Thursday, June 25: Day 22: From Maude to Powell River

Taken yesterday but it was definitely not too bad in here when we left.

We left the calm, sheltering waters of Maude Cove—a move I made with quite a bit of reluctance. Greg had warned that the forecast was turning, and I wasn't at all sure I wanted to head out into it.

My hesitation was confirmed almost immediately. A powerboater, just arriving back in the safety of the cove, passed us with a grim report: "There’s four-foot chop out there in the strait."

But I felt the pressure to move. We needed to hit Powell River for fresh provisions before the weekend rush, and Friday's forecast looked just as miserable. So, we committed. We motored out of the cove and back into Jervis Inlet, pointing ourselves toward Powell River.

The calm water vanished instantly, replaced by a punishing, uncomfortable chop. We found ourselves bashing directly against big, tossing waves, fighting a massive 3.5-knot headcurrent. Our speed over ground crawled at a miserable 2 to 3.4 knots. Down below, everything was slamming and banging around. I knew I wasn't comfortable up top, and I knew poor Artemus was miserable below.

What a day! Just big, relentless, uncomfortable waves.

Eventually, we finally clawed our way through the worst of it. We are finally heading west now, and the boat has picked up speed to a much happier 5.3 knots.

The aftermath? Artemus is traumatized once again—though, incredibly, he managed to use his litter box through all that bouncing!

Part 2: The Curse of Powell River Strikes Again

As we moved under motor from Jervis Inlet into Malaspina Strait, the conditions finally shifted in our favor. With 15 to 20 knots of wind and the waves now behind us, the ride began to get a bit more comfortable.

But just as we started to relax, I noticed a strange knocking sound in the cockpit.

At first, I thought it was the engine. If it was, we were in serious trouble. I tried to convince myself it was just a loose item slamming around in the lazarette, but when I mentioned it to Greg, a quick inspection showed nothing loose. He checked the engine next, and his face fell. He suspected a bearing was going. Was it the cutless bearing? A transmission issue? Our minds raced through the worst-case scenarios.

At first, the rapid thump-thump-thump seemed to vary with the engine's RPMs. But as we paid closer attention, we realized the sound varied with our speed. In fact, the knocking continued even after we shut down the engine and started sailing!

That’s when a new theory hit us: we had caught something on the hull, and it was flapping rhythmically against the boat.

Greg shook his head and muttered, "The curse of Powell River continues."

It’s a running joke for us, mostly because every single time we head to Powell River, a boat problem is waiting for us:

• The First Time (2022): On our way from Princess Louisa Inlet to re-provision, the oil light wouldn't go out right as we started the engine to drop the sails. We had to shut it down immediately. Greg issued a Pan-Pan call to the Coast Guard, who luckily happened to be right in our line of sight. They hip-tied us, brought us to the last spot on the dock, and we spent five nights there troubleshooting with the help of a retired mechanic we were incredibly lucky to cross paths with. Nothing was confirmed and a long story short, our good friends drove up to help us sail Lil' Ollie back to our home port.
• The Second Time (2023): On our way to Desolation Sound while buddy-boating with friends, (one of the friends who helped us sail home last time) our starter motor kept failing. We had to order a replacement and, in an absolute logistics miracle, managed to get it delivered directly to the marina.
• And Now, Time Number Three: A mysterious, phantom knocking sound.

Not knowing the cause was exhausting. A dark cloud hung over us as we wondered if we were going to have to cut our vacation short and head home. But we chose not to let our minds go there just yet. Hoping for a simple fix, we decided we would hire a commercial diver the moment we tied up.

The Solo Docking Triumph

First, though, we had to actually get into the marina. I was already anxious about docking, wondering which slip we would get. When we called the harbor master, they assigned us a slip on 10 Dock South—directly across from where we had stayed the previous two times.

The instructions they gave me were a bit overwhelming: motor in past a massive powerboat on the opposite dock, spin the boat completely around in tight quarters so the bow faced out, and then point the bow on an angle onto 10 Dock.

Right! I'll get right on that, I thought. You've got to be kidding me.

I turned to Greg. "You are going to have to help me with this one."

He agreed, but added, "I have to be available on deck to handle the lines."

I assumed he would take the wheel for the hard part and hand it back to me at the last second. Nope. I was entirely on my own.

But you know what? I did it. I listened closely to my captain, kept my cool, and with the help of two excellent dock hands, I nailed it. No hitting other boats, no slamming the dock. Just a perfect landing. I was so very happy with myself!

A $200 Wall Ornament

Once we were safely tied up, Greg immediately called a local diver to inspect the bottom of our hull.

We have never been so happy to receive a repair bill. The diver emerged from the water holding our culprit: a small tree branch with a perfect 'V' shape that had wrapped itself tightly around the top of our rudder. The diver confirmed it never would have fallen off on its own under way.

So now, we have complete peace of mind, a fantastic story, and a very expensive $200 wooden wall ornament to remember the trip by. The curse of Powell River tried to get us again, but this time, we won!

[Photo: The stick the diver pulled away from our hull will knock no more.]

[Photo: Can you picture this in a frame?]

Bakery Treats and the "Sparkle Shower" Upgrade

With the boat safely tied up and the "curse" lifted, we walked up to the marina office to settle our bill. By then, it was mid-afternoon. Since we hadn't eaten a single bite since breakfast, we hoofed it up to the local bakery. We grabbed a much-needed sandwich and a coffee pick-me-up. We were delighted to find out that the bakery, which used to be closed on weekends, has just started opening on Saturdays!

After refueling, we headed back to the boat to check on Artemus and grab our "Sparkle Shower" cards. We had forgotten them on our first trip to the office, so we had to hurry back up to top them up before the office closed at 6:30 PM.

As it turns out, the marina has upgraded! The laundry machines are now paid for by these electronic cards instead of loose coins. By 6:00 PM, we were finally ready to enjoy our long-awaited, hot showers—NOT!

The water was barely lukewarm. Apparently, the marina staff had been working on a water problem that day, and there was absolutely no hot water in the building. Still, after the day we had, we just enjoyed the simple luxury of getting clean.

A Great Ending to a Long Day

We ventured back to the boat to drop off our shower gear, resting for a bit before hunger caught up with us again. For dinner, we decided to try a Thai restaurant called Thaidal Zone, which some friends had highly recommended to us.

[Photo: The menu]

It completely lived up to the hype. The meal was absolutely excellent, and the portions were so generous that we walked away with plenty of leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

From four-foot chops and phantom hull knocks to a flawless solo docking and an amazing dinner, it was a massive, exhausting day—but it ended perfectly.

• Comments are Welcome! Please feel free to chime in—just make sure to hit PUBLISH when you are done. If you aren't signed into a Google account, your comment will show up as "Anonymous," so please type your first name and last initial in the comment box so I know who I'm replying to! (If you are signed into Google, your name will show up automatically.)

• Check Back for Updates: I quite often write and update this blog as the day goes by. If you want to catch the whole story, be sure to check back and refresh your browser! I've also been known to add details after the day is over—or even days later if I suddenly remember something I forgot to include.

---