west wind & rain

So I have neglected since starting this blog, to getting into the daily lifestyle of living aboard. It has been a rather busy month, being December and all and starting a new job. 
Last night, the westerlies picked up at about 30 knots to start. And I realize that we live in a rain-forest when a torrential downpour is released upon us and inhibits one from even thinking out loud when all you can hear is the spitter spatter of driving rain against a fiberglass/wooden home. I decided to start my day along with Erik at 6.30am this morning. Usually he rows to shore with me, and I row back and try to catch a little more sleep before I start work at 9. This morning, however, the 35-40 knot winds foreshadowed feelings of paranoia being on the boat by myself. Sometimes I have nightmares of the anchor chain breaking, or being beached in front of the boat house in Kits. And the fact that my nightmares have actually become reality doesn't settle me one bit. 


Sometime in November, a Northwest gale of 45 knots started at 7am, as I was falling back to sleep from rowing Erik to shore for work. I dreamt of the anchor tangling itself with others, different boats in the creek smashing into ours.. when all of a sudden I heard a loud BANG. The third time I heard it I jumped out of bed and onto deck in seconds, only to find another boat crashing into ours and every single anchored sailboat in the creek dragging tremendously. I couldn't retrieve the dinghy, (that had caught itself between the boat crashing into ours' bow and anchor chain), start the engine and pull the anchor up by myself. Luckily a friend of ours Simon, came to the rescue in a rush and helped me out, saving our boat from crashing into shore. I learned a lot that day about how to handle myself and the boat in stormy situations. However it will still take a little time to not wallow in mild paranoia when I am alone on the boat in weather like that for hours. 


At the moment the sun is rising and I need to grab my second cup of coffee before I head to the marine store to purchase a pair of oar locks. Ours broke this morning with the wind on the row to shore. 
It is never a dull moment, living on a boat. 

2010 summer fun

As soon as we launched the boat, the festivities began. We had many a party that included little cruises around English Bay. During the Vancouver Folk Festival, we sailed to Jerico beach area to listen for free. 

Our sailing adventures also included a trip or two to Bowen Island, and an Island hopping trip where we explored Bowen, Gambier, Gibson area, Keats and a different part of Gambier on our way back. I am just mentioning trips we took this summer. Last summer was an adventure itself in trips. 

Anyhow, here are some photos in no particular order.

 V-berth

Erik's brother at the top of the mast

Stormy sail.

you-brew in the icebox

enjoying the you-brews

Kitsilano waters

Solgansvind

This is Solgansvind. A 32 foot Sloop, Clipper Marine. 

From February - July 2010, Erik and I travelled back to our hometown, Abbotsford to work on the boat (renovating a few things) which at the time lived on a raspberry farm. What we did:

. Tore out the kitchen counter and replaced it with new wood and stainless steel, that   Erik welded together.

. Gutted the quarter berth, that held old fuel tanks from the inboard engine that used to be there, and created beautiful storage space.

. Refinished all the wood (mahogany) in the cabin and v-berth. 

. Painted any other wood inside a nice Kona brown.

. Removed and replaced four windows in the galley. What a huge job and not to mention messy! Never use mechanical sealant as an alternative to sicaflex. The black, disgusting stuff will stick to anything and is incredibly hard to remove. Sicaflex also reacts with water, creating a better seal - awesome for any leaks. 

. Painted window frames black

. Fixed the motor

. Replaced all hinges 

. Replaced the base kit for the heater, which is propane fueled. 

. Re-installed the oven, also propane fueled. 

. Polished out any rust stains on the outside on the boat

. Painted the bottom coat!
. We also found a dinghy on craigslits for a good price, just built. So we finished it up. It is a 12 foot rowboat that came with hand-made japanese wooden ores. So rad!

We launched the boat on July 2nd. It was a nice cloudy day. 

First blog ever inspired by a soaking wet day.

Erik (viking) and myself, Cat (pirate) moved onto our sailboat, Solgansvind the end of September this year. It was a choice made on the need for an adventure, our love for the ocean, and live-aboard lifestyle. We absolutely love it, though it has never been a dull moment anchored in the waters near downtown Vancouver. 
It is supposed to be the coldest winter since 1965. Which means that this winter will be the most extreme I have ever experienced, especially on a boat.


This being the first blog I have ever created, I am still needing to gather photos to go along with the stories I have to share, 


So cheers for now.