Stormy Day

 Psalm 107

Those who go down to the sea in ships, Who do business on great waters, They see the works of the Lord, And his wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, Which lifts up the waves of the sea. ,,,They cry our to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings the out of their distresses. He calms the storm, So that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; So He guides them to their desired haven.

Yesterday was something different. When I woke up at home the wind was howling and the power flickering. I had been expecting wind as it was forecast South West for the week. But this was super strong. When We got down to the boats we learned that the trainees were not going to be coming until later as per BC ferry cancellations.  Well ferry after ferry was canceled and they finally showed up around 1730.  It wasn;t a wasted day as we got some boat stuff accomplished, helped the Grace rig their mainsail and had some intentional crew time as we discussed personal, spiritual and program goals for the year.  We ended up just staying tied to the dock as by the time safety orientations were done it was after 1900.  So we slept with the waves lapping at the dock and the glow of the legislator.

Spinach Salad for Supper 

 

 Galley Flowers this week are Tulips

This morning had us slipping our lines early and heading out down Haro in search of wind

Moon setting over the Parliament buildings

 Pumpkin Muffins for Breaky

Location- Captains Pass

Reading Yellow Crocus

Cooking Next- Caesar Salad and Casserole for a Cold Night

Steph H- Hope you have a fabulous time in Victoria.. blustery but no rain today. 

1) I may need to get a new weather app for my IPhone besides the one it came with.  It has shown rain steady for the past two weeks with only a few actually episodes of said rain.  Half and Half good for the psychological health. Bad because looking at the forecast is depressing but good because the sunshine is then such a surprise. 

2) You might live on an island when on Saturday Night you are eating mooseburger for supper while sitting around a fire listening to a conversation regarding composting.  

3)  Took my kayak out to Elk Lake yesterday for an hour or so of peaceful paddling. 





4) SALTS is currently in the process of completing a design for a new ship.  One of the final steps is testing in wind and tow tunnels in Italy. To do this to test the different hull designs and types of rigging a full model is being built.  This kind of testing is groundbreaking and state of the art for the sail training industry and super exciting. This weekend we were all down at the shipyard working on the model which is being shipped on Monday.  Tony and Steven (the naval architect) were in full design mode.  I opted for jobs that "cant hurt the boat"- oiling deck houses, sanding keels and making lashing marlin.  Its incredibly cool to see a the ship take shape. 

Tip of the bowsprit

The model from deck to top of masts is about 8 feet. The hulls are not in place yet,

Spreaders

5) Sunday Morning Walks on the Beach

6) Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” Rachel Carson

First Trip

Meet the Crew of the the Pacific Swift!! 

Tristian- The Bosun/Watch Officer , Me  

Michelle- Watch Officer

Sarah- Skipper

Sam- First Mate

                       Robin- Our Office Booking Manager

The office needed new pics for the website and I conviced Robin to let me take them The only way I could force the boys to have their pictures taken and so I could have the files. 

Our first few days went incredibly fast and very well.  I woke up on Wednesday morning suddenly scared and nervous.  But by the end of the day was incredibly happy and at peace with things.  We had a great highly energetic group of grade 7s who brought alot of fun and curiosity into the mix

Tortilla Soup- My first meal for lunch on the Wednesday  

My Flowers in the Galley . I found a wonderful seaglass green vase and have lashed it to a post in the galley so I can have fresh flowers each week or the kids can pick me flowers on the beach. 

The Pacific Grace at Sunrise.  One of the benefits of being cook is the solitude of the early morning that you can steal on deck with a cup of tea after the first batch of muffins etc goes in the oven

My first attempt at yeast bread/bun making.  I had made foccaccia bread on Wednesday but Thursday I tackled making buns for sandwiches for lunch.  They turned out not too bad. 

The Last Few Days

The days have been sun sunshiny but the nights nice and chilly. It snowed last night for a bit but the little flowers in the front yard are super hardy and shed the frost.

Monday was a gorgeous day with sunshine and a stiff breeze. We had Transport Canada's inspections ( which we passed).  The inspections included a visual inspection of some of the safety equipment ie radios ect but also running some drills. We had a fire drill in which I was a victim lying in the galley and had to be rescued as well as the fire fought.. just our luck the pull cord broke on the deck pump as we ran the drill thankfully we have two backups systems so didn't get failed on that.  We then launched dories to abandon ship and then, because I was the new crew member came the personal interrogation regarding Man-over-board and life rafts as well as the "personal hazard " that I had ( my shoelace was untied =). Dishwashing followed the inspection as I continued to bring equipment aboard and then Kailey and I went grocery shopping for our fresh things. 

Today was an exciting and busy busy day.  Blessed once again with sunshine it was the final day of prep for the season. I finished off with galley things fairly soon in the morning and then went to work on odds and sods. Lashed (nothing is just clip and go) the flag to the pole and then the pole to a line and hauled it up to the top of the mast, cut new rope tying lines, retread part of the ladder and just generally worked on helping tie the last few things that needed to be done.  Then after lunch the highlight.. We moved the boats to the Inner Harbour where they are moored now until the end of the season.  Moving the boats is super cool because the Johnson Street Bridge needs to come up for us to go under.  I had never actually seen the bridge up before so that was neat in its self. Also this may be the last time it needs to go up for SALTS boats because it is being torn down soon. 

The Bridge just starting to lift

The Pacific Grace going under

 All through

All put back to together and ready for the trainees

Back home in front of the Parliament Buildings

So tomorrow is the day.  Devo's at 8, Kids come at 10.  Its the accumulation of months of dreaming and planning and prayer.  One day I will share with you all the story that brought me to this place but for now just pray that the ministry of SALTS reaches and remains with the kids whose lives are impacted by the program. 

Location: Victoria

Reading: The Healing Tree

Cooking Next: Tortilla Soup

PS anyone know any ways to incorporate yams in to food.. Kaylee ordered a box so I did too.. now I have 50lbs of them!!!