(sniffle) helmsman.

However, I think some of.

the nicest days in my life
have been spent on sailboats.
Last summer, for instatice,

we had some glorious days..
Crossing the Gulf, the wind.

was steady and the seas
regular. The _ boat
through the water for mile
after mile with hardly any
work except for the occasion-
al adjustment of a rope. We
sailed wearing cut-off blue
jeans. Steering with bare
toes on the warm tiller made
the cold winter and blue
fingers seem very far away.

One evening we anchored
at Reid Island in the Gulf
Islands. After rowing ashore
to dig clams. we ate dinner,
and after dinner sat with
charts working out the next
day’s run.- I’m still learning
“how to sail, and I like to do
various drills - emergency
exercises, if you like - and on
this occasion we decided to
‘pretend that our engine was
on the hummer, and to see if
we could hoist anchor, sail
for an entire day and then
anchor the following evening
without using the diesel at.
all. We planned to head to
the north-west, and after our
evening cocoa we turned in.-I
was tired, and mildly sun-
burned, and lulled by the
gentle motion of the boat I
_was asleep in seconds.

SLIGHT JAR.

The pitching of the sloop
woke me about seven in the
morning. The boat ‘was
coming up hard against the

anchor rode, and the slight .

jar each time told me that it
was a good idea to go on deck
and look around. The wind
had shifted during the night,

slid

Winter rains make - me » jong for spring. and
sailing ‘weather. Some hardy souls sail all year
around, and I admit to a. few winter sailing
experiences, but sailing in the winter makes my
nose run and my fingers turn blue. When it rains
everything is soggy, from ropes to raingear, and
the wind finds every hole in my warm clothing.
Crew members make brief token appearances on
deck, preferring the company of the oil heat
below. The cockpit is deserted except for the poor

and was blowing from the
northwest at about fifteen
knots, with gusts that were a
bit harder. Sailing into the
wind requires a lot of work
and time, and I decided that
it was just as expedient for us

to head south. The wind had
. pushed up the waves,-and as.

the sloop tugged at the
anchor it made the jar that
had wakened me. It was a
good idea to leave.
anchorage had heen sheliter-

ed the night before, but it .

was totally exposed to the
north-west winds. -

It was a beautiful morning,
nevertheless. The sky was so
blue it almost hurt my eyes
and the small white clouds
scudded by everhead. I could
hear the waves breaking on
the beach and the crying of
the gulls. Alan stumbled on

deck, doing up his jacket and.

rubbing the sleep from his
eyes, while down below the

rest of the crew got the stove

going and started the coffee.
Doing our engineless. num-
ber,.we hoisted the sails at

anchor and, carefully har-

dening the sheets, we filled
them and started to move
upwind. We moved off at an
angle to the anchor and went
past it, and as the line went
slack Alan steered into the
wind, and the sails flapped
as I handed in the Danforth,
got rid of the seaweed and
stowed it.

-It was a little chilly beating
out of the anchorage. After
we got out into mid-channel
we turned the boat and ran
down the channel ‘wing on
wing’. That’s a sailing term
for having your mainsail
spread out on one side of the
mast and your jib, or front

VERIFIED CIRCULATION 46,000
1139 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4

. _OFFICE/NEWS: (604) 980-0511 '
CLASSIFIED: 980-3464 CIRCULATION: 986-1337

Publisher Peter Speck

Associate Publisher Bob Graham/Managing Editor
Noel Wright/News Guillermo Lam/Photos Ells-
worth Dickson/Production Marna Leiren/Advertis-"
ing Kristi Vidler/Classified Berni Hilliard/Circula-
tion Yvonne Chapman/Administration Barbara
Haywood/Accounts Sylvia Sorensen. _

' North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an

independent

‘community newspaper
qualified under Schedule 111,

and
Part 111,

Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is
published each Wednesday by the North
Shore Free Press Ltd. and distributed to every
door on the North Shore.

Second Class Mall Registration Number 3885.

ENTIRE CONTENTS COPYRIGHT © 1977 NORTH
SHORE FREE PRESS LTD. All rights reserved.

er
er

our

The ©

- trees and rocks. A man on
the beach talked to his dog .

| by Peter Speck

sail, on the other. The. wind .

seems to slow, as the boat is
being driven before it, and it
gets warmer. Wing on wing
is a bit difficult to steer, but
it’s a pleasant point of sail.

The islands went by on either .

side, and the. waves, coming
from stern, gave the sloop a

gentle rocking motion. It was’

a very pleasant sail. We
sunhathed, ate sandwiches,
talked, read, teck pictures,
criticized other boats and
their skippers, and generally
had a very fine time.

NARROW ENTRANCES

As we sailed we rehearsed
-anchoring technique.
The boat, a thirty-footer with
an eleven foot: beam, weighs
quite a few tons,. and our
planned engineless approach
needed a good understand-
ing by all -on board. Our
destination was Montague

Harbour - an almost totally -

enclosed harbour. with two
narrow entrances.

_We sailed in the channel
on the slack tide, moving
swiftly and quietly past the

and his words floated out
across the water to us clearly
as if he had been standing
nearby. As we’ rounded the
point the wind feli off, as we
were
peninsula that shelters the
anchorage.

There was . just. enough
wind to bring us gently to the
moorage, and after we luffed

up the sloop glided to an_

almost imperceptible stop

and then slowly began to-

drift backwards. Alan let
down the anchor and counted
off the extra yards of rope
required, and then as -he
snubbed it on the mooring bit
the sloop quivered to a halt,
and we were at anchor again,

having sailed the entire day

without the engine. It isn’t
much,
water sailors reading this will
snort (some round-the-world
sailors. don’t. even have
engines)—but for me it was
quite a thrill; I’ m a. very
cautious sailor. My kids call
me .Captain Tuna—because
I’m the Chicken of the Seas.

Canadian
Coalition for
Nuclear —
Responsibility

An incorrect address for
the Canadian Coalition for
Nuclear Responsibility was

given in last week’s SPECK-
ULATIONS column. —

The correct address is:
Canadian Coalition for Nuc-
lear Responsibility, Suite 104,
2127 West 40th Avenue,
Vancouver, B.C. Telephone
263-7831.

Your cyes are impor-
tant! Wear protective plasses
or equipment when necessa-
ry in sports or such activi-
ties as welding.

in the lee of the -

I know—the blue- —

per annum

4999 Marine Drive North Vancouver 984-0611

eFamily Dining eEntertainment eFashion Shows
Banquets eParties eWeddings Conventions

re ik endezvous SUNDAY BRUNCH
12— 2:30 p.m. .
“ADULTS Golden Agers. and

| children under 12

exit

fe one

- COURMET DINING

each evening 6:30 - 11:30 except Monday

SOAS SSSI |
—— March 17, 7:30 p.m.

FASHIONS 77.

Featuring Day, Evening and Hostess Fashions
by _
CHERRY OF VANCOUVER and GERALDINE”S:

Phone for ccoreetere atta

Les vs Bannieres Lounge

e Mon.-Sat.
‘Entertamment 8:30 - 12:30

BY PUBLIC DEMAND

MICK McCARTNEY