With time running out to meet my parents later in the month, we decided to motor and make time. We motored to our first anchorage, and then we didn't stop. We motored to Boat Bay, the next day's anchorage. The orcas had not come in yet. We kept going.
But we were getting tired. We needed an anchorage close to Port McNeil, without going all the way there. Jiayu picked the Pearse Islands, an undeveloped marine park about 10 miles south of Port McNeil.
What a wonderful, secluded little spot. We ate a dinner supplemented by a pot of foraged sea asparagus soup and had this little gem of a spot all to ourselves. We bushwhacked through the brush to get a view of Queen Charlotte Strait, dinghied around, and enjoyed ourselves so much that we stayed an extra night.
What a relief. After 40 some miles of motoring in a day, we were wiped out. The experience pretty much cured us of the desire to motor. Or more accurately, Jiayu's perception of the motor changed. I hope she'll write something about that..jpg)
For me, my motor serves the purpose of both safety net and training wheels. On this boat at least, it truly is an "auxiliary" engine.
Learning to sail without motor assistance is learning to sail. The small art of learning to read how the wind deforms and reforms around a given piece of topography, how to move a boat out of a sheltered spot on just a tiny puff of breeze, how to find the spot where the wind is strong enough and the current weak enough to let me out if I missed my tide waiting for the wind to come up--all of these skills are a joy to me. They require a brightly burning attentiveness to the natural world, a quietude and patience.
Making and exiting harbor under sail is a dance that inspires me. If it takes me an hour to get out under sail rather than the five minutes it takes under power, that's an hour of intense communion with nature that I've been afforded. The effort is rewarded with a sense of peace, a sense of accomplishment, and a set of skills out of reach of those who motor by habit.
We exited the Pearse Islands elegantly, under sail, through a narrow gap down-current and down wind, accompanied by the excited agitation of a family of minks, following us to make sure we were really going.
But we were getting tired. We needed an anchorage close to Port McNeil, without going all the way there. Jiayu picked the Pearse Islands, an undeveloped marine park about 10 miles south of Port McNeil.
What a wonderful, secluded little spot. We ate a dinner supplemented by a pot of foraged sea asparagus soup and had this little gem of a spot all to ourselves. We bushwhacked through the brush to get a view of Queen Charlotte Strait, dinghied around, and enjoyed ourselves so much that we stayed an extra night.
What a relief. After 40 some miles of motoring in a day, we were wiped out. The experience pretty much cured us of the desire to motor. Or more accurately, Jiayu's perception of the motor changed. I hope she'll write something about that.
.jpg)
For me, my motor serves the purpose of both safety net and training wheels. On this boat at least, it truly is an "auxiliary" engine.
Learning to sail without motor assistance is learning to sail. The small art of learning to read how the wind deforms and reforms around a given piece of topography, how to move a boat out of a sheltered spot on just a tiny puff of breeze, how to find the spot where the wind is strong enough and the current weak enough to let me out if I missed my tide waiting for the wind to come up--all of these skills are a joy to me. They require a brightly burning attentiveness to the natural world, a quietude and patience.
Making and exiting harbor under sail is a dance that inspires me. If it takes me an hour to get out under sail rather than the five minutes it takes under power, that's an hour of intense communion with nature that I've been afforded. The effort is rewarded with a sense of peace, a sense of accomplishment, and a set of skills out of reach of those who motor by habit.
We exited the Pearse Islands elegantly, under sail, through a narrow gap down-current and down wind, accompanied by the excited agitation of a family of minks, following us to make sure we were really going.
（翻譯）
眼看與Rob父母在月底見面的時間快速接近，我們決定以引擎航行換取時間。加足馬力我們到達預定的第一個停泊處，決定繼續前進。我們行駛至以殺人鯨群聞名的「船灣」，預定的第二天停泊處，但是殺人鯨還沒出現，所以我們繼續前進。
我們感到疲憊，不希望推進到第三天的停泊處，我們需要一個中繼站休息。Jiayu決定選擇皮爾斯群島，一個未開發的海洋公園，在第三天目的地麥尼爾港南方10英里處。
這真是個美好、隱蔽的小群島。我們在小島上採集海蘆筍，作為晚餐的附湯，停泊處完全為我們所有。我們划著小舟探訪群島，在一個島上突破重圍，一瞥夏綠蒂海峽雄姿。太過喜愛這個地方，我們決定再停留一晚。
我鬆了一口氣。在一天以引擎不間斷的行駛60公里之後，我們疲憊不堪。這個經驗扼殺了我們所僅存對開啟引擎的慾望。更正確的說，Jiayu對引擎航行的觀點從此改觀，我希望她將會寫下這個經驗。
對我而言，引擎是我們的安全網和訓練工具。至少在這艘船上，引擎僅是「輔助」工具。
在沒有引擎輔助下學習航行才是「學習航行」。如何瞭解風依地勢而消逝與出現、如何運用一陣微風將船駛出受地形保護的停泊處、如何找到風力與急流最佳配合之處停泊…我喜歡學習這些技術。這需要對大自然有狂熱的專注力，平和心境與耐心。
揚帆進出海灣對我而言是一場激勵之舞。對我而言，即使可以開啟引擎五分鐘駛出海灣，我寧願花費一小時以風帆出灣，因為這一小時是我被賦予與自然的激烈對話。這樣努力的代價是平和感、成就感、以及那些習慣開啟引擎的航行者永遠不會具備的技術。
揚起風帆，我們順著風與水流幽雅的駛出皮爾斯群島狹窄的水道。伴隨著我們的是一群受到驚嚇的水貂家族，不斷探頭確認我們真的不再停留。
我們感到疲憊，不希望推進到第三天的停泊處，我們需要一個中繼站休息。Jiayu決定選擇皮爾斯群島，一個未開發的海洋公園，在第三天目的地麥尼爾港南方10英里處。
這真是個美好、隱蔽的小群島。我們在小島上採集海蘆筍，作為晚餐的附湯，停泊處完全為我們所有。我們划著小舟探訪群島，在一個島上突破重圍，一瞥夏綠蒂海峽雄姿。太過喜愛這個地方，我們決定再停留一晚。
我鬆了一口氣。在一天以引擎不間斷的行駛60公里之後，我們疲憊不堪。這個經驗扼殺了我們所僅存對開啟引擎的慾望。更正確的說，Jiayu對引擎航行的觀點從此改觀，我希望她將會寫下這個經驗。
對我而言，引擎是我們的安全網和訓練工具。至少在這艘船上，引擎僅是「輔助」工具。
在沒有引擎輔助下學習航行才是「學習航行」。如何瞭解風依地勢而消逝與出現、如何運用一陣微風將船駛出受地形保護的停泊處、如何找到風力與急流最佳配合之處停泊…我喜歡學習這些技術。這需要對大自然有狂熱的專注力，平和心境與耐心。
揚帆進出海灣對我而言是一場激勵之舞。對我而言，即使可以開啟引擎五分鐘駛出海灣，我寧願花費一小時以風帆出灣，因為這一小時是我被賦予與自然的激烈對話。這樣努力的代價是平和感、成就感、以及那些習慣開啟引擎的航行者永遠不會具備的技術。
揚起風帆，我們順著風與水流幽雅的駛出皮爾斯群島狹窄的水道。伴隨著我們的是一群受到驚嚇的水貂家族，不斷探頭確認我們真的不再停留。
