Lyn's Log, 14th November 2007
Anacortes, Washington

Anacortes.
N48º30', W122º36'
16,679 miles.

After we arrived in Seattle, we visited the futuristic science fiction museum, rode the monorail, and viewed the old town underground. On October 11th we caught the bus 50 miles north to Anacortes, where Sentinel was due to arrive next day. There was an alarm when zebra mussels were found on the hull, but in due course this was sorted, as is reported elsewhere.

We had planned a refit before relaunching. So it was a nasty surprise to discover the yard would not allow us to repaint or antifoul the yacht. They claimed some environmental regulation prohibited it, but I suspect they simply wanted the work themselves. When they quoted a price, repainting and antifouling came off the agenda, at least for the time being. The engine had been running unevenly so we had a number of bits and pieces sorted, and also some fixes to the rigging though they couldn't repair the mast step that had broken in the fall. But it still holds my weight so, with a little wiring for extra security, we shall leave it be. Then everything was put back together and we were back in the water on 1st November.

As soon as started the engine we found that forward gear was not engaging. It was soon obvious that the problem was in the transmission. Out went any thoughts of a late-season sail to Vancouver. We have found that USA boat repairers are very much slower than we are used to in Europe. It took a week simply to find what parts would need to be ordered.

So we rented a car instead and went to Williams Lake in central British Columbia, where Andrew’s cousin Penny now lives. Just a few inches on the map, but four hundred miles of winding narrow roads that took us eleven hours. It rained all day but we saw some exciting views of cloud streaked mountains, deep gorges, rivers and lakes. At one point we passed Whistler, where the next winter Olympic Games will be held. Just before dark we decided to take a short cut that seemed to cut 30 miles off the route. The first part was a muddy track which wound slowly up to the top of a mountain where the rain turned to snow and the fir trees looked very Christmassy covered in white. Then it was a precipitous switch-back decent, slithering down the snow, with nothing to stop us going over the edge. Bad enough for a 4-wheel drive, but we were in a little family car without even all-weather tyres. Were we relieved when we reached the bottom of the snowy track and then back onto a paved road! But the memory of the pretty sights stays longer than the fear.

While in Williams Lake, we drove out into the Cariboo Grasslands. This was quite different scenery from the fir clad mountains of the previous day. Where the River Frazer cut through the landscape, the hills looked like they were made of soft sandy soil, eroded by wind and rain to leave spiky towers ("hoodoos") above the shale (pic above). Sage scrub dotted the slopes. Once again we were on mud tracks, with many logging trucks careering along it. We passed two cowboys on horseback herding a dozen cows. Among the healthy firs were a large number of brown, dead trees that are victims of the pine beetle that is causing havoc in this area of Canada. We continued upwards until we were once again in inches of snow. This time we felt it would be prudent to turn around before it started to freeze. It had been a beautifully sunny day that day.

That evening we visited Penny's daughter Elizabeth and husband Dave in their log cabin overlooking the lake. It was a magnificent house with all the walls and the ceiling beams made from huge, whole tree trunks, and looked very cosy for a cold winter. Next day we drove Penny down to Vancouver, along the Frazer canyon. This was a faster route than the one we had followed outwards, and gave us different dramatic views. There is a railway following the river on both sides, as well as the major road, that in one short stretch passes through seven tunnels in the rock. In Vancouver we met Penny’s other daughter, Louise, and husband Larry.

The following day we had dinner with Jud and Leah, a couple with whom Andrew had corresponded on an internet sailing forum. It was Judd who put us onto the Minipaw dinghy that we built in England. They have a steel yacht Sputnik which they are doing up with a hope of making the great escape in 2009.