Leaving the Dock

Our boat sails well. It’s easy to trim the sails and have it sail well. It holds a straight course. At times it feels like it could sail itself. What it’s not great at is manoeuvring in tight spaces like around docks. Generally speaking, wind and current can pin a boat to a dock making it hard to pull away. Newer boats have bow or stern thrusters to make them easier to control in tight spaces. We don’t have such modern conveniences. Leaving the dock can be stressful.

There are many good articles and YouTube videos showing how to manoeuvre a boat in confined spaces. In essence, how to leave a dock. This post is not about that. This post is about other things that keep one stuck at the dock. It’s about the invisible ties that keep one bound to the dock.

For us, our never ending to-do list has often kept us at the dock. (We consider it a good day when we cross more things off the list than we add.) All the items are worthwhile. They are all important. They need to be done but we have come to realize that if they don’t need to get done right away. The boat will still float. It will still sail. We’ll be okay.

With this in mind we are heading off again for a few weeks. We are much later getting away than we’d planned but we’re off. Our plan is to head north. Our first stop will be Desolation Sound–an area that we explored last year. From there we’ll explore the many islands and inlets between there and the north end of Vancouver Island. Here we go!