Cruising Chronicles: Part 11 (A day of full of twilight)
I rolled out of my bunk, looked at the low, dark clouds outside, and then checked the weather forecast again. I had gone to sleep the previous night thinking of the strong wind warning the Canadian weather office had issued for the greater San Juans and Gulf Islands area. Now they were calling for gale-force [...]
moreDay Hook | Nanaimo (video)
Nanaimo is a good place to provision and get boat parts, with a large grocery store and chandleries conveniently located near marinas. But the city is worth a visit as a destination in its own right.
moreA rusty icon
Okay, I know that the economy is hurting and the state doesn’t have a lot of extra money lying around, but what’s up with letting our ferries look this shabby? We snapped this picture of the Hyak yesterday at Friday Harbor. Just look at the rust covering the sides. It’s embarrassing. Washington state ferries are one of the iconic [...]
moreA rusty icon

Okay, I know that the economy is hurting and the state doesn’t have a lot of extra money lying around, but what’s up with letting our ferries look this shabby? We snapped this picture of the Hyak yesterday at Friday Harbor. Just look at the rust covering the sides. It’s embarrassing. Washington state ferries are one of the iconic [...]
MoreDay Hook | Nanaimo (video)

Nanaimo is a good place to provision and get boat parts, with a large grocery store and chandleries conveniently located near marinas. But the city is worth a visit as a destination in its own right.
MoreThe Cruising Chronicles: Part 10 (A well-deserved rest)

We were getting tired. The wind was blowing more than 20 knots out of the southeast, right in line with our intended destination. The white-capped seas were square and steep. We crashed into oncoming waves every few seconds. The boat was heeled over, and each carelessly stowed item seemed to make itself known with a [...]
MoreBoats, Trains, and Automobiles

Something that goes hand-in-hand with cruising is traveling to get back from where you are cruising at. Whether it’s half-way around the world or just a few hundred miles up the coast, if you have a slow boat and commitments back home, you’re going to be taking some third-party transportation at some point. Depending on [...]
MoreLogbook: Maquinna (Hot Springs Cove)

Hot Springs Cove is a bit of a landmark on the West Coast. Natural hot springs, owned by the province, reached by hiking 2k on a wooden boardwalk through old growth rainforest. Better yet, they are only reached by personal pleasure craft, water taxi or…
Anchor Chain Marking

By popular demand, here is the anchor chain marking system that we use on Bella Star. If you ask 10 people what marking system they use, you’ll probably get 10 different answers. We wanted something visual, simple and void of complicated …
Nordic Tug to close temporarily
Just caught this at the end of a Bellingham Herald story about a local boat building business: Nordic Tugs announced last week it will temporarily close its Burlington manufacturing plant on Tuesday, Aug. 31. While most employees will be furloughed, a skeleton staff will remain to field customer inquiries and maintain the plant in readiness [...]
MoreYanked our chain

Our anchor chain was just starting to show some light rust on a few links, so I decided to have it regalvanized. With the boat on the hard, we backed the car up to the boat and transferred the chain to the trunk of our car. 250 feet of 3/8-…
The Cruising Chronicles: Part 9 (Snug Harbor Magic)

I didn’t know exactly what to expect as we rounded the point and entered Snug Cove. But after two days in the bustle of Vancouver’s Coal Harbour, we were looking for someplace quiet and relaxing. The cruising guides agreed that this was a must stop for us on our quick tour of Howe Sound. But [...]
MoreSport crabbing to close in most of Puget Sound

Recreational crabbers have just over a week left to drop their pots before crab fishing closes in most areas of the region. Seven areas of Puget Sound will close to crab fishing at sunset on Labor Day, Sept. 6, including marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 8-1 (Deception Pass to East Point), [...]
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