It was quiet on Christmas night. Maybe a little too quiet. Might have been that while the wind we found on Christmas day had blown itself out, the moisture and cold air that accompanied it settled onto southern coastal British Columbia for a long winter’s nap.
That odd reflective surface on the water isn’t water. it’s ice. Ice, about 5cm thick, and still slushy. We have our Margarita cruise, and a week early. Woo Hoo!
That’s about 5-8cm of snow on top of the dock locker!
Martin and Karen decamped to their apartments to get their gear (and Martin to run a load of laundry. Remember, he was only going to be on Braesail for about a day, not a week!). Lorelette and Walt stayed aboard and recovered from their work of the last few days.
The next day, Boxing day, we were joined by Hans, Martin’s housemate from Simon Fraser University days, and co-owner of Braesail’s predecessor, Sagres, joined the crew.
First water your crew, then feed them.
Vice Admiral William Bligh, FRS
One of our last tasks before leaving Anacortes was to have been to fill the water tanks. They were a little over half full, but Braesail carries 205 gallons of potable water, so the 130 gals in the tank was almost unlimited. Our marina in Anacortes, out of access of caution, turned the water off on the docks, so we couldn’t top off before leaving. No problem; we’ll just fill up in Vancouver.
When we got to the Rowing Club, we found that their dock water was shut off. So we called the Coal Harbour fuel dock which we’d pass on our way out, and their potable water was shut off.
However, that didn’t bother us, because the marina in Gibsons assured us that their water was on.
With our three additional crew, their gear, and more great food, we headed out for Gibsons, three hours up the coast. Problem is that while Braesail is certified as Lloyds Class A ocean cruiser, it’s not really an icebreaker:
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 
Reminiscent of living aboard at Elliott Bay marina. Motoring over to the pump-out in the wind, snow, ice, rain. Seemingly all at once. Thank goodness they didn’t turn it off.
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