A Trip To Dracula's Castle

Article By Bernard Boulanger

Prior to purchasing "Nutmeg", my Danica 16 (3 months prior) , while my pocket cruiser craze was still in it's infancy, I saw a really sleek little sloop on the local craigslist (where admittedly I spend too much time trolling for boats etc). It was a low slung and rakish looking Crown 18 and such a pretty shade of blue that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm a sucker for aesthetics and it's led me astray on more than a few occasions! Also it was called the "Glory B" . What a heck of a name! and my names both start with B...it was meant to B!

So I started hunting for information about the Crown 18, and despite the awesome power of the internet I could only find very little. Apparently it was made right here in North Vancouver (on Crown street, thus the name) the smallest of a line of boats made by ,I believe, the same people that made the Cal boats up here. It's not at all surprising as the Crown 18 looks pretty well exactly like a slightly smaller Cal 20, except with an iron swing keel instead of the fixed fin and bulb that the Cal 20 sports. They were said to be pretty well built boats, built in the early 70's before the first fuel crisis when gas and fiberglass were cheap and flowed like water!

Armed with this spotty research and a childish desire to own the pretty blue boat I went to have a look at it. It was out in Langely, only about an hour away from North Vancouver . When I arrived in Langley I swear I was followed the whole way through town by a huge snow/rain cloud. Now I'll say this, if you're selling an old boat, do it during a rainstorm, they look so shiny , sleek, and pretty all wetted down by rain. I gave it and it's trailer what I imagined was a good looking over, listened briefly to the owner telling me it needed a bit of interior woodwork (nothing structural of course..ahahahah) had a cursory look inside, turned off my brain and started talking about buying!

Oh yeah and she came with a British Seagull 40 plus! A luxury longshaft model with a clutch!! a real clutch! I had a soft spot for Seagulls having owned about 10 during the past year (only 10) , and with a clutch! did I mention the clutch? Here she is prior to purchasing

Think I was being wise, I decided to delay the inevitable and headed home, then, after a day or so I talked with the owner , stated my intention to buy , haggled him down a bit and even managed to persuade him to deliver the boat to my place. What a coup! I was selling a lightning I had picked up for free and I swear it left the yard a scant hour or so before the Glory B appeared to take it's place. Well this is when the buyers remorse kicked in. As on further inspection the trailer was really quite rusty, the tires were incredibly cracked and ancient and after having a look at the inside of the boat I determined, as I pulled out handfuls of cheese-like quarterberth, that about 80% of the bulkheads and both quarterberths were quite rotted, and the tabbing was delaminating everywhere...oy vey.

Time to learn some new skills! After the initial gnashing of teeth, wailing and tearing of hair I started researching methods. I found some plywood, hunted down a fiberglass warehouse (on craigslist again) that was having a half price sale and proceeded to pour money, time, sweat, tears and frustration into the Glory B Glory be!!!

I have to say there's nothing quite as inspiring as being swathed from head to toe in protective gear, lying prone inside a tiny poorly ventillated coffin like space, grinding fiberglass for hours...oh joy! oh bliss! Oh $^@$&#&@#^@!! I learned a tonne though. I researched and read many tutorials , huzzah internet! Then using the many fragments of the former bulkheads I cut out some new ones, sealed then up good and proceeded to retab then in , devising all sorts of strange and wonderful techniques in the process. This is when I can say I really learned to cuss like a sailor, I could before, but now it had &%$&%^# depth and profound #@^$#@^ feeling!!

After a few weeks of this fun, the interior was done! and boy did it reek like fiberglass! Fat chance I was going to sleep in there, let alone persuade my girlfriend to. Now to turn my attention to the rest of the boat, I got a deal on some blue line to replace the rotted mainsheet and strangely absent jib sheets, added a vang, replaced and replumbed the cockpit drains and thruhull fitting.

Did I mention the original fir rudder was missing a few inches off the back? Obviously eaten by an outboard propeller? The boat came with a spare new solid mahogany rudder, which was sadly about 3/8 too thick and quite heavy, so I bought a small piece of clear fir (for a small fortune) and scarfed it in using G2 epoxy , sanded and spar varnished the whole deal including the nice mahogany tiller, things were starting to look pretty nice Next the trailer! I found a couple of larger 12" (and newer) tires and wheels from two different sources (one free, one $45) fixed the mast supports, rewired the lighting and a hey nonny no I was ready to hit the water. Having topped up my initial $900 investment by another $500+ or so I wasn't feeling too clever at this point. Here's my to do list and the final tally

Well she towed behind the Mercedes no problem and I made it to the launch, she even launched really easy with the swing keel. Getting to the dock from the launch was interesting as without the board down and the deep (none kick-up) rudder off she was pretty flat bottomed and skidded around on the water quite a bit. I got her to the dock, got the sails up and cast off. Glory B she sails again! and quite nicely too, very responsive, like a giant dinghy, turned on a dime, easy to singlehand and very roomy in the large 8' long cockpit. Being flush decked she was quite dry with the high freeboard and despite a bit of windage quite fast, in fact lot's of fun!..maybe it was all worth it. Here she is at the launch..pretty!

So I decided a solo camping trip was in order. hmm where to go. maybe to the local vampire baron's castle! or as commonly known, the BC Hydro Station No 2 halfway up Indian Arm. I packed up some provisions, tents, tarps etc and set off. Knowing I'd have to leave the tiller at some points I'd bought some bungee/shock chord with me and a carabeiner with which, as I sailed, I improvised a tiller tamer between the railings with a couple of turns around the tiller proper. It worked a treat and I was laughing like a madman as I posed dramatically on the bow of my wee sloop being steered up the arm by no-one! Note the anti-wear duct tape, true to my Canadian heritage!..and my foot..I think that's my foot..I %^$@# hope it's my ugly foot!

The winds were fine on the way there. they mostly blow up the arm, being in general, southwesterly winds, so I was running before them the entire way to my destination. Occasionally there'll be a northerly outflow, if you're really lucky on a day trip you can run up the arm on the way out and run back after! I was about an hour and a half to my destination, on my way I passed boulder Island, Deep Cove, Jug Island, Belcarra, Racoon Island and then the Twin Islands where I often camp. I was enjoying lounging about the large cockpit and the convenience of having seat hatches for gear etc..neat! Here's me approaching Racoon Island off the port bow, just to the right of it in the distance was my destination and dead ahead are the Twin Islands I like to sail in the narrow passage between the Islands and the shore. It makes me feel like a mighty explorer! ..look at all that pretty blue line!!

My next big hurdle was docking at the power station's dock. There's some awfully large pointy rocks that make up the "beach" and the turn around area to come up into the wind was pretty tight, I'd have one chance, but I got the Seagull going with the clutch off ,the luxury clutch!!, just in case. I managed to dock pretty good without using the engine. I did however tear a whacking great chunk of flesh out of my foot leaping onto the dock. Hurrah! out with the bandaids and antiseptic! A good sea yarn just isn't the same without some injuries and a bit of blood! Here's the station, you can see what I meant about a Vampire castle, this is from a different day when I met a really nice Russian(Transylvanian??!!) couple camping there.

or even scarier

I made her fast to the dock and proceeded to explore my new environs. It's a very interesting building, actually the second of two power stations, This one was built in 1912 and both were designed by the same fellow who designed BCs parliment buildings in Victoria, Supposedly he wasn't even an architect, just a drawer of plans, but he posed as one here in Canada. Sadly, he came to a bad end, being murdered in a love triangle with his butler...or chauffeur..or somebody. Despite his dubious love life he had some great ideas and these industrial buildings clinging to the steep walls of the fjord Indian arm are actually quite beautiful, adding to the landscape rather than just being a formless intrusive blot on it. They have a somewhat ominous presence too, close-up. At night this one is dimly lit up and strange noises come from inside! Just under some bushes I found this rather suspicious pile of unidentified bones . Which I must say, being alone, was a deciding factor in my sleeping arrangements.

The vast outlet nozzles and turbines are a pretty awesome sight!

I made camp on the beach to the right of the station where there's a nice firepit. I set up my tent , brought some supplies ashore, and as there was still a few hours of daylight left and the wind was picking up I decided for a short exploratory sail further up the arm, after all I was on a sailing adventure! I should sail! So I raised sail and left the dock , sailing past the power station and around the corner towards the 1st power station, which I believe was built in 1904. The first hydro electric power station for Vancouver, it produced 16KW at that time, using the waters running down from the newly produced Buntzen Lake Reservoir in the mountains above. It's even prettier than the other, being made, for the most part of dressed stone, it looks like a manor house or medieval monastery. Here it is as I sailed past it

Apparently this is Dracula's other castle in Indian arm. At the back end you can see the new turbine buildings. I think these buildings have been deactivated but are ready to be started at anytime if there's a major outage elsewhere.

I kept heading up the arm, running before the wind, and was just coming through a narrows into the large bay before Crocker Island. It seemed prudent to turn back at this point as I'd been out for a bit and still had to sail back and make dinner etc. So I swung her around and started beating close hauled into the now freshening breeze, Glory B heeled just like a Dinghy and I found myself up against the windward rails to help balance her. Thank God for the tiller extension I stole off my poor neglected Mutineer! Not too far behind me I spotted a much larger sailboat beating to weather as I was, probably 30 plus feet or so maybe 40, of course I decide to race her! Arrrrr

I gave her a taunting wave and a long hoot from my conch (did I mention I carry a conch as my signal device, nature''s fog horn! Amazing!!) The wind was blowing good now as we tacked in succession back through the narrows and in front of the No 1 Power station. I was managing to keep ahead!

It was at this time that things started to get a little hairy! I was on a port tack, close hauled with the 1st station receding behind me, heeled right over, spilling wind from the main to keep from capsizing, when the wind started gusting and increasing in force dramatically. The arm is known for these sudden squalls in the early eve but this was one of the first I'd experienced. The boat was heeling precariously over so I dumped the main, but I was flying a big genoa up front so the boat kept heeling over !!

Being by myself and only so familiar with the boat. I decided discretion was the better part of valour, fired up the Seagull (yay clutch!) hauled down the main, secured it with a few quick wraps of it's sheet , then the genoa and pinned it down with a bungee, engaged the clutch and turned her into the wind to head back to my camp, happily just around the corner. Feeling kind of cowardly, I looked back and just as I was getting the engine going I saw the much larger sailboat was hauling down his sails and starting his engine...I felt much better now. Like a wise sailor avoiding the storms I can't weather, or is it weathering the storms I can't avoid..hmm probably both

I motored back to camp with the trusty seagull pushing through the wind and waves to the dock and made her fast...Glory B ! Adventure on the low seas! I got a jolly little fire going on the beach, made my dinner, and set up a tarp boom tent having decide to sleep on the boat to avoid being eaten or drained of blood in the night. Also I'd never spent the night on a boat before! how exciting! Here's the idyllic scene (this is facing towards Deep Cove, roughly south)

The wind was blowing from the south straight onto the dock, so it was pretty noisy what with the boat banging around but I managed to doze off. Then it started raining, my tarp arrangement soon showed it's inadequacy and I retreated to the smelly interior I mentioned earlier. It didn't smell too bad with my head facing the open companionway, what's more it was dry! I actually managed to doze off again for a while. With the morning, the rain had let up so I decided to scramble up the steep gully beside the power station and see if I could get to this staircase I could see behind it. When I got up and around the corner I had a nice view back over the inlet.

I climbed the stairs and found myself on a beautiful moss covered path high above the water, and skirting the inlets edge. It was the path that led between the two power stations . There used to be a whole community based around the older one farther up the inlet and I guess this allowed them to check up on the newer second station Here it is looking back along it. I think it has an elven fairy tale quality to it. Very lush.

I could only go so far as I still wanted to make some lunch , strike camp and sail/ motor back to the Cates Park launch So back down I went and started packing up. While loading the boat I noticed some sloshy water noise, and upon examination I found a few inches of water in front of the main bulkhead in the area around the compression post ! I'm &%$&%#&$# sinking!!! Happily it seemed it was going to be a very very slow sinking, so what the heck, I'd make it back. The day was very calm at this point with a fine drizzle coming down. My adventure was drawing to a close. Here's the Glory B at the dock in the calm of late morning

As there was no wind I fired up the (now) trusty seagull and started the 12km trip back to Cates Park. There weren't many pleasure boaters out in the drizzle and my tiller tamer was working great so I must admit I spent a fair bit of the trip back reading! It was hilarious how easy it was. Of course I kept a sharp eye out for other boats etc. It took about 1.5 hours and just under one wee Seagull tank of gas to make it back. I managed to maneuver her back onto the trailer, rinsed her off and headed home...Glory B! It was shortly after this while driving home from a similiar sailing jaunt to the same location with my girlfriend (we slept on the dock to not get eaten/drained of blood....and a mouse ran across my girlfriends hair! such squeals of terror! ) that I had a interesting encounter. We were parked outside a friend's house where she was cat-sitting and a fellow came up and said "Hey a Crown 18! My dad designed those boats." Crazy! It was from him that I learned they were called Crowns because they were built on Crown Street. I discovered the leak was a mushy bit of fiberglass just forward of the compression post. A bit of grinding and many layers of matt/roving combination, plus a lick of paint. Magic!! Amazing stuff fiberglass! Noxious, smelly , itchy, and evil..but truly amazing! I had many other good jaunts on the Glory B, mostly in the Arm till I sold her shortly after buying the Danica 16. It was a close call though as she was a fast and lively pretty little boat. Here she is tied up at Rocky Point in Port Moody with her proud captain posing in true pirate style Arrrrrr