The Adventures of SV Lil’ Ollie and Her Crew

Photo of an Ouzel Bird - see below why this bird is here. Restful Nights and Remarkable Songbirds Last night was the definition of relaxing. After a wonderful happy hour catching up with our friends, we headed back to the boat to watch another episode of The Resident . Because we had filled up on snacks during happy hour, neither of us was hungry for a proper dinner. Instead, we decided to queue up our show early, pop a big bowl of popcorn, and finish off that sweet blackberry wine we bought in Lund the other day. Between the cozy cabin and the wine, I was already drifting off to sleep before the episode even finished. I awoke today having slept for over nine full hours—a total rarity for me! It was a truly magnificent night’s sleep. I didn’t even have to crawl out of the V-berth to use the head once, though I did wake up just a few times to roll over and get comfortable. By the time I officially opened my eyes, Greg was already up and busy feeding Artemus. I hopped out of bed, brewed ...

The famous Nancy's Bakery Day 26: Monday, June 29 – A Sudden Turn for Prideaux Haven We awoke this morning around 7:20 AM with our hearts set on Nancy’s Bakery. It opens at 8:00 AM, and our original plan was to head over for a couple of fresh barista coffees. However, we soon started having second thoughts. I asked Greg how badly he actually wanted to go. Given that it was cloudy, not very warm yet, and we wanted to get an early start on the water, we realized the logistics would just hold us up. By the time we got dressed, rowed the dinghy over, ordered, ate, and rowed back, we would have burned a lot of daylight. We decided to save the time and simply enjoy our coffee and breakfast on board. As it was, we still managed to untie the lines and leave right on schedule around 10:00 AM. It has been a much more pleasant time out on the water today compared to our last crossing. By 1:20 PM, the clouds finally began to part and the sunshine started reaching the cockpit. Right about then,...

[Photo: Artemus helping Greg write into the log book before leaving Powell River] Sunday (Day 25) – Heading to Lund and a Spotless Boat I had to start adding the specific days to my post titles because I am completely losing track of what day it is out here—this way it will help keep me anchored! This morning, I woke up once in the night to use the head and noticed that the roaring wind from yesterday evening had calmed down quite a bit. By 7:40 AM, we were right back to yesterday's beautiful calmness. Apparently, it is supposed to be quite windy out there in the strait for the next few days. Because it will be blowing from the Northwest, we are going to have to do some serious tacking when we get the sails up. Our destination today is Lund! Right now, I'm sitting down enjoying my morning coffee while I type this, and Greg is busy vacuuming the entire cabin and the cockpit so we have a beautifully clean boat to leave in. Don't you just love it when your cruising partner pit...

Good Morning! Late Nights, Early Mornings, and Fuel Calculations I went to bed late last night—around midnight—determined to get Thursday’s post published before falling asleep. Part of the reason it took me so long was that before I even started writing, I finally made the big decision to switch the blog from private to Public . After all the technical headaches my friends and I were having with those disappearing invitations, I just wanted to strip away the walls so viewing the blog will go much smoother for everyone! Just as I was finally crawling into bed after getting it published, I went to reach for some supplies in the hanging locker and noticed a few drops of water on them. Oh oh, I thought. Another leak. I decided to tuck that stressful piece of information away and deal with it in the morning... Naturally, I awoke early today around 6:10 AM. Right now, the marina is as calm as can be, but I can already feel a slight breeze starting to stir. We have another fairly long day ...