The timing wasn’t great. We needed to move out of the house in Honeymoon Bay by the end of June, and the SALTS trips started June 28th. And June 27th was our 44th anniversary. We moved out of the house on June 26th, did a last bit of clean-up the next day and celebrated our anniversary with a nice lamb dinner together. I drove to Victoria that evening. It still felt strange to abandon Sarah for 10 days on our anniversary. Thankfully, we were house-sitters for the Honeymoon Bay Retreat for the summer, which meant we looked after everything when the staff went home in the evening. Sarah would have an entire community around her.
Here is how it went:
28-Jun - Tara gave Ben and me a ride downtown to the SALTS dock, and we met with both crews on the Grace. Ben and I gave each other a hug, and he went to the Swift. There was cleaning to do—a spot swab of the deck—and I got to know our crew. Our skipper was Dave, with whom I sailed with Kaleo the first time in 2013. I will be in Port Watch (my favourite) with watch officer Ellie. Katie is my fellow watch leader. Trainees and parents arrived, we went through the orientations, and at 2:00 we were ready to set off. We encountered wind outside the breakwater. The Swift opted to motor-sail while we motored all the way, which was just as well since the wind soon died. We saw a lone transient orca—a big fellow—off Galiano. Anchored south of Dodd’s Narrows. That evening we played a couple of… well, not exciting games, and I missed the music to help with the anchor. Before lights out, I gave the guys my five suggestions, and they were in bed and quiet quickly. But with the small noises of movement, I couldn’t sleep. I dropped off about 1:00 AM and woke again at 5:00, and dozed until 6:30. I will be tired today. A nice crew of trainees, I think. I have all their names straight, usually, and have had conversations with about half of them.
The Five Suggestions:
29-Jun - I was surprisingly not tired today, despite the lost sleep. We passed through Dodd’s Narrows while my watch was washing up breakfast. Past Duke Point, we found some wind. We raised sails for the first time and sailed most of the way to Texada Island, and powered north through Malaspina Strait, past Jarvis Inlet and Powell River, and saw humpbacks for the first time. We anchored late off the southeast shore of Savory Island. The evening games and songs were tough for me, and I felt tired and disconnected, which gave me a moment of panic—can I do this for another eight days? The guys settled down quickly, and I dropped off the sleep and slept well for about 6.5 hours.
The Five Suggestions:
- D - Stay out on the deck as much as possible
- P - Get to know every person
- E - Eat everything you’re given, even if it’s not your favourite
- S - Get as much sleep as you can
- V - Volunteer at every opportunity
30-Jun - Nice easy start to this day, then took the dories to the beautiful sandy beach. The Swift had also anchored there, so I got to catch up and compare notes with Ben for a while. Went for a “swim” in the warm, clear water. After lunch on the beach, we played “Sticks” (Capture the Flag with a pile of small logs as our flags) and got entirely schooled by the Swifties. Back on board the Grace, we motored around the reef, north to Teakerne Arm. We anchored near the provincial park dock, and the Swift soon tied up beside us. We did music together, and went off to our respective snacks and bed. Everyone is tired and cooked by the sun. But I have no sunburn yet.
01-Jul - Canada Day was only barely acknowledged by the youngest girl, who wanted to sing O Canada. A few trainees were anti-colonial enough to sway the rest, and we didn’t sing. I decided not to offer my Canada tattoos. We took the zodiac to go shower in the falls, which felt great. The trainees cheered me on as I went first into the “bathtub,” soaped up and stuck my head in the falls. We zodiacked over to the dock and walked up to the lake for a swim, which I did with my PFD. So many memories in this place. I thought lots about Korena and Val and Matia and Grady and the others—when all of them stood under the falls, or when the girls swam out to the middle of the lake and swung their swimsuits over their heads, or playing President (card game) on top of the cliff. I got to chat with Ben after lunch before both boats set out. We went south and sailed into Desolation Sound, setting anchor at the mouth of Roscoe Bay. But we found out we couldn’t stay as it was a no-discharge zone. We kept motoring into Desolation Sound—magnificent mountains rising from sea level to 10,000 feet and more. We found no open anchorage, so we made for the good holding ground in Keefer Bay on the north side of Savory Island. Had a pleasant conversation with Skipper Dave about retirement and old men of the Bible who messed up. We anchored at midnight in moderate winds. The first mate is sick, and we are lacking a bosun’s mate, so the crew is feeling it. I found it interesting and affirming when these teens included me in their community. One said to me today, “I want your life!” She noticed a peace and acceptance about me. This evening, I helped our watch win the game (no great effort, only a good idea) and became the hero. I can’t say I’m trying hard to achieve this, but it still flows (super)naturally from me after a lifetime of doing this. After singing, Dave asked me to talk with the group about my list of Five Suggestions on how to make the trip more awesome, and we evaluated how we’re doing. The group responded well and came up with some excellent additions to my list, like taking lots of photos.
03-Jul - The Swift anchored near us in the late evening after they had an amazing sail that included humpbacks breaching close by. In the morning, we all took the dories in to the beach. Though our dory was last in the water, we soon passed everyone, due to our great team of rowers (which they credited to me). We played against the Swifties again, this time with two soccer balls, two ultimate frisbees and a football (my contribution) all at the same time and with 60+ players on the beach. It was wild. After rowing back to the boats, we sailed and motored across to Jedediah Island, a provincial park on the far side of Lasqueti Island. The guys were excited to catch a small salmon there, which Heather cooked up for them. The food is amazing—every meal—so the fish was an extra.
04-Jul - In the morning, we lowered the dories to make our way to Jedidiah Island, which first mate Dave said was his favourite place in the world. Unfortunately, with the low tide his landing spot was a mud flat, which spurred some bad attitudes among some trainees. But the island was beautiful—large rock outcroppings bursting through the forest, a broad field of tall grass, and the remains of an old homestead overlooking an aqua-green bay. The crew had the trainees do some solo time for reflection on the rocks above the bay, and we asked some tourists to take a group photo of us. Back on board, we motored against a south wind to the southeast end of Gabriola, with a view of the strait and the skyscrapers of Vancouver in the distance. Dave had me talk with the group again that evening, and I had them decide as a group for each person, “If they were a part on the Pacific Grace, what part would they be?” and why. The head and the slop bucket were not options! The group did well, not always taking the first suggestion, but working out the best answer. They told me I was the knots on the boat, because I held everyone together. I thought that was cool.
05-Jul - The winds continued against us, so we motored our way south to Narvaez Bay on the south end of Saturna. Since we arrived mid-afternoon, we took the zodiac to the national park and walked to the cool rock formations at the south end. I took many photos, which was good because the trainees have lost interest in capturing the trip on their phones—not a negative! It’s interesting to see the cliques in the group merge and dissolve. Cool to see one of the girls break away from the others to spend time with Katie and Ellie.
06-Jul - Hoping to find wind in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we motored toward Victoria. Wind came up, and we hoisted all but the topsails, but the wind died again soon after. We motored down to Cadboro Bay and anchored. All day, trainees had been seizing their last chance to climb the main and foremast shrouds, and they were so busy, I missed my chance. But I did encourage one reluctant girl almost to the top, and took many photos. The Swift anchored nearby, and we sang our grace at meals toward one another. Hard to believe this was our last full day, and I still have so much energy. There must be many prayers going up for me.
07-Jul - Our watch was on breakfast dishes, so we took the time at breakfast to have everyone say what they appreciated most about each person. It took a long time, but was so worth it. The trainees said great stuff about each other and about Ellie and me. Someone said I was the glue that held us together because I connected with everyone equally. I wish it were true—I can think of two or three who kept me at a distance the whole time for reasons of their own. But I have come to love this crew, rough and ragged as we are. I will miss them. We whipped through the dishes in record time, and went on deck to find the boat drifting around the entrance of Victoria Harbour, waiting for the go-ahead to pass under the bridge. There were many farewells and hugs, and I wondered if I would come across any of them again. The two crews had lunch together on the Grace, and we did the cleanup. I wiped down most of the mattresses, swept everything and helped move in the food for the next trip. Ellie appreciated our efforts, as this was usually all on her and took a long time. I finished before Ben, and we went to the pub on the other side of the dock for a drink (great ginger beer) and waited for Tara to pick us up. I’m sure we didn’t smell good, but she was excited to hear about our adventures. Ben said that after a week’s rest he would be ready to go on the next trip. But it’s back to life at home for both of us, though he still has a few days off and I’m teaching sailing tomorrow at Camp Imadene. Sarah was glad to have me back, but I was too tired to tell many stories. The tales will come out in time.
