The Joys of Winter Motoring on The Salish Sea
Rob Andrews is a buddy from New Zealand who purchased a Swan 53 called Mistress in San Diego a year ago. Mistress is a gorgeous, high-end sailboat made originally in Finland.
Everything about Mistress is big and rugged. Rob's ability to tolerate huge refit cheques is more well developed than my own.
In early May, Rob will be heading south with Mistress to San Francisco, the Marquesas and then eventually home from Tonga to New Zealand.
Mistress' mast was being rebuilt by Protec Rigging in Vancouver. An 80 foot mast is not a simple piece of equipment.
So we left Tsehum Harbour at 0930 hours on a cold and gray day for the six-hour motor to Lynwood Marina in Vancouver.
It was good to have the ultimate navigator Alex Wortmann of Zen Ranger, a Nauticat 33 with us on board to keep us going in a direct line to Lynwood and to ply us with hot tea. Great food Shawn!!
Mistress is very offshore capable and will be a joy to travel on out there in the blue beyond.
Motoring on a Swan without a mast was an interesting experience. She is clearly far happier under sail and with her mast.
February 17, 2011
Captain Pedro
