From Shawn's log:We pull out early to run across the Comox Bar at low tide, then we tack north to one of our very favorite stops: Campbell River, B.C. Shawn consciously planned to enter Campbell River on a strong flood tide to clear Cape Mudge (notorious for its currents). However we forgot to consider that flood tides run south on this part of Vancouver Island. The strong flood slowed us to 1 and 2 knots. Shawn stood watching the Cape Mudge light for about 40 minutes, before finally clearing the strongest rips. Once into Discovery Passage, we are happy to be back in this wonderful community.
|
This is one of the large yachts we saw in Campbell River. I am thinking about getting a toy helicopter to put on the aft deck of Itsuro. |
Tonie radios the Discovery Harbour Master, and we are assigned berth E-22. Running against the tide, Shawn noticed that the stuffing box for the propellor shaft has not been spitting water as it should, which will require Shawn to repack it; a chore he has not yet performed.
|
The Campbell River Ferry to Quadra Island runs several times a day. |
From Shawn's log: "We start the day with a walk circling Ocean Pacific, waiting for professional advice on the the stuffing box. Once the store opens, I am able to to speak with a knowledgeable technician who quizzes me, and thinks I might be overly cautious! I like his thinking, so I set off to catch high slack seven miles north at Seymour Narrows. It takes less than a half-hour for me to turn back, as the packing nut does not cool off. We re-dock at our assigned space, and make a Friday morning appointment with a mechanic.
I decide to not let this ruin my day and promise myself not to turn a wrench for the rest of the day. Instead Tonie, Kyra, and I walk past the newly-built cruise ship dock, and through parks along the Discovery Passage. We walk to the river named for Campbell River, where we see a couple hundred Canadian geese foating at the mouth of the River. We enjoy the beautiful day! We spend an hour laying on the grass, watching boats go by, as we throw the ball for Kyra. We then come "home" to the boat, and nap for an hour.
|
The Seven Seas Mariner arrives at Campbell River, which is quite an event for this town. One of its passengers graciously takes our photo. |
|
We wait with the local people for the cruise ship to come in. Customs clearance is disguised as a Long House. |
I talk Tonie into going back to Dick's Fish and Chips for dinner. Dick's is on a float, and dogs can sit on the dock. It just so happens that it's SPCA night at Dick's, with proceeds from dinner going to the Campbell River SPCA. Kyra is a "rock star" dog, delighting everyone, getting attention and petting from a crowd of 30 or more people. We also win prizes from the raffle, and Kyra walks away with a bright red bandanna and towel. We have a great evening and return to sleep early."
6/28/2007: Let's talk stuffing box (the gland around the propeller shaft): It's supposed to drip a few times a minute to allow a bit of water from the shaft tube to cool the shaft. Shawn replaced it three times, and each time adjusted a packing nut and gland that holds this greasy packing stuff made of flax. The nut containing the flax was hot, as were the threads of the shaft. It's not supposed to get hot, so we diligently turn back to Discovery Marina, rather than overheat the packing and the shaft.
This morning, D'Arcy, an Ocean Pacific qualified tech and sailboat owner cheerfully comes to us one day early under pouring rain, to re-pack the stuffing box. We are very happy to see him! He puts three extra rings around the shaft, in very short order.
Later, we decide to run the boat to see if the stuffing box is operating correctly. We still find that it's hot to our touch. Shawn returns to Ocean Pacific, to catch up with D'Arcy, who immediately comes down to the boat, and comes with us for another run out on Discovery Passage. He suggests that we just run it for awhile, and that it should begin to work properly. He assured us that we could come back to find him if we still had problems. He gave us a thumbs up for continuing our trip, so we will try to catch the high slack Friday morning, and continue along our way.
July 4 update: Just before Canada Day, we went to Gowlland Harbor, which is a nice anchorage on Quadra Island, just north of Campbell River. Once again, our propeller shaft is overheating, so we've decided to return to Campbell River, to wait out the Canada Day holiday, and try to get a haul-out with Ocean Pacific. We call Homer, who confirms with us that if we do not address the propeller-shaft issue, the results could be catastrophic. He is explicit: any heat is a large issue. Homer describes what can happen when the bearing on the tube will fuse to the shaft, and break the stern tube (i.e. letting in enough water to sink the boat).
Ocean Pacific is very booked and busy, so we are essentially stranded here in Campbell River, until we can get a haul-out, which could be weeks from now. They are also trying to help us get contact with Cape Mudge Boat Works. We're a little discouraged, at this point. We feel very homesick for Craig, Alaska, and very sad at the prospect of not making it up there this summer. We also cannot easily make it home to Santa Cruz from here, so that frustrates us more.
|
We walked past this totem several times daily, as we checked in with Ocean Pacific Marine Supply. |
We have to keep reminding ourselves that the situation could have been much worse. Through our caution, we have likely avoided a real maritime disaster. As we have often remarked, we don't want to become "one of those pictures on the bar room wall." It is costly for us to stay in Campell River, however the alternative would have been far costlier. Despite the monotony of being tied to the dock, we are safe, and Kyra is having the time of her life in this extremely dog-friendly town.
We love the new boat very much, and our being stranded here isn't due to the quality of the boat. It's due to the timing during which we landed with this particular problem. All boats make their caretakers pay their dues. We're paying ours right now. We know that this boat will be ideal for Alaska, even if we don't get there this summer. We're thinking of perhaps storing the boat there in future seasons, once we have worked all of this out. Campbell River is a nice place, but we'd feel much more at home if we were stranded in Craig.
From Shawn's log: "I constantly fight my inner ambitions and instincts to go north as quickly as I can. I'm not a salmon, but the pull to return to Alaskan waters is strong and I fear that the season may slip from my grasp..."
July 5, 2007: Ocean Pacific gets a couple of cancellations, so they bend over backwards to squeeze us in for a haul out! We're ecstatic, and very grateful. As we suspected, the bearing on the shaft was torn apart. A new bearing is ordered and installed the next day.
|
This is the view of the propellor shaft from the aft deck. The stuffing box is located behind the battery. This is what has kept us in Campbell River for another nice stay. |
