The resurrection of the Son and the sun!

Easter blessings to everyone on this late afternoon of the Sunday of the Resurrection! We have been swinging gently at anchor, under bright, sunny skies (!), in Bedwell Bay in Indian Arm, a fjord that winds northeast into the beautiful mountains surrounding Vancouver, BC. What a peaceful, scenic cruise we enjoyed from our dock in North Vancouver!

Yesterday, April 16, was Walt’s 71st birthday, and he spent most of it working on boat projects: our outboard motor now runs fine, the track that holds the “whisker pole” against the mast is bolted into place, and our water tanks have been filled. I spent a good part of the day doing laundry in a shed near the yacht club office (about a half-mile walk one way from the boat)

and helping with Walt’s mast-climbing (actually, Martin, whose smaller sailboat is moored in a nearby marina, helped with hoisting Walt about 16 feet UP the mast, and I did most of the “letting him down gently” portion of the job).

Martin ordered and retrieved (by bike) a marvelous BBQ lunch from the nearby Smoke & Bones restaurant to celebrate his dad’s birthday, and it was lovely to share it on the fold-out picnic table in Braesail’s cockpit. At about 7:30 pm, Walt and I began our journey by foot and bus to the Cathedral once more to participate in their Easter Vigil liturgy, which I enjoyed very much, especially the choral music, the sermon, the sharing of the Eucharistic bread AND wine, and the many colorful floral decorations.

The service ended at about 11 pm, and we walked with Martin to pick up a car-share vehicle in which he drove us back to the yacht club docks. We spent the late evening visiting over apple brandy produced in San Juan Islands, and he stayed overnight in the crew cabin. We all slept very well after putting in a healthy amount of exercise during the day (about 4.5 miles of walking for me).

This morning, Martin returned to work on his sailboat, Walt rode a folding bike to a store to pick up a few utensils that we had neglected to bring from our condo’s kitchen, and after filling Braesail’s diesel tank, we left North Vancouver for Indian Arm and a restful afternoon. Toward evening, Martin called to tell us that he was making the 2-hour bike ride from Vancouver to a nearby beach to pick up an item that he’d left aboard, so Walt motored out in Coracle II (our dinghy) to meet him and give him the forgotten item. The outboard motor ran fine, and I trust that Martin had a good 25-mile ride back home!

As the wind rises, I’m giving thanks for the light and peace we’ve experienced here after many gray days (though there are many more to come), and for the reality of Jesus’ (and our!) Resurrection Life that we affirmed and celebrated last night!