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The “Don’t You Ever Work?” Cruise, Continued…

If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve been out cruising a bit this summer, leading to speculation among friends that I’ve retired, quit my job, or been fired. None are true, that I’m aware of anyway.

I’ve been cruising through the San Juans and Gulf Islands with an ultimate destination of Telegraph Harbor for the 25th annual Canadian Tollycruisers Rendezvous, which deserved a post of its own. Now, I’m on my way home, but in no hurry. If you click back through some of my previous posts, you’ll see what I’ve been up to.

Sunday, September 15

Woke up to skies that were nearly as foggy as my gin-clouded head, after a long weekend of fun and everything that goes along with it. As much fun as the weekend was, I’m plain worn out and ready for some quiet. I’m happy to have several days to make my way home.

By the time I was ready to go, after a shower and getting the boat ready, the fog had pretty much lifted (from the sky). Most of the boats had already left by this time, so I said some last good byes and pushed away from the dock. Briar Patch had a head start on me, but we hoped to meet up somewhere for the evening.

I made a slow run through Sansum Narrows and met up with Briar Patch at Musgrave Landing (Saltspring Island) at the community dock. A friend spoke of this as a nice spot, so we decided to check it out. Aside from some rollers that come in from passing boats, it is a very nice, mellow spot.

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25th Annual Canadian Tollycruisers Rendezvous

“It’s time to drink the Tolly Kool-Aid,” said Kathy Bell of Bell Elaff.

“I’m pretty sure I did that about ten years ago,” I replied, referring to my indoctrination into what some might refer to as the cult-like following Tollycrafts enjoy. I reached to take a small paper cup filled to the brim with a “Tolly teal”-colored adult beverage concoction, and down the hatch it goes. I’m not certain what I just drank, but apparently I took yet another swig of the Tolly Kool-Aid.

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Don’t You Ever Work?

No, really… Do you ever work?

I’ve been hearing that a lot, lately, and to that my answer is always all things in moderation.

I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Desolation Sound and beyond, which I wrote about here, and here. I’ve been home a week; enough time to go to work for a few days, do my laundry, and mow the lawn before taking off again.

Yes, I know I’m a lucky man to have the time to do the things I love to do.

This time, I’m heading back up to the Gulf Islands, with an ultimate destination of Telegraph Harbour for the annual Canadian Tollycraft rendezvous. This will be my seventh Canadian rendezvous, which is always a good time. I’ll be taking my time going there and returning, with plans to visit some of my favorite spots and hope to check out some new ones.

Sunday, September 8

I was definitively outnumbered, one of only a boat or two heading out Guemes Channel, while others were returning from the weekend. Remnants of Rosario Strait’s fog remained in the distance – holdouts early for the evening gathering. Once out of the boat traffic, the ride was smooth all the way to Blind Bay (Shaw Island), where I dropped the anchor in a familiar spot.

As the sun was setting, fog began to collect. You can tell fall is knocking at the door – looks like it’s time to add a blanket to the bed. After some dinner off the grill washed down with a cold Molson Canadian left over from the last trip, I relaxed in the vee berth. I turned on the TV to find a Burt Bacharach tribute show on PBS, one of the few channels the antenna could pull in. I didn’t realize he wrote as many songs as he did…

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Today’s total: 16.5 Nm
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Looking Back..

I’ve gotten a bit behind on my cruising log, and for various reasons I didn’t get around to entering last summer’s cruises. Here it is February, and while I’m already making plans for this years cruising season, I’ve been fortunate to get out for a few very nice winter cruises.

But first, a quick re-cap of last summer, just so you can be convinced the boat was well-used.. Here’s a few highlights:

March:Impromptu Easter weekend overnight cruise to Obstruction Pass. Ran into JaCarol… Had some wine. Had some more wine. Afternoon cruise turns into overnight. Good times!

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