Airship – Riveted

Interior Living Space, Compared

Laura Domela — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 18:20:51 +0000

We’ve logged almost 700 nights in our Airstream since we purchased it in 2010 (a 2010 27’FB International), and almost 600 nights aboard Airship (2013 Nordic Tug 34) since it joined our family in 2014. We’ve returned to the Airstream for a week of camping on the Oregon Coast (OMG is it ever going to stop RAINING??), and we can’t help discussing the things we find different/better/worse between the interior living space of the two “vehicles”. We aren’t taking into account things like self-propulsion…this is just about the living space design and interior.

Airstream 27FB Plan

Airstream 27FB Plus Points

Airstream publishes a much better graphic of its interior layout than Nordic Tugs does
There is a LOT of storage.
Bigger fridge and freezer
Bigger, separate shower
Quite a bit more closet space
The Airstream’s Amana stove/oven kicks the butt of the Force 10 we have on Airship. Sure, it’s not as shiny, but we’ve got three full burners (rather than one fullish burner and one “sorta kinda keep warm” burner), and…a vent-a-hood!
The heater in the Airstream heats the interior in no time
Bigger bedroom/master stateroom, in all dimensions

Nordic Tug 34/Airship Plan

Nordic Tug/Airship Plus Points

Far better craftsmanship…lots of real wood (because weight is not much of an issue)
More windows
Built-in generator
Better fresh water system, variable speed pump and much higher capacity tank (100 gallons vs. 39 gallons)
Privacy of master stateroom from guest sleeping area is better and more separate

Overall though, the Airstream wins in the category of interior living space. If we moved up to a Nordic Tug 40 (with hydronic heat, a better oven/stove, and bigger fridge/freezer by default, we’d be even with the Airstream in terms of interior living space…well, probably we’d be ahead, since we’d gain a separate stateroom for guests.

Other Observations Not Related to Interior Living Space

Campgrounds are like marinas. You’re almost always too close to your neighbor with the yippy dogs. With a boat you have the option of anchoring out.

Airship anchored at Teakerne Arm, British Columbia

With an RV (and a lot of planning and local knowledge) you can boondock “away from it all” on public land, but it takes a lot more work to find a scenic, off-the-grid place to hang out. But, as with boating, if you camp in the off season, you can go to normally crowded places like this and not see another RV:

Airstreaming the Badlands, South Dakota

The boat has to bring its own outside space with it (upper deck, back cockpit, bow) but the Airstream gets to use the campground and surrounding area as its outdoor space.

Airstream at Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada

However, if you’re camped somewhere and it’s just raining and raining and raining (like the past few days here at the Oregon Coast), then your outdoor space is a bit more limited.

Freedom from roads is a plus with a boat.

Airship in Melanie Cove, Desolation Sound, British Columbia

We’re Back!

Laura Domela — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 05:09:44 +0000

We left our beautiful anchorage at Cabbage and Tumbo Islands yesterday morning (after a very rolly, sleepless night…oh well, we can sleep later) and headed for Anacortes. It was foggy a lot of the time, but on and off. Here’s Orcas Island sticking up out of the fog bank, during one of the “off” times:

Sun. Trees. Fog. Water.

Returning home after months of cruising to incredible locations is always bittersweet. Here are some numbers for you!

This summer we were on board for 150 days/nights, we cruised 3700.3 nautical miles, and we spent 625.46 hours underway.
Last summer, we were on board for 129 days/night, we cruised 3131 nautical miles, and we spent 527 hours underway.
Last night was Night #480 spent aboard since we purchased Airship on the 23rd of September 2014. That’s 480 days out of 735 days. That’s 65% of our time spent on Airship.

We’re back in Anacortes now, doing boat stuff. Cleaning the boat. Scheduling a haul out and new bottom paint and zincs for the boat. Looking at bigger boats…that kind of stuff.

Lund | BC

Laura Domela — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 03:54:43 +0000

Melanie Cove was foggy and rainy in the morning yesterday when we woke up. We didn’t leave until after noon…and since it was later in the day, we decided to stop in Lund and cross the strait on Saturday when the wind was supposed to be light. Plus, we like Lund!

There was room at the end of B dock at the Lund Small Craft Harbour. We settled in, did some work, and then two guys from a nearby sailboat (called “Pony”…its dinghy is called “Dog”) started chatting with Kevin about boats and Lund and stuff. Our default plan had been to walk over to The Boardwalk Restaurant for dinner, but these guys highly recommended a restaurant called Laughing Oyster, about a 15 minute cab ride away. They said we just go up and get the number for Martin’s Taxi off the bulletin board and he’d take us over there. Martin’s Taxi is a 1947 Hudson that was apparently painted up like a taxi for some Hollywood movie, and then he somehow got it, and now he just “gives people rides” in exchange for a donation to the charity his wife volunteers for (the SPCA, I believe).

We made a reservation for 7pm at Laughing Oyster, and then at about 6pm we called Martin, but it turns out Martin was unavailable (apparently very rare). Awwwwww. I called to tell the restaurant and they said “Oh no problem. Martin’s actually having dinner here tonight. Louisa can come pick you up.” (So awesome.)

Here’s the view from our table. That’s the patio seating there, and down from that is the public dock:

Upon arrival, we learned that it was “Beggar’s Banquet” night (or something like that). There was a buffet, and music…the musicians played for their dinner and tips (I think). It was fantastic. The place was totally full (we got the last table), the food was delicious, and the music was great. What a treat! Oh and guess who was sitting at the table just over from us? Martin and his wife…celebrating their 55th anniversary. I’d say that’s a good reason not to be driving the taxi!

It was a lovely night.

This is David Bowes on the left (also the executive chef at Laughing Oyster) and Sam Murrie (I think that’s how his last name was spelled) on the right. They were both very good and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

In the morning we headed up to the harbour office to pay our moorage (about 23 bucks Canadian) and then walked over to Nancy’s Bakery to pick up one of their famous blackberry cinnamon rolls. (This sugar thing is going to have to stop soon.)

Actually, as soon as we went inside I decided I might rather have something savory, and save my cinnamon roll for a later snack, so we both had breakfast and then took a cinnamon roll to go for later. I ordered an omelet with avocado, spinach, and lox:

Kevin had a huevos rancheros with black beans and chorizo:

Both were delicious (and pretty!)

Back down at the harbour…Giderdun II loading a truck carrying lumber:

We decided to go all the way to Nanaimo today…60 nautical miles or so. We figured we had the time and the strait was supposed to be fairly calm (which it was, until it wasn’t):

The wind picked up a bit this afternoon. We had probably 20 knot gusts for a bit and maybe 3ft moderate chop. A wet ride, but not too bad really (especially compared to last year on the same stretch).

We pulled into Nanaimo Harbour and anchored just off of Newcastle Island, then dinghied into the Dinghy Dock Pub for dinner and a pint. Tomorrow I think we’ll aim for Cabbage Island, and then after that…perhaps back to Anacortes!

More Melanie Cove Shenanigans | BC

Laura Domela — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 02:58:54 +0000

We took the Inspire 1 up this afternoon for some aerial photos. My camera controller was glitching out a little bit, but I managed to take a few nice overhead shots that should give you a good sense of this place:

After doing some more work, we decided to go hike some of the trails here from the head of Melanie Cove. If you’ve read the book The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet, you’ll know about Phil the Frenchman’s cabin right here in this area.

[About the book, from amazon.com: The Curve of Time is a biography and astonishing adventure story of a woman who, left a widow in 1927, packed her five children onto a 25-foot boat and cruised the coastal waters of British Columbia, summer after summer.Muriel Wylie Blanchet acted single-handedly as skipper, navigator, engineer and, of course, mum, as she saw her crew through encounters with tides, fog, storms, rapids, cougars and bears. She sharpened in her children a special interest in Haida culture and in nature itself. In this book, she left us with a sensitive and compelling account of their journeys.]

Anyway, we kayaked over to the trailhead here in our cove.

Cultural Heritage site? Aboriginal artifacts? Wow! This might be a more interesting hike than we’d originally thought! Just a few steps up the trail and there’s an outhouse and a fork…we took the right fork and headed for Laura Cove. The trail is good, but then in many (MANY) parts of it, there are downed trees that you scramble over or crouch and crawl under. It’s pretty fun for the first mile or so. The trail…straight ahead, under these trees:

This part was like those parts of the obstacle course/boot camp game shows where young buff dudes high-knee over fences:

Cool fungi:

We eventually came to a little stream that babbled out into the head of Laura Cove (where we’d kayaked just this morning). Okay, cool…pretty. No artifacts, no cabin. Maybe the cabin was on the trail that went left at the fork. So we headed back and then took that fork. Well…that fork…goes up up up and then down down down and then up and then down and then up some more and then way down. The whole time you climb over rocks and logs and man are my legs getting tired. We never saw any cabin or artifacts or anything like that at all. But the views were lovely:

We made it back to the kayak after about a 3.5 mile hike. (This is about half a mile less than the hike we normally do at home every morning, but holy moly all that up and down and log climbing and rock scrambling! Legs. Tired.)

Back at Airship I googled the dang cabin and it sounds like the remains are at the head of Laura Cove. JUST WHERE WE WERE EARLY TODAY. Twice!! Fine then. Maybe we’ll dinghy back over there in the morning before Kevin’s conference call.

Dinner tonight is Cilantro Thai Grilled Chicken (chicken breasts, chopped garlic, 1/2 c cilantro, 2T fish sauce, 1T sesame oil, marinate all together for half an hour and then grill), roasted baby potatoes and sautéed green beans.

We’re not sure yet where we’ll go tomorrow…maybe Lund? Maybe another anchorage we haven’t been to.

Melanie Cove | Desolation Sound | BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 20:13:20 +0000

After our stop at Mitlenatch Island yesterday, we continued on to Melanie Cove, inside of Desolation Sound Marine Provincial Park.

There are three areas to anchor in Desolation Sound Marine Park: Prideaux Haven, Melanie Cove, and Laura Cove. There were 4 or 5 boats in Prideaux Haven, and 5 boats in Melanie Cove when we arrived last night (which seems a like a lot for end of September). We anchored in about 35 feet with plenty of room and no need to stern tie. (A stern tie is a line attached to something on shore like a tree or boulder or a nice chain like the one pictured below, that acts as a second anchor and limits the swing of your boat. It’s common practice in tighter, more popular anchorages.) Over on the opposite side of the cove there are some really nice stern tie chains attached to the rock:

After we got settled, I made us a quick dinner (gnocchi with sauteed mushrooms and the last of the truffled pesto sauce, with a spinach salad). We met Norm and Jane from a super cute blue-hulled Nordic Tug called Toot Sweet (they were stern tied on the opposite side of the cove and came by to say hi).

This morning we woke up to this view:

I suggested we have a quick coffee and then go kayaking before breakfast and while it was so calm and beautiful out, which turned out to be a very good good call!

That’s a little Ranger Tug anchored over in the shallow area of Laura Cove, in the middle of this next shot:

This is one of the most spectacular places to kayak, especially in this weather. Every time we stopped paddling it was absolutely silent, save for a few bird sounds or the burble of a nearby waterfall. We paddled over to Laura Cove and around a bunch of little islands and inlets. The tide was high, so all the green areas on the chart were easily passable by kayak. Here’s our track, starting and finishing at Airship in Melanie Cove (just over 3 miles total):

There’s a trailhead at the head of Melanie Cove that I think we’ll explore after we get some more work done. I made us a sort of huevos rancheros for brunch this morning (crunchy chipotle tostada on the bottom, black beans, grated cheese, over easy egg, homemade salsa, with a couple slices of avocado on top) and it was yum! Now we’re just working here on Airship. There’s only one other boat in the cove with us now and it’s VERY quiet. The wind is supposed to pick up this afternoon but calm again by tomorrow afternoon, and the weekend looks like a great time to make our way down the Strait of Georgia (WITHOUT the conditions we had last year for this part of our trip).

Mitlenatch Island | BC

Laura Domela — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 02:28:53 +0000

We left our anchorage at Rebecca Spit around noon and headed for Melanie Cove in Prideaux Haven (Desolation Sound). It’s a little out of our way (and NORTH!) but hard to pass by when the weather is this great.

A little bit into our cruise, we opted to make a detour and stop at Mitlenatch Island. Mitlenatch Island Nature Provincial Park is home to the largest seabird colony in the Strait of Georgia. The island is a nature reserve and an important nesting colony for Glaucous-winged Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Black Oystercatchers and many other species of birds. Marine life around the island includes river otters and harbour seals throughout the year, and Steller’s and California sea lions from late fall through to summer. [source]

Mitlenatch is here, in the middle of the map image (the small green island). Campbell River on Vancouver Island is over on the left side. Here’s a link to the actual Google map, if you want to zoom and stuff.

Steller sea lions, harbour seals, and a cormorant on our way into the cove:

The conditions were calm so we easily snuck in and anchored in the shallow cove (in about 15 feet) and then went ashore to explore.

The “Volunteer’s Cabin” (there was no one there right now, but I believe there’s someone here most of the summer):

There are all sorts of little collections of shells and bones around the cabin, as well as a little stack of pamphlets about the BC parks and wildlife. We looked around and then headed down the trail.

On the other side of the island there was a group of harbour seals hanging out in the sun at the water’s edge. We were pretty far away (and really quiet) but I think they still figured out we were there and after a couple minutes, some of them decided to get in the water.

On our way back across we went to check out the Gull Blind:

All we saw was one lone gull and a couple cormorants, but I’m guessing during the spring and early summer there are a lot of cool nesting gulls and baby birds to watch.

We did manage to spot and snap a photo of a neat Black Oystercatcher though:

After hiking all of the trails (except the one that went to the outhouse) we headed back to Airship.

The water here is so clear!

We had some lunch and then continued on toward Melanie Cove. This was a great stop, and highly recommended on a calm day.

Octopus Islands to Rebecca Spit | BC

Laura Domela — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 02:26:24 +0000

Last night just as we were eating dinner, guess who pulled into the cove where we were anchored? Thomas, Lars, and Urban…on Dawnbreaker! After dinner we had them over for some brownies and wine (and stories, and laughing, and planning the next anchorages….)

This morning after breakfast, Kevin took the drone up for some aerial photos, because look at this location!!

We took the dinghy out for a little exploration before we left. We beached it on Octopus Island and walked around a little.

Oops…someone lost an anchor:

I found a couple of large beds of sea asparagus on the beach on Octopus Island, so I harvested a couple of handfuls and will probably cook it up or put it in a salad. There are tons of recipes online for things to do with sea asparagus.

Both Airship and Dawnbreaker left around the same time…to hit Surge Narrows around slack this afternoon at 2pm. Slack was…slack. Uneventful in Surge Narrows…

Looking out into Sutil Channel:

Gorgeous anchorage at Rebecca Spit:

We dinghied over to the Heriot Bay Inn & Marina and then walked up to the market to restock on veggies and wine. If we didn’t feel so much like grilling back on the boat in this gorgeous weather, we’d have tried out the pub or restaurant at the Inn…

Back on Airship we sat on the top deck with a beer and some snacks and watch the light from the sunset over the spit. Not sure where we’ll go tomorrow yet, but here’s the view from right now:

There’s good internet here (and there has been since we left the Octopus Islands) so we’ve been working all along the way as well…it’s not just as interesting to write about work!

Octopus Islands | BC

Laura Domela — Tue, 20 Sep 2016 08:07:43 +0000

We’d heard and read about the Octopus Islands (and how great they are) but we hadn’t been there, so we put a quick stop to that on our way south!

It rained all night at Shoal Bay. We left the dock with cappuccinos in hand at 9am. Today was Okisollo Rapids day! We had about 20 miles to the rapids (at about 7 knots that’s about 3 hours) and we planned to be early for slack (which was at around 1:10pm). We were plenty early so we trolled for salmon a while in Discovery Passage before turning into Okisollo Passage. We saw a whole bunch of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, and also a few Dall’s Porpoises that surfed our bow a bit. The white-sided dolphins have curved dorsal fins, while the porpoises have small, more triangular fins. We’ve had both surf our bow, and they can be easy to confuse for one another because their coloring is the same…the dorsal fin is the easiest way to tell the difference.

We had some current against us as we approached the lower rapids, but it was diminishing rapidly. We went through the lower rapids and noticed pretty much nothing in the way of swirls, boils, whirlpools, or anything else. Same thing at the upper rapids…it was so calm there wasn’t even anything to take a picture of….completely uneventful.

During maximum current, the Okisollo Rapids can have somewhere between a 5-8 foot standing wave/overfalls. If you want to see what I’m talking about, check out this video. (There are plenty more…feel free to Google.)

Soon after the non-rapid rapids, we turned into the Octopus Islands Marine Park. How beautiful! I’m so glad we finally decided to stop here. There are only two other boats in here: a sailboat that anchored way up at the head of Waiatt Bay, and a power boat anchored not too far from us (but definitely far enough). We’re in the northernmost tip, anchored in about 30 feet with plenty of swing room. I made us some lunch (a curry tortilla wrap filled with fresh crab, tomatoes, avocado, shredded lettuce, and a little garlic aioli and pepper…super yum) and then we went out exploring in the dinghy. (Crab pots are out!)

Tonight I think we’ll just grill up some halibut with some zucchini, and enjoy the quiet. It hasn’t rained since we got here, and there’s even some blue sky. Perhaps we’ll stay here tomorrow too! Our next planned stop is down at Rebecca Spit (beach, park, woods, trails) and Drew Harbour…on the east side of Quadra Island. There are two marinas there as well…the Heriot Bay Inn and Marina and the Taku Resort. There’s apparently a really good store (and even a liquor store)…sounds like a big city!

So We’ll be going through Surge Narrows between here and there, and I believe it’s another one that needs a slack transit. Lots of rapids in this area of BC!

Port Harvey to Shoal Bay via Whirlpool and Greene Point Rapids | BC

Laura Domela — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 02:00:59 +0000

Last night after catching up with George and Gail about how their season was and the progress they’ve made on rebuilding the restaurant and store, we headed back to Airship to cook up some dinner. Tonight turned out to be tostada night! We grabbed some of the pulled pork (the stuff we made and brought from home) from the freezer, cooked up some black beans with jalapeno, garlic, and shallots, and then got all the toppings together: lettuce, shredded cheese, homemade salsa, sour cream, and some fresh lime to squeeze over the top. I’d picked up a bag of chipotle tostadas in Port McNeill last week thinking it had been ages since I’d had or made tostadas. We heated the crunchy tostadas in the oven and then built on with the toppings. They turned out great!

Port Harvey this morning:

Sabby on the dock:

George came down just after 8am with fresh cinnamon rolls. We took two to go, chatted a bit more and then headed out for Shoal Bay.

The rain started (again) just as we were leaving. We pulled the crab traps we’d set out on our way into the bay, but we only had one male keeper…the rest were females so back in they went.

We saw several sets of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins on our way through Johnstone Strait and into Sunderland Channel:

Our route today took us through Whirlpool Rapids and Greene Point Rapids. Both Whirlpool Rapids and Greene Point Rapids run to 7 knots at max ebb and flood, but can be safely traversed at any time as long as your boat has enough speed, stability, and rudder authority.

We had about 4.5 knots of current with us at Whirlpool Rapids…nothing too dramatic.

Even with what look like pretty good boils, our autopilot kept us on track with not much work.

We arrived at the Greene Point Rapids right AT max flood, and had about 6 knots of current going with u, but not much drama:

A little squirrely back toward the Cordero Islands and lodge:

We arrived in Shoal Bay and docked at the government dock (no other boats when we arrived besides the owners’ boat, but there are two more now). We walked up to the “pub” (the pub that’s never in pub mode when we’re here because it’s either too early or too late in the season) but we met Will inside…he’s from England and has been working here for most of the summer…and he said “Well guess what? It’s a pub right now!” so we had a beer and chatted with him for a half an hour or so. It’s rainy here too right now, but still so beautiful.

Tomorrow we’ll head on to the Octopus Islands. We’ve heard great things about them but never been. We’ll also go through more rapids tomorrow (the Okisollo Rapids). Unlike Whirlpool and Greene Point Rapids, you do not mess with the Okisollo Rapids at any time besides slack (which is exactly what time we’ll be there). During non-slack, there are large whirlpools, and an overfall/standing wave than can be between 5 and 8 feet tall! Eeeek.

Sounds like there’s some great kayaking and/or dinghy exploring around the Octopus Islands, but it’s not supposed to clear up until Tuesday, so maybe we’ll need to spend two days there.

Echo Bay to Port Harvey | BC

Laura Domela — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 02:43:11 +0000

We arrived at Echo Bay early in the day yesterday (since we got out of Booker Lagoon by 7:30am). It was rainy all day.

Dawnbreaker arrived later on (still pouring rain). Luckily, they had these fancy umbrellas onboard:

Thomas and Urban, above…doing the umbrella spinning thing for drama. Not pictured, Lars at the helm, being serious (but probably not really).

It rained all night. But hey, that means nice freshwater wash down for Airship, so it’s okay.

We slept in this morning (after a not-that-late-but-still-kinda-late evening hanging with the Dawnbreaker crew). After dinner last night, Thomas, Lars, and Urban brought over a homemade apple pie (and a bottle of wine) and we got out the pint of vanilla bean ice cream we brought from home (and still hadn’t eaten yet! How did THAT happen?) … fun conversation, stories, dessert, wine, espresso…

It was great catching up with Pierre, as always. He’s making some expansions and improvements to the store and the restaurant, and he’s got a new, darling cabin for rent (plus suites in the lodge) so if you don’t have a boat but want to come to Echo Bay, there are options!

We wandered around a bit this morning chatting with the other boaters (there were 7 boats at Pierre’s last night…that’s a lot for this time of year!)…and then made breakfast before heading out. (Our default breakfast is…breakfast tacos. Today’s were the last of the chorizo scrambled with some eggs, sliced avocado, homemade salsa, a dash of habanero hot sauce in flour tortillas…yum!) We left around 10am and headed over to see George and Gail at Port Harvey. The rain came and went, but it was a beautiful cruise:

We went around the west side of Gilford Island through Cramer Passage and Retreat Passage to Knight Inlet (bottom of Gilford Island) and then through Chatham Channel to get to Port Harvey. We were timed to hit Chatham Channel at max flood, so the current would be going with us, but at potentially 7 knots. We read up on Chatham Channel, and nothing sounded too dangerous (no whirlpools or eddies or overfalls), and it’s a smooth-bottomed channel, so the flow is laminar which is just fast, but not turbulent. We went through with no issues at all. We had 4.5 knots of current with us at the narrowest/fastest part, but that’s it. Nothing weird or nail-biting or anything.

We dropped our crab pots just west of Range Island on our way into the dock at Port Harvey and then caught up with George and Gail here for a bit. The rebuild of the store and restaurant are coming along nicely, and should be fabulous and better-than-ever for next season!

George said they’d seen a big grizzly on shore near their house next to the apple tree for the past two days, so to keep an eye out. We did, and then there he was!

George waited while I took a few photos before he fired his rifle to scare the bear away.

Now, we’re just hanging out on Airship (one other boat here tonight, the Jacari Maru, a Puget Trawler) and about to make dinner. We aren’t sure of our plans for tomorrow yet. Maybe Shoal Bay, and then the Octopus Islands…and then maybe Heriot Bay or Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island (in the spirit of trying to also go some places we haven’t been before). I could explore like this indefinitely.