Chasin’ the Clouds Away

If you’re like me, you’re wondering where summer has gone. How did it fly by so fast? The good news is that even though it’s already September, it’s still boating season here on the West Coast. We’ve got another month of stable weather and long (enough) days to make trips on the water safe and fun. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. And that’s partly because my boating goals for 2023 have not been met. Other commitments have kept me off the water far more than I would like, but I take solace in the fact that there is still time! In fact, with my boat now located at a popular marina in the Gulf Islands, with easy access to dozens of other marinas and anchorages, I might give myself until December 31 to accomplish my goals. Why not?

The first destination on my list is the recently updated Port Browning Marina, which you can read about on page 28 of this issue. I haven’t been there in about five years so I’m excited to see the changes. Change is good, but I’m glad the pub endures; it’s been a favourite of ours for as long as I can remember and it’s nice to see the Pacific Yachting poster is still hanging on the wall (see page 30).

I doubt I’ll make it back to Grace Harbour this year, but when we cruised to Desolation Sound last summer we anchored in Cabin Cove, just behind Jean Island. We had the entire anchorage to ourselves, except for a noisy gaze (the term for a group) of raccoons. I highly recommend a visit if you find the weather is cooperating this autumn. If you need more encouragement you can read about Deane Hislop’s experience in Grace Harbour on page 24.

This issue also features the third installment of Dennison Berwick’s series on diesel engine maintenance, and I found this month’s column to be particularly insightful. I’m sure most of us have experienced problems with dirty fuel. Dennison’s list of tips should help ensure you don’t encounter those problems again. You can find the article on page 56.

If anyone is looking for inspiration for an upcoming project, look no further than Mark MacLean’s Tiara 3100 refit on page 46. His story shows that patience and hard work pay off when you set your mind to accomplishing something.

So, with four months left of the year, these and other inspiring stories will encourage you to embrace the season and get out there.

–Sam Burkhart

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“LITTLE TOLLY”

Today, at 80, Pacific Yachting instantly takes me back to one of the treasures of my life, being a boater on the waters of British Columbia and Washington. Talk about paradise. Talk about stories—not unlike the ones you often feature on the last page.

On another note, I loved the review done by Peter A. Robson about the Helmsman 43E Pilothouse (June 2023). It connected for me on so many levels. Plus, I wanted to inquire about what I see as a striking resemblance to the North Pacific 49 Pilothouse featured on the inside cover ad; are the two lines coming from the same builder or the same architect? Finally, I loved the layout of the boat he reviewed, how innovative and sensible.

Last, like most old folks these days, I have too much to say and too few to say it to. Regardless, I came to know that most boaters, power or sail, were a caring community, respectful of each other and the privileges we enjoyed being on the water. 1980 was my first year proudly piloting my first boat (owned in partnership with a friend). The boat was a 25foot Tollycraft sedan built in 1979. It was a shrunken copy of the venerated 26-foot Tollycraft from Kelso, Washington. We called it Little Tolly to acknowledge our modest size and peculiar shape. One day, I was making my way to a slip at Thetis Island, probably Telegraph Harbour, when sud- denly I recognized that I was passing a brand new 61-foot Tollycraft, its pilothouse sitting 20 feet above my tiny command bridge. I looked up in awe, when the captain came out to a side deck, looked down at Little Tolly and and said with a nod, “Yep, we have the same boat.” You can imagine the smile I’ve carried with me for 42 years. Nice people, boaters...

—Dale R. Partridge

Dale, we appreciate the observation. While there are similarities between the two brands, North Pacific Yachts are built in Ningbo, China while Helmsman Trawlers are built in Fuzhou, China, almost 600 kilometres apart. Both use different designers and both incorporate different business models.

—Peter A. Robson.

In Praise Of False Creek

This letter is in response to Craig Meredith’s letter from last month’s issue of PY. As a long-time resident of Vancouver and a boater who keeps his vessel in a False Creek marina, I am surprised to hear you found the state of the waterway to be so bad. For a secure harbour in the heart of a major city, I’ve always found the number of “derelict” boats to be well within reason. Sure, there’s the odd tarped over boat that certainly wouldn’t be challenging for first place in a round the cans race and I have seen at least two masts poking up out of the water over the last couple years, but these are far from the norm.

I agree that allowing a vessel to get to this level of disrepair is unacceptable, but we don’t always know the life events that lead to these circumstances. On a recent weekend in August I took a stroll around the sea wall of False Creek counting the number of “derelict vessels” as I went. I saw a busy urban harbour with many boats coming and going and others at anchor. I counted only three boats that I would call “rough” and none of them appeared on the verge of sinking.

—Bob Harker

Do you know where this beach is located?

Geo Guesser

This issue we are launching a new monthly feature in the magazine. We are calling it Geo Guesser. The idea is simple, we show you a picture and you tell us the location where the photo was taken. Winning guesses are entered to win a PY prize pack including a hat and drink koozie! Send your guesses along with your name and address to editor@pacificyachting.com for your chance to win!