hot, sailing is fun, remembers the beauty of camp, and has a hard ending to a great week

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Trip two was with a group from Vancouver, Grade 10 and 11s mostly, so a bit older, a bit more able, and a lot of fun. This was my first 5 day trip and at first, it seemed to go on and on. There were a few problems, like almost running out of potatoes (so we had mac and cheese instead, which was a hit… no one really knows if you don’t tell them, I guess!). I had an intimate encounter with a pan of oatmeal cookies and my inner elbow (don’t know what that area is technically called), resulting in my first magnificent burn of the year. It is about 2 inches long.
We had a couple of good sails this trip, the first day being the best I think. We had to double reef the main because there was a decent wind out. Our first night was anchored at Bedwell Harbour, between North and South Pender Islands.

(Liz, before reading on, you have one guess to tell me where this picture is!)

From there we made our way up to North Cove, Thetis and docked at Camp. I got to say hi to Chris and Andrea, and Ben was back in the country for a bit before going back to Australia, so I saw him too. After the trainees went to bed, the crew took off to Bucks and Does for a lovely hot shower… ahhhh. The next morning, it was beautiful blue sky, not a cloud to be seen and no wind at all. The trainees played soccer on Junior Meadow and I made lunch. Then it was off down to Coles Harbour on the inside of the Saanich Penninsula. Thursday night was in Cadboro Bay where Jordan and I, with two trainees, took the Zodiac into shore to get some ice cream to surprise Karen for her 25th birthday. We had been giving her presents all day, and she loves birthdays a lot! I got completely soaked going ashore, being the only one with roll-up-able pants and no socks in my crocs, so I was the one to leap over and drag us up the beach, while splashing water all up my backside. The four of us must have been quite the sight wandering through Peppers Market in our orange life jackets, rolled up pants/rubber boots, unwashed hair, and video camera (yes, the trainees brought the school video camera so our actions can be immortalized forever). The best part was motoring back to the ship with one trainee holding a flashlight over the bow of the Zodiac as our bow light. Oh but it was worth it for Karen’s screams of delight.
Friday morning we were just “sailing” (at a speed of anywhere between 0.8 and 2 knots) south of the harbour before heading into the harbour to unload kids. Before I go any further, I want to say Friday was an interesting day. I had just come in to the aft cabin after breakfast when I hear my phone vibrate voicemail. I check the phone and it is a number I don’t recognize but an area code I do. So I go to check the voicemail and the reception has gone (it does that on the water). Up on deck I go and there is a message to call my uncle in Sarnia. Now I’m worried and go to call him back. My phone is out of credit… curses. And I didn’t even write down the number so I could use the boat phone. Double curses. Best of all, I just got a new credit card and I don’t know the number of by heart yet so I have to find my wallet, buried under clothes in the inaccessible stowage under my bed (think lift up mattress then lift up wooden slats then rummage around in small spaces with no light). Find wallet, locate credit card, top up phone, call Sarnia. My grandmother died Friday morning. My uncle was with her. It has been coming for the last little bit, we honestly weren’t sure she’d make it till Christmas, but she did, and we had a wonderful family dinner with her in December. My aunt and uncle in Sarnia have been doing a magnificent job of caring for her for the last few years and I am so thankful that Gord was there with her yesterday. Love you Granny.

I Survived

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Well, it wasn’t as bad as all that. I ended up with only one major galley burn – a lovely blister on the knuckle of my left hand (it has now popped, so a photo wouldn’t do its blisteryness justice) and some sore shoulders from stirring pots big enough to hold a small child (not that I have tried). The group of Gr 7 kids were lots of fun, although they did try all of our patience at times, as Gr 7’s are wont to do. I think I got off easy because there were 2 birthdays in the 3 days they were with us, and moms sent along cakes for both, so I didn’t have to make evening snack either night! This week, however, the true extent of it all hits.
There was a gale warning Thursday night for Friday morning, so we anchored in Esquimalt Harbour Thursday night instead of the usual Cadboro Bay so as to have the wind behind us getting to Victoria Harbour in the morning. The gale never really materialized, however our view from the boat was fabulous Friday morning as we sailed out of the Harbour looking over at the mountains in Washington and Fisgard Lighthouse, one of the oldest on the North American west coast.

The Pacific Swift Wednesday morning heading to Sidney Island.

The Swift entering Esquimalt Harbour, passing by Fisgard Lighthouse.

The Swift leaving Esquimalt Harbour Friday morning with the sun coming up

Pacific Grace at night.

Fisgard Lighthouse and the mountains in Washington, Friday morning.

And for a look at the inside of the Grace:

The aft cabin. My bunk is called “The Drivethru” and you can see it to the left. Above the walkway is “The Loft”, the current home of my guitar and didge.

The Drivethru – Karen, the Watch Officer and other female crew member and I share this cabin. My bunk is the bottom one. It is, contrary to all appearences, long enough for me, and actually quite wide at the head (narrower at the foot). There is storage under my bed.

The crew head.

The galley, where I spend pretty much all day.

In the Shipyard

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Absolutely gorgeous day today. Sarah and Leighsa were putting the jibs up on the Swift this afternoon. I lashed on shear poles on the Grace and lots of sanding was done above and below deck. It was nice to get up on deck for most of the day.

A Ring of Endless Light

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Here endeth my first week of work. Last week was great; we spent four days doing an Old Testament survey and talking about our relationship with Creation and how we can convey it to the trainees. It was also a great way to spend time with the rest of the crew not on the boat.
Today was the first day in the shipyard! I spend the morning in the galley (actually, I spent the whole day in the galley…) exploring. Sarah taught me how to light the stove and it began to get warmer in there. First, I had to find the galley. Not locate it, but find it underneath all of the things which managed to accumulate over the winter. There is a new cabin being built in the hold, so there are lots of tools and miscelaneous other things lying all over in the hold and galley. Then, there was cleaning of the counter tops. Next I had to sand the rail around all of my counters in preparation for oiling this afternoon. After lunch, it was cleaning out cupboards and investigating what is in the galley. I found a binder of info and notes from previous seasons and offshores (!!!) which will be a HUGE help! Bring on the season!

Last night was nice and still. I went to bed early but woke up around midnight/1am and couldn’t go back to sleep right away. I decided to walk down to the waterway and take some pictures… becuase I do that kind of thing and it is only about 50m down to a little wooden, covered platform that juts out over the water. I spent about half an hour out there enjoying the silence… well, the silence broken by ducks making lots of noise. My favourite surprise when looking at the photos when I got back in was a heron standing in the water which I couldn’t actually see when I was out there.

Here is the Bay Street Bridge in time exposure. You can see the Johnson St Bridge in the background. This is the one with my heron standing in the reflections from the bridge!

This one is also a time exposure of the appartment/office/?? across the waterway from here. The tide was going out.

The covered wooden thing I was standing in and taking pictures from. There were lots of clouds… apparently there was a storm last night, probably after I was outside, but I didn’t hear it… and they were all blowing across the sky at a fair rate.

Photo Journal

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I finally uploaded pictures from the last week onto my computer. In celebration of being back in Victoria for one week, here’s a glimpse of what I’ve been up to for the last week or so:
February 1, Nicole came over from Victoria and we took in the Canucks-Oilers game at GM Place. Unlike the previous Canucks games Dad and I have been to, the Canucks actually won.

We had great seats… lower than I’ve sat before!
Vespa, however, was less than impressed with all the noise and was pretty excited when we left to go home (on the skytrain).

That night, before we left for the game, there was the most amazing full moon rising over the Golden Ears. Yes, this is the view from Dad and Colleen’s place in New West. And I don’t have photoshop or anything like that, so these are all as they were photographed!

Now that I’m back in Victoria, I’m living in a new part of town (new for me anyway) – on the “other side” of the water in Vic West. The townhouses/apartment building is pretty distinctive and very cool looking:

And the apartment has incredible light from the zillion windows (and there’s a huge balcony)

my room… with a spare bed for when I have visitors… hint hint…

And there is a fab view out of the windows… this is a little fuzzy, but we can see all the way to Mt. Doug and, looking the other way, the Empress

Even better, I am super close to the shipyard where I will be working. Here you can see the Pacific Grace in dry dock. She was there for a couple of days this week, getting ready for the upcoming season which starts (gulp) really really soon (she is missing her top masts in case you are wondering why the masts look so short and stubby). And yes, this is the boat which will be my home for a whole year when we’re off sailing the South Seas and to the Far East.

These last two are not my pictures… they are off of the S.A.L.T.S. website. The first is none other than the Pacific Grace. This is the one I’ll be sailing on this year. The second is the Pacific Swift. People familiar with my sailing history will remember my fond tales of her. It is the Swift that I have sailed on for every trip I have taken with S.A.L.T.S. since my first trip in October 1999. And, incidentally, if you need a job starting, say, next week, and want to be a part of a wonderful organization like S.A.L.T.S., give me a shout because we need another cook. Not only would you get to sail, but you would get to sail on the Swift (and she is so much more the pirate-looking ship of the two, complete with a mini cannon!) for a good 4 months or so. Yes, you know you want to…!