Another day of SAILING!

Monday, May 27, 2024

This is the first time since we purchased Braesail in December 2015 that we’ve actually been able to SAIL her in a substantial wind for any length of time–we have had so little wind when we’ve traveled during the last eight years that we have nearly always motored, and sailing has been a rare event. So during the past week, with sufficiently strong and sustained winds blowing in the areas in which we’ve been traveling, Walt has finally, really, learned how to sail the boat, and is loving the experience--Braesail handles VERY well in all the wind speeds and directions we’ve encountered since last Tuesday. I’m finally learning more about actual sailing as well, which is a good thing!

We left the Lund docks a little after 11 am and very soon were sailing comfortably in good winds that sometimes increased and sometimes decreased and occasionally changed direction, but that provided Braesail and her crew with a fine ride over the course of our three-hour journey. We weren’t able to travel as swiftly as we had on Sunday, but our travel was generally relaxing and quiet, with the only sounds being the sush of the wind, the rattling of the rigging, and the splashing sounds of the little waves under and beside the boat.

We anchored in peaceful Laura Cove in the Desolation Sound area of the B.C. coast at about 2 pm as its sole occupant. Its deep-blue-green water, surrounded by tall, mossy rock and boulder ramparts topped with evergreens, gently caressed the stony islets near its entrance, and provided Braesail and her crew with a tranquil refuge. I sat in the cockpit and observed the head of a sleek seal emerge from the water, and remembered the harbor seal that we saw gliding around the docks in Lund–she was named “Lu-Seal Ball!” I also watched a bald eagle wing its way over the water to a tree on the shore, and a slim heron fly squawking from its treetop perch to a spot I couldn’t see.

There was minimal connectivity in the cove, but we were able to do some reading, writing, and French practice before and after napping and dining, and we snuggled into our bed to the soothing sound of rain.