A Milestone - and an Update

Today marks a milestone in the life of my little sailing blog.

Most mornings I wake up and after showering and ironing a shirt I sit down with a cup of coffee and check to see if anyone has commented on my blog.  Today, at long last, someone has.  Actually, this is technically the second bit of feedback I've received but the first was from my girlfriend after I asked her to post something just to make sure it worked.

On my post from February 20 of this year entitled "The Chandlery," somebody going by the pseudo "Pirates Cove" said "Great post!"  

And just when I was thinking of retiring my virtual pen.  They say nothing happens by accident and clearly that is the case here.  So to Mr/Ms Pirates Cove from somewhere in the UK I say, Thank You :)

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I haven't posted anything in a while but that isn't an indication that Ge'Mara hasn't been busy.  In fact quite the opposite.  We're having an unusually stellar summer here in Vancouver and the warm weather has kept us out on the water and at dockside regularly.  Most notably I went for a weekend trip with my friend Tom a few weeks ago and had a terrific time.  As odd as it seems, I had never taken the dinghy ashore anywhere while sailing.  Tom and I did that one morning on Gambier Island and had a great morning hike.  I realized after doing this how important exercise is to the boating experience.  Cruising is largely sedentary hobby and when you factor in rich food, drink and maybe the odd cigar it could be a less than healthy pursuit if some shore time isn't added to the mix.

I won't recount this trip in great detail but here are some of the lessons/highlights

• Waking up on day 1 to a glassy Long Bay achnorage
• Discovering Dean Fraser (thanks to Tom) and enjoying a smooth jazz take on Bob Marley on a sunny day
• Deciding to leave the BBQ on the rail at bedtime with a loose mount, only to find it upside down and open in the morning with all the grates at the bottom of the bay
• Paying for a slip at Gibson's marina so we could re-charge the batteries and go to Smitty's Oyster Bar only to find that:
• I left the power cord back at our home slip
• Smitty's has ample free moorage right outside the restaurant.

David and I are finishing out our fiscal year-end at work so this is a busy time but come August 1 we will be busy on the boat.  The month has a number of outings planned and I look forward to sharing them with all of you, especially Pirate Cove from the UK :)