13 Jul 19

It was a relatively early start - 08:00 - so we could hit Gabriola Passage after the turn to flood. We dropped the stern line and weighed anchor by 08:15 and were on our way out of Pirate Cove by 08:20. We were through Gabriola Passage by 08:45 and into the Strait of Georgia. By 09:45, the wind was SE5 and the jib was deployed. At 10:10, the wind was up to SE7, so the engine was killed and all sails deployed; we sailed all the way to Pt. Gray at 7+ kn, finally tying up at False Creek Fisherman’s Wharf Marina at 12:57. After we got in, we walked over to Granville Island Public Market for a bit of shopping. Later, Laurie drove over and picked us up and we had a scenic drive through Vancouver and back to her house for dinner of John’s famous fish tacos. We finally left their house at 23:00 and caught the #16 bus back to the marina. At the bus stop, we encountered 7 or 8 young Irish lads who lived nearby; they had been drinking all evening and were in a good mood and on their way into town to visit the Roxy, a nightclub in downtown Vancouver. I spontaneously burst into the opening lines of “The Auld Triangle” and they all joined in enthusiastically. We had a very entertaining ride into town, with loads of young people just now heading into town for a night of partying.

49-16.399’N, 123-08.275’W; Log = 27.4, Sum (2019) = 346.2 N-m 

14 Jul 19

Happy Bastille Day. Vive la France!! We all slept in after last nights revelries. After breakfast at Starbucks, we caught the AquaBus to Plaza of Nations dock and proceeded on a walking tour of Vancouver, including a walk past Rogers Arena, through Chinatown and Gastown, and stops at the Gastown Steam Clock, Canada Place, the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, the Vancouver Public Library. Later Laurie met us at Urban Fare, then walked through the Roundhouse, where a Bastille Day party was underway. Then, we stopped back at the boat, changed and rode back out to John and Laurie’s house for dinner with them and Steve and Sheila, before heading back into town to attend Bard on the Beach’s presentation of “The Taming of the Shrew”. Unfortunately, it was not our favorite presentation of this play. We walked back to the boat and crawled into bed, after 11 miles of walking during the day.

15 Jul 19

Jim and Robin’s last day with us, so we had a lazy morning to allow them to pack up and get ready for their late evening flight. We did a bit of grocery shopping at Granville Island and on the way back, Robin said they would rather go for a sail in English Bay than for another long walk around town; excellent idea. So after a quick lunch at the market, we came back to the boat and were away from the dock by 13:00. We sailed around English Bay all afternoon and finally got back to the boat at 17:30. Laurie joined us for a quick happy hour. Then, the four of us walked over to Rocky Mountain Flatbread for a light dinner. We rode the #50 bus over to Olympic Village train stop and put Jim and Robin on the RAV line to YVR at 20:30.  Back at the boat, the Admiral and I showered, tidied up the boat and fell into bed at 22:30.

16 Jul 19

The Admiral and I slept in after our exertions of the previous few days. Today was a laundry and shopping day, so we spent nearly all day doing just that. Plus, I cleaned the deck and topsides. During the afternoon, I explored under the aft berth, where there had been reports of a bit of dampness under the mattress. I did not find any definitive proof of how the mattress came to be damp, but I did discover that the aft water tank (housed under the aft berth) was leaking a bit of water at the inspection port cap. Upon further inspection, I determined that the cap had cracked nearly all the way round just under the first thread, thus making it impossible to tighten the cap enough to compress the O-ring seal at the top. I immediately called my buddies at First Yacht Services in North Vancouver (they are the local Beneteau service yard, from whom I bought a replacement main-sail furling helix last year); after a couple of minutes of searching, they found a perfect replacement cap. By then, it was too late to go over to North Vancouver to collect, so I advised them that I would pick it up tomorrow on our way out of town. We had happy hour and a light dinner of leftovers from yesterday aboard and were in bed before 22:00.