SV Sine Timore: Life is Tough

Our life is on hold!

I don't like to complain (all evidence to the contrary), but after another two weeks of cool, rainy weather - Enough already! At least it is not snowing.
It seems like we are never going to leave the dock, but it is mostly our own fault. When it is dreary outside we tend to just want to sit back and read a good book, or do just about anything but work on the boat.

On that note, here is a picture of the Dorade box / Vent mismatch that I mentioned in the last post. And yes I am aware that the decks need painting - worse than ever now. Since this picture was taken, I have managed to install the 2nd vent (there was an almost 8 hour rain-free window one day).

Right now, we have finished most of the must-do list and the only big job left is to get the boat hauled out so we can paint the bottom, clean the barnacles off the prop and install some new zincs. Even this has been a problem lately - our travel lift here at the marina cannot haul boats except at high tide and we have been experiencing some of the lowest tides we can ever remember seeing, coupled with the fact that the low tides are persisting for most of the working day. As a result, we are now scheduled to haul out next Tuesday at 7 PM. when we should have a whole foot of water below our keel at the lift. I hope they know what they are doing.
In one of these pictures you can see how even the starfish have been caught unaware, and left high and dry (much to the delight of the gulls).

In spite of the weather however, most days we have been able to keep up our habit of walking to one of the nearby (within a 5 km range) coffee shops for our morning java fix. And sometimes the sun even peeks out for a few minutes. Even when it rains, it never really rains all that hard, so we usually don't get all that wet.
Being in Nanaimo, there are always interesting things to see, especially in the harbour. There is a lot more activity as the supposed summer is getting closer.

Last weekend saw the arrival of one of the infrequent cruise ships in the harbour. This one is the Radiance of the Seas which is much too large to get into the inner harbour and has to anchor by Protection island. From the harbour side of the island it looks like it is snuggled right into a nest among the trees.

When these ships are here, there seems to be a lot more energy in the harbour - lots of people about and businesses putting on their best faces for the tourists. Sadly there are fewer and fewer cruise ships stopping in Nanaimo any more, mostly due to the inconvenience of having to anchor out and ferry the passengers to and from the docks. Apparently the port authority is working on a new floating dock to accommodate the behemoths which may be ready as soon as next year.

We don't always go downtown for our walks. One of our favorites is the "ravine" route that takes us on about a 15 minute walk to the nearest Tim Hortons. This is one of the those hidden treasures that most of the Nanaimo residents don't even know exists.

Also, in spite of the weather, the local fowl have been busy too. It is a sure sign that Spring is well under way when the goslings are leaving the "cute" phase, and the adults are a little less protective. It is always nice to see the little ones following faithfully wherever mom and dad lead.