The Gulf Islands served up a heaping helping of wind for us. We currently have a strong high pressure system offshore with low pressure over the inland mountains – that pressure gradient creates strong winds from the NW.
We left our anchorage at Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island and spent the day tacking upwind towards Dodd Narrows near Nanaimo. The morning wind started at 10-15 kts, just about perfect for a controlled, upwind, close-hauled sail.
Around noon, the wind built to 20+ kts. That amount of wind is perfect when it’s coming from behind the boat, but the boat starts to be a handful when the wind is coming from ahead. We touched 8+ knots of boat speed, and nearly put the leeward rail in the water. Time to reef!
It was a perfect opportunity to practice heaving to. We furled up a bit of jib, eased the main, tacked the boat without releasing the jibsheet, and set the rudder to turn the boat into the wind. The wind then tries to blow the bow of the boat downwind; that force is balanced by the rudder trying to steer the boat back into the wind. The result is that the boat parks, just drifting at a knot or two. We can then reef the main at a leisurely pace. When we’re ready to go again, we just release the jibsheet and it’s off to the races.
By this point, the wind had increased enough that a reefed jib and a single reef in the main was plenty of sail area to move the boat along smartly. We didn’t lose any speed, but we did keep the boat flatter and everyone feeling more comfortable.
After a couple more hours of spirited tacking across the channel, we pulled into the SE corner of De Courcy Island and dropped anchor for the night. Just enough time for a hike around Pirate’s Cove provincial park, and then a delicious dinner of fresh-made pizza capped off a great day.
