Day 4 - Comox Habour to Cortes Bay

Today was all about the spinnaker. Although, we found out it is really more of a cross between a genoa and spinnaker. A genaker. Or, a Spinoa. It does not balloon out from the bow of the boat symmetrically like a proper spinnaker would; rather, it angles to either the starboard or the port side, depending on what tack the boat is on. Either way, it rules.

We started our journey today with glassy calm waters, not the kind of conditions needed to hoist any kind of sail, really. We used that time to review our sailing course examinations and discuss any remaining sailing theory questions we had. And then, as luck would have it, a light wind came up from our stern in the early afternoon. It became the perfect condition to unfurl our sassy sail for the first time.

We cut the engines and this single sail independently carried us north through the remainder of the Georgia Strait, past Middlenacht Island and to the entrance of Cortes Bay. Any trepidation we felt about this unknown sail quickly evaporated as we both fell in love with it. Simple, brilliantly coloured, kind of fragile yet highly efficient, this sail is a new favourite.

In Cortes Bay we found some highly coveted end-of-the-dock space, and once we were safely tied to the dock we cracked some cervesas and enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine. Warm water on-land showers and our first loads of laundry were enjoyed by all. Tomorrow we must take our boating instructor back to land, but I wonder if our other crew members will reconsider their travel plans and instead opt to stay with us a little longer? I sure hope so.

Day 3 - False Bay (Lasqueti) to Comox Harbour

Inspired by watching several other boats pull up their anchor and sail (not motor) out of False Bay, we decided to do the same. Shortly after breakfast we were back into the Georgia Strait. But this time, we hoisted a third sail, our baby jib. It came with the boat, but we hadn’t used it yet or even had the opportunity to figure it all out. That is, until today.

We altered our bearings to see how different angles of wind would change the shape of the sails. We tacked, and discovered how the boat and all of its running rigging came around with our third sail in play. As fun and informative as this was for a few hours, we realized we had not gotten any closer (like, at all) to our destination of Tribune Bay on Hornby Island. So, down came the two jibs while the main sail remained hoisted, and we motored until we reached our sandy beach lunch anchorage.

Not quite finished with the innovation yet, Marla from Cooper Boating and Adam decided to haul out our spinnaker (also yet to be christened) from the depths of the anchor locker. The previous owners had barely used it either, so it is in excellent condition. Unfortunately, much to Cap’n Adam’s chagrin, this sail has some hot pink accents on it. It will make Thunderpussy look fabulous!!!

With spinnaker all ready to go, we left our lunch spot and headed through Lambert Channel between Hornby and Denman Islands. The wind had died by this point, so our spinnaker sits waiting for its maiden unfurling.

We found a spot to anchor for the night in Comox Harbour. To our surprised delight, we realized the plenitude of boats on the hook had amassed for the 53^rd Annual Comox Nautical Days! Canons going off, Elvis impersonators, and a firework finale completed this lovely day for us.