Admiral's log - Star date: 08/08/08

Left Vancouver a bit late yesterday, crossed Georgia Straight and ended up dropping anchor in Clam Bay off Wallace Island in the dark. Cute little cove, but lots of reefs and kelp beds to manoeuver around, good thing for gps/chart plotter.

As we left this morning there was this great rock face on one of the islands called Bodega Hill, looked like it would be super fun to climb. Seems I have an affinity for sports which involve ropes ;) Today was perfect sailing conditions; 18-25 knots of wind & sunny (not warm though).

We hoisted the main sail and I got to take the helm through this nice wide channel, kinda like learning to drive in a parking lot. Was a bit freaky to be *in control* of such a large but agile vessel.

At one point we opened the Genoa (front sail), gained 1.5 knots of boat speed and that's when stuff started flying in the cabin!!

A couple of tacks and I was all excited about the idea of racing; just need a few more crew members to start training with and we should be ready for next spring's racing season ~ any takers?

We arrived in Ganges around 4pm, anchored in the main harbour, and headed in to town for dinner. Found this cute little outdoor cafe called the Treehouse where there was live music and great food. Service was a bit inconsistent, but such is island life where nothing happens quickly. Ended up running into an old friend who is now living on the island.

I've been napping a lot, think I'm catching up on a year of missed sleep and those three Saturdays in June that I didn't make it to bed. Could also be the rocking of the boat, it seems to have a lulling effect.

Heading back to Vancouver tomorrow, hoping the rain holds out ~ I am always happier when the sun is shining.

See you all soon.
~c.