The 5 Capes, Seaburban Around Alone

To the family of !

Bert now has his official Instagram account .terhart. He will be posting regularly from here. Follow him to join him in the ride of his next adventures!

One More Sleep

My old stomping grounds. Blackberry Point. Alex and Kathryn took the dinghy to the tiny island just visible in left center only to be shewed away by a blizzard of no trespassing signs. More recently, the Pirate King terrorized some kayakers hoping to top up on drinking water by brandishing a boat hook in an unfriendly manner before dropping it over the side and, after raising his eye patch, asking sheepishly if they could retrieve it before I discovered it adrift.

I like this place. It is familiar and even though it's the start of a long weekend, there's only a handful of campers on the beach and no one else anchored. I can see Gabriola. A neat, distinct purple smudge to the North.

Tomorrow at 11am sharp I'll make my way into Silva Bay and soon after tie up next to Sea Mist. Where have all the months gone? It seems a dream, the stuff of make believe and school yard bravado. Even the globe marked painstakingly with my noon positions by my father seems unreal.

Tomorrow, with Seaburban tucked into her slip and me into my bed, I will be home.

No Room at the Inn

Inside Montague Habour is packed to overflowing. Outside, not so much. Seaburban, smelling the barn, is pointed directly at Gabriola and home. The weather is set to change for tomorrow with cloud, Southeasterlies, and rain in the forecast. I'm guessing we'll see no such thing given this evening's sunset.

Old habits die hard and I couldn't resist dragging the sextant out and measuring the distance between Jupiter and the Moon to estimate my watch error. I felt a little foolish waving the sextant around anchored 100 meters from shore but it seemed such a perfect opportunity. Working the site on a perfectly flat, unmoving chart table felt like cheating.

After all was said and done, I was pretty sure I was right where I was supposed to be, when I was supposed to be.

Home never looked so good.

Grand Central Station

It has been a whirlwind 11 days or so since I arrived back in civilization July 18th. Nothing however has seemed so out of place as this, the anchorage at Sidney Spit just a few miles North of Victoria and the first stop on my way back to Gabriola.

Wall to wall boats. And I took this picture before the crowds arrived in earnest, the jetski's started up, and the baby started wailing on the catamaran that picked up the empty mooring buoy closest to me. Nothing like getting away from it all on a boat.

It was a shock seeing so many boats all going nowhere at the same time. In fact, its been a shock just beining on the boat and going nowhere. There is zero movement on board, it is deathly quiet at night save for the ticking of the ship's clock, and no reason to get up every 95 minutes even though I still can't sleep longer than 120 at a stretch.

And I have to say its all strangely anti-social. There are no dinghy loads of visitors or guests bombing around the ancorage visiting neighbours or making acquaintances. I hear the word bubble over and over again as if it is some kind of offensive weapon. I am certainly in one and I find it more isolating and lonely than any I experienced 1000's of miles away from any of the boats that I could easily swim to now.

It is a strange new world indeed and I feel a bit like a small child, groping his way to the washroom after lights out in a seldom visited Aunt's turn of the century musty Victorian three-story haunted house. You've been here before, it should all be old hat, but its not.

I smile and wave at the cat with the wailing baby. No response. I hold up a granola bar and try to somehow sign that I've got more than I can eat in a month and perhaps they could use a few just now. No response. I suppose they figure me for a lunatic and I beat a hasty retreat before they call the local gendarme that just so happens to be cruising the anchorage in a RIB.

Down below, I find myself smiling and face to face with Sir Salty who seems not to be bothered in the least by the racket next door. I smooth a whisker that seems to have a mind of its own & whisper to no one in particular "It's good to be home”.

Victoria’s Most Wanted

APB Results in Sir Salty McPartier Located!

It would seem that while Bert was working tirelessly attending press interviews, Facebook Live sessions & scrubbing salt off Seaburban, Sir Salty McPartier was up to his old tricks. Nine months at sea didn't put a dent in Salty's shore-going habits when given half a chance on leave.

Thanks to an anonymous disturbing the peace complaint from a disgruntled hotel pool guest, Sir Salty has been found & returned to Seaburban just in the nick of time for departure to Gabriola Island. The complaint originated when a certain seal & an unnamed female companion created a ruckus at a Victoria hotel pool with a drunken & debaucherous display of public nudity, singing, & some rather choice words directed at a lifeguard.

Sir Salty's recent round-the-world adventure had earned him a certain amount of notoriety & he was easily recognized before the authorities were called. Luckily, Salty was able to negotiate a deal for community service by hosting a series of lectures for the local inner harbour seal pup population aimed at the importance of proper human-seal distancing to help preserve future generations from the many corruptions of life on land. That & another banning from a local Victoria Inner Harbour hotel was enough to let Sir Salty off the proverbial hook yet again.

Numerous noise complaints, extravagant credit card charges at a variety of local pubs, & a very large hotel bill including way too many room service calls means that Sir Salty will now need to remain indentured at sea for the foreseeable future to pay off at least some of the debt.

When asked to comment on his errant behavior Salty replied " i is trullee sorree and apologizetic to my fellow guests at the pool that day. I was meerlee blowin off steemewith a new lady friend after 9 months at C with that ne'er do well & hopeless fisher Kapitan Bert & his measly, watered-down grog supply. After so long without fair rations I was overcome with joy & grog. I promise to keep my swim pants on & the barking to a minumum."

Victoria has always been a sailor's town & every harbour has it’s limits but trust Sir Salty to push the envelope!

Meets and Greets

Such a fantastic week meeting new and old friends. Bert and Seaburban hosted 3 opportunities for folks to come by and ask questions: Inner Harbour for the general public, Canadian Forces Sailing Association for those who serve at our beautiful CFB Esquimalt where some inquisitive young sailors in class and summer camp came by with some great questions, and finally at Royal Victoria Yacht Club for members. Bert was able to reconnect with sailing legend Tony Gooch who was an invaluable resource of information along Bert’s voyage as well as Glen Wakefield who is a huge mentor to Bert and is about to embark on his own West About Circumnavigation (wow!!). Also Ian Grant, Rear Commodore for the local chapter of the Ocean Cruising Club came by to offer his congratulations. Truly a week of to remember, to inspire and be inspired. Never a dull moment!
(And still, Salty no where in sight!!)

@ Victoria, British Columbia

What a week!

Just a quick update as to how Bert has been adjusting to life on land. After the triumphant return on Saturday July 18, Bert’s week has been filled with family, 3 meet and greets and then all the press...so much press! Zoom interviews, phone calls, and Facebook Live, oh my!! The response, support and interest has been so incredible and it has meant the world to the success of this voyage. Thank you EVERYONE!! An amazing experience for both Bert and ShoreTeam Leah. Everything is looking nice and quiet for the upcoming week and Bert will be sailing home to Gabriola and Nani, finally. What a whirlwind! You can find all the press articles, videos, radio interviews and magazine features on Bert’s website press page: www.the5capes.com
Bert has enjoyed pizza, cookies, donuts and some great movies. (Notably the Maiden documentary!) Seaburban is nestled in a cozy slip and has had a wash and a quick polish, but strangely enough, Sir Salty is nowhere to be found...

Thank you to the Canadian Forces Sailing Association for a perfect backdrop. To give back to those who serve, Bert welcomes all CFB personnel to the SV Seaburban for an informal meet and greet today (July 22) and 1-3pm. As an Armed Forces veteran, Bert has the utmost respect for those dedicated to serving our freedoms.

You asked, we listened! Go FaceBook LIVE with Bert and Sir Salty on Friday July 24 from 1-2pm PST.

Link here : https://facebook.com/events/s/facebook-live-with-bert-and-sa/585695388983536/?ti=icl

CBC The National: The Moment

Bert’s made the National! Kind of a big deal! Of course the press list is growing like crazy (check out the website press page for all the links!) but CBC The National gets the word out across Canada:).

https://www.facebook.com/thenational/videos/1593712537468251/?vh=e&extid=b0oYfkTGIsFyrKlT

Bert is doing a meet and greet in Victoria tomorrow if any are interested;)

https://facebook.com/events/s/meet-bert-and-sir-salty-/708374906680039/?ti=icl

The most important photo of all. With Dad