Canadian Yachting April 2017 - 62

Nanaimo Squadron Student Cruise

Students Get A Practical Lesson
In Towing
Bob Hoffstrom, AP Nanaimo Power and Sail Squadron

At 8:00 a.m on November 6, 2016, three boats set out for
a 25 nautical mile return day trip from Nanaimo Harbour
to Wakes Cove at the north end of Valdes Island, British
Columbia. On board were six students from the fall CPSECP Boating Class. It was organized by cruise master Jim
Phillip who historically promised and usually delivered
great weather and sea conditions for this event. The cruise
is intended to be practical experience for skills learned in
the classroom, including; identification of navigation aids,
plotting a course, and undertaking a fix while underway
to determine position. The cruise is also an opportunity
for students to transit Dodd Narrows where the current
can run at up to six knots, experience the tricky entrance
using a private range into Pirates Cove on DeCourcy Island, and negotiate False Narrows where boaters need to
follow range markers to avoid the reef. The three boats
participating in the event included; sailboat ZACA with
skipper Jim Phillip, sailboat Three Seasons with skipper
Bill Weller, PC, and powerboat Nakalat with skipper, Bob
Hoffstrom and cruise proctor Barb Hoffstrom.
The marine weather forecast was predicting cloudy skies
with light SE winds in the morning, increasing to SE 30
knots in the Straight of Georgia early in the afternoon.
Since the cruise route was inside protected waters where
the winds rarely are as strong as in the Strait of Georgia,
the decision was made to proceed, and all boats got underway under power at the designated departure time with
two sailboats in the lead and Nakalat picking up the rear.
But it was not long before the cruise plan began to unravel.
About half an hour into the cruise, Three Seasons appeared to have stopped, and crew activity was observed
on deck. A brief VHF radio conversation with them confirmed that they had engine trouble, and they were going
to turn around and sail home, after transferring their student to ZACA which would continue to the destination
with the extra student on board. Nakalat then took the
lead, passing through Dodd Narrows as the current started
to ebb south, reconnoitring Pirates Cove, and arriving for
lunch at the Gin Palace Yacht Club in Wakes Cove at approximately 11:00 a.m. The Gin Palace Yacht Club is the
personal outpost of Stan Wardill and family who have a
beautiful piece of property and dock located there. Stan
is a founding member of the Nanaimo Power Squadron,
and has graciously offered his docks at Wakes Cove for the
CPS-ECP student cruise lunch stop for many years. As we
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Canadian Yachting

April 2017

arrived, the sun came out and it turned out to be very warm
and pleasant. ZACA joined us about 45 minutes later for
lunch and social gathering on the dock.
At 12:30 p.m. it was time to head back to Nanaimo,
but fate struck a second blow to the plan. ZACA's engine
would not start. With two engineers and an electrician
present, and after some investigating, it was concluded that
the starter solenoid was kaput! Options were considered,
and with limited daylight looming, it was decided that the
students would get an impromptu lesson on towing and
a practical application of knots. The lesson included the
fabrication of a bridle and joining two 50 ft lengths of 5/8"
braided nylon line to form a 100 ft tow line.
With a couple of 330HP diesels in the tow vessel, it did
not take much effort to achieve the hull speed of the 37 ft
ZACA, and we were back at the Nanaimo Harbour before
3:00 p.m. Although the wind did increase in the early afternoon, a quick check with the Entrance Island Lighthouse
report for 2:00 p.m. indicated SSE 13 knots, which was
well within our comfort level. A happy ending to another
CPS-ECP student cruise.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting April 2017