About myself, I learned that, although I have chronic back pain, I can still do things, as long as I pay attention, don't lift more than I know I can handle (not much), and take breaks as necessary, not allowing schedules to dictate actions. This was pretty major for me: I had thought that the rest of my life would be drawing, building and owning models of boats, not real-life boats.
About sailing out of Victoria, I found out why there aren't many people here who day-sail for pleasure:
- The currents from the tidal exchange are a force to be reckoned with. Big boat, okay; small boat, not so much.
- It seems there's either too much or too little wind here. Gentle winds often are accompanied by rain.
- Compared to Oak Bay, there's nowhere interesting to sail to of an afternoon. The wind and the tide both come in from the west in the afternoon, so you go westward first, towards Albert Head. Then you turn around and run back with wind and tide taking you home. After awhile it becomes repetitive.
- Cruise ships.
- On my boat, I couldn't get in and out of the marina without firing up the engine, which was noisy, stinky, and vibrated the rudder fittings, making a chatter I did not enjoy and could not get rid of. A 4-cycle motor may have been better, and possibly a different pintle/gudgeon setup might have eased that.
- For longer trips, Victoria is too far away from the good cruising grounds in the Gulf Islands and beyond. It takes a couple days to get there.
And I learned a great deal about Victoria harbour, something that can only come with experience. As well, my experience with Hidden Harbour marina was excellent. Jim Witter is a fair and respectful manager.
So...
One old-timer said there are only two kinds of boats one should consider: Either you can live on it, or you can carry it.My plan now is to build a very light boat that can live on top of my car. See my next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment