La Dolce Vita and Willie C. cruise Desolation Sound, BC

[DesertAlbin736]

June 24, 2018: This topic will cover A25's "La Dolce Vita" and "Willie C." 2018 cruise to Desolation Sound from Blaine, WA via Canadian Gulf Islands to Comox on Vancouver Island & thence across Georgia Strait. Departure set for Monday June 25th.

Check back often for updates & pictures.

[DesertAlbin736]

Update #1, 6/24/18 2100 PDT: Willie C. & La Dolce Vita all fueled & provisioned & set to go, but 6/25 AM departure in doubt. Cold front moving in, rain expected late overnight, wind rising. 20+ knots SW wind possible in Strait of Georgia tomorrow, wind against tide current. May have to sit tight in Blaine one more day, calmer weather expected Tues 6/26 after front passes.

[RobS]

Yup, float plans are always in pencil, only Mother Nature gets to put them in ink....
"All fueled up" - How many gallons do you fuel sippers hold?
With your pictures and Willie's witty writings this will become a good thread....

[kerrye]

Hold up for good weather. We were stuck in Seneca Lake State Park for three days due to very high winds

[DesertAlbin736]

Update #2: Arrived in Comox shortly after noon, PDT, 6/29/18. Smooth going so far, although ran into a few rough seas here & there, 3 ft chop & ~12-15 kt winds on the nose, but nothing we couldn't handle & nobody got seasick. Actually 2 days ahead of float plan schedule, 1st night in Port Browning, 2nd night in Telegraph Harbour, 3rd night in Nanaimo, & last night in Deep Bay on Vancouver Island, 13 NM south of Comox.
While in Port Browning Dave Kirsop hosted a lovely cookout at his house served up fresh salmon grilled on the BBQ & homemade potato salad & green beans.
Last night in Deep Bay La Dolce Vita & Willie C. rafted up on one anchor. Almost every night has been calm, but one has to account for up to 12 ft tide range.

[Nancy]

Good to hear from you guys! i'd been wondering how the trip was going.

[dkirsop]

Glad to hear you are making good progress. Kathy and I enjoyed hosting both of you at Pender Island. Here are some pictures taken at Port Browning.

WillieC.jpg

Helen, Heidi and WillieC

LaDolceVite.jpg

Steve on La Dolce Vita with the good looking sail rig!

[DesertAlbin736]

Trying to post updates from Refuge Cove, but keeps bouncing me out. More later when we get better signals.

[DesertAlbin736]

Update #3, Lund, BC: Brief return to Lund to pumpout hold tanks. Unfortunately Desolation Sound is all 'no discharge', but guess what, not a single pumpout station within Desolation Sound, Lund being the closest. Partly why I had removed the old 9 gallon tank & installed the 20 gallon one. Good case for going with a composting head. Our sailing buddies with their Alden 44 sloop due to arrive in a couple hours.
[attachment=0]20180704_151527.jpg[/attachment]

[DesertAlbin736]

Update #4: Back in Lund, BC for our last morning on the Sunshine Coast. Rafted up with Willie C at a very crowded dock at the Lund marina. Waiting for a slight break in winds from 12 knots in Georgia Strait down to 9 or 10 knots for departure after 9 AM PDT bound for Comox on Vancouver Island. 10 great days on Desolation Sound. Lots of pics to post when we get back home to AZ. Been a bit frustrating trying to post. Refuge Cove was one of the few places with 4G cell service, but that was weak & I'd write a post & be ready to send & I'd get kicked off, lose everything I'd written & have to log back in & start over. This happened several times & gave up. It's so remote, mountainous, & sparsely populated that cell service is spotty to nonexistent.

[DesertAlbin736]

Update #5: Back in the USA. We had a wonderful 14 days in Desolation Sound from June 30 to July 13. It's been extremely frustrating trying to post from locations with weak & intermittent cell signals. Just as I'd write a post & try to submit I'd get bounced off and have to log back in & everything I'd written disappeared into the ether.

But anyway, we returned, Von Donop Inlet to Lund, Lund to Comox, Comox to Hornby Island (where we anchored off a clothing optional beach in Tribune Bay), thence to Nanaimo, & finally to Ladysmith where we attended an Albineers of BC rendezvous. That was awesome. Met a lot of nice folks, had a BBQ, and counting Willie C and ourselves there were SIX, count 'em, SIX A25's tied up in the same marina, including the boat that once belonged to the founder of BC Albineers.

From there we headed down-island to Wallace Island and Montague on Galiano where we and the Willie C crew rode the Hummingbird Inn Pub bus (an experience in itself) to dinner at the pub. Two nights in Montague, and thereafter split up with Willie C. They went on to Sidney & Roche Harbor. We went back to Blaine to deal with a fuel lift pump issue after clearing US customs at Point Roberts. So once back in Blaine we jumped in our truck & drove to Bellingham to pick up a new fuel pump from Tri County Marine Engine, then back to the boat to install the new pump. That was Friday, 7/27. Now we're in Fossil Bay on Sucia Island, heading for Friday Harbor tomorrow.

[OldDemps]

Beautiful weather.
There is a Albin 25 for sale in that marina
https://victoria.craigslist.ca/boa/d/albin/6628354514.html

[DesertAlbin736]

Yes, that boat is "Alanje". He was there in Ladysmith. We spoke to him as did Rick, aka 'WillieC". The finish on the blue painted f/g hard top is a bit rough, but otherwise OK. This is the boat formerly owned by a founding member of Albineers of BC club, a fellow who is now 96 years old.

By the way, we are now anchored in Friday Harbor in the San Juans

[WillieC]

We're BACK!!!

The original plan was to haul at Blaine and tow the boat back to Hood Canal. We were having so much fun, we altered the plan, docked in Bellingham, borrowed a car and drove the truck and trailer home, returned the car to Bellingham and drove the Mighty Willie C home. We took 5 or 6 days to do the 2 or 3 day trip from Bellingham.

As you can see, this trip has made some serious impact on the Starfleet Commander and me. We no longer speak in hours, minutes, and MPH. Days run into weeks, and I now have a legitimate reason for stumbling around like a full blown drunk on solid ground.

Pictures and commentary to follow once I retrieve the camera/phone from Bellingham. (Having learned to live in the restraints of the 25 foot hull, as soon as they released me to terra firma on my own recognizance, I promptly lost my mind and locked the cell phone in the borrowed car, stopping to check my pocket AFTER I dropped the car keys in the mail slot. This transition is not going well.)

Stand by for NEWS!

[DesertAlbin736]

A few pics from the cruise now that I have some downloaded off my digital camera SanDisk card. Still working (actually just getting started) on putting together a YouTube slide show, which is a much more efficient way of posting & explaining many, many more photos & videos.