Travels of "Emma B" (JD powered Helmsman)

Back underway and will take a slow trip to Vancouver with a few stops along the way. After being blessed with great weather, today is one of those dull, wet and dreary west coast fall days. I’m so thankful I had Scott install a bus heater complete with defroster outlets. Nice to have “free heat” underway and a clear windshield. If you’re warm and dry, the weather doesn’t matter too much. These dull days can render mystical back drops as the haze surrounds mountain. All good.



Pic is just now and shows defroster outlets.

Stopped to relax at Narrows Inlet on the way out.
Pretty place!

John and Marian on Integra (H43) joined me the next evening and we had his famous pizza aboard watching TV. Such decadence!

Awoke to fog today...not unusual on the PNW
Timed the Skook’s at slack and it was an easy run all the way to Gibson’s!

Pics are
Coffee time
Underway
The light marker right at the narrows

Once the fog lifted it was a beautiful day.
We were blessed as the Strait of Georgia was calm. This is a large body of water and can kick your butt when the wind is up!

Last pic is the Strait of Georgia yesterday

I always liked Gibson’s
It’s a funky little town with everything convenient for boaters.
The long running Canadian TV show “The Beachcombers” was filmed here and the home base for the show “Molly’s Reach” restaurant is still in operation.

Pics are

Coming in
View from marina
Molly’s Reach
Sunrise at the marina with a pair of Helmsman Trawlers.

PS....
John’s may be far bigger...
But my 31 gets the most compliments

It’s only a couple of hours run at hull speed from Gibson’s to Vancouver and again the God of Georgia Strait was kind to us with calm seas.
It struck me how dramatic the contrast is in such a short time.
From a feeling of remote beauty to metropolitan city in a couple of days!

Run down
The approach
City life

Frank,


Really enjoying the photos. Thanks for taking the time to post!


Keith

Thanks Keith

Strong winds forecast later today so gave up the great Vancouver views and headed in to a marina. John had taken their last slip, but once he was tied and went to look, saw that I could come into the face dock between 2 fingers.
I squeezed in nicely. Gotta love smaller boats sometimes!

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/...au-john-deere-tractor-hacking-right-to-repair. Since you have JD, what are your thoughts?

I got an oil change on my car, they scanned the bar code.
Auto dealerships have dedicated computer diagnostics that are proprietary to their brand.
The backyard mechanic is having an ever harder time...
Pretty sure, given time, baby’s will get bar codes tattooed
What are my thoughts... I hate electronics!....that’s my thoughts...
Now
Back to cruising

In Vancouver for the weekend. At a slip at Granville Island with a huge market and tons of shops. Great place to get a taste of city life in before heading back north again to the remote Broughtons.
John sent a cool picture of Emma B underway in the mist

Since launching in late August I’ve been blessed with truly great weather. The odd day rained but most cleared up the same day. After arriving here at Vancouver it has pretty well rained steady.
Oh ya.... it’s fall on the west coast
When Emma B arrived, I was disappointed to see one upper cabinet was dedicated for TV space. I’ve never had TV on a boat and would have preferred it set up for extra galley storage. This year before launching I bought a smart TV figuring it might be nice to watch movies on rain days. Purchased a cheap, flat antenna as well. (Modern rabbit ears)
Must say that with these rain days it’s great having morning coffee watching the news, then later connecting my iPad and watching movies or one of the series that I’ve downloaded. What was at first a bit of a disappointment has turned into a bonus. Not much luck with the antenna up coast but here in Vancouver I’m getting 6 channels!
On a side note, I could have purchased an off brand TV to fit for $139 but paid the extra for a good Samsung “Smart TV” at $225. Great value really.
Ya gotta love (hate) apple tho! The iPad to HDMI cord connector was $69.95...OUCH
No wonder they have billions in the bank!

We went to Alaska in great weather too .... in 03.
In the 80’s in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Juneau.

Frankly it was too hot for me this year.

Nomad Willy said:

We went to Alaska in great weather too .... in 03.
In the 80’s in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Juneau.

Frankly it was too hot for me this year.

Click to expand...

Having spent a around Mitkof and Kupreanof Island this summer with temps in the mid to upper 70s, I must say it was pretty darn nice. Blue skies and not a lick of rain. Amazing.

I must say that a stay in Vancouver is wonderful. False Creek has both marinas and anchorages right around Granville Island with its massive market. The market has booth after booth of fresh produce as well as meats and cheeses....some rare. The entire area has shops, restaurants and entertainment including buskers on many corners. Out front is a dingy dock near the mini ferry dock for easy access.
I should have taken more pictures as it truly is a remarkable stop!

Did a quick “once around” Flase Creek harbour before heading out to the main harbour with the ships and northward again. I still grin at the contrast of city scape to feeling very remote in only a couple of days.

Pics are
City scape
Float homes
Funky concrete silos
The outer harbour with ships
A look back at the city....
Beautiful view up Queen Charlotte channel into Howe Sound

Although stronger winds were forecast, we had a great run up to Pender Harbour. This is an interesting harbour with several bays and islands. Tied at the government dock at Medeira Park which is handy as it is a short walk up to a small plaza with a nice grocery store, liquor store and drug store. Just across is a coffee and breakfast/lunch stop so all the bases are covered.
John and Marian had an impromptu visit from friends in an RV close by and we all had a great, unplanned evening.

- The trip up to and into Pender Harbour
- I just love these old double ended fishing boats. Extremely efficient hull form. They barely leave a wake and typically have relatively small engines.
- government dock has a mix of work and pleasure boats

Love following your travels!

Question for you. You seem to anchor a fair amount solo. When solo, do you operate the anchor from inside at the helm or up at the bow? I posted this over on the anchoring page, but curious to hear from someone with a Camano hull.

From inside ....
Solo, there is no quick way to get to helm if needed so I do it inside, then go forward to tie off on the bit once set.
Have the admiral along now so the procedure changes..

Durant F said:

From inside ....
Solo, there is no quick way to get to helm if needed so I do it inside, then go forward to tie off on the bit once set.
Have the admiral along now so the procedure changes..

Click to expand...

And I am assuming you also retrieve from the inside? No concerns about not being able to properly wash down the chain/rope on it's way back in?

Yep
I’ve never turned my wash down pump on....
Only once was it an OMG moment
Once I see mud now, I go very slowly now

Always find it a bit of a boring run from Pender up to Powell River. It can be nasty at times but was a great day for it with sunshine and calm seas. Once in the harbour, we took the bus up to the mall for provisioning and I picked up some spares at the (great) chandlery in prep for returning to the Broughtons.
The tide was high at sunset so we were treated to an awesome view from the upper deck. Fueled and watered up...ready to go now.


Pics
Entrance to Westview Harbour
Fuel dock
Wine at sunset

Just catching up on this thread. Sorry I missed you each time you have pulled in to Westview, as I work out of town.

PM me when you are in and sometime we'll be on the same schedule and I'll give you the "grand tour".

Thanks for the kind words about my town of Powell River. It took a lot of effort to get the harbour to how it is today, as we have lots of BANANAs and CAVE people here.

Still more to do, of course.

You should be proud of both your town and the marina.
Not that big a town but a great public transit system, multiple large food stores, typical box stores and great views of the Strait from many of the streets.
The marina is well run, the wash rooms are super clean and the fuel is the cheapest around! Throw in a very well stocked, friendly, family run chandlery a block up from the marina and what’s not to love?

Durant F said:

You should be proud of both your town and the marina.
Not that big a town but a great public transit system, multiple large food stores, typical box stores and great views of the Strait from many of the streets.
The marina is well run, the wash rooms are super clean and the fuel is the cheapest around! Throw in a very well stocked, friendly, family run chandlery a block up from the marina and what’s not to love?

Click to expand...

I agree completely. It is a great stop.

I have not been to Vancouver for a long time. I remember a salt water swimming pool overlooking the Harbor that had 300 ft. Lap lengths, roughly. Coolest pool I ever swam in. Is it still there?

We spent the entire time around Granville Island which is in False Creek harbour.
Didn’t notice a big pool in my walks at all. Sounds pretty neat tho...

Beautiful sunny run up to funky Lund.
Laundry day and last meal out before heading back N to the Broughtons.
I’ve always enjoyed stays at Lund.
Mile zero of HW 101, classic old Lund Hotel, art gallery, Nancy’s Bakery and the Boardwalk Restaurant are all at the harbour. Fuel too if needed.
Had an awesome “last meal out” for a while at the Boardwalk before turning in early.

Pics
Concrete ship break water at Powel River mill. (Old WW2 relics)
Humpbacks greeted us at Lund
Harbour
Nancy’s Bakery
Boardwalk restaurant
Mile zero HW 101

Vessel “BIG FISH”
Please read this!
Yesterday it was an early start to time “hole in the wall” rapids and channel. We were ‘just’ through the narrows where it begins to widen a bit when we witnessed the most inconsiderate, rude, dangerous and outright illegal show of seamanship I have seen in a very long time.
A large, guessing in the 80-100ft range, modern looking, private vessel named “BIG FISH” passed us without warning about 50ft or less off our port beam!
We were cruising about 7.5 knots with the current and guess BIG FISH was travelling about 11-12 knots. To say their wake was huge would be an understatement! With no VHF warning, it was “right there” before I had any time to prepare or react. Emma B was tossed valiantly about! It was about 7:30am and our coffee cups were thrown onto the sole, one breaking and one leaving a substantial dent in the Teak and Holley floor. Claudia got off her seat to try and stop things from falling all over and she was knocked into the dinette table with the next violent roll, bruising a rib. With the wake that large and waves so close together it was all I could do to prevent a broach! Had a broach occurred, this could have ended much worst!!
As I said, one of the rudest, most inconsiderate, outright dangerous and illegal displays I have witnessed in a very long time!
It utterly shocks me that a vessel the size of “BIG FISH” would be captained by someone like that! So utterly irresponsible, he was totally unworthy of being in control of such a large vessel!
If BIG FISH is reading this, the proper procedure for passing so close in a narrow channel would have been:
1-Hale me on VHF 16, my boats name was clearly displayed on the stern
2-switch to another channel to communicate
3-announce your intention to pass close to my port side and request that I slow down, thereby allowing you a very slow, wake free pass
4- once I had slowed down, pass just slightly faster than I am going, producing absolute minimal wake in that close proximity
5- once clear and well in front, return to your desired cruising speed.
The entire exercise above would have taken BIG FISH an extra 2-3 minutes at most.
If you know the owner or captain of BIG FISH, please pass this message along.
Certainly the rudest, most inconsiderate and unprofessional captain I have witnessed!
I case he is unaware, marine law states you are responsible for damage caused by your wake.


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