SV Cariba

Jan 23, 2009 to May 30, 2021 8 Bells for Dezi

Eight bells is a nautical euphemism meaning a sailor has “finished his final watch”. Dezi finished his today peacefully.

Life on “Pause” …again

Today was to be the day… the day we left the dock for our 2021 summer cruising season. We had worked and were still working hard to get Cariba ready and complete several projects to make cruising off grid much easier this year. But COVID strikes again…..and so despite what looks like a favorable forecast with SW winds in the strait, we sit and wait for the other storm to pass.

A screen shot of the forecast on Predictwind taken last evening

Winter projects on Cariba

So as we docked last September we did have plans for some fall and winter cruising, but it becomes challenging as the boat transitions to more of a house than a vehicle to move around in. The dock lines magically become velcro and so here we sit at the dock. Covid and some other issues contributed to the inertia…but that didn’t mean we sat idle. Since we didn’t head south as planned, we started to tackle some projects that were on the “nice to do” list as opposed to the “need to do” list which was done as part of the prep for cruising offshore.

A new year: some new hope and plans?

Caution.. some pensive musings ahead! But first to sum up our world currently- lock down and social isolation sucks! Don’t get me wrong, it is all very necessary and if we all do it ‘right’ life might be able to return to some semblance of normalcy – what ever normal is in this new world.

Staying warm, staying dry!

As the temperatures start to drop into the single digits and even below at night, many of our friends ask if we are warm and ok on the boat in the fall and winter months. My answer is we are.. but there are several strategies in use to keep us this way.

Last night was colder and windy – so the inspiration for this post!

Home again, home again…..

North side of the creek barely visible from Granville Island

It is hard to believe that we have been at home on the dock for a month now. Desolation Sound feels like a distant memory as the fog hangs over the creek. It has turned cooler this week, but we did have some lovely warm days and great sunsets – mostly due to smoke but you have to look for a silver lining!

Sense of direction?

When I look at our track on PredictWind, it looks like all we have done is travel in circles in Desolation Sound and the surrounding area this summer. The track alone doesn’t tell our story, but I think is a a good metaphor for life in general right now.