patrick
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2009
- Messages
- 185
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-24 C
- Non-Fluid Motion Model
- 38 ft. Bayliner
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Since returning from the rendezvous in Bremerton, the Salt Spring Ranger Tugs have continued to have more adventures. September 23 and 24 three tugs (That's It, Nest Egg and Myra B) joined 8 other boats on the Saltspring Sailing Club cruise to Wallace Island, There we experienced tying "Mediterranean Style" and the three of us tied side by side with our sterns to the dock! While we were there we visited the old cabin where visiting boats hang driftwood signs with their boat names. We searched and found the sign our good friends from Zuma and Karma left earlier this summer! We had lots of fun eating pizza, chasing raccoons who were determined to get on our boats, and playing a crazy Viking game called Kubb that involves throwing sticks and wooden blocks. The weather did not cooperate and there were high winds and heavy rain forecast for Saturday night and Sunday so we decided to move the party back to the Sailing Club on Saturday night. We enjoyed an amazing potluck on the dock and most of us (all of the Rangers!) spent the night at the club on their boats and the forecast winds the next morning gave us front row seats to the start of a very exciting sailing race.
The following weekend saw all the Ranger owners busy with other activities, but Stout and That's It were restless and insisted on taking their crews (including Fergus) on a day trip to the pub at Browning Harbour on Pender Island. It was not a sunny day but the water was like glass . Navy Channel was rippled - the calmest I'd ever seen it. The food was great, the company exemplary and a good time was had by all.
The next weekend brought the celebration of Thanksgiving here in Canada, so That's It, Bella and Nest Egg set off for Page Point Marina in Ladysmith on Saturday afternoon. Page Point is completely filled with monthly moorage boats over the winter, but the delightful young woman who manages the marina was able to find spots for three Rangers for Saturday and Sunday night. We basically had the marina to ourselves as most boats were unoccupied. There is a lovely restaurant located at the marina and the crew of Stout was able to join us for dinner although they could not bring their tug. Allan, Yvonne and Fergus had to depart shortly after dinner because they needed to catch the ferry back to Salt Spring, and the rest of retired to the dock and the stern of That’s It for hot rums, tea and fancy coffees.
Sunday turned out to be sunny and warm and people spent the day doing boat chores, messing around in dinghies and going for walks. Late afternoon, Patrick lit the barbecue on shore and began roasting our boneless turkey roast (an amazing invention – light meat, dark meat and no bones!!) We set a table on the waterfront patio and feasted on turkey with cranberry sauce and gravy, yummy salad , lovely roast potatoes and vegetables (squash, parsnips and brussel sprouts), wine and a delicious cranberry cake for dessert. We may have established a new tradition for Thanksgiving Dinner – it was certainly one of the most relaxed Thanksgivings I have ever spent!! After dinner a fire was lit in the firepit up above and we sat around there for a couple of hours before retiring to Bella for tea, Scotch and Stilton cheese and crackers……we were stuffed!!!
As forecast, it began to rain in the early morning and continued to pour. Nest Egg departed first as they had commitments at home. Bella left soon after as she is spending her winter in a boathouse at Canoe Cove and has further to travel, and her crew must connect with a ferry at Swartz Bay to return to Salt Spring. That’s It set off around noon, bidding a fond farewell to Page Point and a promise to return. The rain stopped, the fog lifted and our voyage home was uneventful. We were thankful that the rain had stopped for us to unload the things that needed to come home from the boat!!
This past weekend, Nest Egg and That’s It headed over to the port of Chemainus on Saturday morning. The sun was shining and the waters were calm. We stopped to fuel up at Jones Marine, next to the Chemainus dock. The Jones family runs a fleet of (real) tugs out of Chemainus, and established the fuel dock to make it easier for them to get fuel for their own tugs. They are happy to sell it to pleasure boaters but their dock cannot be called luxurious!!! When the ferry passes, crew that is required to be on the dock during fuelling can find it a challenge to stay upright!!! However the lack of fancy trappings is more than compensated for by the economic value of purchasing fuel here!! I am told it may be the least expensive fuel on Vancouver Island.
After securing our Rangers in the cozy marina, we explored the village of Chemainus. If you have not been there it is worth a visit to see the murals that have been painted on many of the buildings in the town. They are truly spectacular. It was sad to see many vacant buildings and closed businesses in this tourist town. The impact of the current economy and the less than stellar tourist season of 2011 is evident.
We had reservations for a buffet dinner followed by a performance of the play Amadeus at the Chemainus Festival Theatre. Dinner was delicious with choices to please everyone, including roast wild boar at the carving station. The play was excellent, and I think we all enjoyed it, although sitting in a warm, dark theatre after a huge meal has its challenges!!!
We walked back to the marina and reconvened on That’s It for hot drinks and a visit before climbing into our warm beds. The temperature did drop overnight and we were thankful for our Wallas stove in the early morning hours. Kim and Karen on Nest Egg ran their heater overnight, but they had not plugged in at the marina, so their house battery went dead. Kim said it was very cold when he had to get up and plug the shore power in at 6:30 in the morning to get the heat on!!!
Sunday morning was bright and sunny (if not warm right away) and we walked back into Chemainus and had a lovely breakfast. Once the boats were squared away and the ferry and tug and tow had moved out of the harbour, we pointed our bows for home. It was a truly glorious day and we decided we were not quite ready to go home yet, so we stopped at Conover Cove at Wallace Island, went for a walk to Panther Point and back and then enjoyed a snack and libations on the dock in the sunshine. The water was flat calm, so I told Patrick to go ahead and cast off, and I could finish my domestic chores while we were underway. As we came out by Panther Point, Pat wondered what all the boats were doing, then he realized that they were whale watching boats, and indeed they were watching whales!!
I was easily distracted from the dishes I was washing, and we were thrilled to see many Orcas swimming and frolicking between us and Galiano Island. After we had watched them for over an hour, one of the whale watching boats hailed Nest Egg on the radio (the advantage of having your boat name easily visible!) and we all went to Channel 15. The whale watching guide explained that we were seeing two pods of Orcas together, (J and K pod) and that not only was it unusual that they would be all together, but to see them in Trincomali Channel together was an occurrence that might only happen once every four or five years!! He also let us hear the sounds of the whale songs picked up by their hydrophone over the radio. It was truly spectacular. We probably spent two hours watching them, and I did get a few good pictures although I wanted to just watch them and look through the binoculars rather than concentrating on getting a really good photo!
Yvonne, Allan and Fergus (of Stout) are heading back to Tucson at the end of the month, and Stout is safely up on blocks in our yard. It is really confusing our neighbours!!! The rest of the Salt Spring contingent is planning to stay in the water over the winter and get out whenever we can.
We wanted to share our adventures with all of you , to let you know that there is wonderful cruising to be had in the Gulf Islands year round, not just in the summer months, and to make sure that you let us know if your are coming to our area, because as you can see, the Salt Spring Ranger Tugs are always up for an adventure!!
Gail and Patrick
That's It!
R-25
The following weekend saw all the Ranger owners busy with other activities, but Stout and That's It were restless and insisted on taking their crews (including Fergus) on a day trip to the pub at Browning Harbour on Pender Island. It was not a sunny day but the water was like glass . Navy Channel was rippled - the calmest I'd ever seen it. The food was great, the company exemplary and a good time was had by all.
The next weekend brought the celebration of Thanksgiving here in Canada, so That's It, Bella and Nest Egg set off for Page Point Marina in Ladysmith on Saturday afternoon. Page Point is completely filled with monthly moorage boats over the winter, but the delightful young woman who manages the marina was able to find spots for three Rangers for Saturday and Sunday night. We basically had the marina to ourselves as most boats were unoccupied. There is a lovely restaurant located at the marina and the crew of Stout was able to join us for dinner although they could not bring their tug. Allan, Yvonne and Fergus had to depart shortly after dinner because they needed to catch the ferry back to Salt Spring, and the rest of retired to the dock and the stern of That’s It for hot rums, tea and fancy coffees.
Sunday turned out to be sunny and warm and people spent the day doing boat chores, messing around in dinghies and going for walks. Late afternoon, Patrick lit the barbecue on shore and began roasting our boneless turkey roast (an amazing invention – light meat, dark meat and no bones!!) We set a table on the waterfront patio and feasted on turkey with cranberry sauce and gravy, yummy salad , lovely roast potatoes and vegetables (squash, parsnips and brussel sprouts), wine and a delicious cranberry cake for dessert. We may have established a new tradition for Thanksgiving Dinner – it was certainly one of the most relaxed Thanksgivings I have ever spent!! After dinner a fire was lit in the firepit up above and we sat around there for a couple of hours before retiring to Bella for tea, Scotch and Stilton cheese and crackers……we were stuffed!!!
As forecast, it began to rain in the early morning and continued to pour. Nest Egg departed first as they had commitments at home. Bella left soon after as she is spending her winter in a boathouse at Canoe Cove and has further to travel, and her crew must connect with a ferry at Swartz Bay to return to Salt Spring. That’s It set off around noon, bidding a fond farewell to Page Point and a promise to return. The rain stopped, the fog lifted and our voyage home was uneventful. We were thankful that the rain had stopped for us to unload the things that needed to come home from the boat!!
This past weekend, Nest Egg and That’s It headed over to the port of Chemainus on Saturday morning. The sun was shining and the waters were calm. We stopped to fuel up at Jones Marine, next to the Chemainus dock. The Jones family runs a fleet of (real) tugs out of Chemainus, and established the fuel dock to make it easier for them to get fuel for their own tugs. They are happy to sell it to pleasure boaters but their dock cannot be called luxurious!!! When the ferry passes, crew that is required to be on the dock during fuelling can find it a challenge to stay upright!!! However the lack of fancy trappings is more than compensated for by the economic value of purchasing fuel here!! I am told it may be the least expensive fuel on Vancouver Island.
After securing our Rangers in the cozy marina, we explored the village of Chemainus. If you have not been there it is worth a visit to see the murals that have been painted on many of the buildings in the town. They are truly spectacular. It was sad to see many vacant buildings and closed businesses in this tourist town. The impact of the current economy and the less than stellar tourist season of 2011 is evident.
We had reservations for a buffet dinner followed by a performance of the play Amadeus at the Chemainus Festival Theatre. Dinner was delicious with choices to please everyone, including roast wild boar at the carving station. The play was excellent, and I think we all enjoyed it, although sitting in a warm, dark theatre after a huge meal has its challenges!!!
We walked back to the marina and reconvened on That’s It for hot drinks and a visit before climbing into our warm beds. The temperature did drop overnight and we were thankful for our Wallas stove in the early morning hours. Kim and Karen on Nest Egg ran their heater overnight, but they had not plugged in at the marina, so their house battery went dead. Kim said it was very cold when he had to get up and plug the shore power in at 6:30 in the morning to get the heat on!!!
Sunday morning was bright and sunny (if not warm right away) and we walked back into Chemainus and had a lovely breakfast. Once the boats were squared away and the ferry and tug and tow had moved out of the harbour, we pointed our bows for home. It was a truly glorious day and we decided we were not quite ready to go home yet, so we stopped at Conover Cove at Wallace Island, went for a walk to Panther Point and back and then enjoyed a snack and libations on the dock in the sunshine. The water was flat calm, so I told Patrick to go ahead and cast off, and I could finish my domestic chores while we were underway. As we came out by Panther Point, Pat wondered what all the boats were doing, then he realized that they were whale watching boats, and indeed they were watching whales!!
I was easily distracted from the dishes I was washing, and we were thrilled to see many Orcas swimming and frolicking between us and Galiano Island. After we had watched them for over an hour, one of the whale watching boats hailed Nest Egg on the radio (the advantage of having your boat name easily visible!) and we all went to Channel 15. The whale watching guide explained that we were seeing two pods of Orcas together, (J and K pod) and that not only was it unusual that they would be all together, but to see them in Trincomali Channel together was an occurrence that might only happen once every four or five years!! He also let us hear the sounds of the whale songs picked up by their hydrophone over the radio. It was truly spectacular. We probably spent two hours watching them, and I did get a few good pictures although I wanted to just watch them and look through the binoculars rather than concentrating on getting a really good photo!
Yvonne, Allan and Fergus (of Stout) are heading back to Tucson at the end of the month, and Stout is safely up on blocks in our yard. It is really confusing our neighbours!!! The rest of the Salt Spring contingent is planning to stay in the water over the winter and get out whenever we can.
We wanted to share our adventures with all of you , to let you know that there is wonderful cruising to be had in the Gulf Islands year round, not just in the summer months, and to make sure that you let us know if your are coming to our area, because as you can see, the Salt Spring Ranger Tugs are always up for an adventure!!
Gail and Patrick
That's It!
R-25