Tag Archives: travel

On Travel

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I’ve started to dream about my next trip.  I’m not sure if this is a good sign or a bad sign.  Part of me thinks it is bad because it means I’m not happy or settled where I am right now.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Victoria, but I miss the excitement of new places and people and the constant education involved in learning about new cultures and experiencing life in new and different ways.  It may also have to do with the state of slight uncertainty that I find myself in right now.  I have a job, but the employers are on holidays and the future of said job was left in a fairly ambiguous state.  I may be full time when they get back, I may be part time; I don’t know.  Until then, I’ll enjoy the people I work with and learning (sort of) new things there.  I also have another job in the wings which I’m going to be casual at starting next week.  It is potentially more along the lines of what I’ll be doing long-term so I’m looking forward to that.  However, it may mean working six days a week for the next bit which isn’t so much fun.

Come to think of it, maybe what I miss and why I’m looking ahead to new adventures is the thrill of no set schedule when traveling.  It is quite a different lifestyle to have no agenda for the day and to be able to take life as it presents itself and capitalize on the opportunities as they come.  I had dinner with friends the other night and they have also spent considerable amounts of time in places with lifestyles vastly different to our North American way of life.  We were speaking of the freedom that comes with not needing to be a cog in the wheel of capitalism/materialism/whatever.  Many, and I would hazard to say most, of the world works only to live.  Once the food for the day is accumulated, there is no point in working further unless repairs need to be done to the house etc. and so one is free to enjoy family, friends, music, sport, and so many other things.   Work is done solely to exist, none of this working to get ahead and amass vast amounts of material possessions.  Some of the happiest people I have ever met are people living in what we would (perhaps arrogantly?) label Third World.  No they are not as “developed” as we are in the “West” (another misnomer), but how do they compare on a happiness level?
One thing I know for sure, some of the happiest times I have experienced have been living out of my backpack or my bunk on the boat as I’ve traveled in places where people have, relatively speaking, nothing and finding the joy of experiencing life with them.  Not because I have lots of things to give and share but because of me and because of them and because of the fact that we share life together on this planet.

BC Day (and the last week)

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Happy BC Day! Today British Columbia celebrated 150 years. Of what, I’m not sure. Canada hasn’t even been a country for that long, but the land has been around much longer than that. I think it is 150 years of being a British Colony. Because time begins when Britain makes you a colony.

Enough of that.  Here is my week in review:

Purden Lake, where we stayed the night before driving out to Edmonton from Prince George. Colleen’s sister has a cabin here. Very nice! It would have been ever better had we had time to enjoy the things one can do there, like getting out on the lake! Next time.

On the drive… Mt Robson!

To Edmonton we go for Carlynne’s wonderful wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception was lots of fun. I had a great time catching up with people I haven’t seen in at least a year, most more.

I flew back to Victoria from Edmonton because I knew I wouldn’t have time to drive back down to Vancouver and then get over to Victoria to get in the van to drive up to Port Hardy to get back on the boat. Whew, I’m exhausted just thinking about it! This is flying into Vancouver where I had a 2 hour layover. The fact that I had to wait 2 hours wouldn’t have been too bad except for the fact that there were  approximately 5 flights for Victoria that left between the time when I landed and the time my flight was. Why they couldn’t have put me on one of those, I don’t know.  I tried to change my ticket, but I had checked luggage. Speaking of which, Air Canada has gotten even stupider and now charges you if you have more than 1 checked bag. One more good reason to fly WestJet.

Finally, Victoria! I had time last night to set up my new room.  There were a few things I still needed to pick up this morning (like hangers), and there are still a few modifications to be made, but here is where I sleep and hang out when I’m actually in town.  (Janis, if you’re reading this, yes, this is your old room!)

TV room – room you walk into from outside.  Roommate’s TV, not mine. Large collection of DVDs on left, his. Smaller amount on right, mine. The three closest to the middle on each side are the same: Lord of the Rings, Extended Edition. At least we have some similar tastes!

Kitchen, as seen from TV room.

In my celebration of coming home last night, I heard from one of my friends in town and she told me there was a sweet concert going on tonight at the Legislature.  Upon further research, I discovered there were lots of things going on at the Legislature today. So, after doing all the things that needed doing this morning, I headed down for noon to see what was going on. It seems that BC Day is a pretty big deal. Who knew? There were about 8 MPs, an MLA, a mayor, a Premier, and a Prime Minister all sitting up on the stage. I’m not sure why some of them, like Stockwell Day, were there (he needed a party to flash his grin at??), but it was fun none-the-less.  Gordon Campbell spoke first and introduced our mascots for the Olympics. A funny thing happened while he was speaking. A lady got up quite close to the front and started yelling at him for cutting down all of our forests. This old lady sitting near her apparently didn’t appreciate her comments because she got up and tried to slap the yeller. Next thing you know, there’s a full-on slap fight going on between them. It was fairly humorous.  There were a number of protestors who showed up during the speeches, but they, for the most part, got booed into silence by the crowd.

Next, our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, spoke. As bad as his french is, I liked it better when he attempted to speak french because none of the protestors seemed to understand him: they only booed when he spoke English (and I’m pretty sure I was in BC, not Quebec!).

Then, the next thing I knew, the Snowbirds are flying overhead. It was kind of freaky because I’ve never seen them fly that low before. I’ve also never seen them fly over a major city before – only over the prairies or large air fields. I was minorly hyperventilating the whole time. It was strange because they would periodically disappear behind buildings and then they’d come back for a fly over. It was quite a fun show though!

After that excitement, I wandered around town, reacquainting myself with Victoria after a 14 month absence. I got lunch, went in a few shops, visited my favorite coffee shop in town, and eventually parked myself with a book in the rose garden at the Empress.  From there, I could hear the sounds of bands playing at the Legislature – Alex Cuba, Burton Cummings… but I was comfortable in the shade.

I met up with my friend around dinner, we hit up a classic Victoria institution for dinner before heading back to the Legislature to take in the rest of the festivities. There were a couple more people there than there had been in the morning, but we managed to worm our way into the crowd and find decent spots to watch…
Sarah McLaughlan…

…and Feist.

I left before the show was done because today was a long day and the next month is going to be even longer. I head up to Port Hardy tomorrow to rejoin the boat and sail back around to Victoria. I’ll be home sometime around the end of August, beginning of September. Don’t expect to hear too much from me as there isn’t (shock, horror) Internet in the middle of the ocean. I know, its hard to believe. I don’t anticipate much cell reception either. I’m looking forward to getting back on the boat and spending time with some of my favorite people to sail to exotic places with. While this will be no Tahiti or Papua New Guinea, the west coast of the Island is some of the most beautiful and untouched landscape in all of Canada, if not the world. Maybe BC really is The Best Place on Earth.


PS – the concert will be broadcast on CBC on August 30, so you can relive all my fun then!

Le week-end

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I’m off to Quebec City for the weekend. Good times will be had, fun things will be done. The only updates I’ll be doing are via phone – check the right side column.

My Home and Native Land

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It was the weirdest sensation yesterday sailing up from Port Townsend, past Victoria, to Bedwell Harbour on Pender Island. Past Victoria… there it was, Mt Doug, Cadboro Bay, Oak Bay, the golf club… So familiar but not because I haven’t seen it in over a year. I’d never been down in the San Juan’s before so coming back up and seeing Victoria in clear daylight really brought it home. We’ve checked into Canadian customs finally.  Officially in Canada.  This is the last customs we will have to clear on Offshore!  We’re here, even though we don’t sail into the Inner Harbour until Saturday. Now all that remains is to make the most of the last few days that we are here together on the boat and prepare for sailing in next week. The Swift will be doing some schooner ballet with us outside the waterfront for a bit before we sail in at 3pm. There’s going to be a big ceremony in the Inner Harbour complete with some speeches from Skipper and a couple trainees and there will be some photos from all over place! Come and party with us!

Port Townsend


The Day the Sea was Lighter than the Sky

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Having passed Cape Guadarfui, we have entered a zone of absolute calm.  For the last 48 hours the sea has been smooth and oily, except where a slight breeze ruffles its surface or covers it with a network of minute wrinkles as regular as the weave of a tapestry.  Upon this mirror flying-fish rise up, glide, and take off again, like swallows skimming the water.  In the middle of this great shoreless lake the evenings take on an exquisite beauty.  Yesterday I could never tire of looking to the east where the sea was uniformly milky and green, with opalescence that was still not transparent, lighter than the background of the sky.  Suddenly on the horizon a thin diffuse cloud became tinged with pink; and then with little oily ripples of the ocean still opal on one side and turning to lilac on the other, the whole sea looked for a few seconds like watered silk.  Then the light was gone and the stars began to be reflected around us as peacefully as in the water of a quiet pool.

– Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Letters from a Traveller, written somewhere between Egypt and India, 1923.
We have returned to the Pacific Northwest after being gone a few days over a year.  The foreign yet familiar smells of the coast: the salt and seaweed, the rocks and the trees were one of the first things to assail our senses, quickly followed by green.  Despite being in many different and stunningly beautiful far-away places for the last twelve months, this is home and there is a strange beauty to this countryside.  Strolling through the quaint streets of Port Townsend, Washington, I realize how good it is to be home, even though I’m not quite there.  Sailing down the Strait of Juan de Fuca a few days ago was a surreal feeling.  The lights of Victoria offered a glow on the horizon off to port, escorting us along.  Are we really back?  Yes, but no.  There are still ten days left before we sail into Victoria’s Inner Harbour in all our glory.  Ten days to keep living this isolated, simple life that exists on board.  Ten days to continue to enjoy life with this wonderful group of trainees and crew that I’ve spent the last three weeks crossing our final stretch of Pacific Ocean with.  Its been an epic adventure; one full of amazing experiences and valuable lessons and lots of good times.

Yeah Leg 7!

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Aloha!  Here I am in Kauai… back where it is lush and green and there are lots of beaches and sea turtles.  Jose rented a car this morning so Antony and two of the trainees, Emily and Rona, and I headed out on an epic adventure.  We drove up to the north side of the Island and after stopping for an amazing smoothie in Hanelai, we found a great little beach with lovely sand that was so hot my feet got pretty nearly burnt.  I actually paused to pour water on them at one point so they would not burn.  We did some snorkeling there and Rona and I found some serious amounts of sea turtles.  One guy had his head stuck in a hole, wedging himself in with his flipper and was having the feast of his life.  It was pretty neat to see.  Thanks to a waterproof disposable camera someone gave me at the end of leg 5, I have some photos so we’ll see how those turn out.  Now we’re wandering around, pausing to find this free wifi place.  I’m cooking the next two days, so I’ll hang out closer to the boat and toast on the beach at the Marriot Hotel beside us in Nawiliwili.  Thursday night or Friday morning we will jump off to head home.  We should be back on that side of the ocean for the first time in a year about 18 days later!  I’m looking forward to this passage.  I know I say this every leg, but I really like these guys and I’m looking forward to having a passage with them.  I just hope that I can keep up the energy for the last month of Offshore before I go into hibernation at home!  I spent my days off in Honolulu playing with the new computer and getting all my photos organised on here.  I’ve begun a slideshow of my photos for each leg so I won’t be tormenting anyone with all 5000 photos that I’ve taken to date…  Yay digital.  Looking forward to the trade winds as we sail home.

Is it Really Almost Done?

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Leg 6 is officially over.  Here I am, sitting in my $150/night hotel room that I got for half price because I was upgraded when I got here.  I just finished my massage in the mini-spa beside the pool out back and my room overlooks Waikiki.  Maybe I’ll just stay here for the next month and fly home for the end of offshore. 

This leg, while being lots of hard work because of its length and the challenges we faced, had one of the most amazing communities develop of all of offshore.  Our first week out at sea from Osaka, it seemed that something went wrong with the stove daily.  It got to the point of me being frustrated to tears.  The problems seem to have been the result of a wonky carburator (which has been replaced) and some dirty fuel from Japan (which is all used up).  Then, after running way south to a void a storm and staying hove to (even going backwards at times) for two days, we worked ourselves down to about 2 days worth of fuel and a week or so left of variety in food (lots of dried food was still on board, but things would be dramatically less exciting after that… rehydrated beans and pasta or rice for lunch and dinner.  Cream of Wheat for breakfast.  Japan was the hugest let-down when it came to shopping for food supplies.  A lot of what we had on board last leg was leftover from our gigantic shop in Guam).  The problem with that is that there was little to no wind, we were making max 80 miles in a day and it would take us at least two weeks to hit Hawaii.  
Sarah and I enjoying a rare sunny time in the first half of the passage

Then, Skipper announced we were going to call in at Midway Atoll.  All along, I had dreamed of visiting Midway, but it was out of the question: as a US Military Base and being way south of our course line, it would never happen.  But, the military moved out nearly 10 years ago and all that is left on the island is a wildlife refuge.  And, we were already way south of our projected course because of the storm.  Skipper had contacted the island and told them we needed to fuel up and re-provision and could we please have permission to land.  Happily, they said yes and, amid much excitement on our part (and theirs too,  I think) we docked in Midway for two days.  Katie and I had a great time with Pong and JR, the chef on the Island and the logistics guy in charge of all the ordering, getting lots of food for the boat.  Everyone nearly died when they saw all the fresh stuff we loaded on board: it had been a few weeks since we’d had anything not dried or canned.

As I mentioned before, Midway Atoll is home to some 70-odd people and over 2 million birds.  If I thought the roosters in French Polynesia were annoying for crowing at all hours, they have nothing on 2 million albatross and assorted shearwaters, petrels, and terns.

Midway Atoll
Approaching Midway

Fields of Leycan Albatross

Albatross “getting to know each other”

White tern staring me down

 North Beach, one of the nicest beaches all offshore

Then, it was back to sea.  One more week until Oahu, and we all strove to make the best of it.  I will admit, it did not really feel like we were actually going to make it there until we could see the lights of Honolulu (a weird sight after 30+ days at sea!).


Life at Sea
One of the many stunning sunsets we get to see on a regular basis at sea.  There really is nothing like it.

Maddie and Simon goofing off in the stern.

Sarah and Diana (one of her sisters) hanging out on watch

Lowering the trysail, often a several-times-daily occurrence as we move between try and main to get the most out of the wind.

Sunrise over Honolulu

Ian steers us in

The whole, good-looking group poses while we wait for customs and immigration to clear us in.  I now have all of 3 pages left in my passport.  It doesn’t expire for 3 more years…

Jose, Adam, and Liam help Katie and I carry all of our groceries to the boat.  This was just a small part of our initial “holy cow we are at land and they have real grocery stores here” shop the afternoon we landed.

Once again, we had work days: three teams, rig, hull, and galley blitz the boat.  Rig tensions the rigging and greases the mast.  This leg they also sanded and oiled the spars (booms and gaffs).  Hull completely sands and repaints the hull.  We have at least 4 colours on the hull plus lettering).  Galley hangs out with Katie and I and we completely clean the inside of the boat as well as shop for food for the next leg and stow it all away in various hidey-holes while inventorying what we still have left.  Work days leave us fairly tired…

So, that brings us to now.  I had a few days here to hang out here.  I’ve visited  Saint Andrew’s a few times since arriving to get in my fix of eucharest. It has been a long time since anything other than boat church. On Sunday, Elske, Steve, and James came with me and then we hit up Safeway for an angel food cake, strawberries and whipped cream on the way home. A road-side feast ensued…





The security guard came out at one point, and we all thought we were busted, but it turns out he was bringing us napkins. We needed them.

In other news, I’ve been holding on to a secret since Osaka that Matt, Katie‘s boyfriend of 3 years was going to fly to Hawaii to surprise Katie.  My end of the surprise was planning stuff on the boat end to make sure that she would have the night off when he wanted to come out to the boat, that she wouldn’t book a hotel room for her days off, and all that.  What he didn’t say, but what I pretty much figured would happen was that he would propose while he was out here.  I didn’t think it would happen the first night, but it did.  So now Katie is engaged to be married some time in the fall.  Yay Katie!  Matt is still here, so she’s been too busy to update her blog with the story, but when she does, it will be a good read because its a great story… think secluded beach, picnic, and a shirtless man running down the beach with flowers… not to mention 11 months without having seen each other!
Friday our last group of trainees board for the sail home.  There are only about 10-12 new trainees, not much turn-over this leg.  The group staying on are all great fun and I’m looking forward to sailing another leg with them.  We’ll likely hit the San Juan Islands before coming up to the Gulf Islands but start looking for us around the beginning of June.  We’ll be trying to avoid being seen as long as possible!  See you June 14 in the Inner Harbour!