A New Chapter

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, this coming week marks the end of an era in one part of my life and the start of a new chapter that will no-doubt feature even more fun on the water.  After 15 years I am leaving my job and taking a well earned break.  It's fun to contemplate all of the sailing possibilities that exist now that I have the time to explore them.  In preparation for this, David and I are getting the boat ship-shape.

This weekend we'll take Ge'Mara for the short ride from Coal Harbour to Granville Island where she'll be pulled out of the water put "on the hard" for some maintenance work.  One of the things we're really looking forward to doing is repainting the transom and changing her home port to Vancouver rather than the current Nanaimo.  The plan has always been to change her name to "Never Better" but we're scratching our heads at the moment on whether we want to go through with it now that the opportunity is here.  Looks like it will be a game-day decision.

The next big trip we have scheduled is a run to Princess Louisa Inlet (PLI).  This breathtakingly beautiful spot is about four days sail from Vancouver, located at the end of the much larger Jervis Inlet, the entrance to which is just East of Nelson Island.  PLI is a fjord with towering snow-capped mountains on both sides.  At the end of the inlet there is a large waterfall known as Chatterbox Falls.  It's a destination that is at the top of most boaters' wish list in the Pacific Northwest, sail and power alike.  With that in mind, David and I are very deliberately making the trip in the early spring to avoid the crowds and hopefully have the place largely to ourselves.

It promises to be a great year on the water.

Princess Louisa Inlet.
Voted "the most scenic natural anchorage in the world"