We’re voyaging north to further explore the Hakai Luxvbalis Conservancy Area and the outer islands north of Seaforth Channel, so we won’t be blogging again until we’re back and caught up in the mid-August time frame.  More then.

Jennifer & James Hamilton

Jennifer@mvdirona.com / jrh@mvdirona.com

Hi James,

As I recall, your website shows pictures of you using your laptop on the bridge of Dirona. Can you tell me what laptop you use that is viewable in the bright sunshine? Is your laptop dedicated to Nobeltec or other software or does is get all-around use?…….Excel, Word, Photoshop…..that sort of thing.

Nice work on Cruising the Secret Coast. I didn’t make Trawler Fest, but perhaps you could do a presentation for the Power Squadron in the fall?

Thanks,

Gerald Albertson

Response:

Gerald, you can buy products like the Panasonic Toughbook that are ruggedized.  We chose to spend less and, if necessary, replace more frequently rather than pay extra for a ruggedized system.  Essentially we self-insure.  Over the course of the last 8 years, I think we have established that it was the right approach.  We buy inexpensive laptops, they last quite well—typically  around 3 years—and then we upgrade.

For screen brightness, any screen is a problem in the sun and there is no avoiding that problem entirely. We do find considerable variation in laptop screen brightness.  We favor those that are on the bright side and we have always found them usable.

We run Nobeltec, Word (boat log), Excel (fuel log), Photoshop, weather software, a NMEA multiplexer, and logging software all on the same laptop (I wrote the last three software packages).  If we ran single functionality, we probably would spend less time chasing the odd weird issue, but that would require more laptops. Each costs money and each requires power.  We choose to run everything boat-related on the one boat laptop and it works fine. We do, however, have a backup laptop that is running Nobeltec and always is ready to go if we run into problems.  And we have a backup GPS system in case the main GPS fails.

Sure, we would be happy to do a presentation for the Power Squadron in the fall.

            --jrh

While heading south through Colvos Passage on July 3^rd, we heard on the radio that Quartermaster Harbor was closed to all boats until 6pm that day due to the Tall Ship Parade of Sail. We arrived in the area just as the last one, the CGC Eagle, was leaving Quartermaster Harbor. An impressive number of pleasure craft surrounded the parade, and an equally impressive security contingent guarded the boats. The Eagle had a particularly large entourage: two 110-foot patrol boats, the Sea Lion and the Orcas, and two large tractor tugs, the Henry Foss and the Wedell Foss. A myriad of other small Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary craft in everything ranging from Coast Guard 27-foot utility boats to 50-foot pleasure-craft to jet skis zoomed throughout the crowds and the parading ships, while the Coast Guard’s 175-foot buoy tender Henry Blake stood off the entrance to Quartermaster Harbor.

We idled off the Ruston shore to watch the ships pass, then joined the crowds in the Foss Waterway as the ships docked and fighter planes swooped overhead.

Queen Charlotte Sound has many amazing white-sand beaches, but the best we’ve found are at the McMullin Group. The sand is deep and soft, and almost every beach has view east to the Coast Mountains.

The island group is wonderfully complex, making for interesting dinghy exploration. As we toured around, we kept finding what we thought was the best beach, only to find an even better one around the corner. And as at many of the nicer beaches in Queen Charlotte Sound, we found an elaborate kayaker camp, complete with a rope swing. From the camp, a trail led to the western side of the group, for views across the Pacific. We later took the dinghy into the outer reefs west of the islands. That was exciting—the seas were reasonably calm, but breakers crashed over the reefs all around us.

For more detail on the McMullin Group, directions and anchoring advice, see chapter twenty, Bardswell Group, in Cruising the Secret Coast.

Earlier this month, Michael Short of the radio show Let’s Go Outdoors interviewed us on Cruising the Secret Coast. Michael asked a variety of questions, including how we got started in boating, why we wrote the book, and some of the experiences that have stood out over the years. The show aired this past weekend as Episode 10 of Let’s Go Outdoors Canada (LGO Canada). Listen online.

We lived for years in Victoria, B.C., where both our families had owned various small boats. Work took us to Toronto for a decade, and during this time James’ parents had purchased a larger boat, Hunter’s Moon, a Hunter 31. When we returned to the West Coast, the time we spent on Hunter’s Moon convinced us we needed a boat of our own.

A few years back, we arrived one Friday night at Silverdale at the head of Dyes Inlet. It’s usually not a very busy place, but the docks were packed and a fair number of boats were at anchor. We dropped the hook away from the crowds a bit, nearer to the head, and settled in for the evening. About 9pm, a tug with a barge arrived from the south. The tug captain slowly picked through the anchored boats and eventually stopped near the head a few hundred yards away from our boat. We couldn’t figure out why a tug would be arriving at night like that and what it would be doing at the head. No docks or industry were there and there just didn’t seem to be any good reason for it.

We got our answer at 10pm. Explosions erupted on the barge and light filled the sky. It was a fireworks barge and we had the best seat in the house. We’d arrived at the beginning of Whaling Days. The annual event includes an always-impressive fireworks display, a street fair with live entertainment, and outrigger canoe races. It’s a real family affair—with kids and adults of all ages. On a hot summer day, the warmer waters of Dyes Inlet are ideal for swimming. The festival atmosphere extends to the docks—they’re packed and everyone is having a good time. Each year we’ve been, several dozen cigarette boats roared in on Saturday as part of a poker run and roared back out again just as quickly. We could hear their engines for miles.

A recent question on Bayliner 4087 fuel consumption:

We are currently in negotiations to purchase a Bayliner 4087, 2001 model with 330 Cummins Engines.  Can you set my expectations for fuel burn?

Second question, we have just sold our Grand Banks 32 for a faster boat.  However, much of the time I do anticipate cruising in the 8- to 10-knot range.  Will the Bayliner do that efficiently?  I expect that it will run fine at those speeds, but with some hulls that are semi planning such as the 4087's, it may not be that comfortable.

Response:

Our 4087 is heavier than most at 29,000 pounds, so our fuel efficiency and speed numbers will be slightly lower than some. Wide open, the Cummins 270s will burn 29 GPH.  The engines will not live long at that throttle position though. We run our boat very conservatively to get good engine longevity.  We chose to use two basic speeds: 7.75 knots and around 13 or 14 knots. At 13 to 14 knots we burn 15 to 17 GPH. It takes roughly 320 HP to maintain that speed in our boat. You may chose to run faster than we do – most do – and, if you do, your burn rate will be higher.

At displacement speeds, you basically just pay for moving the displacement of the boat.  The hull shape matters a bit but it's mostly just weight.  At 7.5 to 7.75 knots, you'll burn under 3 GPH (right around 2.5GPH).  We've lasted as much as 73 hours on a single fuel load (220 gallons) at those speeds and still had more than a quarter tank remaining. Because the Bayliner is lighter than your Grand Banks at displacement speeds, it'll consume less fuel down there.

For comfort at low speed, the boat does wander a bit and doesn't really like an aft quartering sea, but I just put it on autopilot and let the autopilot deal with it.  It doesn't bother me a bit.

                                                --jrh

Andrew Anderson Marine Park, operated by the Anderson Island Parks and Recreation District, is a lovely park on the southwest side of Anderson Island in the south Puget Sound (map of area). The nature preserve, sometimes called Andy’s Marine Park, provides the only public saltwater shore access on the island and is part of the Cascadia Marine Trail system. Little-known to boaters, the park is popular with locals and kayakers and makes a great afternoon picnic stop.

The park meets saltwater at a sloping gravel beach packed with sand stars. Behind the beach is a delicate, protected lagoon. An old wooden floating bridge crosses the lagoon, where the sounds of chirping birds fills the air. Once across, a well-maintained trail climbs up into the woods behind. Signs along the way indentify the local where flora and fauna.

We moored at Tolmie Marine State Park and ran the dinghy across. Other moorages are at Oro Bay and Eagle Island Marine State Park. The Anderson Island Historical Society has a detailed map of the island. The terrain around the lagoon bridge can be very muddy—duck feet or rubber boots are helpful.