Gale Warning Posted. Southeasterly to 45 Knots. And so begins my final entry. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. She was still on her pin the morning of Friday February 3. That's when I received Mandy's message.

"Hi Doug, it's Mandy from Cadboro Bay. Your boat is on shore, I'm afraid to say..."

I guess I should have replaced the mooring line with the one I had bought and left on board. I didn't think this would be my final entry. I missed my opportunity to save her by 1 storm. When I first returned to the beach after Mandy's call, I couldn't access Trouper 2 due to the high tide and surf. As the tide ebbed and the storm receded, I climbed aboard and surveyed very little damage. There was a little water in her but that was likely, in large part due to the storm. My first call was to C-TOW to arrange a tow off the beach at the next high tide. Eventually I was connected with Captain Ron. Seriously, that's his real name. The next low tide was 06:00 the next morning (Saturday). He told me he didn't start work until 8 and that he was based out of Sidney. What kind of emergency tow service doesn't start work until 8?! 

Due to the nefarious nature of some of the fringe elements living in the immediate area, I made plans to sleep on the boat to guard against illegal salvaging and vandalism. Of course the boat was on a very steep angle, on the beach so I slept almost not at all. Actually, at one point after Ron said he wouldn't be on scene until around noon the next day, I switched on the interior lights and went home for something to eat. It was dark by now and I don't think I had eaten anything yet. Returning home, I managed to relax for a couple of hours before realizing I'd need to return to spend the night on T2. First high tide, the next day was at 6:00. AND there was another gale in the forecast so I knew that I wouldn't be able to get back on the boat until the tide went out again.

I returned to T2 around 23:00. It was low tide, so I deployed the anchor and walked it down the beach to the water's edge. I set it and cranked it taught with the starboard winch. This was an effort to prevent her from drifting farther up the beach at high tide. Not that there was that much more beach to drift up on. It was very uncomfortable with no heat and with the angle I was on, it was a little like sleeping in a house of mirrors. Vertigo city baby.

My alarm went off at 5:00 Saturday morning. The sea was unexpectedly calm. At the highest of the high tide, I cranked like hell to try to pull her off but there was absolutely no way in hell. Captain Ron finally arrived with his commercial fishing  vessel and after running his own boat into some rocks close to shore, and snapping the tow line at one point, she managed to drag Trouper 2 off the beach. It was an ugly fight. I thought for sure Ron would pull the tow piece and bridle off the bow of T2 but it held. When I finally got aboard her, I was elated to find out that the rudder was still true and she didn't seem to be taking on any water. By this point, I was beyond tired. So I pumped out the remainder of the water from the bilge, locked her up and went home to sleep.

The next day I went to Sooke to see the kids. I didn't get back to T2 until Monday at lunch time. That's when my worst nightmare was realized. The floorboards were under water. PANIC! Switch on bilge pump and contact the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Fortunately, there was no one using the Ways until Friday and because Trouper 2 is still registered to Mom (who's a Yacht Club member), they allowed me to bring her out of the water for the week.

While the damage to the side of the hull was superficial, the good ol' C&C Smile was gap toothed and wide!. A quick survey of local experts revealed the permanent fix was to drop the keel, refinish the mating surfaces and then re-attach and seal. OR you could dry out the bilge as best as possible, tighten the keel bolts and pack the gap with Secoflex. Alex at Trotac mentioned dropping the keel would probably cost a minimum of 5 grand. Not wanting to spend that kind of coin, I spent the next 3 days up on the ways. I peeled out the old Secoflex, injected new Secoflex, patched the hull and rudder. Painted the repairs with ablative anti-fouling. I even replaced the missing zincs on my brand new $12,000 prop shaft, hoping I wouldn't have to come out of the water again until next summer for a full bottom paint.

Thursday afternoon at 13:00 she re-entered Cadboro Bay. I took her for a circuit around the bay and then tied her back to her mooring buoy where, for the next 2 hours I lit a nice fire in the wood stove and watched the bilge. She was still sinking. Now what?

I have to get her out of the water. I have to get her out of the water in Sidney, somewhere they can fix the keel. The thought at this time was get her fixed and sell her. If I could fix her for 5 grand and sell her for 7, I would at least recoup my towing fee from C-TOW. By this time, it was after hours so, I left a message at Van Isle Marina asking for an emergency lift the next day. I figured at the rate of flow, I could reasonably be off her for about four hours at a time with no worry of her sinking to the bottom. So, I went home and grabbed what I'd need for a trip to Sidney first thing the next morning. That night was spent on board.

The next morning I was off the pin shortly after 08:00. The journey to Sidney was uneventful. A little rain, a little wind. Her mighty Yanmar diesel didn't miss a beat (as usual) and I arrived at Van Isle Marina's service dock three hours later. During the voyage I got a call from Jenna at Van Isle Marina. They had no room in their dry storage area, ($427 / month) so that just left their day rate of $89. But in order to be lifted out of the water, they would need a marine insurance policy on content damage. No problem. Before I go any farther, I should point out that the boat lift at Canoe Cove is out of service for a minimum of two weeks. That's why I couldn't go there. They suggested I try Westport Marina. It turns out the lift at Westport was also out of service. The only place left was Vector Marine. Even though their lift was working, they had no room. This is how I arrived with Trouper 2 tied to the service dock at Van Isle Marina.

I called Dave at Blackline Marine while I was waiting for Van Isle  to fix a flat tire on their haul-out trailer (CAN YOU FREAKIN' BELIEVE IT?!).  At that moment ,there was nowhere in Sidney by the Sea, to haul out. I asked Dave if he was available to work on T2's keel while she was up on the hard at Van Isle Marina. He told me they were so backed up and short-handed that they were booking work into June.

Let's see... at $89 a day for one hundred and eleven days. That's $9,879 before the turn of a wrench. While we were on the subject, I asked him what he thought a job like mine would cost. He replied $10,000.

It turns out there is a very helpful and friendly fellow by the name of Steve Ohman who owns Tradewinds Boaters Exchange at Canoe Cove who agreed to take her for salvage.  Somehow he managed to have me lifted out at Westport Marina. I thought their shit was broken! In the next few days, he'll take her to Canoe Cove, salvage what he can and then cut her to pieces and dispose of her.

Dad launched Trouper 2 from Canoe Cove on Thursday afternoon May 28, 1981. I was there on that very first cruise to Cadboro Bay.

Her loss has created a big void in my life and given rise to intense feelings of grief at the loss of my father shortly after Christmas and now the loss of his pride and joy, just a few weeks later.  There is a modicum of relief when I think that Dad may once again be at her helm wherever he is.