Otherworldly beauty, and I'm not just talking about Paula

     Our son Sam and his partner Emily are on their sailboat for six months, having rented out their house short-term.  They're in British Columbia, moving north.  Depending on the weather and time, they may make it up to Alaska.  They extended a kind invitation to come up and sail with them.

     I don't know if you've ever seen a map of the coast of the province, but it is crazy-full of islands, including the big one, Vancouver Island.  

     We came aboard at Campbell River, at about the middle of the map above.  Sam's boat, Thallasic is a seasoned and seaworthy 34-foot sloop which has sailed five times to Hawaii and once to new Zealand.

     If you've ever spent time on a real-live sailboat, you'll know that they are efficient, no-nonsense craft, with every inch and object having a purpose, and Thallasic was no exception.

     OK, on the other hand, cheese and crackers on a sunny afternoon aren't too shabby.

     Like I said, sailboats are spartan.  Some of them have NO luxuries.

     Just kidding.  One quiet afternoon, Sam rigged the dinghy and he and Paula chilled and doodled around the cove, impressing some of the neighbors in their big motorboats.  

     We saw whales, and I'm not just talking about some of the neighbors in their big motorboats.  No sirree!  Real-live whales, as well as sea lions, seals and other stuff.

     Anchored for the day all by ourselves in a beautiful cove at the end of a narrow passage, we took a hike up to a lake, through a moss- and fern-covered forest.

     Although he is a good, honest man in general, Sam lied terribly about the temperature of the lake water, and then laughed at my distress when I dove in after him.

     Karma comes around, however, and at one point he had to ascend the mast to retrieve a halyard, using a Jacob's ladder sewn by Emily.  That's her in the foreground, trying to remember if she used the right type of thread...

     If I cling to one of the most durable impressions of the trip, it is of cool, near-silent misty islands.  We were all alone in our last anchorage, and it felt like a bit of another world.

    But if I could keep only one feeling, it is of the love I felt for Sam and Emily being with them.  We wish them well on the rest of their six-month trip.  

     And I wish I hadn't left my favorite boardshorts, darn it.  Emily says they look 105% better than Sam's old ones and has claimed them.

     We hope you keep better track of your swimwear and have equally good adventures.

Dave & Paula