Category: Sailing

Sailing Misfortune: JohnLoriEh’s Boat Adventure on Kootenay Lake

As promised, here’s a quick tale of our sailboat, the JohnLoriEh. The boat was a 25-foot 1979 O’Day moored for the winter in Kaslo Bay, part of Kootenay Lake. As you may notice, there is a bit of snow onboard, and this was after cleaning most of it off. As a point of interest, Kootenay Lake does not freeze up.

Long story short, it was tied up to the dock alongside a boat shed. The shed collapsed due to snow load, immediately sinking several not-cheap cruisers and, in the process, amputating the dock from the shed. Our boat went Flying Dutchman and crossed the bay. Once there, it met up with a steel-hulled houseboat. Once there, it bounced up against it for a day or two until she was noticed. By that time, a major gash was formed at the point where the hull meets the deck.

We were contacted by a friend in the area who recognized the boat. We were leaving for Mexico the next day and had to cancel everything and drive from Calgary to Kaslo to facilitate the next steps. Once it was safely docked and inspected, we decided to motor to Jones Boys, a boat dealer and shop about an hour south on the lake. The forecast called for no wind and two above, so we made the run. We got the motor going, and I headed out alone, with Lori meeting me there with the car and trailer.

There were definitely some worries here, as the lake can get quite rough at times. The vessel was not exactly seaworthy and could easily take on water. Fortunately, the lake stayed calm, with barely a ripple to be seen. All in all, it was a beautiful run, albeit a bit cool for boating.

Once we reached Jones Boys, they hauled it out of the water onto our trailer. It was then placed in their lot, waiting for an insurance inspector to estimate the damage (it was a write-off). We stripped it of whatever was on board and drove away, never to see her again.

The main downside to it all is that we stopped sailing, something we truly loved to do. Maybe someday we will do it all over again, minus the snow.

Under Sail, What A Feeling

The JohnLoriEh under sail on Sunshine Bay near Harrop and Procter, BC. On a bit of a memory bender, bear with me, I’ll move along soon. This shot was taken in 2017.

The JohnLoriEh

Glimpse of Kootenay Lake: Captivating Sailing Moment in 2016

Trying something to spur my momentum. I have a gazillion photos , why not share. And if I try 1 a day for the next whatever days in my earthly existence, I’ll never run out of material. Sounds easy right, let’s see how it goes. Hopefully I’ll be inspired to get back into writing and interviewing.

First shot.

Sailing on Kootenay Lake, BC, Canada

Yes we’ve sailed. We have done some West Coast in Canada and a bit of the Caribbean as well. This shot was a beautiful day in 2016 (not a sailing day) on one of the prettiest spots on the planet, Kootenay Lake in beautiful British Columbia. We had a 25 foot boat, based in Kaslo, BC. I say had, but that is a story for a different time.

Sailing Kootenay Lake

Not much wind, not much to do.  Had a full cockpit so didn’t raise the jib, likely should have.  Love the views.  Our SV is a 25 foot O’day from 1979.  Loving it.  Sorry it is on an iPhone so a pretty narrow shot.

To Sail Or Not To Sail – BC Edition

Gospel Rock Panorama - Gibsons Landing, Sunshi...
Gospel Rock Panorama – Gibsons Landing, Sunshine Coast, BC, Canada (Photo credit: Daniel Peckham)

And we are off.  Road trip from Calgary to Gibsons, BC, via Vancouver through the beautiful Rocky Mountains.  Then we sail.  Four days of lessons on a 36 footer in Howe Sound, then a more road trip up the Sunshine Coast.  From there a ferry to Vancouver Island, then back to Vancouver and home.  Building more memories, the most important thing in life. Hope to post a few quick posts along the way.

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▶To Sail Or Not To Sail? The Right Boat?

Maybe a catamaran is the way to go? They seem to have way more room than a mono-hull.  How they sail would be my question.

 

The Unexpected Things You See

I took these pictures while the cruise ship we were on was departing Funchal in the Madeiras. No idea what ship it was, but it was clearly a replica of some significance. An amazing sight on the open Atlantic.

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The Atlantic Meets The Caribbean

Some very raw and rough footage I took of a reef off the coast of Barbuda in the Caribbean sea.  What we are seeing is a reef where the Atlantic Ocean (dark blue) hits the reef, waterfalls over it and becomes the Caribbean Sea (light blue).  Very loud so turn down the sound.  I apologize for the bounciness of the clip, but a sailboat, or any boat for that matter, is not a very stable platform to shoot a video from.  We had anchored in this vicinity overnight, and enjoyed the sights and sounds through the evening and morning.  Pretty impressive.

 

You Never Know What You’ll See

In summer of 2012, we were doing our “To Sail Or Not To Sail” explorations and stopped in Blind Bay, BC for lunch.  Nice resort town on a bay on Shuswap Lake.  A beautiful, hot summer day, enjoying a cold one and a burger and then a plane blows by.  Love BC.

Love BC
Love BC

Had To Be Quick
Had To Be Quick

We did see a sailboat there, pretty much the only one we saw all day.  We stopped at a marina and were told, sailboats don’t work on this lake as there is never any wind.  Scratch a beautiful lake.

A Boat In The Bay
A Boat In The Bay

Daily Prompt: There’s No Place Like Home

Sunset In Barbuda
Sunset In Barbuda

I don’t do a lot of Daily Prompts, but this one was an interesting one, so here goes.  The questions presented are:

If you had the opportunity to live a nomadic life, travelling from place to place, would you do it? Do you need a home base? What makes a place “home” to you?

We have been considering various retirement options as we approach that juncture of our life. When we ponder, we usually come up with some variation of the nomadic lifestyle.  Whether it be renting apartments in various cities around the world and explore, or buy a sailboat and do things in that way, it always ends with that conversation.  We are slowly lurching along a committed path to do some variation, with the sailing usually ending at the top and the apartment concept as a fall back.  We have always been a bit nomadic in our life, living in 7 cities over the years, and we travel well together, usually just the two of us. So the answer to would you do it is a resounding yes.

Inside Passage, Alaska
Inside Passage, Alaska

The idea of living on a boat can be a traumatic thought to some.  The space is small, yes, but, you technically always have a place to call home.  Technically speaking, it is a mobile home base.  A home base to us, is a complete necessity.  When we go places now, we tend to book a B&B or apartment for a week and fan out from there.  This works well in Europe as the transportation systems are usually impeccable and heading out and getting back is usually quite simple.  It also beats lugging a lot of suitcases everywhere you go.  Grabbing a backpack and heading out is the only way to go.  To attach this theory to a sailboat is a simple stretch.  Dock in a marina and head out.  The difference is that you could go further with no need to return every night.  Once again, the answer to needing a home base, an emphatic yes.

A Possible Home
A Possible Home

What makes a place home to us is fairly simple.  It comes down to personal space and stuff.  The touches and familiarity can cushion the fact that home would generally be quite far away.  Stuff is important as well as they tell you that you are in your own space and you always have what you need close at hand.  Think of clothes, bicycles, golf clubs, dishes, nick-knacks.  You see reminders that you are in your own space, that you have everything you need and have a connection to it.

To sum up, there is no place like home, however, with the right touch, you can definitely take home with you.

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