M/Y Iron Lady

Still have a few more posts to do on British Columbia which I will get to shortly (the big lie). Fall has come to Western Pennsylvania and the foliage has been great this year. So a few pictures.

Our children were home this past weekend which is a rare treat these days. Missing is daughter Lisa.

First a picture that they will probably regret.

One they will probably not like but prefer.

From left to right is our son George with his bride Gel, next is daughter Kim, then her friend Daria and finally son Pete.

We decided to have a pumpkin carving contest.

I think you will find the results pretty impressive.

We will probably not get to have everybody together again until early 2015 so it was great fun and very special to have everyone here. As lives become more complicated and families scatter, you find that its not the day that is important – its just the opportunity to be together.

Had a number of fun shots Ron and I took around Nimmo that I wasn’t sure what to do with so I decided to combine them in a miscellaneous post.

For starters, the average water temperature up this way in open water is around 50 degrees – way too cold to swim. The smaller bays, however, warm in late summer to the low to mid 70’s making for a refreshing dip in the event your chosen water activity goes sideways.

The water around Nimmo is still a bit chiller as the bay is fed by snow melt and spring water from the surrounding mountains. It is interesting how things changed from our first visit to our last. The water fall is a mere shadow of what it was in June. This year was particularly dry and Craig (owner of Nimmo) told us that he switched from hydropower to diesel generator a full month earlier then usual.

A few shots of some interesting scenes around Nimmo.

The following is – you guessed it – a high chair.

Heli-fishing is big at Nimmo – someones chariot awaits for the next day of fishing.

Nimmo is well equipped so anglers need not bother with their own gear.

Cocktail hour on the float off the lodge.

Wonder what this young man is thinking of?

Craig with some of the guys.

And finally, a happy Deb and Diane.

Till next time.

In my last post on Jennis and in my post on Claydon Bay (post is called Eagle), I mentioned our friends aboard M/V Deerleap that we met in Jennis. As it goes up here, you tend to run in to people at different times and places as you both make your rounds in the Broughtons. In the case of Slim and Deerleap, we ended up cruising around for about a week together, and did a bunch of fishing, prawning and crabbing.

The following is a nice picture of Deerleap (the old) with Iron Lady (the new) in the background in Claydon Cove.

Deerleap is an 85 foot Hoffar Beeching built in British Columbia in 1929. When Slim acquired her, she was basically a wrecked hulk lying in San Francisco Bay. Years of patient restoration has brought her back to life as the elegant lady she once was. Now repowered with two spit and polished Gardner diesels that stand almost 6 feet tall along with modern electronics she is quite the sight. Inside, fitting her elegance, the salon is furnished with mahogany furniture, tables with lace table cloths, lace window treatments and polished sterling silver tea sets. She has won numerous awards over the years. Each winter she is kept in a boathouse and Slim continues with her retrofit and maintenance. She spends her summers cruising the inside passage in BC.

Here are some additional shots – some taken when we bumped in to Slim again whilel the Lanes were aboard.

A picture of me with Slim.

And a nice shot to Iron Lady sitting at anchor taken from Deerleap.

Hope to see Slim again next year on our way north.

Jennis Bay Marina is another small marina in these parts. We just spent a night or two there but it was interesting in several respects. The first is the extensive number of active logging roads that criss cross the area that offered opportunities for hiking.

As and aside, I am not particularly in favor of clear cut logging and the scars it leaves. Nor do I understand the rationale that seems to go in to deciding what areas get logged. Major areas on hillsides are cut clean and one small stand of a few trees is left in the center of it. Large swatches are logged checkerboard fashion in a manner that seems to defy any logical reason. When I compare how logging is managed in New Zealand and British Columbia, it seems that New Zealand has the better system.

The following were taken in BC.

These was taken in New Zealand.

The difference is pretty obvious – in New Zealand selective areas are harvested and then replanted. In BC, trees are cut down, debris is left behind and only minimal replanting occurs. We were told it is far better now then in days gone by, but it would seem that those who manage timber harvesting in BC could take a lesson from there friends down under.

Anyway, back to the logging roads at Jennis. Another interesting feature is that equipment that is no longer functional is simply pushed to the side of the logging roads and left.

As this area was still being actively logged, some newer equipment was present as well.

Our walk was interrupted by an active blasting zone in a section where they were building new roads so it was back to the marina which brings me to our introduction to Slim and his beautiful 1929 Hoffar Beeching. Slim happened to be on the docks after a morning of fishing, pawning and crabbing – looks like he had a pretty good day.

We actually got to be good friends with Slim and ended up traveling together for a week or so. More about that next time.

The moon, our closest neighbor, circles the earth roughly every 27 plus days and, from our perspective, we see the moon wax and wane during that time from new to full and then back to a new moon based on the geometry between the moon’s position and the way the sun illuminates its surface.

At the time of the new and full moons, the sun, the earth and the moon are more or less aligned which has the effect of increasing the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the earth. It is at these times that we experience spring tides – tides which are higher then the mean because of the increased gravitational pull of the sun in alignment with the moon. When we see a half moon, the moon and the sun are more or less at right angles to each other. The gravitational pull of the two is at a minimum and this results in neap tides which are typically smaller then the mean. Thus over 27 days, we se two neap tides and two spring tides with the intervening periods being between the two.

In addition to the above, the moon’s orbit is slightly elliptical which means that it has both an apogee (time when it is furthest from the earth) and a perigee (a time when it is closet to the earth). The technical term is perigee-syzygy (courtesy of Wikipedia) – you learn something new everyday. At any rate, at perigee-syzygy, the moon appears 14% larger and 30% brighter. Getting back to tides, the spring tides at perigee-syzygy are higher then normal spring tides because of the increased gravitation pull of the moon during its closest approach to earth. Gravity is not linear and varies as the square of the distance so these effects are larger then one might guess. Tidal ranges during the supermoon were upwards of 19 feet. Whoa to the sailor who anchored in 17 feet of water at high water – the thing that went bump in the night was his boat hitting the rocks on the bottom.

While in BC, we had a supermoon on August 10th when we were at Nimmo off McKenzie Sound.

The entrance thru McKenzie Sound is thru Kenneth Narrows and, in other posts, I have talked about the tidal rapids which are part of cruising life in BC. The larger then normal tides cause more extreme tidal flows as the water rushes thru the narrow, shallow passes that separate larger bodies of water on either side.

Kenneth Narrows is generally pretty benign with tidal flows at mid tide (the time of the strongest flow) in the 2 knot range or so. Not so on the supermoon. While certainly not dangerous, it was exciting as we negotiated whirlpools and eddies that were racing at speeds approaching 6 knots thru the narrows. I can’t imagine what some of the more infamous rapids like Devil’s Hole, Whirlpool and Seymour would have looked like with speeds approaching 19 knots.

The following are from Kenneth Narrows.

And finally, this pretty but somewhat eerie shot with a low lying bank of fog. There was nothing else like this any where around the area.

One of the things we like to do with our guests is to give them some time at the helm of Iron Lady. We begin on open water and let them get a feel for handling the shift, throttle, fly by wire steering and bow thruster. Once they get a grasp of the basics and learn that it takes our slippery little lady a LONG time to slow down even with the throttle pulled all the way back, its time for some close quarters maneuvering.

After a few years aboard, our guests are getting very good. Kim and Daria both managed to dock the boat with little or no instruction this year and last year, George was doing great as well.

Nimmo Bay is the perfect place to learn as there is little of no wind, no current and lots of maneuvering space and now it was Diane’s turn at the helm. After some basic instruction, Diane was left to her own for a bit in open water.

The look says it all – where did everybody go – I didn’t sign on for this.

Now looking much happier that Steve is back in the picture.

And Ron with his “we’re gonna crash look”. No worries – soon we were tied safely along side and a more relaxed Diane enjoys a sunny afternoon.

Best

We have been to Sullivan Bay a number of times. It is charming – a floating city.

This time around with our friends the Lanes we went out with Chris for some salmon fishing like we did with Kim and Daria so more about that in a minute. So a few pics of Sullivan.

Along with a dirty bird.

All these marinas up here have their quirkly little charms. In Sullivan, one is there Par 1 golf ball range. Hit the bulls eye and you get free moorage.

Diane teeing up.

Sorry – no free moorage. Oh well.

Next morning it was off to fish with Chris – always a good day.

And we did get fish – fresh salmon.

Deb making love to a fish – sorry – no kisses tonight Deb.

We did have it for dinner.

And Diane caught the big guy.

Lots of nice scenery to boot and a few humpbacks,

Pretty good way to spend the day.

While I (as usual) have lots of posts yet to do, we are presently homeward bound. Deb and our friends, Ron and Diane, left from Campbell River yesterday around noon. They are spending a day in Vancouver before heading home.

Steve and I spent the day de- entropying the boat and doing all the laundry at Discovery Harbour in Campbell River. A quick night out at the Riptide Restaurant (very good) and it was off to bed for a 0730 departure for Nanaimo – an 8 hour run.

We are now totally spoiled – 8 hour or longer runs between anchorages has been our norm over 20,000 plus nautical miles. In BC, however, flat seas, always in sight of land, no need for flopper stoppers and good anchorages and marinas just around the bend has us soft – Steve’s travails in a circumnavigation of Antarctica later this year will really toughen him up in short order.

Tomorrow we are off to Port Sidney on Vancouver Island. Wonderful place where I think we might keep the boat for the winter – change of plans. Jim – our winter caretaker for Iron Lady is enroute from Japan and he will arrive here the 22nd of August.

On August 23 or 24, Iron Lady will get a well deserved rest on the hard stand at Canoe Cove Marina in Port Sidney. There she will be hauled out and get a fresh coat of bottom paint, a full set of new zincs, a mod to our shaft seal and cutlass bearings, a rebuild of our Spurs line cutter system as well as a few more things.

Iron Lady was great to us this year with few issues. After more then 23,000 miles at sea over the past 4 years, we all understand each other and we get along great!

It is both happy and sad that we are headed home. We love the boat but miss our friends and loved ones. It has been wonderful that our daughter Kim and her friend Daria joined us again this year. It was very special that our good friends Ron and Diane Lane joined us as well. It was most memorable that our son George and his fiancé, Gel got engaged in French Polynesia while with us last year.

Iron Lady has been a memorable and very special part of our lives – she has been our companion and magic carpet thru all our journeys and I will be sad to leave her but she will be in capable hands and anxiously awaiting next year.

At the end of next season, it will be time to get ready for our new FPB78-3. More on that later but Iron Lady is ready and waiting for more adventures – she will always take good care of those aboard. As Captain Steve says, “I would take her anywhere” – and that is from a guy who has seen it all from 70 north to 70 south.

Cheers