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Pot Of Gold; Rare Water; Heat

7/28/2017

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Pot of Gold
Ok, I know it’s just a toilet, but come on. A $1200 bronze throne should work. What a travesty. I tried. I wanted it to work, I wanted it to be as good as every dollar hinted it could be, and we tried. Weeks and weeks on anchor. In the end, I had to pay the marina a $5 fee to dispose of the thing. In hind sight I knew the designer was a mad man, or possibly a devious devil. Let’s review.
At first glance it looks like a regular toilet. But don’t be deceived. Using it requires flushing it. Stay with me here. You have to take a handle from some mounting place, on the wall nearby, and insert it into a jack point. If you have ever used a jack to lift a car up and change a tire you know exactly what I’m talking about. But this is just the start.
It would be acceptable if, handle inserted, you could just pump it up and down and that would be the end of it. Never mind why the handle isn’t just attached to the toilet, or why it’s necessary to insert and then remove the thing. A toilet needs water to flush. I didn’t make up this rule and I’m not sure any man did. But without water, well, it just wont work. And on this amazingly expensive work of art, what do you think you need to do to get that water delivered to the right place at just the right time? 
Understand that I’m not making this up. You can check online yourself.
As your right hand is holding the jack handle and pumping up and down, you need to lift your left foot up and push down on a lever at the base of the thing. Now, understand, this is designed for a boat. You know, a moving, floating, rocking thing? So, right hand pumping, left foot off the ground to open a valve, this is how you must operate the damn thing.
I’m a gadget kind of guy and for the life of me the only reason I can think of that someone would design such a travesty is for the joy of the frustration it would cause the rest of us.
 If you have never had the pleasure of using a K toilet I’m not sure you can understand. My advice? Don’t. Please, just don’t.
Find another toilet (Jabsco), that has a built in handle (Jabsco), and a small lever to add flush water (Jabsco). At a fourth of the price why would you mess with anything else? Did I mention that to service the other thing you have to remove the entire bowl and disassemble the pump? Stupid.
I can buy an entire Jabsco pump assembly for about a $100 and change it in 10 minutes.
Whew, glad to have that out of my system.

Let’s talk about water.

It’s been a dry year so far for the Gulf Islands. Really dry. When we came into Ganges Harbor they warned us the water to the dock could be shut off at any time, and it was. You could still  shower and do laundry, but you couldn’t fill your boat tanks up at the dock. Luckily, we did find a way to fill our tanks, and then we headed to Montague Harbor. It turns out that they not only had a dock water restriction, but showers and laundry were shut down as well. I wonder how much business they have lost because of the water shortage?
We are fortunate to carry several weeks of water and can pick and choose where we will be when we need to fill up.

Sumer Heat
On the Oregon coast many people who learned of our sailing plans asked if we were heading south to warmer climates.
No one here in Canada asks that. Why? Because it’s warm here, too warm at times. The sun is hot and drives you to find shade wherever you can. Throw in the reflected light from the water and you could crisp up a turkey by setting it on the deck. Thank goodness it wont stay this way!

​
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Forgotten Wind

7/19/2017

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We had left the safety of Ganges Harbor for a new anchorage, Glenthorn Pass. It wasn’t far, a couple hours max. The bay from Ganges turns into Captain Passage, complete with a bit of ferry traffic and tidal streams. As we headed out I remember telling Sarah “This is a great place to sail. Great wind, not too much.” But we had a goal. A new anchorage for us. Would we find room? How about the holding? If the wind came up in the night would we be able to sleep? These things the captain thinks about.
We spent the week there without any problem, even when NW guests demanded I check our position in the middle of the night. Pulling anchor with a light wind and calm tides we headed back to Ganges to resupply. Once again I found myself telling Sarah how nice the area was for sailing. But we didn’t sail other then letting our headsail out while motoring. 
We’ve talked of this, Sarah and I. How do you balance the desire to get from point A to B with the mechanics of sailing? We need to sail, we want to sail. When I study the tides and weather I plan for the best passage. I don’t plan for the best sailing passage.
The area we’re in is known for a reliable daily wind pattern. Downwind sailing rules for boats heading to Ganges, all others tack to make headway out to Captain Passage. After modifying Odyssey’s rigging for sail control at the mast, it’s time for us to see what she can do. Now we can take her out, push ourselves by giving her all her sails, see where she stiffens up. We need to learn to trust ourselves in higher winds. She is more then capable of handling anything the Islands have to give her, even in the worst winter storms.
For the next several weeks Sarah and I will be sail training. It’s time for us to let our sails take us to new places.
We do this because the spaces here are too great for us to do anything else. Of course we will be careful. I’ll watch the tides and winds. The difference is, I hope, that all sails will be out, sheets tight, wind on the beam.

Thank you Bob for your comment. We understand each other.

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Quiet Time

7/8/2017

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PictureOtter Bay
Ganges
I’m a bit sorry for the lack of posts. I’ll try and explain.
I’ve been a blog follower for years. I followed who is doing what and where they were this week and where they were going next. 
Now I’m losing track, but not getting lost. 
I spend less and less time wondering what others are doing. They had been the tie to my dream. If I could watch them, feel what they were feeling, it was possible my dream may come true. They were the magic carpet in a children's story. 
There comes a time, if you’re lucky, where life fills you up. All the way. I noticed this months ago. 
I’m sitting now on that magic carpet, and I’ve found that dreams can come true. At first I wanted to share that joy with everyone I know. But as life simplified and focused, a cup of coffee on deck, a sunny morning of a perfect anchorage, stretching to a second pot. Nothing else mattered. 
When full, you have neither the need nor desire to share that with anyone other then the person you’re with.
Blogs are forgotten as life fulfills all the need to rejoice. You live the experience in the moment, and that becomes enough. There isn’t a need to hold up my life and proclaim “Look what I’ve done!”
Doing it is now enough. Living for a reason is now enough.
Given a warm summer night I’ll be happy to swap tales of hard weather and unforgettable sunsets. In winter, if you can find us, a warm tea will help the dark hours pass. I’ll share what I know with you.
For now we travel, love, and explore. 

We enjoyed Sydney. A busy place, amazing food, friendly folks.
The Canadians are very proud of their heritage. They have a right to be.
Headed north we slipped into Otter bay for the fourth of July. Another world.
We find this often, each place we go has it’s own charm. Everything here is island. Boat or plane defines their world and to view it for a few days only adds to the respect felt for these people.
Across Swanson channel into Captain passage, rough seas tested us. We had to smile at how easy Odyssey took the waves. For her, this was nothing. The captain and crew were the ones needing experience. We set the head sail for practice. I’m sure she was beautiful from a distance.
The further north we go the broader the strokes of life styles. Ganges is a mix of hippies and artists and entrepreneurs. Laid back and lovely their Saturday market puts any big city’s to shame.
Today we shopped for fresh produce, duck eggs, art supplies and tacos. We created, painted, fixed, changed filters, and filled water tanks.
What did you do today?
Monday we head out. 
Where? I don’t know yet. So many places call to us. Some just a mile away, some hundreds.
We have no schedule so all are possible.
If you don't hear from us for awhile, please don’t worry.
Our cup is full. To live this life is enough. We will share when we can. 

​As a Post Script.
Come to sail. We have found more wind then could be hoped for.
Those who say otherwise have never crossed these waters with mast and cloth.

Picture
Ganges. You gotta love these people!
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    Odyssey


    Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
    Learn as if you were to live forever.
    -Mahatma Ghandi-

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