Oh Canada!

Back in Canada at the Customs dock.

WOW! after two years at sea, almost to the day, Malachi is back in Canada! We cleared customs just after 8pm and tied up in front of the Empress Hotel right in Victoria's inner harbour. There's alot of excitement around here with the upcoming holiday weekend and it's been a fun place to make landfall. Only in Victoria can you see Darth Vador playing the violin on the street corner.





Moored in front of the Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC

Robert and Rose from Tillicum greeted us as we pulled into the customs dock, what a great welcome! The Griggs came by last night and spent a few hours with us reuniting which was just awesome as well. It's so great to see familiar faces that we've missed over the past two years.

In total, thirteen of us walked across town to White Spot for the long anticipated triple 'o' burgers, fries and milkshakes. It was an awesome celebration and a delicious meal.


mmm - love those triple'o burgers


Approaching Victoria


Our first glimpse of Canada.

Well, I'm running out of time as check out is 1pm and there's a big rendezvous and there are heaps of boats chomping at the bit for us to get off the dock. There's so much more to say and so many more pictures to share which I'll do at the next internet opportunity. Thanks everyone for reading our blog and following our adventure. We'll take the next 10 days to make our way back to the Burrard Yacht Club in North Vancouver, stopping to visit friends in Thetis Island and Gabriola Island. We can't wait to see you all very soon!

Two more sleeps!

It's Monday morning and we've got about 18kn of North wind which has got us moving at a pretty good clip - 7kn or more. At this rate, we'll be arriving in Victoria on Wednesday evening. It feels so good to be nearing our homeland after two years away - almost to the day! We departed Vancouver on July 31, 2007 and we've visited 8 countries since and have a lifetime of stories and experiences as souvenirs of this great adventure. The trip has been amazing but we're all ready to come home and be reunited with our family and friends and to find our place in the workforce once again. Even the girls are ready to find part time jobs.

It seems a little surreal, actually, as we approach the west coast of North America, knowing Canada is just beyond the clouds and our friends and family just beyond there. We can hardly believe how quickly two years passed by but we imagine things have changed quite a bit during our absence. It'll be strange not to have our cruising buddies nearby and stranger still to have to use a telephone to communicate rather than a radio. The radio is very efficient since everyone hears what's going on with just one call! I must say though, that we're all looking forward to sleeping on a non-moving bed! and to having more personal space to stretch out in.

I hope we'll get a chance to see you upon our return. You can leave a comment on the blog or you can even send us an email through the blog by clicking on the little envelope at the end of each post.

Do keep watching the blog as there will be more pictures to come. Thanks to all of you who read this blog and who leave us comments, we love that.

See you soon!

Less than 1000 miles to go !

It's been so grey the past several days, dark and gloomy, in such contrast to the beautiful tropical weather we've experienced for most of the past two years. I hope the weather back home is great, we're looking forward to a beautiful BC summer.

Malachi has 936 nm to go until we reach the Strait of Juan de Fuca then another 70 or so right into Victoria. There are lots of things we hope to do right away: sleep always tops the list with laundry coming in second, but one of the thoughts we're salivating over is the idea of a White Spot burger and milkshake...mmmm! A small restock at the local grocery store and a visit with friends in Victoria, then we'll be off to the Bluewater rendezvous in Montague Harbour where we hope to meet up with Maryke Violet. It will be wonderful to see friends whom we haven't seen for so long.

And so the coundown continues as Jocelyn crosses off the days on the calendar, we look forward to seeing you all upon our return.

Fourteen more days...

This is the report we've received from Orca III for the past three consecutive days! It beginning to feel like 'Groundhog' day! Even though we keep sailing, the countdown on the chart plotter remains at 14 days! Frustrating to say the least.

Today's been a very rolly one, a condition we expect for the next several days. We're sailing wing on wing with the light 7kn winds directly behind us and although Malachi sails very well with this sail configuration it's not the most comfortable as we roll side to side up to 20 degrees either direction. It certainly makes life interesting on board. We're having a Settlers of Catan tournament today and occasionally when the boat takes a big roll, the board pieces shift out of place, things fall on the floor and the person sitting on the stool slides across the floor. Like I said, fun...fun...fun!

I know I've written several times about how difficult it can be to move about the boat during wavy or rolly conditions, but it's fun for us to watch Steve experience this anew. Today was particularly funny as he came out of the aft head making his way across the width of the boat only to have the boat roll back to starboard sending him back to where he came from. All we saw was him going forward across the doorway and then backwards the other way....funny!

Last night we invited Orca III along side us once again for a pyrotechnic display. Since the sea was completely calm and there was no wind, we decided to set off more than a dozen firecrackers making up the most exciting show yet. This time, Steve taped two firecrackers to a piece of fishing line which was then tied to the gaff, after they were lit, Jenny extended the gaff out the side of the boat to keep the sparks away - this is a favorite of all. Another favorite display involves poking a pepsi can with about 20 holes and dropping a firecracker inside, this is very cool, but last night, by the time the fourth firecracker was lit, the can gave way, the bottom exploding with the firecracker. We're certainly having fun with this evening activity.

Tack Tack Tack

Well, this passage, although it started out very nicely, is shaping up to be a bit of a frustration to all on board. For the past 24 hours we've been on a course to Russia! The strange positioning of the high pressure systems across the Pacific is causing us alot of grief in our quest to travel North East. Yesterday, put 108 miles under our keel but only 68 miles in the right direction, today will probably be less successful. Don't get me wrong, the sailing is good and so is the fishing and everyone on board is doing just fine, it's just that our present course is a little discouraging.

We are now entering the a high pressure system to our NW where we'll lose the wind altogether, but will be able to motor due North until we can pick up the West winds that will push us home. The skies are grey and gloomy and tend to make one feel a little down. When it's the only thing you've got to look at, it's nice to have a little variation in colour, some blue is always welcome and we can even enjoy little pockets of black because there's usually a rainbow accompanying the storm clouds.

We've now been at sea for a whole week and have all settled nicely into the rhythm of the passage. We're all very excited about our homecoming and are crossing off the days on the calendar until that time.

All in a day,

Yesterday we had a really good day, not much wind mind you, but a good day nonetheless.

The boys have been reconfiguring the fishing arrangement and since we've lost so many lures to big marlins and mahi mahi's, they're endeavoring to come up with a solution to prevent that from happening again. They've now rigged two hand lines, each running through a pulley mounted on the arch. We've had a lot of hits, but have only landed three so far. We're really hoping to re-catch the last mahi mahi because he's got our favorite lure stuck in him.

Last night, Orca III was very nearby, so we called them and invited them to come along side us for the fireworks display which consisted of one fire cracker dropped into a Pepsi can which had been punctured with about 20 holes and tied to the end of a fishing line, another firecracker just taped to the end of a fishing line and the grand finale of two firecrackers dropped into a glass bottle, recapped then tossed into the sea. The first time we did that last one it was better, because the bottle exploded, but last nights remained intact. We told Orca III that there was one more after that but they were too far away to see, I guess great minds think alike and as they came closer so that we could bomb them with water balloons, they had some of their own ready for retaliation! What a fun evening. Tonight should be equally fun as both crews are, undoubtedly, scheming about the impending attack. Stay tuned!

The fish are hot!

Wow, we've sure had a lot of chomps on our fishing lines over the past few days. Yesterday was the best one of the big ones grabbed the hook and ran off with the lure and all of our line! There was no stopping the reel! What a drag, that was a brand new hook and one of our few remaining hoochies. Orca III has had good luck catching fish as well, but we're both in the same predicament, in that our freezers are full having been stocked up for the passage. Oh well, we're working on taking care of that, bbq steak for dinner last night mmm.....not our typical passage meal, what a nice change.

This morning the winds have died off to 5 knots and we are motor sailing with Orca III in sight just a few miles behind us. Accompanying the light winds are very calm seas, a good day for laundry.

We've been reading The Tale of Despereaux as part of the dinner theater aboard Malachi, some, who will remain unmentioned, are not that interested in story time, but I'm reading it anyway and I think that secretly, they like it. In addition to daily story time, we've been lighting off firecrackers as night falls. Steve is quite the pyromaniac and collectively, we come up with some pretty inventive ways to use up the firecrackers that are intended to spin around on the ground. Last night, we popped two into a glass bottle, quickly replaced the lid then threw it overboard. The bottle glowed bright in many different colours before exploding with the final report. I think Steve is dreaming of launching a pop can rocket far into the atmosphere, but we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with next, perhaps a giant sling shot?

The fish are hot!

Wow, we've sure had a lot of chomps on our fishing lines over the past few days. Yesterday was the best one of the big ones grabbed the hook and ran off with the lure and all of our line! There was no stopping the reel! What a drag, that was a brand new hook and one of our few remaining hoochies. Orca III has had good luck catching fish as well, but we're both in the same predicament, in that our freezers are full having been stocked up for the passage. Oh well, we're working on taking care of that, bbq steak for dinner last night mmm.....not our typical passage meal, what a nice change.

This morning the winds have died off to 5 knots and we are motor sailing with Orca III in sight just a few miles behind us. Accompanying the light winds are very calm seas, a good day for laundry.

We've been reading The Tale of Despereaux as part of the dinner theater aboard Malachi, some, who will remain unmentioned, are not that interested in story time, but I'm reading it anyway and I think that secretly, they like it. In addition to daily story time, we've been lighting off firecrackers as night falls. Steve is quite the pyromaniac and collectively, we come up with some pretty inventive ways to use up the firecrackers that are intended to spin around on the ground. Last night, we popped two into a glass bottle, quickly replaced the lid then threw it overboard. The bottle glowed bright in many different colours before exploding with the final report. I think Steve is dreaming of launching a pop can rocket far into the atmosphere, but we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with next, perhaps a giant sling shot?

Underway

Malachi departed Hanalei Bay, Kauai, HI at 10am yesterday, July 8th after two restful days at anchor. We've got favorable winds from the northeast and the moderate seas have made for a nice start to this leg of the trip home to Vancouver. We continue to travel with Orca III and we anticipate our arrival in Victoria around and about the 25th of July, a landfall we are all quite excited about. We are all looking forward to reuniting with our family and friends and especially Diesel!

Last night, just before dark, we had a strike on our fishing line. We all watched and Steve was up fast enough to see a huge, angry Marlin jumping in annoyance at the hook that was stuck in his mouth! All we desired was to reel the big fish in for a photo opportunity, but, disappointingly that was not meant to be. The reel on the rod broke so Jay donned the heavy duty gloves to pull in the line while Steve manually spooled it onto the handle of a scrub brush. When the fish was within 20 feet of the boat, it panicked and took off, breaking the hook in the process. The marlin was relieved, I'm certain, but the fishermen aboard were sad not to have had a good look.

Morale on board is good so far and no one has been feeling sea sick, thank goodnes! It's still quite warm, but there is significant cloud cover that keeps us comfortable.

Thanks to all of our faithful followers, we sure appreciate all of your love, prayers and support.

More Hawaii

Welcome to Waikiki!

I can't believe how much travel and activity can be packed into such a short time. While our friends were with us, we visited so many places: Kailua-Kona, Lahaina, Molokai and then finally Honolulu. In fact, we've been too busy to even make a blog posting! OK, well, part of that delay has been due to connectivitiy issues with our computer. But now, we're at the Waikiki Yacht Club and have really been enjoying the pool and the hot showers on shore.

Lyndsay and Jocelyn - Island beauties!

Lahaina was a fun stop where we wandered the shops on the boardwalk adjacent to the water and followed that up with nice lunch at Bubba Gumps in honour of Lyndsay's 18th birthday. It was a fun time and will no doubt be a nice memory for everyone.

Maya, Steve, Steve, Shayna, Jenny, Marg, Lyndsay, Jocelyn, Jay, Alanna and Kyle at the big banyan tree in Lahaina.

Silly Lyndsay, you kept us laughing!

On board, everyone pitches in and Jenny was particularly grateful for the extra help with all of the dishes produced by nine eaters. Even the most mundane chores are fun with friends.

Jenny and Shayna

Steve is always fishing - nice catch, a big wahoo!

Molokai, which was once home to a lepper colony, was a brief stop for us enroute to Oahu. The small sheltered harbour allowed us a more settled sleep, but nothing beats the stillness we've got here in Ala Wai harbour in Waikiki, it's good to be still. Hawaii, although very warm and beautiful, has surprisingly few protected anchorages. We're sure spoiled in BC.

Swimming at Molokai

Shayna, Jenny, Lyndsay, Jocelyn and Alanna enjoying cheesburgers with the tikis in Waikiki

We took a day trip out to Hanauma Bay to go snorkeling. It was quite a long bus ride and there were tons of people there but we got to see Hawaii's own fish the Humuhumunukunukuapuaa and even a green sea turtle.

Waikiki beach was popular with it's white sand beach and surf. Steve, Mary and Shayna went body surfing and had a blast while Jocelyn & Jenny went with Orca III and spent an afternoon boogy boarding...too fun!

Playing in the surf at Waikiki beach

Dinner at the Kobe Steakhouse....mmmmm!

The girls and I joined Orca III for a tour of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbour. The audio was particularly informative and really enhanced our experience there. The museum was our favorite.

USS Missouri

Man your battle stations!

At the Arizona Memorial

On July 1st, we decorated Malachi with her signal flags in honour of our country's dominion. Orca III hosted a big Canada Day bash and we sang the national anthem for anyone willing to listen. It was just great to celebrate with some American friends, the crew of Galatea and the Heitzman's, Ray & Ramon and their great kids. A fun time was had by all!

Steve, Jocelyn, Kyle and Maya too the bus out to Diamond Head for a hike one morning while Dionne and I did the big Costco shop to provision for the passage. They had a great time and the views were incredible. Kyle especially enjoyed the tunnel.

Waikiki beach - view from Diamond Head

Maya, Kyle, Jocelyn & Steve

Kyle, Maya and Jocelyn in the bunker on Diamond Head

Stairs to the top of the bunker

Steve and Jocelyn at the top of Diamond Head

Yesterday, we had a chance to celebrate Independence Day with the Americans here at the Yacht Club. We had a front row seat for the fireworks display on Magic Island too. We joined Galatea on their aft deck for the amazing show.

Boat chores and repairs have certainly topped the list of things to do during our time in Hawaii and the major things have all been completed and Malachi is once again ready to set sail for the last leg home to Vancouver. It's good to be homeward bound.

Steve takes a look from the top of the mast.