WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

My portable sauna (1st test) - Electric sailboat vlog 0024

DIY Sauna +1 (and the frugal approach does not always work (but is fun)..., but 10 points for trying!)

Sailing to Princess Louisa Inlet - 2017 (A crisper edit)

Nick (Ty Dewi) re-edit (many thanks).

 

A great example of getting on the water inexpensively: Sailboat Refit The Launch (Squires Lady)

Congratulations Squires Lady! (The hard work and innovation has paid off).

"The Master Foragers"

The Froo Gal Crew Charters in British Columbia

The Froo Gal crew, joined by Nick from Ty Dewi and other occasional visitors, charted a Catalina 355 from Comox, Vancouver Island for the last two week. The itinerary included: Princess Louisa Inlet, Egmont, the Skookumchuck Narrows, Smuggler Cove, the Sunshine Coast and foraging for oysters, mussels, clams, huckleberries, blackberries, and sea asparagus and other money saving tips (see below for the complete list).

This area of British Columbia (BC) is particularly beautiful. See this short montage video for some of the highlights (Thanks Nick).

Things we did to save money:

1. Shopped around for cheap flights and charter rates when deciding when and where to take a charter trip.  We ended up with the new(?), no frills Air Canada Rouge (and were lucky to get a free upgrade on the way back which saved on the cost of a few glasses of wine on the way back).  LateSail.com did a great job booking us the charter boat, as usual.  Make sure you take a tablet or smart phone (or a book) and download the Air Canada Rouge to get access to the in-flight entertainment.

2.  Used local knowledge for provisioning. Nick did a sterling job provisioning -- food and alcohol -- for the trip. He is a particularly frugal and saved us a significant amount on our usual. hurried efforts.

3. Nick's home brew wine.  Nick supplemented the shop bought wine stocks with his kit-based home brew wine -- we and our various guests during the trip did not spot the difference.

4. Anchoring avoids costly mooring charges.  East of the Georgia straight, from the Sunshine Coast, Princess Louisa Inlet and Desolation sound is a Mecca of small bays.  Stern-to mooring to rocks below the waterline is legal event near private islands. Many places have rings. Some areas have government docks or municipal park mooring buoys, for which a modest charge or donation is requested.

5. Were few opportunities to eat and drink out on our itinerary. The gas BBQ on the boat was well used.

6. Foraging for shellfish was easy and legal pretty much everywhere.  A licence was simple to buy on line.  There were limitations on numbers, types and areas for line-caught fish. We only tried for rockfish and threw back the couple of tiddlers that we hooked. We recommend a good first aid kit (including my personal favorite, superglue) unless you are experienced a shucking oysters. Huckleberries and blackberries were easy to find and plentiful -- great in pancakes.

7. Hitchhiking. Taxis are hard to come by in the more remote areas of BC. Locals are friendly and a used to picking up hitchhikers between the various ferry terminals from the mainland to Vancouver Island and the smaller islands.

8. Borrowing kayaks. Nick lent us his kayaks, saving us on rentals and providing a great foraging platform. Similarly we borrowed mountain bikes to ride great trails in Cumberland on Vancouver Island.

9. Making your entertainment, as we had failed to bring any playing cards, Nick make a pack our of a breakfast cereal packet.

10. Second hand cruising guides were adequately up to date for this largely undeveloped region. We were lucky enough to find a local thrift store bargain for a fraction of the cost of new (just a few dollars).

11. We had the luck of stumbling across great free music -- a string quartet on a cat. that was moored with us in Princess Louisa Inlet.

12. Wildlife watching come free with the package in BC -- we saw a humpback whale, bald eagles, seals and pelicans to name the highlights of this trip.  During our walks and rides through the forests, we were pleased not to see a bear or cougar.

This was a magical trip for us. Family, friends and being frugal added much (for the Froo Gal crew) to the natural beauty of BC.

Frugal and Environmentally Friendly Eating

Lionfish is an is an invasive species in the Atlantic. Spearfishing them and eating them is therefore generally acknowledged to be a cheap and responsible source of protein. Monday Never's VLOG is an entertaining introduction to the topic. Many websites offer advice on the topic. Do your own research and come to you own conclusions!

The NOAA website states:

Since lionfish are not native to Atlantic waters, they have very few predators. They are carnivores that feed on small crustaceans and fish, including the young of important commercial fish species such as snapper and grouper.

Unfortunately, NOAA researchers have concluded that invasive lionfish populations will continue to grow and cannot be eliminated using conventional methods. Marine invaders are nearly impossible to eradicate once established.

A NOAA fact sheet states that young lionfish have been found as far north as the states of New York and Rhode Island.

The Guardian reports that they are now found in the Med.

Great advice on Saving Money

These kids (Sailingsaltymermaid) are savvy when it comes to saving money on boat work. Their VLOG Q&A advice is to do the work yourself, buy second-hand parts and if you are struggling seek advice. And, as a last resort pay for a specialist to diagnose problems and provide advice to allow you to do the work. All in all they say that they have saved saving thousands of dollars.

Sailingsaltymermaid

They also point out that doing the work yourself allows you yo learn about your boat and you'll know that the work is done right -- not something you always get when you hire others to do the work.

The Froo Gal crew is looking forward to their upcoming VLOG post on how they make money, whilst living and working afloat.  They seek like great entrepreneurs.