15 Jun 18

I don’t have to be in Victoria (Cadboro Bay, actually) until 13:00, so I slept in a bit, but was breakfasting before 09:00. I scraped a bit on the starboard toe-rail, until just after 11:00, when it was time to get going to catch the last of the ebb tide down Haro Strait. The anchor came up easily and I really enjoyed using the new wash down pump instead of having to hoist 8 or 10 buckets manually over the side. There was virtually no wind, so I motored the whole way to Cadboro Bay, averaging about 8 knots over the ground and was tied up at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club reciprocal slip at 13:15. I cleared Canadian customs by phone in minutes with no fuss. John and “Massilia” did not arrive until after 14:00, so I enjoyed a beer on the patio waiting for him. I finished sanding the starboard toe rail while waiting for him to get his car down from Canoe Cove. We had dinner in the yacht club and then had a planning fluid before calling it a night.

48-27.189’N, 123-17.725’W, Log = 11.6, Sum (2018) = 45.1

16 Jun 18

John’s haul out date somehow got moved back from this morning until tomorrow morning, so we went for early morning coffee and sticky buns then did a quick grocery shop, since I had cleaned out the larder in anticipation of clearing customs. We spent the rest of the morning installing his new oven/cooker. After lunch, we went to the local marine hardware store for John’s boat cleaning supplies, and I found a replacement pump for the A/C system; at least they can order one and have it here by Monday or Tuesday. On the way back to the YC, we stopped off at John’s mum’s (Huguette) house for tea. Back at the boat, I got the first coat of Le Tonkinois on the starboard toe-rails. We had happy hour aboard, then went back up to the YC for dinner.

17 Jun 18

“Massilia” was hauled out on the YC marine railway at 08:00, so I was up early. We spent all morning power washing the bottom, getting the scaffolding set up around the boat and cleaning the topsides. After lunch, John sanded down the bottom in prep for applying a new coat of bottom paint tomorrow. I spent all afternoon waxing and buffing the topsides. We knocked off at 17:00 and I was bushed. After cleaning up, John collected Huguette and the three of us had an al fresco dinner at the YC. It was a lovely evening and Huguette kept us amused by tales of her adventures as a young girl during the German occupation and the waning days of WWII in Marseille, where she grew up.

18 Jun 18

I failed to hear the alarm and 07:00. The phone rang (robo-call) at 07:30, but I rolled over and went straight back to sleep until 08:15. When I finally reported for duty at 09:10, John had been at work for nearly 3 hours. Nevertheless, I made myself useful for the remainder of the day and we finished off prepping the bottom, applying primer on raw spot, taping off the topsides and applying a new coat of bottom paint. After that, I went back and applied another coat of Le Tonkinois to the starboard side toe-rail. We knocked off at 17:00 and after cleaning up, went over to Huguette’s house for dinner. After dinner, we came back and did a bit of light sanding on Massilia and tidied up the work-site (removing the last of the scaffolding and ladders, etc.) Another early night for me, worn out and sore. Tomorrow, after Massilia launches, we plan to head straight to Canoe Cove and then catch the late ferry for Vancouver for a few days R&R.