Sailing Karma

Preperation for Departing Newport

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Preperation for Departure

This winter has been one of Cruising Kitty refilling. We have been docked at Bowen's Whaft right downtown in Newport Rhode Island to maximise our availbility for jobs to ensure we can make some money and be ready to set off once again in the new boat for an ambitious cruising season. This is all fine and dandy, in fact it's been working rather well. We now have money again! There will be an article to come on this as we will have the most clean cut examples the upcoming season on the price to adventure ratio, but that's not what we are talking about here.

Boat

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 11:36:12 -0500

Joubert-Nivelt Sauvage 41

Ah, yes the boat. After sailing aboard our Doug Peterson 37 for a number of years and many miles our cruising goals developed as our experience did. We have been very fortunate enough to have met a number of inspiring cruisers which have lead us to be both more knowledgeable and informed about what we want to do as far as sailing goes moving forwards.

That’s all to say, we have wiggled our way into literally our perfect dream boat. Not something most people can say but as far as we can tell this suits both us and our goals perfectly in every way. Designed and built in the 80s in France, this came during the earlier era of French center-boarder designed yachts to be tools to go anywhere.

Welcome

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 09:51:09 -0500

lol wut

Home

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 09:51:02 -0500

Maybe?

Overwintering in Newport Rhode Island

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Cruising Kitty

Ah, yes the cruising kitty is a classic topic of discussion among cruisers and landlubbers alike. Those in the know know its necessary and are crafty about it’s refilling and expenditures. Those out of the know watching from shore are usually flabbergasted as to how it’s possible to sail full time sans work.

Post Refit

Somehow, still without selling Karma 1.0 down in Guaymas (someone buy her please!) we didn’t go entirely broke through the refit of Karma 2 up there in Shediac. That being said, we did get closeish and it was part of our reason for leaving when we did. Thankfully the actual sailing and cruising part is cheap, once you’re off the dock where there aren’t many opportunities to spend.

Crossing the Gulf of Maine

Sat, 01 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Gulf of Maine: Almost like we planned it

The Gulf of Maine is the body of water south of the Bay of Fundy, sandwiched between Nova Scotia and Cape Cod in MA. If you don’t know of the Fundy, you should know that the tides are quite large. This can create exciting waves near the entrance and the tip of the Scotia; if the wind is opposing the current, all the more exciting. The game to play regarding passage planning for western Atlantic this time of year is one of threading the needle between hurricane season & winter storms. The likelihood of hurricanes directly hitting the Scotia is always low but obviously once the Atlantic season as whole “ends” come November it’s even less. BUT the chance of a gnarly winter storm increases of course as winter progresses. Being out of season seems to be our modus operandum so this game is a welcome one. Close to the Scotia, we infrequently saw speeds over 10 while surfing the waves but 12 knots while surfing became the norm not long after. The boat shudders at this speed. Probably it’s the rotating propeller churning up water on the hull. I clocked 12.4 at some point and another time a huge wave put maybe 4 inches of water into the cockpit.

Bras D'ors Lacs Nouvelle Escosse

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Bras D’ors Lacs Nouvelle Escosse

The Bras D’or Lakes in Cape Breton are a spot known around the world for their little corner of the world. We’ve even heard of them whilst in Mexico from the adventuresome few we met who had come up this way previously. Entered through either a lock at St. Peter’s Canal in the south or through what sounds like a current rapid in the north they’re actually an inland sea as they’re salty. Aside from knowing they’re there we really had no clue what we were locking our way into as we entered.

Departure from Shediac

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Departure from Shediac, NB

It is interesting how originally we sort of had it in our minds that once we were in the water we were essentially set to go. Obviously there would be but a few things, but really once afloat, why not be afloat but on the move? Classically this turned out not to be the case, but it probably worked out for the best.

There was the obvious first task of acquiring the tall and pretty important aspect of a sailboat, the rig. Of course this turned out to be a whole fiasco but overall was pretty smooth. Up in a day, it turned out there were a few things to get right before we could leave. We had to modify ever so slightly the size of the holes in the chainplates such that the cap-shroud clevis pins would fit. Due to our exorbitant amount of tools on board turns out we had the right drill bit. A few calls around Moncton found us with the correct size pipe to make some sleeves for the forestay and we were ready to go on the rig front.

Big Construction Projects

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Big Construction Projects

By big I literally mean big as in large pieces and large cuts. Something we are tackling here is the ceiling panels. Much like our last boat, of course, we somehow ended up with another boat which didn’t come with any ceiling panels. It made a world of a difference on Karma and they didn’t even turn out that great honestly. With this new one we wanted a more profesh look so we got started, taking advantage of our full workshop and plethora of materials.

Notre Bateau en Acier dans Nouveau Brunswick

Sat, 10 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Notre Bateau en Acier dans Nouveau Brunswick

One month in & we have continued to be about ready to almost maybe next week gain a massive amount of momentum to slingshot us into the sea

Today we had a celebratory Molesons for slapping a 2 part epoxy primer on the donut. The hull is made of steel and it is faired heavily above the water line with an epoxy fairing. There were spider cracks in the fairing so the previous owners (PO) grinded them down to investigate the steel. No issues apart from the now scarred and scary looking hull. This is to be faired back with standard epoxy fairing (…polyester perhaps) or thickened epoxy which is what we used. Thirty bucks for 12 buck(et)s of filler from the lovely Romeo’s crew, many layers of leftover epoxy from the POs which survived just to end of the project before expiring, and a sander lent by our landlords had the job wrapped up. The donut is the eye sore starboard side up front. Even outside the massive tent, this donut is the first thing anyone sees.

Mum Arrives in Puerto Vallarta

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mum Goes to Mexico 2025 Part 2

March 18 Tuesday

Another sunrise through my hatch. A leisurely Coffee in the Cockpit and tasty breakfast sandwich before the sails went up just before 11:00 and, with Yelapa receding in the distance, we started on the short trip north to Puerto Vallarta. The winds were mostly taking a break, so it was a power assisted sail before we pulled in that afternoon and tied Karma up at the first slip she had been in since January 2024. Suddenly we were part of a large harbor scene with high rise resorts as our backdrop, having to remember our address as “Turn left at Life is Short.” (the vessel we tied alongside.) and the luxury of just hopping off onto the dock, no dinghy required!

Mum Goes to Mexico

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

March 2025 Mum goes to Mexico

March 9th Sunday

When the Beautiful and Able Co-Captain on the sailboat, Karma, received a call to head for Idaho for a family emergency, my son sent me a text the day she left “So, do you want to come to Manzanilla tomorrow haha?”

Ha Ha indeed. Recently returned from a trip to Guatemala, I was deep in the throes of organizing Every Day Life. I had on the calendar, just for starters, a dentist appointment, a mammogram, an annual check up, Book Club to be hosted at my house and a service appointment for my car. My husband was on an extended trip to Oz and New Zealand, so there were plants to be watered, bills to be paid…ETC. Of course I couldn’t leave immediately for Mexico…

Deeper Into The Sea

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Deeper into the Sea of Cortez

This place is lovely. The desert has far more colors than you’d think and it’s wild to think about how many perfect beaches and lovely backdrops are here, driving distance south from California and Arizona, and how seemingly unknown this whole area is relatively. It’s surprising how big these mountains are as well. The Baja peninsula is lowkey a huge mountain range that gets steeper and more dramatic as it goes south. Good for spotting spots where evil lairs could be.

Entering the Sea of Cortez

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Entering the Sea of Cortez

Cabo was a neat stop if we are honest. Lots of people go around and pass by as it’s a loud town. That, that is definitely true. But why pass up the opportunity to anchor where Moitessier lost Joshua and see the party yourself? We did anchor right next to a party boat right off the beach where a separate seemingly 24 hour party also raged on. What’s not to like, once we got tired we can, and did, decide to leave. Ah the life afloat.

West Coast Baja, MX

Sat, 20 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

West Coast Baja, MX

South of Bahia de Tortugas the coast of Baja California is essentially a straight line. The sailor will look at the charts and notice there are a few nooks and carnies, but nothing of significance. Any weather at all would wrap Pacific swell right on to the beach at any stop. The overlander in a van might find themselves on this side, if they’re really trying to get off the beaten path, and find there are about 3 or 4 towns. With nothing specific to visit in each place aside from the occasional surf break, not many people are venturing to these places by land or sea.

Bahia Stupid

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Bahia Stupid

Motoring is, fine. You’re going the exact direction you hope to, at least usually, and it usually means its calm out. Wind makes waves see, and if there’s wind, you’re sailing. If there’s no wind, you sometimes have to motor, but no wind means hopefully no waves. Motoring is loud, sailing yachts have their refit tractor engines inside, down below, usually in some box, vibrating and chugging away letting the fish below know a repurposed cultivator is passing above. It is a bit of a contrast to the usual serenity and silence that comes along with sailing where the only sound is water moving past the hull and that strange whistle sound standing rigging makes. Well, the sound of water, the whistle, and the sound of Mr. Murphy chattering away to himself back there as he steers Karma in our case.

Bahia Tortugas

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Bahia Tortugas

Baja’s west coats is mainly big dramatic desert mountains, growing larger the further south one goes, interspersed with the occasional fishing village though these are very much part of the desert themselves. Roads of sand, not even compacted dirt but straight up, how does a car not just got bogged in this sand. Dust, dust everywhere but not dirt, its fine sand dust. Once you reach the edge of one of these towns, which is rather easy, usually but a few blocks from where you started, its just desert. They’re often on their own water supply with a desalination plant somewhere in town. Power often comes partially from a grid of sorts which is on a few hours a day and partially from one’s own solar setups. No ATMs or box stores, its just the small abarrotes shops and cash only. Aside from the early morning to about noon where the fisherman take off and then return in their pangas, not much is happening, but I mean that in a good sense.

San Quintin

Sat, 06 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

San Quintin

There is an island right where we are heading. One of these ’looks small on the map but turns out looking like a plop of desert dropped in the middle of the sea’. Of course we can’t see to confirm that its 3am with no moon, it just shows on our charts. Looks to us we can go either side of it, between it and actual Baja would be much better given the direction of the wind, so we adjust course. 20 minutes later, on the trusty marine VHF we heard some Spanish announcing something about a sailboat heading between the island and the land. Are we not supposed to be here? Are we in someone’s way? Maybe they see where we are going and want to let us know we can’t actually pass there? People have been saying, “oh, yeah once you’re in Mexico your charts can be up to a mile off, lots of uncharted shoals, rocks to hit, gotta keep a close eye out.”

To Ensenada, Mexico

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

To Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

The smell changes every time you cross this particular imaginary line. Without much wind we are motoring along in a flat calm sea, probably 15 or so miles off the coast, still in full view of the many lights coming from this busy part of the coast. Looking away from land, while less, there are still a multitude of lights coming from the many container ships and navy ships who very much like to announce their position on the radio right when the off watch person has gotten all the way asleep. This’ll be Karma’s third country and with a slightly more complicated check in process and a change of language it sort of feels as if we are taking a bit step off into the wider world aboard the boat this time. All the lights, night time traffic, and that change of smell all add to the excitement.

Ocean Sailing is like Cycling

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

How Offshore Sailing is like Riding a Bike

Prologue:

Saturday. September 18th. 2023

No more to prepare

Alarm set for 3 hours and

17 minutes

3:30 in the morning. The alarm blares. A flurry of trying to find my phone causes a slimy deluge of the last 3 days to seep through my cracked eyelids, and 7pm last night I was buying a set matched of bike lights that I stupidly didn’t own yet, and slamming 2 discipline’s and 3 weather’s worth of garments in my bike bags.

Day 16 & 17: Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower: Alignment and Connecting it all Up

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day 16 & 17: Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower: Alignment and Connecting it all Up

Now that the two things that didn’t fit now sort of, well are supposed to at least fit, the next task is to do the actual fitment. The major aspect of this is getting the engine and therefore transmission aligned within 0.005ths of an inch. Essentially tilting, twisting, and turning the engine before bolting it down so it lines up with the propeller shaft so when its spinning its not wobbling back and forth. To get to doing that though, first we have to figure out where we are actually going to bolt it down! In once again goes the engine. Now we have this down to a science though and lifting it from its resting place in the battery box back onto our newly modified stringers takes probably about 5 minutes. This time, as we have the metal L brackets bolted to our new stringers, we can mark on the metal where to drill the holes. So once sitting on the stringers we start the process of getting it aligned as we can as to make sure the holes we mark will be close enough to fine tune once the engine is bolted down.

Day 9-15: Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower: That which Doth Not Fit

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day 9-15: Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower: That which Doth Not Fit

Two things we knew to expect, but really hoped would just work out did not. These 9 – 15 days address those and stretched the project out longer than we anticipated. But hey we are still only 15 days in and can see the finish line!

The dry fit of the engine day 9 told us we had to widen the stringers in our engine “room”. I guess we read the specs wrong. That’s one. A quick look at the coupling on the new engine’s transmission told us we had to find and fit either an adapter (if that’s a thing) or get a new coupler on our propeller shaft. That’s the second one. We worked on the coupler issue first, as a new part would likely have to be ordered.

Day 7-8: Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower: Plans, Cranes & Automobiles

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day 7-8: Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower: Plans, Cranes & Automobiles

Day 7 is a mystery but the 8th was a most important day. A circus of logistical bedlam unraveled all day. Highlights follow. PAYMENT FOR NEW ENGINE

Many phone calls leads to 1 hour phone call for a wire transfer.

The hope was to get a receipt before Janet and Amos arrive in Sidney. That did not happen. Also you don’t get receipts for these.

Day 4-6 : Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower: Stagnation to Domination

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day 4-6 : Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower: Stagnation to Domination

Many a chore has been accomplished the last few days. We even had time to procrastinate! After many a scrub on day 3, we still had more cleaning to do so day 4 we scrubbed until we had only nubs. It seems the more we clean the more dirty the boat gets. Stuff absolutely everywhere with minimal seating. We only eat meals next to each other if we have energy sufficient to clear a wide enough spot.

Day 3: Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower: Dispair & Squalor

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day 3: Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower: Dispair & Squalor

Day three’s goal is scrubbin’ and boy oh boy scrubbin’ is what it was, and will be, and will be. The boat is in disrepair, stuff everywhere, everything sticky, no where to walk, no where to hide.

We are writing these one day behind so I am currently sitting atop a pile of things writing this while we try and navigate around oil cans and scrub brushes to make a cup of coffee.

Day:2 Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower: Engine Removed

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day:2 Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower: Engine Removed

After our late start dismantling yesterday, today commenced around 11am with the goal of hopefully getting the engine out of the boat and on the deck somewhere. There wasn’t too much left. Essentially the goal is to disconnect everything from the engine so its just sitting there.

We had 2 major components left, the coupler and the forward engine mount bolts. The coupler is where the transmission has a plate where it bolts to a matching plate on the end of the propeller shaft. Yesterday we were able to remove 4 of the bolts but there is an adapter plate of sorts between the transmission and prop shaft so there were four more bolts to remove. The access wasn’t the most comfortable per say, but they came loose and I was even able to pull the bolts all the way out! Quite satisfyingly this left the transmission and the prop shaft to be able to turn independently, definitely disconnected.

Day One of a Ruff 'n' Tumble Repower

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Day One of the Ruff ’n’ Tumble Repower

So the story goes we are re powering Karma! We are slapping in a 2GM20F in place of our well used and well loved 2QM. The first funny thing we learned was that what we have is not a 20 HP engine, but an 8 HP.

Since we got the boat and was told from the previous owner it was a 2qm20, we considered it such. I have poured over the manual since we got the boat for the 2qm and 3qm series with all its variations (F, H, Y, B). It walks and talks like a 2qm20y, with a continuous output rating of 20 hp at 2,600rpm. Realizing we actually had an engine plate after replacing the starter a week ago, we attempted to read the Japanese alongside some numbers. “(PS) 8 (rpm) 1800 (rpm) 818 and 2.20″….PS = piston speed of 8 m/sec?? The 2qm20y is rated at 7.8 – 8.4 m/sec but why would the heck that be on the plate…and what is this low 1800…..that’s our engine speed?? The 2.20 surely is the gear reduction ratio so the 818 would be our propeller speed. With a call to trusty Mitch in the San Juans he broke the news that the strange 8 has got to be the horsepower. 8!.

Gwaii Haanas: Hlk’yah G̱awG̱a & G̱andll K’in Gwaay.yaay

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Gwaii Haanas: Hlk’yah G̱awG̱a & G̱andll K’in Gwaay.yaay

Sticking to my journal as a guide, we continue south to other parts of Gwaii Haanas Park including the rest of the Watchman sites. The first would be Hlk’yah G̱awG̱a (Windy Bay) where a recently raised legacy pole stands. The island, Tllga Kun Gwaayaay (Lyell Island) also houses the site of a very important protest where members of the Haida nation blocked logging. There is a documentary about it. There were meals shared between the protestors and the loggers; the Haida inviting them to eat to emphasize that the protest is not against the loggers on a personal level! The protest worked and largely helped achieve the preservation of the land that is now Gwaii Haanas.

Gwaii Haanas: K’uuna Llnagaay & T’aanuu Llnagaay

Sat, 05 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

We have ventured to the past! Currently sitting by oil light in a little town called Onset, Massachusettes on our new boat, we decided to catch up our old timeline from the West Coast. We had many adventures around British Columbia, the last blog we did described our time in Daajing Giids. The next few blogs will be about our time in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site and will continue the timeline that makes sense after that. Namely, our trip down the west coast of the states, cruising the Sea of Cortez and mainland Mexico for a few seasons before the purchase of our steel boat, now home, in New Brunswick which we have refit and sailed down to the east coast of the states where we now live and seek jobs! Wooh. Matches our kero stove

Daajing Giids, Haida Gwaii

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Daajing Giids, Haida Gwaii

Helloooooo Haida Gwaii! While poking around in the Southern Gulf Islands, we traced the BC (British Columbia) ferries and saw that they connected to a group of islands we didn’t know existed. Sailors mentioned these islands with mystical eyes. We grew itchy to go as we learned more about the Haida and how they canoed to Alaska, to Vancouver, in their dugout canoes, how they have a language so distinct, how the tides in their lands can be 25′, how there is a black bear unique to the island teeth so long it can indulge in crab, how it served as an ice less refuge during the last ice age and now has wildly diverse fauna to show, and how people have been there for over 10,000 years.

Crossing the Hectic Straight to Haida Gwaii

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Crossing the Hectic Straight to Haida Gwaii

whales fish banjo

Are the words I wrote when drafting this over a year ago. After enjoying the ridiculous water park in the small village of Lax Kw’alaams, plunging in Alaskan waters, and being eaten alive by aggressive horse flies in the Dundas Islands, we started south.

For the first time since setting off early May. T’was strange adjusting to a setting sun on the wrong side of the sky…

Alaska 54° 42.44N, Turning South

Sun, 23 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Alaska 54° 42.44N, Turning South

Lax Kw’alaams slang shat us to the Alaskan border on July 16th, 2023. We had been heading north from Friday Harbor since May 6th. The border would be our turn around point, as the Alaskan cruising grounds deserve much more than the 1 week we could give it. One day………

Our journey so far has produced these here numbers:

Nautical Miles: 843
Sailing Hours: 167/228
Number of Anchorages: 46
Days out n About: 71
Brothers Aquired: 1 but he is tall
Salty Engine Intrusions: Just one albeit poorly timed
Skills aquired: Salmon fishing and filleting, canadian shwag beer connoisseurme
Bullets Dodged: About 8, notable was the spinny incident rounding Pt. Caution

And here is where we have gone! In handy map form, as requested by Grandma and Grandpa :^) Love you!

Heading North, Lax Kw'Alaams

Sat, 22 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Heading North, Lax Kw’Alaams

Out of Prince Rupert channel we commenced to sail. Being that we were going north, we were going up wind, but in the sun and being Trevor’s first sail it was a good one. With Zoe and Heather handling Karma, Trevor whipped up some delicious sandwiches and we watched the sunny scenery as we traveled miles but made little ground towards where we were going. As dusk approached we motored into Pearl Harbour, just south of Lax Kw’Alaams (formerly Port Simpson) and the Cunningham Passage.

Prince Rupert

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Prince Rupert, BC, Canada

The northern most town of significance on the BC Coast, Prince Rupert is a large shipping port and cruise ship stop for huge vessels coming from Japan or chapparoning tourists to and from Alaska. This was also the point we were originally going to drop of Zoe, that was until about a day or two ago when she was convincing enough to somehow change her friend’s bike trip plans from bike trip to sailing trip.

The Granville Channel

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Scenic Granville Channel

This is what I was picturing before setting off when people said, “Inside Passage”. Way the heck up north, passing between 1000 meter cliffs on either side in a mile wide channel in flat calm water.

We entered the channel under spinnaker which was fun as always for the 10 minutes the wind lasted then it was back to motoring. Still snacking on creative salmon snacks using the fish caught with Jeff, we were heading for Lowe Inlet, an anchorage that boasts a waterfall and huge surrounding mountains. If that doesn’t sound like a good place to stop I don’t know what is. We arrived mid evening and turn the corner to find but one other boat, well… yacht, in the anchorage. Low and behold its Sinbad, captained by Mark and Mary with guests Linne and Randy onboard.

Campania Island, BC

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Campania Island, BC North Coast

Still unsure how to pronounce this as we have heard a myriad of options, Campania Island is a secret paradise bestowed upon us with trust by a few different people including Qualia, Evan of SV Amaryllis, and SV Manna. Quite a ways up the BC Central Coast, it is past the point most Central Coast cruisers get to and it’s far enough from Alaska that those people just zoom on past it.

Kids Boat Convoy to Bella Bella

Sun, 09 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Kids Boat Convoy to Bella Bella

“It isn’t too common you find people out at your age doing this….”, we’ve heard from pretty much everyone our senior as we have bounced from rock to rock up and down the West Coast of North America. It seems almost as if the more people tell us that the more we find ways to have that not be true!

While in Pruth Bay, Calvert Island, Central Coast, we met the current rotation of the, at that point, crew of 4 aboard the yacht, Ashram. Based out of the Lower Mainland, Captain Tobin had bought Ashram with no sailing knowledge to do a grand tour of his lovely country’s West Coast with an ever rotating group of crew from his friends back home who were hopping aboard for whatever length of time they had available during the summer. Currently aboard was Tobin, Mark, Sarah, and Zoe, the latter of which will be featured in a number of articles to come.

SV Qualia and Fish

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

S/V Qualia and Fish

You’ve heard the name mentioned here before, but this, well they, deserve their own story here. Once upon a time we were stranded in Port McNeill, whole Heinicke family in tow, looking for a ride back to a broken down Karma in Lagoon Cove, some 30 miles east in The Broughtons. Each day Heather and I were wondering the docks asking each and every person we came past if they happen to be heading east, hoping someone would give us a lift. After getting to know the docks, we knew when new boats showed up so when a new Jeanneau Sun Oddesey 345 docked we knew what to do.

Pruth Bay, Officially Cruising

Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Officially Cruising

Leaving Greene Island in a dense mist, we departed with all the other serious looking cruising sailboats at around 10am. Expecting mostly a motor, we set out, sneaking around the shallow bits in the channel entrance, and then turned due west to enter the strangely straight Kwakshua Channel. We had the head sail out for a bit while the wind filled in, but it quickly died as we entered actual rain and heavy fog. I say rain and fog but it was more like we were motoring straight up through a cloud and therefore we were running into the water which was hanging in the air.

Cape Caution

Sun, 25 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Cape Caution

Cape Caution is where the more populated cruising grounds end on the inside of Vancouver Island. This is a mini cape area where the wind can pick up, the Slingby Channel exits to, and is the first place on many people’s journeys where they’re in the open ocean with ocean swells.

We were staged at the pirate sounding Skull Cove, ready to leave in the morning with forecasted light winds and good timing for the ebb of the channel. Just as we were motoring out into the dense fog and encountering our first start of rolling swell I read the description of Cape Caution, giving fair warning in the first sentence to “once past the Cape you have entered the Wet Coast. You may find but a few days of sunshine for the summer above this point”.

Stranded in the Broughtons Pt. II

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

So thankful for the Harmony Bay Hail Mary, our spirits were high all day Saturday and we really enjoyed the Happy Hour in Lagoon Cove that night. We chatted with such friendly folks. We had already met most of the people on the dock when we were covered in oil. Maybe we looked different than before? Because two boats offered us rides to Port McNeill leaving by 7am Sunday, the next day. One, a large power boat that indeed would have been luxurious. The people? Unknowns. The other, fast friends from the evening aboard their Albin 27′ powerboat. Decisions, decisions. What a change from the night before. Mary and Rodger’s Albin 27 docked in Alert Bay

Stranded in the Broughtons

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This blog is a stressful one to write. I imagine it is stress inducing to read. It gets solved I promise. !

We were beginning to understand the schedule that the Johnstone Strait required. That is, catch the ebbing tide early morning, instead of the afternoon ebb, to avoid the strong westerly winds that build. We tucked into Harvey Bay for the night then headed north to stage for a strong current channel. As the time approached, we checked the engine oil per usual…and found it ridiculously high. The incident is recalled here: link to engine post. Many details there but less here. It was a gear driven water pump failure and my sister was getting married, soon, and in Montana! The impeller shaft of the gear driven water pump wiggled up and down with about 1/8″ movement. There are water and oil seals as well as a few bearings along the shaft. All of which could have faulted in addition to the pump housing/aging.

The Non Sailing Sailing Adventure with Parental Units

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Non Sailing Sailing Adventure with Parental Units

Part One - Vancouver Island June 2023

“Most of the danger in sailing comes from people trying to keep to a schedule.”

Early counsel from my son on why worry was unnecessary regarding life with his partner and able co-captain, Heather, living aboard their 37 foot sailing vessel, Karma. Since they had no schedule for the next year, they would be free to drop anchor and wait out any risky situations. Ergo…no need to worry.

The Johnstone Straight

Sun, 28 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The first big stretch of water to navigate carefully when heading north is the formidable Johnstone straight. There are a few different routes one can take through, each with their own rapids and other various obstructions.

Interestingly, just south of Desolation sound the current switches directions on the east side of Vancouver Island. This, in combination with the now more narrow and broken up channels caused by the heaps of islands on the northern half, causes some rapids to occur as a huge amount of water floods and ebbs around the island. These can run up to speeds of 18kts in places. Definitely worth planning to hit these at slack tide…

Teakern Arm and Sarah Point

Tue, 23 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Having heard of Teakearn Arm’s apparent awesomeness from SV Walkabout, we set it on our chartplotter for the day’s itinary to scope it out. We were thinking, due to the depth of the anchorage and our manual windlass, that we wouldn’t be spending the night or maybe even departing the boat once there.

With a classic noserlie on our nose, we motored up after having a bit of a strange start with our Yanmar that morning. The starter, while it worked, seemed to crank at about half of its normal speed thus taking longer to start than normal. We chocked it up to probably a wiring corrosion issue and set off, keeping it in the back of our minds for something to look into by Campbell river where spares and chandleries are abundent.

Squirrel Cove

Sat, 20 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A few beers, popcorn, and silly movie later we decided to leave and head across the way to Squirrel Cove on Cortez Island. This did have hikes as well as a tiny town accessible. Anchoring in the middle of the bay by Dual Dragons, we set the hook and finished the hatch install, deciding to bed it down with SikaFlex later on.

The following morning we were up and paddling and got the scoop on the trails from Ben on Dual Dragons. Wondering if we should hit the town, however, we decided to dinghy the mile or so over and found ourselves at Cortez’s biggest event of the year, the annual OysterFest. The ‘town’ was alight with people lining up to eat at the buffet style tent setup in the middle of the garden while different small local bands played including a First Nation man from the area. We hung out on the grass, tried the native fry bread, Bannock, from the local tribes, and listened to the music and watch the crowd. A highlight was the pie which a lady from neighbouring Quadra Island bakes but once a year for this festival, and the Canadian Coast Guard walking around eating everything they passed.

One Year Post Splash Day

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

One year ago on THIS VERY DAY BUT A YEAR AGO May 16th, Karma was launched in the water! We started getting the boat ready on the hard mid April after a winter sitting alone in Anacortes. Liam and I were saving money working down in California at casa de Liam’s parents who kindly hosted us. We started the process of looking for a boat over a year before and finally made moves on this Doug Peterson 37 late summer/early fall. We got the title squared the day before we packed all our belongings into Liam’s 2000 Miata and my much more spacious 1986 Volvo 240, Beulah. Our folks did not know about our big live aboard/cruise boat project so as we slept under Kate and Grant’s roof and enjoyed the Bruger’s bagels freshly delivered after Kate’s morning walks every Wednesday, they surely had questions about our ~~trajectories~~. My parents were asking vaguely pointed questions now and then. A big zoom call with his fam and mine revealed our secret-no-more plans with a very informative and comical slideshow presentation, properly utilizing our freshly obtained educations. Things made more sense and his folks didn’t side eye us as often 😉 The reason for the smoke and mirrors was simply so we could get things squared before questions begging details came.

Desolation Sound

Mon, 15 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Hilariously named by Captain Vancouver as he was in a bad mood here and disappointed by the mountains not being curated like an English garden, Desolation Sound is a destination sailing and cruising ground for those in the PNW.

This is a highly talked about part of the world for cruisers in Washington. It’s just far enough away and definitely impressive enough to make it a seem like a dream cruise destination. Huge mountain backdrops, tons of protected anchorages, light to no winds ideal for those Nordic Tugs, and strange current activity which makes it warm enough to swim!

The Big Push North

Sat, 06 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

After a few stops in

harbours and islands we visited last year in the Southern Gulf Islands we found ourselves once again at the town of Ganges. A lovely little town, often called ‘the Friday Harbor of the Gulf Islands’ we returned more out of momentum and the the thought ‘this is a place people visit, so lets stop there’. Last year we had a fun time here for a few days between hanging with the flotilla of lady sailors my aunt was participating in and getting to know the Saltspring locals over Shipwreck IPAs, but this time around we were less enchanted.

Little Projects as the Winter Goes on

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As the winter has progressed

we have been focusing on the big stuff, the solar arch, the autopilots and the like. This is all great, but there are also tons of small, incremental changes/updates/additions which have been coming together to make Karma feel like she’s really shaping up to be ready for an early May departure which is fast approaching.

It is hard to keep track and also not necessarily worth it to write whole articles on some of the small changes so this is more of a “some of the small stuff which we have done”. Not comprehensive, but at least you’ll get a feel for some of the small stuff and also we can reference back and say ‘oh ya, we did do that I guess?’. Ground fault chasing in the depths of Karma’s electricals

Winter in the San Juans

Sat, 25 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Now being that its February we have actually

been in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, San Juan Islands (confusing I know) for a while. Being that we aren’t actually sailing anywhere, the boat hasn’t moved once since October, the mentality has definitely shifted slightly and it is interesting to be mid-experience of a place we discovered cruising as now a place we just live at. Granted our apartment is more effected by wind than others who live on foundations, really we are just living in town here being on the dock which connects to Spring St. Seal on H Dock at the Port of Friday Harbor

Heat a la Diesel

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This project has been a

headache and extremely slow moving for being a project which was at the top of the to-do list as we pulled into our winter home here at Friday Harbor. I am happy to report I am sitting down below typing this in a dry and rather warm cabin, but the path to which we landed in this scenario didn’t follow a short path

There are a lot of options to heat your yacht. Especially here in the PNW, most boats have some sort of heating, usually in the form of a Dickenson Newport type diesel fireplace like S/V Mig rocks or even some boats have full diesel ovens used for cooking and heating like our friend Evan over in Victoria aboard S/V Amaryllis. The other option sometimes gone for is the full actual wood burning stove such as on S/V Swirl here in the bay. These are great but require quite a lot of interior setup as well as the actual install. As our boat has no prep done for a heater to be installed of any kind anywhere, these would have been quite the undertaking, not to mention expensiveeeee. The Dickenson Stove aboard Amaryllis which warmed the boat from BC to NZ and back

Synthetic Lifelines

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Lifelines, or as they should maybe

be called, Lines of Last Resort, are one of those things which every sailboat has but you never notice. That is until you take them off, which is what we did upon pulling up to our winter home here in Friday Harbor. Our lifelines are likely the originals that came on the boat. They are a classic example of a race boat setup from the era. They are swaged stainless steel wrapped with that terrible plastic covering. Karma is without a lifeline gate setup in the stanchions and the entire length of the boat’s lifelines were tensioned in one spot. This means when they are undone about 2/3rds the way back to board the entire length of the boat’s lifelines on that side go slack.

A Trusted Retrospective on Skipper Liam

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A “Trusted Source” Retrospective on Skipper Liam

I’d like to regale you with stories of the SV Karma crew’s intrepidness, ingenious inventiveness, penchant for effectiveness, extraordinary hospitality, and… albeit, they can tell you that. In fact, I’ll go as far to say the rest of these lovely blog posts will show you precisely that. I’m here with the real investigative journalism. I am going to show you where Liam is today is not chance, but a destiny written in the stars from back in the time when we were sharing bubble baths. I am here to point an embarrassing spotlight in a way that no other can. I believe it is my turn, no, my duty (if I may), to give you, dear reader, an honest, unadulterated, unfiltered “Insiders scoop” of Liam Heinicke, otherwise (and absolutely most-definitely-not-unfortunately (for me at least)) known as my brother.

Topside Touchup

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Classic S/V Karma, we end up

starting on a project that we sort of originally put on the back-burner. I was wandering around in Friday Harbor one day while Heather was over at Shaw doin’ her day job when I came across non 200 topside paint available in store! Karma has had a pretty shabby topside job, most likely a culmination of the last 2 owners rolling on random, slightly different, off white colors to touch up a flakey what we suspect is DuraBack truck bed nonskid.

Dinkin Around

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

It can haul your headsail. It can haul your beer. It can commute you to your ferry in the wee hours of the morn. It can get you through big wind and small but mighty waves. It can haul up to two of your most acquainted acquaintances. It can also haul Sss behind a 5 hp outboard. This is our most well used, enduring method of transportation – the paddleboard. A gift from Liam last Christmas. Using it for fun and function, we’ve relied heavily on the paddleboard since moving aboard this April. Not having an outboard on the main dink for a good chunk of the summer, we often preferred a two person paddle to a row. This especially became true when the oar lock broke on dink 2.0. Recommended use ft dink 2.0

The Manual Windlass

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Using one’s own ground tackle

for extended periods of times is sort of what separates the weekend warrior boats from the cruising boats. If you’re only out for a bit every once in a while the mooring buoy makes a whole lot of sense. No depths to worry about, definitely isn’t going to drag around if the wind changes. Rocky bottom? No problem, they’re drilled into the floor. Many boats? No worries, someone planned their spacing perfectly.

BC's Answer to the SJs

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Gulf Islands are sort of

like the Canadian version of the San Juans, or so we are lead to believe. And to an extent, that is true. Close in proximity means they’re close in a lot of ways: flora, fauna, climate, and so on. Now that we are here, though, they do have more of a different sense than just being new San Juan Island bays in which we haven’t yet anchored or dinked. They are larger it seems, there are more of them, and the amenities and what is available is different.

Sunsets in BC

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The summer is slowly but not

so surely coming to a close in the PNW and the earlier sunset times are the first indication of this. The days are warm still, clear with but a few scattering of clouds. The winds are still the PNW notorious light variety though there are occasional days of strong winds peeking in. Every 8 days or so there seems to be a slight rain, so that’s also easing its way in. The sunset is still spectacular but it’s at 7pm not 10… BC sunset over the stern arch

Gulf Islands Flotilla

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

11 boats, 5 with all women crews,

and one happening to have my aunt on board. During mid to late August we were literally bobbing about wondering when we were going to be able to get our mast back. It was already 2 or so weeks past the time we originally expected when we had it unstepped, and the sailing season was fast coming to a close. All of a sudden, in one of the 32,000 family group chats going around, Linda announces she is going to be the 5th member of an all women crew on a charter boat heading from Bellingham to the Gulf Islands and back right around the time our plan was to head straight to Canada.

Working Onboard

Fri, 23 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“You can just work from anywhere?!”

….is a question often asked. This whole yachting thing is, well, expensive as frig and unless some bank glitch helps us out, we are going to be paying as we go for a while. Currently, I am working remotely aboard full time and for the most part, the answer is “yes, I sorta can just work from anywhere” but that isn’t without its caveats. Cockpit Salesforce in Ladysmith BC

An Example Post

Mon, 04 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

About Us

Welcome! We are Heather and Liam bobbing about with wild abandon on our 37 foot Doug Peterson designed sailboat. We met in Seattle many moons ago and have been learning to sail together through most of those. We try to update this page with boat projects as well as funny things we see while getting blown around on the big blue.

The first sailboat we ever tried was a 12′ boat, similar to a Lido 14, that we bought off Craigslist. We hand hauled the boat to Green Lake and tepidly tried to sail before finding and purchasing a swing keel San Juan 23 just months later. With a place to sleep aboard Nibbles, we ventured out of the Duwamish River from South Park Marina taking the boat to nearby islands…and grounding the first time we ever anchored. We even got Nibbles up to the San Juans for what was then our greatest longest most exciting voyage, a trip totaling 11 days. Hooked, we found a bigger boat, Karma, in Anacortes where we fixed it up and now are loosely based out of Friday Harbor where we have spent the last few years working off and on the boat and filling the ever hungry cruising kitty.

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