Portland Island April 11 ~ 13, 2025

Baywolf has a weekend at Portland Island Marine Park

The weather forecast showed dry and reasonably warm (14C, 58F).  Mother Nature decided to agree.  The wind was perfect for sailing but conditions were great for our little power boat too.

We had a number of new or improved ship’s systems to check out and use on this trip.

1. New Lowrance HDS9 Chartplotter.  Also a fuel flow monitor.

2. Manual pumps at the galley sink for saltwater and a freshwater one in the head.

3. A new home for the CPAP machine

4. A fresh oil change, fuel filter and tune up.

5. Replaced fuel lines and added a 3 way valve to select port or starboard fuel tank (all “type approved” parts or course).

6. The 2.5hp Yamaha outboard that had been in the shop for a while.

7. New garbage bin in the head.  Seems a trivial thing but on a small cruiser like Baywolf, all the little things add up to making the boat easier to use and enjoy.

The tuneup was a success and the big 454 engine growled contentedly.  We got to work on measuring our fuel economy before we even left Maple Bay!  Our most economical (reasonable) speed is 6 to 6.5 knots nautical miles per hour.  At this speed we get nearly 2 nautical miles per gallon or about 16 liters per hour.  We can easily burn 35 to 40 liters per hour at 14 knots and we saw even higher burn rates at higher speeds.  Good thing we don’t like to go fast!  (A nautical mile is 1.15 regular miles)

Below is the route on Friday.  We arrived at Portland Island’s Princess Cove around noon and were the only boat in sight!  We picked our favorite spot and set the anchor.  The weekend saw various boats coming and going and I think the maximum number was 11 or 12.  There were 5 boats that had stern tied and the rest of us greedily used the full 360 degrees of swing room.  If there were more boats, we would run a stern line to shore to free up some anchorage space.

On Friday afternoon, we checked out the dingy with the 2.5 motor and went to shore.  The motor needed a small carb adjustment after which it ran great.  After a quick walk along a pretty tail to the beach where we took Selina swimming a number of years ago, we settled down to a steak dinner and an evening of cards and watching The Wheel of Time on the iPad.

The Propex heater has been a very welcome addition to our cold weather cruising.  There are still a few things that need to be repaired or upgraded but the list is much shorter than it was a year ago.  We have not addressed any cosmetic issues yet.  That’s for a year down the road!

On Saturday, we enjoyed a relaxed morning.  As per normal at home or away, I got up and made coffee.  Holly crafted an amazing breakfast of bacon, avocado, veggies and eggs.   We hiked the perimeter of the Island (about 5 miles or 8.5km).   A quick lunch break at Kanaka Bluffs.  We watched a large river otter swimming below us and sat among the spring flowers.  It was warm and breezy!

Saturday night included amazing views of the “pink moon”.  It was huge and impressive but it didn’t look pink!

We had a great chicken stir fry followed by trip planning!  In August and September, we will be driving Vincent to each and every Province in Canada!  We will be away for two plus months, visiting lots of friends and family along the way!  Much more of this under Vincents heading elsewhere on this blog!

On Sunday, we pulled anchor and steamed to Russell Island.  Now a park, it used to belong to Marie and her husband George in the late 1800’s.  Marie passed away on the Island in 1936 in her mid 80’s.  There is a short walk around the West end of the Island.  There are lots of tide pools and bluffs.  We have stayed overnight in the past but prefer it as a lunch stop these days.

We left around 3:00p and motored home at 7knots with a nice flood helping push us along!  We folded the bimini back on the flybridge and enjoyed the last 2 hours in the sun.  The wind was about 7 knots from the South…. It cancelled out our boat speed so that it was dead calm on the bridge!  We could have had candles burning!

Wildlife observed included eagles (bald and golden), raccoons, dolphins, the normal collection of sea birds (geese, cormorants, ducks…).