To Portland Island

I was chugging along in the early morning glow, enjoying my French toast, when I looked down at the tachometer to see, to my dismay, that it was at 0. It took me a moment to realize that the alternator belt had once again snapped, and of course, the engine was overheating, but this time due to the fresh water pump not turning. I shut the engine off and began the acrobats of removing the belt for the hydraulic windless so that I could get to the alternator belt, all the while hoping BC ferries didn’t choose that moment to show up on the scene. The wind did decide to show up, so I interrupted my contortions to set the Genoa, sending wrenches clattering across the cabin. At last I was able to install the new belt, luckily I replaced the spare I used up in Port McNeill. And now I’m off again, sailing into Princess Bay.

Oak Bay Marina

As you can see from the photo for this post, it was very shallow at the Gartside dock, and only possible to get in and out at high tide. Today was a zero tide and Jura sat in the mud for about an hour at low tide. Luckily it’s very soft mud. A new experience.

To D’Arcy Island

To Oak Bay

I got an appointment at Gartside Marine in Oak Bay, so I’m heading over there. Not much wind out here so I’m under power, I was expecting to have to drift for a while letting the engine cool off but… the temperature has stabilized and isn’t overheating. It’s like when you’re in agony and finally decide to go to the doctor, but when you get there you realize your not in so much pain anymore. The only things I can attribute this to are a) the water is about 4 degrees cooler here than on the west coast, so it’s conceivable that was enough to mean the raw water wasn’t taking enough heat from the fresh water coolant. Or b), there’s no swell here, so it’s possible the motion in the swell was creating air pockets in the fresh water coolant loop, leading to the overheating… Anyway, it will be good to have Gartside look at the engine regardless and tell me what they think. The mystery continues!

To Quarantine Bay

Well, that concludes the furthest I’ve ever sailed in a single day. It was quite a day. I am, to say the least, exhausted but satisfied. It was excellent wind and excellent conditions. It rained on and off, but in general the boat handled really well. I have certainly learned a lot about sailing Jura in different conditions on this circumnavigation. One thing I learned on this leg was that in certain conditions downwind she handles quite well under just the main, without the genoa. I often use the Genoa on its own, but seldom the main on its own because it moves the centre of effort too far back and means Jura develops too much weather helm (a tendency to turn into the wind). In the right downwind conditions, though, it actually works quite well, and it alleviates the genoa booming around as it collapses when the boat rolls and there isn’t enough wind to keep it full. The last little bit was quite exciting, coming through Race Rocks with probably 25 knots of gusting wind, then hitting some tide rips that were pretty dramatic and getting sort of spun around while being hit by a massive gust at the same time. There were a few moments where it was a little bit scary. Then, coming around across the entrance of Pedder Bay under full sail, I got hit by a huge gust and had to lose the genoa and come into the wind, we were just totally overpowered. It was also getting dark and raining at the same time. A very dramatic final hour. But I am now here next to the William Head prison, and looking very much forward to crawling into my bunk.

Pit stop in the Broken Islands

I managed to sail almost all the way to Wouwer Island, arriving just as the wind was dying. I don’t think I stopped here last summer, it’s quite nice. I’m sorry I won’t have time to explore it. I plan to leave around 5:30 or 6 am tomorrow morning, and see if I can make it to Sooke Basin, or Quarantine Bay. At 5 knots it’s around 14 hours to Sooke, 16-17 to Quarantine Bay. In the afternoon the current in the Strait of Juan de Fuca will be flowing against me at about 1 knot, and against the wind, which is likely to make for uncomfortable choppy seas. I’ll assess as I go how I’m feeling and what the conditions are like. If I need to, I can always pull in at Port Renfrew.