Between the Sheets

ANOTHER YEAR IS UNDERWAY and the cap'n tries to catch up the web page

2003 November 27 to 2004 July 21

So, how was your Christmas?  As always, yearend had us busy finishing off the Coastal Nav course and setting up the 2004 courses.  [Fall Nav class grads.]  Then someone mentioned that our Silver Wedding Anniversary and Christmas were just around the corner.  [Cap'n Dave and Brenda celebrate their 25th by going roller skating -- the way they met 25+ before.]  Well if that doesn't tighten up the holiday schedule ...   

We survived the mayhem and even managed to get back down to Monterey Bay to knock about some of our haunts from our offshore adventure.  The winter drive was worth it just to see the smiling faces of our old buds in the area.  It was a great break.  The roads were horrendous.  

Then it was back to Calgary and the start up of our new Coastal Nav, a GPS/Electronic Charting course (11 students), a Maritime VHF Radio course (14 students), getting ready for the Sportsman's Show, throw in a brand new nephew and the Capn's birthday, editing and setting up for our presentation to the Foothills Association of Cruiser Sailors (FACS)....   [If the Cap'n can't get to the party, the party will go to the Cap'n at the Boatshow.  Even the 3 day old nephew!]  I don't know how we survived when we had real full time jobs.  

March saw us finish up the Coastal Nav with a smaller than usual Grad Party as some were already out on holidays.  Then we started our first practical Intermediate and set out on our usual trek.  [Glenn in the Galley]  Day 2 saw a bit of excitement as we had a wee leak in the engine room.  We got to practise how to get the sails up quick and  jury rig a pressure hose.  We limped in to Crofton and managed to shaghaii a vehicle to run up to Duncan to get a replacement hose.  The van that was lent to us had a real challenging gear shift.  After Ted, one of the students, managed to grind away the first half of the gears, the Cap'n took over.  We got up to Duncan and the shifter was really acting up.  As we headed back we managed to get to the crest of the hill heading down to Crofton when the gear shift and the linkage to the gears elected to abandon ship.  Through creative clutching and coasting down the big hills we managed to drop down the hill, all the way through town and right into the parking lot with the van lodged firmly in third gear.  As we parked the van we had to turn off the engine before we disengaged the clutch or we would have launched ourselves right into the marina.  The fellow who lent us the van wouldn't accept any payment or recompense for having broken the linkage and so we skulked out of the harbour after replacing our hose.  [Skulking Intermediate Crew at left]  We warned him not to start the van without depressing the clutch but if you happen to see a Westphalia double parked on a catamaran in the harbour, you'll know the story.  

At the end of March we ran our second Intermediate cruise down into the San Juans and then down to Victoria.  [Joe and Tisha en route to Victoria]  We wrapped that week up with a cruise to the refurbished Poet's Cove [At right] formerly known as Bedwell Harbour.  After all the mean things that I have said over the years as we have taught the gennaker, I have to take it all back.  We had a phenomenal run from just out of Oak Bay all the way up to Turn Point on Stuart Island following the genny.  [Genny and Tisha]  She didn't misbehave (Genny, that is), the winds didn't shift erratically, the boat didn't get into the rolling crazies....    it was beautiful.   [Even the porpoises couldn't believe it]

Springtime and the heart grows fonder.  And Old Friends find New Loves.  [Former students Barry and Val and their new boat]  Then it was home to have a Nav Grad party. Poor scheduling resulted in only a small number of the grads making it.  [The merry few grads that made it at below and left.]  April put the Cap'n in front of one of the toughest classes he has ever had to teach.  41 Junior High School kids (five of them teachers) enrolled in a tailored version of the SPARK Start course.  I was quite nervous at the start but the kids made me feel quite comfortable after a while.  It is a lot harder to admit you have made mistakes in boating to 14 and 15 year olds than it is to admit your foolhardy escapades to the adults.    We had a lot of fun cramming about 12 hours of theory into two three hour sessions.  My hat is off to the whole works of them.  They put in the extra time between the two sessions to learn the buoyage, rules of the road and all the carriage rules. [Happy Grads with PCOC's]  They all passed thanks to the cooperation of their teachers running some noon hour tutorials and they all headed out to the Pacific with their Pleasure Craft Operator Cards in hand on their school cruise in May.  

For FACS members, you may want to make a historical note in your logs.  May saw the dismantling and moving of the infamous Boat Hoist on to the Happy Hoisting Haven and hopefully out of future exec meeting minutes.  A big thanks to Brenda and brother Rob for helping out.  

Cap'n Dave ran his hypothermic Basic Cruising course in May in single digit weather again this year.  You didn't have to tell the students to dress warm for their second sailings.  [Part of the Cool Crew]  The crew would show up with hockey bags full of extra warm gear and so the weather became quite balmy by the second and third week.  Cap'n Dave even got to practise a bit of first aid on himself as he tried to amputate his finger by cutting a piece of drain hose with a jackknife without a locking blade.  He left the stitches up to the local clinic however as his seamstress skills are reserved for sails. Little Bow saw the usual mix of light airs to a great prairie squall to keep the students guessing as to the correct throttle for approaching the docks.  All did well and Soryu has no additional battle scars as a result of the Basic Grads.  

As a extra little treat for the St. David's Silent Auction successful bidders on the Glenmore Cruise, we even had wind this year and managed a pleasant little sail around the lake.  [Winners, Phil, Pat, Earl and Sandy enjoying the wind]  

We had a great turnout for our Basic Grad Wine and Cheese with most of the students able to attend.  June and it was out to the coast for another Intermediate.  Boy, was this different from the April cruise.  There were other boats out on the water with us so the Cap'n didn't have to improvise Collision Reg scenarios.  The meals the crews provide during their course tend to be a highlight.  One of the students had never even been in a supermarket prior to our trip and through some crib notes supplied by his wife managed to pull off one of the best Italian dinners I have had the pleasure to eat.  Others tend to serve the meals in bits and pieces but nobody seemed to starve.  [Intermediate Cruise #3 looking trim]  In fact, after the Cap'n had provided the crew with snacks, desserts, wonderful shoreside meals with general nutrition being cast to the winds, two things happened to derail this frivolous side of his behaviour.  First he was dubbed by one of the more conscientious crew member who has a personal trainer as the 'Anti-Trainer'.  Then when the Admiral Brenda joined the group for the spring cruise, and gained some extra weight, The Cap'n was put on a program.  Yup, Cap'n Dave and Doctor Phil had words.  I must say that my jeans aren't quite as tight as they were in the spring, but ohhh.....  Summer Cruisin' starts soon.  

Then July came along.  Someone broke into the Purser's cabin and made away with the summer budget for ....   of all things..... home improvements.  Now I remember why I banished the Admiral off to London for the last couple of years.  We have a new head, a new water tank, a new heat exchanger on our furnace and a pending new roof for the house.  Yee gads.  Thank God the Cap'n raided the cabin before these catastrophes and managed to use some of the spoils for a new GPS and other related trinkets this spring.  Not having been around Calgary for the last few summers I managed to stay local and update my weird weather quota for the next little while.  Although we were spared in our area from any of the torrential rain and hail, boy, did Edmonton and Calgary get nailed!!  We were in a retail store over next to Uncle Timmy's Wonderful World of Donuts when the first one caught us.  Parked in the lot the water rose up to the propeller on my van (trailer hitch jewelry) and was over the exhaust of the car parked next to us.  Brenda doffed her shoes and socks and waded through the mid calf stream and brought our noble steed up to high ground to pick up the Cap'n.  See, rank does have its privilege some times.  One of the casualties of the storms though were the clips securing Soryu to her mooring.  Due to the high winds, the first clip and the backup brass clip (#3 Shackles) were broken and sprung and Soryu was dancing lazily at her mooring on her pick up line.  Thank goodness we were out for a refresher today (July 21) with a former student.  We have her all snugged down again until we return from the coast later in August.  Have a great summer and we'll see you in the fall.  

Even without his mate, The Cap'n Carries On

2003 July 15 to November 27

Oh what a great summer.  Brenda took off to England and left me for a younger woman.  She spent time with Ophelia, our granddaughter and Kirsten and Wan.   However, the Cap'n had some super cruises through the San Juans with old friends, new friends and family.  We ran some neat courses at the coast and got a bit hooked on some sleight of hand.  

After our Intermediate Course and a brief trip back to Calgary, Cap'n Dave returned to Sidney to take out a former student and his friend for a quick two day "hands on" charter.  Bruce and Paul took over the helm and we ran up through the Gulf Islands to Ganges and back.  [Dave, Bruce and Paul can smile when a cruise and Good Idea end up safe at home.]  Bruce took the Intermediate Course earlier in the year and wanted to practise his skills.  Paul, his friend, was on his inaugural sail. Both had a great time without the stress of course work.  Bruce only had to endure the stress of being in charge as the skipper.  

Friend Rob was pressed into hard labour as we swapped out the last of the gate valves for ball valves on Good Idea.  [Tight quarters to swap out the hardware.]  We relaunched Good Idea and she floated without incident.  With bruised wrists and tired triceps we then took a trip down to Victoria and out through the San Juans.  The winds were great.  Right on our nose.  We had a super sail to Discovery Island and then due to a timeline to get to Victoria and still have space, Good Idea had to 'main and motor' against a 3 knot current and a strong head wind around to the inner harbour.  We docked for two days taking in the BC Museum and getting hooked on magic at Tony's Trick Shop in downtown Victoria.  We enjoyed the buskers in the inner harbour around from our docks.  We saw jugglers, magic, song and dance and all sorts of free entertainment.  Some of the more entertaining did get a twoonie or two.   In typical summer style we left Victoria for Friday Harbor only to find absolute dead calm and flat seas.  [Rob searches for the elusive wind.]  Great for spotting creatures but lousy for burying the rail.  We managed to get a tour of the rope factory at Anacortes and enjoyed the fine cuisine throughout the islands.  And alas, back to reality in Sidney.  

Chris, Rita and friends, Marilyn and Brent then joined the Cap'n and we headed back into the San Juans.  [Reta, Marilyn and Chris steer the boat while... Brent keeps a lookout forward.]  The usual ports, the usual cuisine and the usual excess on everything.  Chris's last cruise was from Morro Bay, California to Monterey under much different circumstances.  This cruise was a lot less bumpy and we enjoyed smooth seas and some fine sailing.  Dave and the two couples managed to waddle back to the dock from fine fare in Friday Harbor, Anacortes and Roche Harbor.  [Locals at Roche Harbor complain about the Cap'n raiding the pantry and leaving little for the locals.]  Dave again expresses his gratitude to those that helped him share the fine desserts so that he could help keep the waterline visible.   

Time for a family cruise.  An extended family that is.  Tara, Gord and their two daughters, Katie and Erin, took over the boat and the Capn's heart.  We went into the San Juans, cleared customs at Roche Harbor and then proceeded onto Deer Harbor.  I hadn't been there for a while.  It is a great port for young ones.  The group headed up to the pool and got wrinkly while the Cap'n set up reservations in the on-site restaurant.  

The next day we headed out early, tied to a mooring buoy, and dinghied into the shores of Jones Island.  This is a lovely marine park on the west side of Orcas Island.  Much to the delight of the deer and the kids, we managed to get rid of some bread.  [Fugitives feeding the local fauna.]  Then we read the signs that suggest the wildlife should forage for themselves.  They did.  They just happened to remember the Cap'n and earlier trips and came to share.  After a long hike to the other bay on the north side and back around the west side of the island, the kids bade farewell to  Brownie, the deer, and we continued down to Friday Harbor.  

There the Cap'n ran into his old friends Brenda and Eric who have taken over the Seafood Shop down on the wharf.  I introduced Tara and Gord and the girls to them and they introduced us to some shrimp, snapper, salmon, smoked oysters and tuna.  [Home cooked fare on Good Idea.]  We adjourned to the boat, broke out the BBQ (repaired the BBQ) and conjured up a feast.  Later that night, the girls led the group on a shrimp search on the docks.  Catch and release was the order of the day so the beasts could grow up to meet the standards set by the meal earlier that evening.  [Nightime shrimping  [right] with catch of the day [left].]  We enjoyed Friday Harbor for an extra day with everyone taking in the sites and sounds of this beautiful port.  

We then headed around the corner to Roche Harbor where the group disappeared back into the pool.  We fished them out, dressed them up and then took them to dinner at the MacMillan Dining Room.  And we dined fine.  Gord is still ecstatic about the bouillabaisse he had there.  His only remark in our Guest Log is "Bouillabaisse, bouillabaisse, bouillabaisse!!!!'  [Fine fare clockwise, Steamer Pot, New York Steak and Bouillabaisse.]  The kids on the other hand enjoyed the whole cruise, the swimming pools, the sunfish and crab we snared and the magic tricks that the Cap'n had practised on them.  [Tara, Gord and girls enjoy Colors at Roche Harbor, a little surprised at the sound of the salute (cannon).]   Tara just wonders why it took so long to get back out into the islands.  Next day it was back through the Gulf Islands and home to Sidney. Of course we had to see the seals.  [Flower?? at Roche, Seals at Brethour.]

Rob, Jen and Nicolas (our grandson) then came aboard for a delightful little cruise.  We went over to Roche Harbor for one night and took in the fine fare at the MacMillan Dining Room again.  Apparently, the Cap'n had to share too much of his Barrista Sundae the previous cruise and was going through withdrawal.  [Jen supervises Otto (autopilot) while Nicolas colours.]  Nicolas took over the Dining Room and crashed a birthday party at the next table.  He ended up with a birthday hat, a whistle, one of those things you blow out and it curls back up and other party favors.  We watched the Color Ceremony from the deck and then retired back to Good Idea.  Nicolas took the largest berth in the boat and Dad had to sleep in the salon.  We went back to Sidney and drove to Victoria to check out the Swiss Chalet fare.  No, really, we went there to walk the wharf and check out the buskers.  Rob ended up as part of the entertainment as he chained and shrink wrapped the star for an escape routine.  He didn't get a cut of the collection but we sure had fun.  

The next day we headed over to one of Rob's favourite sites when he was a little boy, Sidney Spit.  We tied up to a mooring and rowed ashore with our lunch, sand pails and cameras.  [Jen, Rob and Nic at low tide.]  We went for  a long walk out from shore at low tide.  Nicolas was less than impressed as he tried to scale Grandpa when Rob flipped over the first rock and fifteen or more little crabs took off in all directions.  [Scary 1 inch Crab.]  Nic must have been afraid for his little toes.  His dad had the same gleam in his eye that he had about 27 years earlier.  Maybe next year.  [Snared 15 inch Sunfish.]  Rob and Jen thanked me for the relaxing time as they got to take time out and get away from all the stresses back in Calgary.  Sounds like a familiar theme to so many of the cruisers who join the Cap'n. 

Then it was a day cruise with our daughter, Rebekka, and her fiancée, Ciprian G.  They brought along their friends, Ciprian O. and Kristoff and we went for a cruise out to check out the seals, Sidney Spit and of course the infamous Outhouse.  [Romanian Connection clockwise, Bekka, Kristoff, Ciprian O., Ciprian G.]  The group went ashore to walk the beaches that Bekka and Rob (our son) had spent so much time exploring as children.  We managed to snare a crab out at the mooring that had a familiar story line as Bekka exited stage right [starboard] when the crab was unfettered.   [Bekka with snared crab.]  Ciprian O. just about crashed everyone's computer when he sent about 3 gigs of pictures over the internet.  [Bekka and Ciprian pre-garter, pre wedding, pre move to Ottawa.]

Dave took time out to escort a smokie through the mountains.  No, not an RCMP but Bekka and Ciprian as they drove their smokey van on their way to Ottawa.  Ciprian started on his Law Degree, Bekka continues on her Women's Studies.  

While in Calgary, Cap'n Dave took time out to take a couple out on their Soryu charter.  This was a birthday gift for Cam from Cathy.  [Cam and Cathy evading SS Moyie on Glenmore.]  We had a super time and the Cap'n was able to clear out the exhaust from his trip over the Rockies.  

Cap'n Dave took off back to the coast and after a quick tour of the inner Victoria Harbour to see the Three Headed Monster he was joined by two students who rewarded themselves with our final cruise of the season.  John and Linda joined the Cap'n for a great cruise after the September long weekend.  The maddening crowds have left the islands and we sailed serenely through the San Juans without the regular hubbub.  We cleared customs in Roche and proceeded around to Friday Harbor.  We had a leisurely time in town without the normal crowds.  A slight disappointment was the change out of the wonderful seats in the theatre there.  They used to have semi reclining seats that were wonderful unless you had an active kid behind you that liked to bounce your seat.  The new seats are quite comfortable and the popcorn is still great so we won't be writing off the movie house just yet.  [Catching up to a tug and log boom just prior to La Conner.]  John and Linda enjoyed sauntering through La Conner and Anacortes and of course escorted the Cap'n through the Italian Restaurant run.  We finished off with our super supper at the MacMillan Dining Room in Roche Harbor.  [The usual pitted fruit clean up prior to entering Canada.  Note the basic fruit group now includes chocolate.] Then back home to Sidney via the rookery to say hello to our seal buddies.  

Brenda arrived back in Calgary before the Cap'n.  [No this is not a picture of how she blew up when she saw the condition of the house.  The Cap'n got shanghaiied into the removal of the front windows and replacement with much more sensible portlights.]  

Back in Calgary, we ran a couple of quick cruises on Soryu to finish off the Calgary season.  One of this summer's graduates, Ted [seen with wife Jane] took Soryu out for some more practice prior to heading over for his charter in the Greek Islands.  Glenmore provides some great experience so that you can face just about anything anywhere.  Although this day was light airs, they still managed a nice cruise around the reservoir.  

Then some of our church friends cashed in their Silent Auction for a cruise on Glenmore.  Well .....   Talk about a gentle cruise.  Diane, Mike and Caitlin  took almost two hours to cross the lake from the north docks to the other side and back again.  I don't know how this happens but for the last few years, St. David's United Church Auction has yielded very erratic and light winds.  We had a great time, mind you, with Miss Caitlin almost completing her Basic Cruising with all the questions she asked.  Not only that, but I'm pretty sure she retained most of it better than some of my students.  You've got to love the sponge minds of the nine year old.  

Well, Soryu got tucked away for the winter shortly after and she sits in her barn until the spring.  

Meanwhile, back at the coast....   Good Idea got her last sail in for an Advanced Cruising Course.  Ian and Brian joined the Cap'n for some pretty exciting sailing on October 8th.  We sailed over and cleared customs in Roche Harbor.  The next day we set out early and rounded the corner to Garrison Bay where we practised some of our advanced anchoring techniques.  [Brian (right) on the first night watch then Ian takes over (left).]  Then it was off for our non-stop cruise for the next 48 hours ending up at La Conner.  We cruised across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, down Admiralty Inlet as far south as Seattle.  The morning brought some unexpected guests and we motored around with a large pod of Orcas.  [Orcas, Ahoy!!]  Then we headed back north on the inside in fairly strong winds up to the entrance to Swinnomish Channel.  We lowered the sails in the best interest of safety and motored into La Conner.  For the first time in a twenty years we got stopped by the train trestle in the Swinnomish Channel.  We had to circle in tight quarters for over twenty minutes until the bridge was swung and we could carry on.  [Ian circles waiting for the train.]  We stopped briefly and then continued up to Anacortes where the Cap'n abandoned ship and the gruel that the crew had been serving over the last few days and headed to Bella Isola for his last bacon wrapped prawns for the year.  Sacre Bleu, [not quite Italian] they were out of Tiramisu!!!!  The Cap'n ranted and raved so much that the management presented him with a gift certificate for his next passage through Anacortes.  The winds came up the next day and just about blew off our socks.  [Brian and Ian take us into Friday Harbor with double reefed main.]  We arrived at Friday Harbor, docked and went ashore for another super supper at Bella Luna.  In lieu of a movie, the Cap'n taught the crew the fine art of splicing braided rope into two fine dock lines for Good Idea.  Sorry boys, you'll have to splice your own lines.  The last day we sailed back to Sidney and wrapped up the boat.  [A brief goodbye to our seal friends and the Outhouse.]   Ian headed back to Calgary and Brian headed north to Gabriola to start his life as a farmer.  That didn't last long though, he emailed me with his latest purchase, a nice little Yamaha, sister to Good Idea.  Knowing Brian, I'm not sure how the split for time is going to go for farming vs sailing.  

Then after a brief bout with the flu, the Cap'n and his mate flew out to put Good Idea to bed.  This was the first time that Brenda had been to the boat since the previous winterizing.  Dave and Brenda were joined by her brother, Doug and nephew, Anders, to help with some of the deck work.  They abandoned ship and headed up Island while Brenda and the Cap'n did the winter oil change, stripped the dodger and canvas, installed a brand new Autohelm and winterized the boat.  Then it was time to bid adieu, pat Good Idea and whisper words of encouragement for the winter and head back to Calgary. 

Back in Calgary, we finished off the Coastal Navigation course that started in September and passed 11 more students.  Grad night was its usual success with the Cap'n slaving away under the bright lights and the students having a great time mixing it up with each other over a glass of wine.  [Nav Grad Class September 03 at the Wine and Cheese Wrap-Up]

The Cap'n is now going to do his telephone solicitation to try and set up next year's courses and cruises.  If we only have half the fun we had this year, 2004 promises to be a Great Year.  

2003 May 6 to July 15

summer IS HERE AND DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER

Since our last update, we haven't slowed down a bit!!  And indeed the days are already getting shorter.  We finished off May with a gradual improvement in the weather.  [Soryu on one of those bleak first May days.]  The first crews out on the water for our Basic Cruising course this year got a little taste of hypothermia if they came out ill prepared for our sailing.  They certainly dressed warmer the second sailing that they did.  We had another fine assortment of wind strengths and directions.  Glenmore continues to offer a great but variable sailing experience.  The motoring drills went very well down at Traver's Reservoir this year.  On the first day of motoring we had a beautiful day with moderate winds which made the docking exercises quite meaningful.  [Soryu on final approach]  Then, some of the students stayed on for a spinnaker run down the lake.  What was supposed to be a nice introduction to the fine art of flying a spinnaker turned into a hasty exhibition of how not to's.  Glenn, Patrick and I circled around by the docks readying the Blue Dragon (Soryu) spinnaker.  With several wind changes we finally set up for a port tack but by this time both clews were poking out of the turtle. Patrick suggested we have a brief conference on what we were going to do and then Mother Nature took over.  A gust caught the sail and pulled it out of the bag and it was time to haul the halyard or else run over the sail.  We quickly got the sail to about 4/5 of the hoist and the Dragon was full.  We bolted down the reservoir while having a hasty talk on exactly what had happened and more importantly how we might want to get rid of the spinnaker if we had to.  The wind was up and Soryu started into the rolling crazies oscillating back and forth as we approached the bend where the lake opens up.  Not wanting to reach with the spinnaker up we elected to get it down.  Bringing it down went like clockwork and then we had to start the outboard and head back to the dock.  All in all the whole exercise probably only lasted eight to ten minutes.  No harm done.  The explanation would have easily last twice as long as it took for the demo.  I think everybody has new found respect for the spinnaker.   

Cap'n Dave almost was marooned at the Park however, when a mutinous crew cast off and sailed away with Soryu while he was busy readying the trailer.  Seems like the orders weren't quite explicit enough and the graduates thought they could handle the de-launching.  

So what is bright and shiny and can be seen darting around in Glenmore by the docks?  No, it is not indigenous to those waters.  Give up?  Telus Cellphoneous.  The Cap'n had a rough year experimenting with buoyancy and magnetism.  First he donated a Samsung to the depths on the way to lunch during the Basic Course.  Then he found out that his magnetic clip-on sunglasses have repelled from his positive personality and have attached themselves out of sight.  Being deficient in the chromosome that allows one to find lost objects, the Cap'n failed after a standard search pattern.  So he replaced his cell phone and his sunglasses.  About a month later, someone said they spotted a bronze tipped Beluga at the reservoir.  Turns out it was only Cap'n Dave sporting his training tan of tanned hands and head  resurfacing after retrieving his second cell phone.   Yes, he stripped right down to his Timex and FTL's and dove in and recovered the phone. A spin dry and bake in the sun and the phone is operational.  [Due to the mixed audiences, there will be no photo of this event.  We'll substitute another rainbow instead.]  Then on his last trip to the coast, his second set of sunglasses have been repelled into the nether land.  Cap'n Dave is keeping the non-sailing economy in the black.  

Although enrollment was down a little this year we still managed to have 17 happy grads.   [Some of the happy faces.]

We managed to take some time out to run a couple of spring cruises here in Calgary as well.  We enjoyed some warm weather and some fine sailing on Soryu and on a Siren showing some new owners some neat tricks around the docks. [On the left, the Heinrichs from Medicine Hat and below, the Robertson's on their Siren.] 

Speaking of new owners...   Congrats to Ray and Sally on their new Bovaria.  Hope that Ray is as comfortable in his new galley as he was on Good Idea down in Monterey.  His daughter, Paula, joined the Basic class late and is already checking out Dad's knot tying.  Granddaughter Seanne will soon be handling the roving fender.  

On a grander scale, Alison and Iain have left the homestead and head out to the coast to start a new adventure in a week.  [Alison and Iain pose by the bilge keel during their Open Boat, Some of their fine work in the v-berth and shot of the deck.  Too bad they spent all their money and ended up with such a cheap wooden mast.]  They have almost completed 'Loon' and are having her fitted out in Vancouver before moving over to Saltspring to complete a few details before casting off for the blue water.  Enjoy, guys and keep in touch.  

Starting Friday, June 27th, Brenda's folks celebrated their 80th and 84th birthdays this year and our daughter, Kirsten, brought Wan and Ophelia over from England to help celebrate the event.  On the 29th we moved over to St. Davids United Church to have Ophelia baptized.  [Wan, Kirsten and Ophelia (who slept through the whole ceremony) and Carmen, God Mother]  [Grandma Wallace weeps with joy for her 11 month old Ophelia]  Talk about your party weekend.  Too much cake, too much food, too much .....    

So, Cap'n Dave escaped to the coast.  He bumped into Dave and Denise and they took in the July 1st celebration in the inner harbour at Victoria.  [Some of the fireworks over the wharf.] for the last of his Intermediate Cruises.  We had a super time in the islands.  We had one of the best Gennaker runs.  [Geoff navigates us safely while Lindsey and Jason keep us safe at anchor.]Our night passage was uneventful, which is the way we like it.  This group, as others before them, learned a lot and came to the realization that you really do have to stay focused.  [Below on right, some great tacking.]  One of our late arrivals to the course polishes off his motoring drills out at the west coast.  [Ted practices before his trip to the Greek Islands.]

Dave flew home just in time to bid, Brenda, Kirsten, Wan and Ophelia goodbye on their way to England.  Brenda is playing the nanny in London again until September leaving the Cap'n to fend for himself.  So far I think he cooked once since she left a week ago.  Tomorrow, it is back to the grind.  Call out the would be navigators for the fall class, run a cruise on the dam for a couple from Acme, and then the Cap'n returns to Sidney to run his summer cruises to the San Juans.  

Stay tuned.  

2002 October 10 to 2003 May 6

busy, busy, busy 

Welcome to 2003.  One of my New Year Resolutions was to keep the Between the Sheets a bit more current.  Well, that didn't happen.  So where do we start....  

Since last October we had an active fall with the Navigation Class on Tuesdays and then again on Wednesday nights in the winter.  Happily we got all of the students through the exam [seen at left] and the grad parties [December's seen below on left, January's on right]. 

Christmas saw us escape the good weather in Calgary to head south to California for a visit with the friends we met there when we had Good Idea in Monterey.  We surprised Alice, our [now 96 year old] friend for Christmas morning at her daughter, Melinda's, house in San Francisco.  Her son Jack was also there.  We compared notes about how we seem to always have the bleeding edge of technology and that about five generations of hardware and software later, Jack picks up used computers at the church thrift stores for under $30.  Mind you, those are US dollars.  Jack says that the hard drives usually come complete with past owners' complete address books, personal correspondence and sometimes even their financial records.   One should really take care to scrub the drives prior to turning over to charity.  

Boxing Day we headed south and took Alice home to Monterey where we spent three beautiful days running around to all our favourite spots. Some of our acquaintances from our year down there on Good Idea were around and we swapped tall tales with them.  Some were on holidays themselves, but we left messages.  What a wonderful town!  [Sitting back in Calgary through those freezing days in March and watching it snow in April and May makes one wonder why we left!!!]

Cap'n Dave ran another Standard First Aid Course for the Red Cross and managed to get a fair crew out to the class.  Ian Leitch co-taught with Dave and everybody survived.  

Dave also ran the popular Navigation Obstacle course  again for the FACS group.  After the membership had already had several libations, he set them loose on the course to see if they could navigate through without incident.  Although a few mistakes were made, there was no need for gel coat or fiberglass.  Some counseling however was required for some bruised egos. [Group seen at right avoiding costly mistakes.] 

We were in the Sportsman's Show again this year in Calgary, and had quite a few visitors and old students drop by for a visit.  One highlight was the fact that we were across from a booth that sold cookware and Dan cooked us dinner in compensation for listening to his spiel all day.  You should have seen the crowd gather at the end of the day, just to get in on the free meal. 

Then it was off to the coast to help Sandy, a past student, move her new boat, Epiphany, a Benetau 28, up from Seattle to Sidney.  [Sandy seen here at the helm.]  Patrick, another student, joined us for the passage.  You have to remember that this was still February.  We had a super time with what wind we had always right on the nose.  As the boat had to be cleared through Customs, we didn't have a great deal of time for sailing.  The weather was terrific and it was nice to see all the flowers and trees in blossom.  [Deception Pass  seen on left in February.]  It was a tough having to head back to Calgary where the weather had definitely turned.  

March got real ugly as far as weather goes.  Calgary had some record lows where Fahrenheit and Celsius read the same.  Who cares???!!!  It was minus 40!!!!  Cap'n Dave escaped as much as he could by driving or flying to the coast.  It didn't matter.  His first escape was to teach the season's first Intermediate Cruising course.  Although we had light airs, we had fairly decent weather in the Gulf Islands.  It was a little like Camelot.  It only rained when we were finished for the day providing us with a beautiful Kodak moment.   [Good Idea seen here at the end of the double rainbow.]  A fine time was had by all.  [Crew shown below harboured the Cap'n, a refugee from the Cold Climes of Calgary.]

The season had obviously not quite started according to the natives.  We had a tough time showing examples of the Collision Regs when you only see about five other boats while en route.  Also, most of the anchorages and marinas were empty. We had Pirate's Cove all to our selves.  [Good Idea all alone.] 

There is no truth to the rumours that Cap'n fell overboard.  This was just a practice in case he should leave the confines of the cockpit. [Andrea practises with the buoyant heaving line.]  

Then it was Cap'n Dave's turn to go to school.  My, how fast time flies.  It was time to recertify as an Instructor Evaluator and so he bolted again to the land of cherry blossoms and daffodils.  Unfortunately, he was called back to the brown and dreary to face getting the taxes out of the way.  

Guard was let up for only a moment and then he escaped again.  The second Intermediate Cruising course was underway with the Cap'n beating a popular path back out to the Gulf Islands.  [Cap'n found hiding out again with the new crew.]  

Next he took on a real shaggy crew and tried to cover his tracks by doubling back up to Nanaimo.  He hid out on Epiphany with Sandy, Peggy and Charlie.  He was spotted at the marina after moving Epiphany from Sidney to Nanaimo and escorted back to Sidney where he was placed on a West Jet back to the cold of Calgary.  [Charlie seen at left probably responsible for sniffing out Dave.]

Speaking of cold...  So, spring has come and we have pulled Soryu, our little boat, out of the warehouse where she wintered well.   They say there is nothing certain but death and taxes.  I don't know....  Without exception, we always seem to get another dump of snow on the boat after she is parked in front.  The last week of April was quite pleasant with warm enough weather to crawl under Soryu to scrape the last of the barnacles off and apply some fresh paint to the keels.  We had an opportunity to display Soryu in the Olympic Skating Oval over on the University of Calgary campus as part of a display to show the merits of Wildrose Charters and Sailing School.  [Soryu nice and toasty inside.]  Friday night we took her over to the Oval and stepped the mast, set up our display and then decided we even had time for a movie.  We got out of the movie and the rain had begun.  It was quite cool .....  The next morning we could not see out to the front sidewalk where Soryu had been parked the previous day.  We were into a full fledged blizzard.  

The event at the Oval is the annual Calgary Area Outdoor Council's Gear Swap.  By the time we got over to the Oval to add the finishing touches to our exhibit, there was over a foot of snow.  Soryu and the Cap'n were warm and toasty inside and the crowds were due any moment.  Right!!!!  They had well less than half of the usual crowd because of the weather.  The trail blazers that did make it through had a super time with the bargains there.  This is a one day event.  As Brenda and I sat in there, every so often we heard a rumble turn to a roar and watched as the snow accumulated on the roof of the Oval, a geodesic design, avalanched off the roof and piled up around the perimeter of the building.  I guess they normally have a snow fence around the building during winter to warn pedestrians of the avalanche danger but had removed them one week too early.  The piles resulting from these mini avalanches were as deep as eight feet in some places.  Fun to watch from inside.  

The bad news was that we all had to be out of the building by 10:00 that night.  The sale ended about 3:00 pm and so we hurriedly stepped the mast, buttoned up the boat and decided that it was better to make a retreat at 5:00 than wait until later as the storm was not letting up and we had had over two feet of very wet snow by then.  We hooked up the Explorer inside the Oval and then made ready for the adventure.  The exit to the Oval has a sharp left turn and about a 100 foot 8% grade.  The staff had plowed out the ramp around 4:00 so there was only about 5 inches of snow on it when we roared out and upward.  Piece of cake for the four wheel drive.  Then we managed to get over to some of the major streets like 24th Avenue, !4th Street and Northmount Drive where the traffic had beat most of the wet snow into submission and there were some clear paths.  However, then we looked at the final leg of the adventure which was our street.  A single set of tracks wound their way to our house, about a three block trek.  With optimism and faith in our Explorer, we headed in with the thought that anyone coming out using those tracks had just better pull over because the Steaming Soryu Express was coming through.  The Explorer and the boat trailer cut a swath through the now 15 to 18 inches of snow all the way around the corner and made it back in front of the house without incident.  [Soryu makes it home.]  

Our front lawn and sidewalk were invisible under over two feet of drifted wet snow.  We cut a path to the house with the help of a neighbourhood boy, his shovel, and a five dollar bill.  We decided to celebrate our victory over the blizzard with a feed of Chinese food with our relatives in Dalhousie.  We unhooked the boat and took off in search of food.  The main drags were quite passable.  However, once again the snow had thwarted most of the  restaurants by making it impossible for the cooks and servers to get there.  We finally rooted around in the snow long enough to find one open and we ordered our food.  The delivery time they were quoting was over 3 hours with no guarantees.  At about 10:00pm that night we made our way home through a mystical land of white where families were out building humongous snowmen in the almost balmy weather.   [King Kong was at least a seven foot sculpture.  Note Fay Ray clutched by him.]  By Sunday night, the snowmen were running down the street with all the other water.  Monday, our lawn was green with very little evidence of snow except on the north side of the bushes.  By Wednesday everything looked normal.  Thursday, we launched Soryu in plus 17 degree weather [58 F] on a beautiful sunny day.  First one on the lake at her mooring looking pretty.  It was time to begin the season.  

Wrong......   On Saturday a mere week from the blizzard, Mother Nature did another dump on the city.  Not as much, only about 5 cm., but enough to make it interesting to try to teach sailing on the water.  After our morning cruise across Glenmore to introduce the new students to the fine art of sailing, we elected to call it a day and put Soryu back on her mooring.  It would be far better to teach knots over at Glenmore Landing than to treat hypothermia.  Monday's class didn't even get out on the boat, we went straight to McDonald's and practised our bondage there while the snow gently fell upon the lake.  Maybe later....

As my friend Sandy would say, "Here's a toast to the new season."

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of, 'Why are we here, Cap'n?  What was wrong with the coast?"

2002 July 21 to October 10

LITTLE ONES TAKE OVER THE SUMMER

So, how was your summer?  Boy, did we have fun!!  The Cap'n and Brenda set off for England by plane to greet their new granddaughter, Ophelia.  It cut the summer cruising a bit short, but was worth it.  Ophelia hit the start a little later than expected but crossed the line wide eyed and ready to take on the world. [Seen here 30 minutes after launch with Kirsten and Wan.]  Stats:  LOA - 22 inches; Beam - less than her hat size; Displacement - 7 pounds, one ounce at launch on August 22 at 16:14 (currently 10p9o); Draft - close that window!!; Max. Speed -  75 mph on M1 to Nottingham; Fuel Capacity - undetermined but appears to be endless; Fuel - runs on high test MM*; Propulsion - twin gams which still need tuning; Designers - Kirsten from Canada, Erwan from France; Rigging - way too big to fit the boot??? in their Austin Mini; Electronics - standard package of warning signals to indicate low fuel, high water or exhaust leaks, although like most nautical sensors, they all sound about the same;  Watermaker - standard low energy unit with capacity upwards of 5 gallons per day.  *Mother's Milk  

Really, she is quite sweet even if you aren't a sailor.  Along with her Aunty Bekka (newly arrived from her two year stint in Japan on her way to relocate in Vancouver), we spent the first two weeks of Ophelia there in England.  Amidst a flood of tears we set sail back to Canada. To ease the pain of separation of Grandma Brenda and Ophelia, we have received just over 150 digital pictures and Power Point presentations over the net.  Don't panic, we'll only show a few.  

Other than checking the email daily now, to ensure our box doesn't get overfilled, we still managed to get in some sailing locally and at the west coast.  Speaking of kids....  We had a neat sail this summer with some local mini-mariners.  On a trip to the reservoir to check out Soryu, we ended up with several volunteers to see if she could still sail.  This motley crew put Soryu through her paces and then spent the balance of the afternoon raising the level at Glenmore by skipping stones.  

Crossing the border into the San Juans a year after '911' was easy, as long as you had all your paper work in order.  Make sure you have good picture ID, such as a passport --  even an outdated one will do.  We tested the waters twice this year and had no problems at all.  Our first cruise into the San Juans was in early August and although we had to fight the crowds lining up for the Customs Dock, the procedure was painless.  The September AAC Customs entry into the US was totally uneventful.  

We enjoyed a relaxing cruise from Sidney down to Friday Harbor after clearing customs at Roche Harbor.  We then sailed down through the Deception Pass and had a wonderful time in La Conner.  On to Anacortes and we enjoyed the great bacon wrapped prawns once again at Bella Isola.  [Cruisers Herb and Mary enjoying one of the brief sails in the islands.]  Then we returned for a night in Roche Harbor before making our way back to Sidney.  

We enjoyed a beautiful September Attitude Adjustment Cruise in the San Juan Islands.  Winds were light to moderate and we only had a spattering of moisture, not enough to log as a rain day.  As always we enjoyed the fine cuisine of the seafood restaurants as we cruised from port to port.  [Leslie and Kent enjoying the Colour Ceremony (lowering of the flags) at Roche Harbor after yet another sumptuous meal.]  

Navigation class got underway on September 17 and we have a great group of sailors that are out there trying to avoid costly errors such as the one shown here.  This channel is quite navigable as long as you pay attention and follow the chart and the buoyage.  What can I say?  Stay tuned and we'll try and keep you abreast on the Nautical side of the Darwin contenders for strengthening the remaining cruising population.  

Our church charity auction winners took advantage of another summery September day on the dam.  We didn't even make them paddle across the reservoir like last year's crew.  This was a beautiful day with light warm winds.  The only down side to the day was when young Zaak decided to back up a little too far on the Heritage docks and ended up testing the buoyancy of his life jacket.  After toweling down, he made a quick recovery and enjoyed an ice cream over at McDonalds. 

2001 November 15 to July 21

Stormy Seas, WEIRD WEATHER AND Summer sunshine  

So there we were in Eau Claire prior to Christmas offering our courses and charters and the phone rang.  A sailing buddy said, "Have you heard what is happening at North Saanich in Sidney?"  I replied, "No."  He then proceeded to tell me of the gale that was happening and that the docks where our boats were moored were now underway.  By the time the storm was over, four docks with over two hundred boats were bunched together in the corner of the harbour.  'T' Dock, where Good Idea resides, was broken in five different locations.  Unfortunately, one of the fingers that broke was right beside the boat beside Good Idea resulting in Sea Boots getting real cuddly.  [These are not small timbers!!]

Luckily enough most boats had minor superficial damage.  Good Idea was relatively unscathed with less than ninety dollars damage.  As a result, Good Idea got to winter in Port Sidney while they repaired and replaced docks.   

Then it was boat show time and we had some balmy February weather.  We got quite complacent and then March came in like a lion.  We had one of the coldest March/April springs that I can remember.  So cold... How cold was it?...... Why we had ice on the dam until May 13th!!!! [Frozen Glenmore, left, Frozen Boats, right]  First time since I've been teaching in 1978 that we haven't been able to put boats on the reservoir by May 1st.  April saw our first Intermediate Course Cruises at the west coast and gave us faith that Calgary may eventually see spring.         

Brenda and I launched the mooring in beautiful ice crystals that were about 3 to 5 inches long and slim like icicles that sounded like little chandeliers.  We haven't seen that kind of a melt for a long time.  First night of teaching Basic Cruising we still had ice to dodge.  

We managed to get through Basic in spite of a blizzard that came in just prior to our Little Bow Reservoir motoring exercises. [Soryu ready for her trip to Little Bow.]  I moved the boat down to Champion the afternoon after the freak storm had put over thirty cars in the ditch between Calgary and High River.  By Thursday, the roads were bare and dry.  After the Sunday exercises though there was still two to three foot deep drifts of snow in the ditches.  [Docking at Little Bow, below. Photo taken two days after above photo.]

Basic wrapped up in June and Brenda and I set out for the west coast, not to sail, but to housesit for friends.  Brenda took care of the fish in the pond and polished the stove (inside joke) while I completed a second Intermediate Course and then it was time to return to Calgary and get Brenda ready for the big trek east.  Our oldest daughter, Kirsten, is expecting in England and Brenda flew over on July 18th to help make things ready in the new house they had just moved into in June.  Still no baby yet.  

Time for another charter and another Intermediate Course.  We enjoyed light airs and blue skies for the last week of July and first week of August. [Also enjoyed great meals courtesy of the Intermediate Students.] Then, on the Saturday night after a safe, calm and almost balmy evening passage into Silva Bay after dark, we were treated to one of the most spectacular lightening shows I've ever seen at the coast.  Wasn't quite White Squall and we were safely tied to the docks.  I can't remember more that two or three other thunderstorms at the coast in the twenty plus years I've been cruising there.

And now after setting up the Coastal Navigation Course for the fall, it's my turn to join Brenda, Kirsten, Wan and Bek in England to greet Ophelia, our new granddaughter, that is due on the 13th.  We have an Attitude Adjustment cruise set up just after our return in September and we'll be back helping the aspiring navigators on the 17th of September.