Happy New Year!
We often lose sight of everything we've accomplished, so taking this time to reflect on 2022 has really put things in perspective. We both work full-time, relatively demanding jobs with a measly 4 weeks of vacation. Throughout the summer, we'd think we're motoring too much, not out sailing enough or not getting projects done as quickly as we want. Even this fall and winter, we've been beating ourselves up for not getting more done and not being out sailing each and every chance.
Now that we're tucked into the boat looking forward to 2023, we're taking a minute to reflect on 2022.
The Stats: 2022
Miles sailed: 816
Diesel used: 249 L
Nights on Anchor: 61
Nights in a Marina that's not our home: 1
Fish Caught: 0
Starfish caught: 1 (sorry, Patrick)
The Highlights
Hornby Island - Home of "the perfect day." We both loved Hornby so much. We planned to spend a couple of days but ended up there for a week. We swam every day, wandered around the island, and enjoyed boozy smoothies each night, along with midnight swims with the bioluminescence. Hands Down, the days we spent in Tribue Bay will be some of our favourites for years to come.
Wildlife - I've always been jealous of YouTubers' shots of dolphins swimming with the boat. I never thought it would happen until we left to head offshore. Still, one day crossing the straight, we had a lonely tiny porpoise swimming behind the boat for a couple of minutes. Definitely the best wildlife sighting this summer...even if the little guy was clearly confused on which end of the boat he‘s supposed to be at.
Spinnaker sailing – There's something magical about Sailing under an obnoxiously colourful spinnaker. No one said how annoying it would be to rig and launch, but once we got it up the first time, there was nothing like it. The boat just rockets along and casts a pink and blue shadow on the front of the ship. It's just the best thing.
The Lowlights
Toilet Problems – Mark's sailing season had an underlying tone of shit. Between Clearing cherry pits out of the macerate river and the infamous" shitberg" situation, Mark's spent plenty of time snaking and working on the toilet. We've got our fingers crossed that 2023 won't have so many crappy problems, but we're realistic. That access port in the holding tank isn't going away anytime soon.
Breaking the 9.9. - We got a new outboard this year. It's awesome. Then it broke after about 3 uses. No demanding use and no running it out of the water, just regular back and forth to shore rides. The entire impeller and then the fuel pump melted. What should have been a warranty was denied by Yamaha and the shop that sold it to us. It was annoying to deal with and cost a couple hundred dollars to fix.
If I had to pick a 3rd lowlight - it would be the upwind sail down Trincomali to Montague. I hate upwind sailing, especially with solid gusts and narrow channels that need to be tacked every 32 seconds to avoid crashing into the shore. Add in a couple of tankers to avoid, and it's just the worst day on the water for me. Mark, on the other hand, loves it. So while this sail was a lowlight for me, it was probably one of Mark's favourites of the summer. There was only a minor mutiny, and no one died, so I won't count it as a lowlight...maybe more of a mid-light.
Projects We Tackled
Since we moved aboard in February, we've been steadily preparing the boat for longer voyages. Aside from general maintenance, here's what we tackled this year.
Installed a new autopilot - This took a long time and still needs some fine-tuning after some use.
Rewired and relocated the inverter - Mark tells me this was a significant project that took him over 30 hours to complete.
Bought and installed new sails - This was an annoying process, and we're glad it's over.
New hatches - Once we settled on the style, this was easy enough (not without stress, though).
Installed a new fridge - This was one of the first undertakings, and after 10 months, we're still thrilled with the Dometic.
Replaced the diesel stove with an Alchohol oven - We went back and forth between going all electric. Still, we settled on the alcohol stove to ensure a backup if we ran low on power.
New V berth mattress - Easiest thing we did this year.
Upgraded the battery bank - Mark upgraded the battery bank with 900 extra amp hours.
New sail pack - I tackled my first sewing project. The stack pack. Now we can drop the sail quickly and worry about packing it when it's convenient for us.
Here's to a much more exciting 2023. Hopefully, with more sailing, days on anchor and much fewer poop problems.