By KARL BEGRICH

What happens
humbled city lovers stick
their heads together. and talk

about boats? This usually —

happens after someone has
been on a day. trip in English
Bay—andlovedit. —- _.

A whole new world had

~- suddenly opened up; and it

friends at the club. Jobs and

_ finances are analyzed and

discussed. One idea leads to
another; and it doesn’t take
long béfore a boat is bought.

One can hardly wait to
journey into the exciting and
romantic Unknown. But
there is —this—unavoidable
‘trial run’ one has to go
through, the ~ so-called
“Shakedown Cruise”, where
things can go wrong if one

isn’t fully prepared.

My shakedown cruise

took me through the Gulf:

Islands up north along the
majestic coastline all the
way to the Queen Charlotte
Islands.

I seem to forget how close
I live to one of the most
beautiful cruising grounds in
the world. Whether under
Power or Sail, everyone
should discover it.

I would like to share with
you my shakedown cruise,
its problems and its joys!

STARTING OUT

With a crew of five, I
pointed the compass needle
north-northwest on a grey,
overcast ist of July. We
sailed the Strait of Georgia.

Our first destination was
Mitlenatch Island, a nature
park, twenty miles north of
Texada Island.

Sailing makes you hungry.
We learned that at breakfast
by consuming at least twice
as much as we normally did.

The girls had problems
with the kerosene stove. It
didn't preheat properly and
remarks of frustration came
out of the galley.

“I wish I could cook in my
apartment”, or “Why can't
we have an electric stove?”

Girls are no_ galleyslaves
aboard a ship.
Everybody has (to

volunteer as gourmet cook.
After all, we are equal. The
girls have to pull on the
sheets as hard as the boys.

But after a couple of
hopeless egotrips in the
galley (we never succeeded
beyond bacon-and-eggs

standard) the girls took over.

SELL IT!
CALL
CLASSIFIED
986-6222

— and didn’t get much

_. resistance, naturally!
when .

FLORA AND FAUNA

It was noisy on Mitlenatch
Island. Thousands
seagulls call this their
breeding ground. They fly
every day two hundred miles
on a certain route towards
Vancouver and back, a

of -

and since this was the
outpost. of civilization,
everybody dropped a note to
relatives and friends’ in
Vancouver.

Until now I had thought
that my coastal navigation
wasn't too bad, but the
following week drove me up
the wall (or the mast).

lained tous.

I was-amazed about the
growth on this forgotten spot
in the middle of Georgia
Strait. ““Hiindreds of wild-
flowers are favored with
plenty of sunshine. -I even
stumbled over_a_ couple of
cacti.

We filled two buckets with
clams which covéred the
beach, before’ we hoisted
anchor bound for
Desolation Sound.

—

A cool northeasterly blew
into our faces and we had to
tighten the sheets. But
without any winch one had
to be quick to get the sheets
around the cleats. That's
why the deck crew didn't
give any warning to our
cooks below when the boat
heeled over. .

“What the hell. ...”!
Everybody knows the sound
of smashing plates and
glasses. “Oh, for God’s sake,
the garbage!”

. We hardly noticed these
helpless shouts from _ the
galley. We were too busy
enjoying the glide through
the water.

WHAT A MESS!

4
Finally I bothered to rust

below to survey the mess.
Here ] found two girls, red-
faced, on their knees trying
to pick egg shells, empty tins
and especially coffee
grounds off the carpet. The
garbage can had obeyed the
law of gravity and gave me
that empty look!

I made a mental note; no
carpet aboard a sailboat, a

built-in) garbage can and
unbreakable glasses.
Late that evening we

shipped into a little harbour,
called Refuge Cove, to take
on water and fuel. We even
found a store and post office,

Q

S

aera vahaud - OVE as fTBG
Page 17, January 21, 1979 - Sunday News

vat mis) zane

* CANOE COVE (1967)

CONFUSING
PASSAGES _

This spidernet of chan-
nels, passes, inlets and bays
-Was very confusing, to say
the least. We had to be on
watch all the time in order to
‘find the right channel. No
‘dead end’ sign warned us of
any imlet or bay.

I had to follow charts very
closely. Currents were
extremely tricky and passes
were So narrow, creating six-
knot currents against the
boat. Quite often the engine
was Called on duty at the last
minute when the rcecky
shoreline came dangerously

close. A powerboat would

have been ideal.

Someone might ask
““What’s so difficult about’
- following charts and
—_____checking tide tables?”
BREATHTAKING
VIEW
The beautiful scenery

distracted us very much
from our navigational duties.
Snowcapped mountains,
waterfalls and green forests
had to be thoroughly ab-
sorbed by our still-polluted
city brains.

Feeding deer on shore or
the proud North American
eagle circling above our

\

‘ The Force 5 hull
weighs 140 Ibs....
light for a two man
boat. That means
added convenience
and enjoyment. You

FRESH SALMON DIN NER for the crew is headed

to the galley.

heads made me rush below
to grab my movie camera in
time. Killer whales looked at
us curiously and made me
pray: “Please, don't get too
close to the rudder!” .

Salmon fishing was on top
of the list of the daily sport
program. A lookout’ on top
of the mast’ spotted the
schools; a dinghy was
launched immediatefy, a
hungry crew swung rods and
hooks; within one hour at
least three salmon were
waiting to be barbequed.

Time was pressing. The
Queen Charlottes were still a
way off!

TO BE CONTINUED
NEXT SUNDAY

eee

If you are a world traveller
at heart, prepare yourself for
a pleasant surprise. Miles

Can Carry it on top of
a Car, store it in the

garage and launch it
just about anywhere.

The Boathouse

566 Cardero St.

Tel: 685-4341

DON'T FORGET

THE BOATHOUSE
MARINE SUPPLIES

JANUARY SALE

COAL HARBOUR WHARF
566 CARDERO ST.

TEL: 685-434]

Smeeton, who capsized
twice in the Roaring Forties
sailing the famous Tsu Hang,
will ‘show film and slides at
the Queen E. Theatre,
February 25 at 8 p.m. He
will be accompanied by John
Guzzwell, who cir-
cumnavigated the world in
the 19-foot Trekka. All seats
are $4 at the Vancouver
Ticket Centre and outlets
and all Eaton's stores. It

should be an_ interesting
evening!

Classified
Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

986-6222 -

iN
:

.
,
i

3
. 28’

28’
: 28°
Ns
26'

25°
"
Re
Nae

24
24°
24°
22’
2°
21°
22’
22°
21
2

i

.
y

$54
NORTHWIND C/BRIDGE

$29,500
FIBERFORM CIBRIDGE

506 @ S
ARTCRAFT CIBRIDGE. MS

$9 00
REINELL H.T.

. $15,500
*NORTHSEA :
$23,500
BAYLINER C/BRIDGE
$14,500
ZETA CIBRIDGE
9,500

$19,
BELL-BOUY EXPRESS

$11,500
CREW HT.

$11,900
ZETA C/BRIDGE

$19
FIBERFORM EXPRESS
REINELL EXPRESS

900

—___—- _$§$
LYNNWOOD Ccupby
$ 8,950

STARCRAFT & TRAILER ;

$ 9,500
REINELL CuDDY
; $9,000 |
SEARAY CUDDY
a. $9,500
SANGSTER H.T.
$ 8,500
REINELL H.T.
| $ 8,000
FIBERFORM #H.T.
$10,500
RIZZUTO’S
MARINE
SALES
LTD.
Office at:

Doug's Boats Ltd.,
1315 Cotton,

North Vancouver, B.C.

__ Fel. 980-3404

THE PERFECT
ESCAPE

Take your boat to your own

WATERFRONT HOMESTEAD

PRIVATE ISLANDS

Several small islands located within 50 miles of Good moorage

and fishing.
4 acres, treed

TEXADA ISLAND

South facing property. Unique 123 acres with excellent
beaches, good crable land, sandy lagoon and more. Fresh water
from well. Road access to ferry. $125,000.

GABRIOLA ISLAND

8 acre waterfront. Level treed land with spectacular view
toward Vancouver. Woter, power. $64,000.

SECRET COVE

$ 65,000

110,000

Half ocre waterfront, ready to build. $37,000.
Half acre semi-waterfront lots: from $11,000.

RENDEZVOUS ISLAND

The best waterfront value offered in years. Ai the doorstep to

Stuart = tstand fishing.
homestead, $15,000.

Example:

NELSON ISLAND

Blind Bay anes with western exposure and sheltered

mooroge. $25,00

10 acre waterfront

Brynelsen Benzon
Realty Corp.

‘yt C sat hero toteaet

fan OH fob

voor te FG

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