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Published On: Jun 21, 2005 12:05 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Jun 21, 2005 12:05 PM
Clearing into Canada
We cleared into Canada in Sidney Harbor, then
headed immediately up to Salt Spring Island to meet our friends the Rouches at
their place there. This is where we stayed for the Fourth of July.
We had to time our departure to get through
Sidney and start up the Salt Spring Island west coast running with the flood.
That meant cutting across Haro Strait on the ebb.
We left Roche at 1000 and motored (no wind) across Haro Strait. We "crabbed" across the strait: the current was running 3 knots, and we had to head on a 40 degree course to make a straight line across the Strait. The currents really make strange formations at various places on the surface. Sometimes you see "whitewater," sometimes whirlpools, sometimes upwellings, sometimes you hear great sucking sounds as the water is sucked down.
We made it to Sidney Harbor at 1131. The tide was just about low, and the breakwaters of the marina towered above us - they were a bit above our lower spreaders, 20 feet up. The entrance was extremely narrow. There was about 40 feet across. Going in while large powerboats were exiting was interesting.
We docked at the customs dock and called in. It only took 10 minutes, and we were cleared into Canada. The next stop was the Rouches' place on Salt Spring Island.
We left Sidney at 1150. We headed up towards Salt Spring, and got some wind, so we put up the sails. The wind was really light. That's the way it is here: the weather and wind is either nice and completely calm, or it is nasty and blowing like crazy. There is no in between. There is no "goodness."
We made it to Musgrave Point at 1551 and picked up the Rouches' private mooring ball. That was a bit of a challenge, because the wind was blowing 13 knots, and it had been awhile since we had picked up a mooring. Not only that, but the mooring ball only had a ring on it - there was no pennant. Thus, we had to sort of keep the boat in place for a long enough time with the mooring ball alongside so that we could get a line down, through the ring, and back up to deck. We ended up doing this by motoring in reverse up to the ball.
All the while, Steven was nervous about hitting a rock because it was very shallow, we had no local knowledge, and our charts did not have fine enough resolution (for his tastes). We took a lead line out and made some soundings in the dinghy. From that, it turned out that at low tide, we would only have about 6 feet if we trailed out from the mooring ball to the ESE. We would have to fix that tomorrow before the tide got too low but hopefully when the wind died down a bit.
The next morning at 1000, we cast off the mooring (leaving a fender tied to our dockline, still on the mooring so that we could pick it back up), and headed out a couple of boat lengths to deeper water to set our anchor. The idea was to set the anchor out, then back down onto the mooring ball, and effectively hold us in a single position, at a fixed point in enough water to keep from hitting anything, even at low tide.
The maneuver worked. The most challenging thing about it was backing the stern crosswind (5 knots) to the mooring line. By running the engine in forward and reverse, and using the prop walk, we managed to get the stern back to the mooring ball and attached our aft port cleat to the mooring ball. There we sat comfortably for the next two days.
We left Roche at 1000 and motored (no wind) across Haro Strait. We "crabbed" across the strait: the current was running 3 knots, and we had to head on a 40 degree course to make a straight line across the Strait. The currents really make strange formations at various places on the surface. Sometimes you see "whitewater," sometimes whirlpools, sometimes upwellings, sometimes you hear great sucking sounds as the water is sucked down.
We made it to Sidney Harbor at 1131. The tide was just about low, and the breakwaters of the marina towered above us - they were a bit above our lower spreaders, 20 feet up. The entrance was extremely narrow. There was about 40 feet across. Going in while large powerboats were exiting was interesting.
We docked at the customs dock and called in. It only took 10 minutes, and we were cleared into Canada. The next stop was the Rouches' place on Salt Spring Island.
We left Sidney at 1150. We headed up towards Salt Spring, and got some wind, so we put up the sails. The wind was really light. That's the way it is here: the weather and wind is either nice and completely calm, or it is nasty and blowing like crazy. There is no in between. There is no "goodness."
We made it to Musgrave Point at 1551 and picked up the Rouches' private mooring ball. That was a bit of a challenge, because the wind was blowing 13 knots, and it had been awhile since we had picked up a mooring. Not only that, but the mooring ball only had a ring on it - there was no pennant. Thus, we had to sort of keep the boat in place for a long enough time with the mooring ball alongside so that we could get a line down, through the ring, and back up to deck. We ended up doing this by motoring in reverse up to the ball.
All the while, Steven was nervous about hitting a rock because it was very shallow, we had no local knowledge, and our charts did not have fine enough resolution (for his tastes). We took a lead line out and made some soundings in the dinghy. From that, it turned out that at low tide, we would only have about 6 feet if we trailed out from the mooring ball to the ESE. We would have to fix that tomorrow before the tide got too low but hopefully when the wind died down a bit.
The next morning at 1000, we cast off the mooring (leaving a fender tied to our dockline, still on the mooring so that we could pick it back up), and headed out a couple of boat lengths to deeper water to set our anchor. The idea was to set the anchor out, then back down onto the mooring ball, and effectively hold us in a single position, at a fixed point in enough water to keep from hitting anything, even at low tide.
The maneuver worked. The most challenging thing about it was backing the stern crosswind (5 knots) to the mooring line. By running the engine in forward and reverse, and using the prop walk, we managed to get the stern back to the mooring ball and attached our aft port cleat to the mooring ball. There we sat comfortably for the next two days.
Posted: Sat - July 3, 2004 at 03:00 PM