Mastless in Seattle

The long awaited re-rig is now complete and Talos IV is a sailboat once again.  All that remains of the work is to fine tune the rigging. This should be completed in the next few days or so.

The process was quite interesting.  In brief, we motored down to the yard the night before, as we were scheduled to have the mast pulled first thing in the morning.  We needed to raft up next to a large aluminum fishing trawler, as there was no space on the wall at the yard, but the captain on board was very accommodating.


The following morning we pulled into the slip, loosened the rigging, attached the lines from the crane and with a flip of the switch Talos IV became a motor vessel as the mast was gently lifted up and off.  In keeping with sailing lore, we found a dollar coin nestled underneath the mast.  So as not to break with tradition and the good fortune bestowed on Talos IV and her crew to date, we will leave the coin where it is when the mast is re-stepped.  The crane operator maneuvered the mast off to the side and laid it down on stands ready for the work to be completed.  The plan was to have it re-stepped in about 5 days.

As I motored back to our slip, it was a very strange feeling to be out on the boat without the mast.  In fact, as I approached the Fremont Bridge I was frantically searching for the air horn so that I could have the bridge tender lift the span for my passage, when it hit me that I didn't have to worry about that.  What a powerful feeling that was.


A quick survey of the mast revealed no surprises, but we would have a busy week getting all the work done.  The first few days were spent sanding and repainting a few spots where some minor corrosion was found, followed by a complete wash and wax of the entire mast.  That work completed, we moved on to mounting new cam cleats for all of the halyards and drilling holes in the mast so that we could run all of the halyards internal.  Fishing the lines down through the mast without twisting them all up and ensuring that they didn't make weird wraps around various things inside the mast proved to be a real challenge, but in the end all worked out.  What a difference this will make in the ease of sailing the boat.  We also added two new halyards, one running aft for our storm try sail and an extra spinnaker halyard running forward.   And finally, the new standing rigging was attached and the mast was ready to be re-stepped.

The re-stepping went well in spite of a brisk breeze that sprung up at the precise moment that the crane operator was lifting the mast. Once back on the boat, we attached the rigging and Talos IV was once again a sail boat.  I made sure I had the air horn close by, as I was definitely going to have to lift the bridge span to get Talos IV back to her slip.

Lift operator preparing to lift mast.

Talos IV mastless in Seattle.

The mast prior to completing the work.

We found a 1979 Susan B. Anthony
dollar coin under the mast.

Paul painting a few areas where some minor corrosion
was found.

New cam cleats and exit holes for the halyards.

Re-stepping the mast.  Talos IV is
a sail boat again.

Position Reports

You may have noticed that we've added the ability for you to check our current position and follow our track over the past 30 days.  This functionality is courtesy of Pangolin, a group of sailing enthusiasts from New Zealand and is called Youtreps.  There are two separate links in the right hand column of the blog that you can click on to see where we are and where we've been.  Check it out to see how it works.  Right now, our current position is here in Seattle and our track shows us going from Mongolia to Seattle.  No, we did not go to Mongolia.  I made an error entering the data and put the longitude as East instead of West on my first entry.  I'll try not to do that again.

Once underway, we will use the Youtreps system to make regular position reports.  Because Youtreps automatically rounds the lat and long entries, our actual position may be slightly off.  In fact, it's possible that it may even show us on land or some other unlikely spot.  Rest assured that we will be reasonably close to that location, I'd guess within a few hundred yards or so.

Less than 90 days to go

We are now within 90 days of our planned departure in late June.  With Seattle experiencing one of the wettest winters and early springs on record (nearly 17 inches of rain so far in 2012), we are both anxious to head out and put the dreary weather behind us.  Activity on the boat has been moving along, with many of our planned projects already completed and with only a few yet to complete.  I thought I'd provide an update to the status of the various boat projects we are working on.

The new solar panels are now installed and operational.  I was able to get some help from my brother Mike while he was here on a visit to Seattle, making the job a bit easier.  We were quite pleased with how the installation turned out.  It looks good and is extremely sturdy.  They are producing power, even with the overcast skies.  It will be interesting to see what they really do when we finally get some sun.

The windvane installation is also completed.  The folks at Monitor did a good job of providing easy to follow instructions, but most important was the help and guidance from Terry Cady from Yachtfitters.  His assistance ensured that the job was done right.  It's always a bit disconcerting to drill holes in the side of your boat, so doing it right is critical.

I've also replaced all of the hose for the head with non-permeable hose to eliminate any odors.  This may sound like a simple task, but for those uninitiated, trust me, it is a messy, smelly and challenging job.  It took two full days of back breaking work to get it done.  In the end, no pun intended, it all turned out and what odors there were are no more.

The re-rig and replacement of the safety lines is scheduled for next week.  We've been waiting for a weather window and the long range forecast looks promising.  We will replace all of the standing rigging, add two new halyards (an extra main and asymmetrical halyard) as well as run all of the halyards inside the mast.  The plan is to motor over to Canal Boat Yard, where a crane will lift the mast off the boat and lay it on stands.  This should make working on the mast much easier.  While the mast is down, we'll do any and all maintenance that may need to be done.

The re-rig is the last major project to be completed.  I'm sure there will be numerous small projects to do, but it will feel like we are nearly ready to go once the mast is back up with the new rig.

The new solar panels are installed and providing power,
even with the cloudy Seattle skies.

The new windvane is ready to go.

Winter in Seattle - January 2012

Seattle usually has nothing but a lot of rain this time of year, but this year, mother nature has brought a pretty good helping of snow.  Talos IV is weathering the storm well and is safely tied to the dock next to Terry's work shop.  We expect the snow to be short lived and we'll be back to the usual wet Seattle that we all know and love within a day or so.  Until then we plan to enjoy the diversion and have some fun.

Talos IV covered in about 3" of fresh snow.

It was a cold and snowy day.

This will all be gone within the next day or so.  It was
pretty quite at the marina today.

This is the following day after the above photos were taken.
The weather was forecasted to improve and the snow was
to have melted off by now, but as you can see, we are still
under the influence of this wintery storm.

Winter layover 2011

After our arrival back in Seattle there was much to do.  There was first the post Salish Sea Adventure boat maintenance, which included a bottom job and another couple of coats of varnish on the bright work.  Having that out of the way, we focused our attention on a number of projects that we feel are important to complete prior to our departure next summer, including, new sails, monitor windvane, raw water foot pump for the galley, electric windlass, solar panels, deck wash pump, fog horn and hailer, as well as a re-rig of the standing rigging and replacement of the safety lines.  We are also having insect screens made up for all of deck hatches and the companion way entrance.  We didn't have much of a bug problem this last year, but as we head south into warmer and more tropical climates, it's best to be prepared.

Much of the work is now complete with the exception of the standing rigging, which should get done over the course of the next few months.  Sails are scheduled to be delivered on January 26.  As the weather warms up a bit in the spring, we will put yet another several coats of varnish on the bright work prior to our departure.

The plan at this point is to wait until mid to late June for our departure on our next adventure.  We will head north again with the goal of rounding the northern tip of Vancouver Island around the end of July on a counter clockwise circumnavigation of the island.  On our way north, we'll have an opportunity to revisit some of the favorite spots that we discovered last year.  We'll spend most of August working our way down the west coast of Vancouver Island, and will then begin our journey south along the Washington, Oregon and California coast at the tail end of August.  We'll stop for extended stays in the Bay Area and Long Beach to visit with friends and family and will then hook up with the Baja Ha Ha 2012 event for the run south to Cabo.  From there, the plan is a little less clear, but will likely include some cruising in the Sea of Cortez and south along the Mexican coast.

Talos IV just before the re-splash with a new bottom and
buffed and waxed hull.

Bottom job in process.

New sails custom made by Port Townsend Sails.

New raw water foot pump for the galley sink.

New electric windlass.  No more hand
cranking to get the chain up!

Solar panels are still in works, but the mounting
rails are installed and ready to go.

New deck wash pump mounted under the
head sink.  No more bucket over the
side to clean the chain and deck!

Home at Last

Even though we didn’t get a good night sleep, we were up early to catch the flood tide into Puget Sound and Seattle.  There was some wind from the north and we did try to sail, but ended up packing it in a short while later.  I think we are both anxious to get home.  The thought of our own bed, showers and all the other luxuries of home was a strong draw.

As it was the Labor Day weekend and apparently a Husky game tonight, the locks and bridges were unbelievably busy.  In fact, it took as long to transition the locks and the ship canal as it did to motor from Port Townsend to Seattle.

We made it to our new slip at Northlake Marina where we were met by Terry who helped us get in to the dock.  It was an uneventful finish to an otherwise fantastic journey to the Salish Sea. 

Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend

It was the end of a great visit with JP.  His ferry to Seattle left a few hours after our departure where he will catch a flight back to the bay area.  He helped us get off the dock around 9:30 AM for our run back to the US and Port Townsend.

Shortly after leaving the harbor, we were engulfed in fog.  A somewhat scary situation given the heavy boat traffic around Victoria and we knew that we had to cross the shipping lane just a few miles ahead.  We proceeded cautiously, with radar on and following all of the proper procedures, including sounding our fog horn.  We saw a few other boats emerge from the fog, but otherwise it was a good experience.  About a half hour later, things began to improve and we had sunny skies the rest of the way into Port Townsend.

We were unable to get a slip at Port Hudson, so elected to grab a mooring ball just off the beach at Fort Worden State Park.  There was heavy swell coming in from Admiralty Inlet, making this stop one of the more uncomfortable stays of the trip.  We both had difficulty sleeping.

Good-bye JP...off he goes to Seattle via the Victoria Clipper passing us to port

Back in the US at Fort Warden State Park

Victoria Harbour

Before departing Sidney Spit, Paul and JP went to check the crab pot.  They had trouble finding it as it had apparently drifted during the night due to the strong current.  The catch was a fairly large red crab, which we boiled up and put in the refrigerator for later.

The run into Victoria was timed to make it through the passage framed by Discovery Island and Vancouver Island during the ebb and well past max.  Currents can run at 6 knots and the Canadian Coast Pilot advises to exercise caution in the area.  In our case, with the ebb on our heels, it made for a fast run and we were in Victoria in only a few hours.  The Wooden Boat Festival is this coming weekend, so there were a number of antique wooden boats making their way into the harbor at the same time.  A busy, busy harbor with boats, float plans and ferry traffic everywhere.  We were clearly back in civilization.  We found our marina straight away and made fast to the docks.

JP hosted dinner in town at the Pink Bicycle, a funky upscale burger restaurant.  We also had time to walk around the city center and take in the beautiful city of Victoria.

A beautiful classic motor yacht inbound for Victoria Harbour

Lighthouse on approach to Victoria

Sidney Spit

With a strong current of about 4 knots on our stern, we motored the five miles from Portland Island to Sidney Spit.  Our speed over ground was as high as 9.5 knots, so our run over went pretty fast.  Sidney Spit is an interesting place with a mile long sand spit that extends north from the island.  As we motored into the anchorage at low tide there were lots of areas were the sand had shoaled out and depths on the depth gauge read zero as we passed over.  I’m sure we were literally touching bottom at times.  We found an area with better depths of about 30 feet and set the anchor.  The current was running at about 2 knots thru the anchorage, so we made certain to get a good set and we put out a little bit more scope than usual just to be sure.

Crabbing is reported to be excellent and judging from all the crab traps around, it must be true.  Wasting no time, Paul and JP set our trap in hopes of getting another crab for this evening’s happy hour.  We normally don’t check the trap until the following morning, but given our early arrival and our expectation for excellent results, we plan to check the pot in a few hours.

We went ashore for a walk along the spit and a picnic lunch on the beach.  JP searched the shore for few perfect shells for his daughter Penryn.

We checked the crab pot before returning to Talos IV, but found only a few females and small males, all illegal to take.  We dropped the pot back down and plan to check it again in the morning.  Once back on the boat, it was time for another BBQ and a relaxing evening.

Park dock at Sidney Spit

On the "spit"

Princess Bay, Portland Island

The boys checked the crab pot in the morning and to our delight, there was a nice large Dungeness that we’ll enjoy for happy hour this evening.

Once underway the following morning, we found wind outside the bay at about 12 knots.  We hoisted the sails and spent the better part of the day tacking back and forth to work our way down the channel.  There was a lot of ferry traffic coming and going from Sidney Harbour, so we were constantly dodging them, but otherwise current and wind worked in our favor.  JP was at the helm and it turned out to be another great day of sailing in the Salish Sea.

Once on the hook in Princess Bay we took the dinghy to shore and took a hike along the trail leading along the shoreline.  Portland Island is a beautiful place with great views out to Haro Strait.  We watched the BC Ferries pass as they made their way from Vancouver and other destinations into Sidney Harbour.

Under sail, Salish Sea

JP and Paul explore the coastline

Old growth driftwood

Island hike...trail was a lot drier this time!