Captain Peter and first mate Patty spent the night on Crescent Wave. We woke to a spectacular morning and after breakfast and coffee we went off to the airport to pick up Gerry and Jenny who arrived from Calgary at 8:15 in the morning. After gear was stowed we headed out towards the San Juan Isands - Friday Harbor(Sara is right. It is very difficult to spell harbor without the U) We were not hopeful about getting any wind but we were pleasantly surprised. We put up the sails and we were happy to cruise 5-6 knots. We even had a chance to put up the jenny (the sail not the passenger) and sailed along reaching about 6-7 knots. It is always so beautiful to see that sail full out. Gosh, what a beautiful day. We could not have had a better day. We reached Friday Harbor around 1:30. After clearing customs, we smoored in at Charlie dock. We then set out to the town. Jenny bought some great boat shoes at the marine store and we all enjoyed a great dinner outside at Downriggers. Back to the boat we went, where a bottle of Sailor Jerry was put away happily by the passengers. Off to bed we went. Tomorrow we are back to Canada, going to Ganges wiith a stop off in Bedwell Harbour to clear customs.
We left Roche Harbor this morning wishing we could have stayed longer. What a great place! I think you could stay 3 or 4 days and have a really great time. We coud have hung out all day at the pool. It was a really nice facility and the showers there were way better than waiting for one of the marina showers. Alice was a supreme swimmer with Chris. She was jumping right in and under the water! People couldn't believe that she was only 2 1/2. Such a water baby.
There was a point where we had 7kts of wind on a close-beam reach. For the first and only time this trip we successfully flew the gennaker. Yippee!! I was a little hestiant to go too far upwind with it, but when I stepped away to change a diaper, Chris took her further upwind and we were travelling at 7.5 kts in 7 kts of wind. Go gennaker!! It was only for a few minutes before the wind copletely died, but it was a very satisfying few minutes.
We stopped at Van Isle marina to refuel amd clear customs, and now were headed back to home port. What a great trip!! Desolation sound next year?
Footnote: George crawled a few "steps" during the journey today!!
Today was rather, well, lively shall we say? Lively swell, lively wind, and lively young and able crew. Things were looking very promising as we left Port Townsend. I made sure that we left during a favourable current, and that we had a decent wind to get us across the strait on a single tack. All went exactly as planned. We had about 3kts of current helping us along into the strait combined with a nice 10-12 kt westerly breeze. Perfect, right? No! Westerly winds opposing a 3kt easterly current... equals very choppy seas indeed. We were navigating our way through 4-6 ft swells at times, and I was a little stressed with the little ones on board. (As the rest of crew of can attest to) It was sure fun taking the helm though. It had been a while since I had to steer through a significant chop. Can't get rusty!
The wind picked up to 24 kts at one point and we were reaching speeds up to 9.4 kts. The wind was doing funny things from time to time where it would die off to less than 10 kts, and we would get all set to raise the gennaker, and then all of the sudden just as we got the sailbag on deck we would start seeing 17kts again on a beam reach. Gah! So much for the gennaker. We have had no luck with that sail this trip. There just haven't been the right conditions at all. Oh well! With the lively conditions we managed the nearly 40 mile trip in 7 hours, 2 hours faster than planned. The fast voyage allowed us to take the "normal" route into Roche Harbor from the NW, instead of the short-cut I planned through Mosquito Pass. The short cut probably would have shavded half an hour off the trip, but when you're racing the sunset that's worth it. the fact that we were no longer in a rush allowed us to take the more familiar waters and not risk the shallow narrow pass in what could have been blustery conditions.
Roche Harbor is sort of the 'spa' destination on the itinerary. Mom and I are getting facials tomorrow and Chris will take Alice to the swimming pool. Ahhhh, I can feel the relaxation settling in already. This evening we've been enjoying the 'sunset salute'. The Canadian, American, and British anthems are played at sunset, and then a canon is fired in case you weren't paying attention. Afterward they play "star and Stripes Forever' and people honk their horns. Fun! But I wish I had known about it early because I had just put Georgie to bed about half anf hour before. Whoops! I'll know better for tomorrow night!!
Hello to anyone who is reading! Shout-out to Judy, who has confirmed she is following along. Hi Judy!! If anyone else is reading, please let us know via text or e-mail. It would great to know who is also with us.
Well, we're underway once again and heading for Roche Harbor, about 35 miles away. With the westerly winds that are forecast, we should hopefully be able to sail right across the Strait of Juan de Fuca on one tack. I am hoping that it will be a bit more relaxing than yesterday's sail. We had great weather and wind speed, but due to the wind opposing the current, it made for some pretty rough conditions and the bow was getting bounced around. I tried my best to surf down any waves when I was on the helm, but sometimes they were just a bit too small to see them coming. Poor little Alice got queasy and was sick when she was watching her shows in the front cabin. Nana was quick to see it coming and managed to get most of it in a bowl. Poor thing! I am really hoping that today is a bit better. Hoping for "smooth saiing" as they say!
Yesterday we had winds from 10-12 kts from the north, so it was in our face all the way back from Seattle to Port Townsend. It was some good technical sailing with all the tacking and the rough seas we were dealing with. We managed to sail aout 90 percent of the day, which is fantastic when considering we had to motor the whole way down! We did turn the engine on sooner than predicted, but it was all in the name of comfort for wee Alice. We could tell she was getting tired and had just about had it with trying to keep herself upright. George didn't get sick (I've been told that babies don't get motion sickness because their brains aren't developed enough yet...) but he had trouble napping. He was in our aft cabin and he would get rolled around on each tack and would wake up. Poor little guy was not a happy camper when we pulled into Port Townsend, and went promptly to bed.
Back in Port Townsend, Dad was once again at war with the birds. There are hoards of them here and they especially love Crescent Wave's tall mast. As a result, the decks take a bit of beating. (Eeeeewwwwww) Dad spent every free moment up on deck with hose. Look-out birdies, Peter's coming to get you!!!
We had a nice evening back in Port Townsend and went to Aldrich's market again to restock with fresh veggies and bread. We had a releaxing dinner on the boat and generally just decompressed after the busy day on the water. Crescent Wave got underway at 10:15 this morning, and hoping for calmer seas today...
Photos attached! Some shots of us with Seattle and Mount Rainier in the background as we were leaving Elliott Bay, a few of wee baby George getting a bath in the sink, and Jose Bautista at the plate!
Well 3 days in Seattle sure went by quickly. We had a lovely tie and had unbelievable weather. We were prepared for the typical rainy northwest weather but we were treated to sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid 70s. We experienced the craziness that is Pike Place Market on a cruise ship weekend, did some shopping, walked along the waterfront, and went to two baseball games. The Mariners have a terrible record this season, but they played great and beat the Red Sox on Sunday (hooray!), and the kids came away with Mariners jerseys of their own. We've all decided that they are now our second favourite team! Although it was great to see the home team playing well, they continued to do so against our Blue Jays on Monday night. The Jays were ahead 5-4 until the 9th inning when Seattle hit a two-run home run. Naturally. I don't think we've ever been to a game when the Jays have actually won. Hopefully the curse will be broken next time! The Sunday game also allowed the kids to run the bases afterwards, so we couldn't leave without Alice trying her hand at that. She got off to a great start but ran at full speed towards the pitcher's mound instead of 2nd base! Too funny. After a course correction, poor Alice was met by the Mariner Moose mascot and she was absoutely terrified and came to dead stop. Chris had to carry her around the rest of the way. It was pretty cute... hopefully we can try it again in couple of years and see how George does too!
We were prepared for a nutty tired and bored Alice at the games, but she did very well. Safeco field has a great playground for the kids to get rid of the ants in their pants and Alice really loved it. She was entertained by the music and the noise of the crowd, and I think she might of watched a little baseball too. Needless to say, we were all proud and impressed with her behaviour. George was easy as usual and was happy to smile and flirt with all of the ladies in the row behind us.
We got away at 7:30 this morning to take advantage of the favourable current for as long as possible. The wind is right in our face, again (what is with that??), but we're making way under sail and enjoying the nice 10 kt breeze. The sun is shining and skies are blue. It couldn't be nicer morning for sailing back to Port Townsend.
Well, it only took us 6 and a half hours to get to Seattle. I wish it was because we had idyllic winds the whole day, but that was sadly not the case. We did make a valiant attempt to sail earlier in the trek. We did have 8 or 9 kts of wind, but the direction and current just were not favourable and it wasn't taking us anywhere. We made the decision to motor until the the current turned, but by that time the wind had died down to 3kts and less. We motored the whole way! It wasn't so bad. It's nice to enjoy the downtime and the kids nap really well with the hum of the engine. We saw a pod of dolpins about 5 or 6 strong. Alice loved that!
Coming into Seattle was quite busy. There were large cargo ships and cruise ships coming and going as we were trying to find the marina. We pointed the cruise ships out to Alice. I said,
"Look at that huge boat Alice!"
She replied, "That's not a boat, that's a city!"
True enough.
Well, as if on the schedule the sun has come out just as we've finished typing the boat up. Time for snacks and cocktails, methinks!
I thought of other titles for this post. I was toying with something like "Calgary sucks" or "How can Canada annex the Olympic Penninsula?" It should be an indication of how much we have enjoyed our time here in Port Townsend. The "free speech guy" who fills out 15 whiteboards with his thoughts every day on the street deems it the "Venice Beach of the NW". It is indeed very quirky, a little bit hippie, and a whole lot charming.
Chris and I took the "Alice Pea" yesterday morning from the marina and puttered her around to the city dock just north of the ferry terminal. We visited "Better Living Through Coffee" which specializes in organically grown beans and locally produced organic (and even raw!) milk. The atmosphere was exceedingly chilled out complete with several texts on social justice and video tapes of Howard Zinn lectures. Certainly not for everyone! The barrista seemed a miffed at us because we asked for 'to-go' cups, and the thought of something as wasteful as drink carriers meant we couldn't carry all four lattes back to Crescent Wave. As a result, Chris and I stayed to drink ours and enjoyed the hippie vibe and a few quiet moments on our 11th anniversary! We regained the barrista's favour when we asked for another two lattes reusing the same to-go cups we had so we could carry those back in the Alice Pea. We're so green.
We were blessed with a warm sunny afternoon despite the morning fog. Walking up and down the main street was delightful. We visited Fins restaurant, the Nifty Fifties diner (great burgers!), and Alidrich's for groceries. I felt like I was getting a good bit of excersice walking up and down the hills. The Hudson point marina also gets a thumbs up. Not only are the facilities clean and inviting, you certainly meet some interesting and friendly people.
Just a few boats down from us was the sailing vessel Terramoto!, a racing vessel owned by Scott and Susan Burback from Seattle. They were telling us all about the Vic - Maui race, which they WON first overall last year. It was quite the adventure that is documented on their blog - check it out at http://www.scottandsusanburbank.com
Inother news - George tried his first taste of fruit. Hooray for peaches!
Well, we did it! We've braved unfamiliar waters and have crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was rather uneventful, and winds were light. We saw a HUGE sea lion in San Juan channel just before we entered the strait. We weren't quite sure what it was at first, I thought it looked rather like a bear breeching in the water. Brown and fuzzy!
There was a great stretch where we were on one tack for a few hours and covered most of our crossing. We decided to allow autopilot "Jeeves" to take the helm for this part of the cruise. Nice to get a break and we could enjoy a sandwich and some time to relax and enjoy the sunny weather, all while cruising along at 5kts.
When the wind dropped and changed directions we were keen to get the gennaker up and flying. The first attempt was a bit rusty. We have to furl the jib in before we raise the gennaker. It was a good idea in theory to save some time, but it's just a bit too busy up on the foredeck if the jib is still out. We tried to get it flying twice, but both times we tried, the wind just died on us. There isn't much you can do with 3 knots! It was still a good exercise to practise raising the genny though. The second we raised it we were a far more elegant team!
Port Townsend is a really great place so far. We walked up and down the main street this evening and saw some great cafes and shops. There was a playground for Alice to burn off some steam. There are some great toy stores in town and we bought Alice a costume pirate hat. She loves it so much, she puts it on and gives a proud and loud "Arrrgh" for the entertainment of the residents of Port Townsend!
I'm really glad that we don't have to rush out of here tomorrow. We get the whole day to explore before we make our way to Seattle on 13th. Looking forward to a real latte tomorrow morning.
I still have trouble typing 'Harbor' without the 'u'. Just sayin'.
The day started out pretty calm, and we motored away from Sidney. The winds started to pick up a little bit when we were passing the mouth of Haro Strait, so the sails were raised. Naturally, the wind direction wasn't all that cooperative, so lots of tacking was required to get us where we needed to go. No biggie, it makes one's turn on the helm a lot more fun. The wind was blowing anywhere from 7 to 12 kts, gusting to 17kts at one point when we got around to the East side of San Juan Island.
This is our second visit to Friday Harbor, the first was back in October when we had that awesome Indian Summer weekend. Our first impressions from October weren't that favourable, but I think we were in a rather industrial part of the marina. This time it was certainly a lot better and the views we had of the bay explain why this is indeed a popular spot. The town of Friday Harbor is also so charming and quirky. I really wish that we had more time here to explore. Next time we'll have to plan to stay another night! We went out for a stroll to get supplies and had dinner at Downrigger's down the street from the marina. Good food, and a good place for Alice. She's really been well behaved and is taking to boating like a champ!
We've just departed now for Port Townsend. Looking forward to crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We're now in unfamiliar waters... yippee!
So last night was our first night on the boat with Peter, Patty, Chris, Sara, George and Alice.
Alice was wired with excitement and was running up and down the stairs from the moment she got on board. The good news is that she is now very proficient at moving around the boat! George was, well, George - happy, content, and very mellow.
On to the evening...
All were in bed by about 9:30pm with George sleeping with Sara (in the Starboard birth), Alice sleeping on her own in the Port birth, Chris sleeping in the salon, and Peter/Patty in the main bow birth. The three ring circus started at some point in the middle of the night with Alice waking daddy up from a dead sleep by crawling on him and trying to snuggle. Dad ended up taking her back to bed, only to have George wake up around the same time. Sara migrated to the other couch in the salon and Dad moved into bed with George. All slept for a little while until George woke up again, Sara moved into bed with him, and dad moved back out to the salon couch. At about 6:15am, Alice woke up again and daddy moved back into bed with her to keep her noise level down.
All in all, not a bad first night on the boat.
Happy Birthday to Captain Peter!! After a quick breakfast we decide to head home from Ganges to Sidney as Doug and Elsie have to catch an evening plane back to Edmonton. It was slightly overcast but windy. We had listened to the weather forecast and knew that we would be having some good wind back home. Captain Peter opted to put in two reefs as a precaution and it was a wise decision as we had over 20 knot winds. Yet, once again we were able to sail all the way home without using the motor. Andrew got a chance to be at the helm and loved it, of course looked for more speed whenever he could. Robyn and Doug also had successful experiences on the helm. What an end to yet another great sailing adventure. After seeing Doug and Elsie off we came back to Victoria to celebrate Peter's birthday at the Blue Crab. Great dinners for all. Now it will be back to the boat in the morning for a thorough cleaning inside and out to prepare for the next sailing expedition...Seatt;le...yeah!!
After Elsie and first mate Patty had wonderful massages at the spa, the crew of the Crescent Wave took off from Poets Cove in wonderful sunny weather. It was hot and sunny, but we were able to sail about 40% of the time. Both Robyn and Doug had turns at the helm and came into Ganges harbour about 3pm. We were docked on the breakwater a new mooring spot for us. Cocktails were taken on the boat. A swan, named Swanson by Andrew swam by. Robyn and Andrew fed Swanson a bagel. He must have enjoyed that free meal as he brought his lady friend Swansea back for more later on. We had dinner at the oystercatcher. First mate Patty was a little upset that the miussels just sold out as she ordered. Oh, well. C'est la vie. Back to the boat the crew went for tea and cookies. It was beautiful evening and we then all retired for the night.
We woke up to a spectacular morning in Montague Harbour. Captain Peter and first mate Patty went across in the Alice Pea to the Bakery Ferry to get some freshly baked bread and the six cinnamon buns that we preordered the night before. After feasting on the buns and a quick clean up we were eager to set off towards Poet's Cove. Unfortunately, we had no wind as much as we tried to harness any puff that we felt. So, alas, we had to motor in to the cove. To top of the day, the bow thrusters on the boat gave out just as captain Peter was trying to dock the Crescent Wave. There was some tense moments , but Peter was able to dock the boat without thrusters. We spent a quiet afternoon on the boat reading or resting...such an easy life, while Captain Peter worked to fix the broken thrusters. After a so so dinner at the hotel we came back to the boat, to view Elsie's pics of India and Indonesia. A very busy Marina tonight..Lots of music and partying. Hopefully, we will get some sleep tonight. Elsie and first mate Patty look forward to their massages in the morning before the Crescenst Wave heads off to Ganges Marina on Saltspring Island. Keep your fingers crossed that the bow thrusters work.
Captain Pete arrived with crew members Andrew and Robyn late Thursday night. After a good nights sleep, captain Peter, and crew members Elsie, Doug , Andrew and Robyn headed out of Sidney harbour around 10 am. Our voyage plan was to Montague Harbour. Winds were strong at the beginning of our journey and captain Pete decided to put in one reef. We continued for awhile and encountered quirky winds and since we were anxious to procure a mooring ball we motored the rest of the way into Montague Harbour around !:30. We did get one of the last four balls and tied up successfully. To our delight the bakery boat was in the harbour. The girls headed out in the Alice Pea to the Bakery Boat to put our order in for the morning requesting six cinnamon buns and a loaf of whole wheat bread. We took a picture of us on the bakery boat with the baker's wares in the background. We then all headed out in the Alice Pea to hike out to Shell beach and then back to the boat for cocktails. The cloudy sky disppeared to reveal a beautiful clear late afternoon sky. A dinner of lasagne, caesar salad and garlic bread was enjoyed by all capped off by slices of fruit pie we bought from the bakery ferry. After witnessing a breathtaking sunset we retired to the salon of the Crescent Wave for nightcaps toasting a wonderful day.
We left Montague Harbour about 10.am after having breakfast and cleaning up. We had one drowning as captain Peter lost one of the French Presses to the mighty deep. Anyway, we had great winds and were able to sail all the way back to Sidney. Captain Peter wisely put in two reefs for safety and comfort of passengers. John took the helm for the most part and did a great job. We were a little concerned about docking, but all went very well, when there were extra hands on the dock to help. A great end to a fabulous trip.
We arrived in Montague Harbour around 3pm. We were lucky enough to snag a mooring ball without much fuss. We did not have much wind during our travel from Ganges but I think we must have motored at least 60% of the way. We all tendered over to Shell Beach and then we all came back to the boat for cocktails. We do love that cocktail hour. Gerry Hebert and his family arrived and rafted up to our boat which we later found out is a big no-no but we managed to sneak him in for the night. We had lasagne from the oven which was wonderful and surprisingly there was enough for all. Gerry brought out his soparano sax and entertained all in the harbour. We were disappointed to find out that the bread ferry was not there so alas, no cinnamon buns. Boo!
Th e girls had wonderful facials at the spa before setting off towards Saltspring Island around noon. The winds were light but managed to do some sailing. Peter made a wonderful docking and after some sight seeing we headed back to the boat for cocktails. We then went to the marina side restaurant. Greg was our waiter and was very entertaining. He is getting married this weekend so we all wished him well. We went next door for dessert (cookies and Sangria) There was a three piece band playing. John and Peter cringed as the bass player was terrible. Oh well, it was a fun evening in spite of the bad bass player.
The Crescent Wave left Sidney Harbour without incident morning of July 10th with 6 crew members aboard. The voyage plan was to Poet's Cove. We had light winds and we were able to sail about 50% of the time. We ran into Gerry Hebert on our way in Haro Strait. He will meet up with us in Montague Harbour later. We had a beautiful evening. We had dinner outside in the hotel and witnessed a spectacular sunset.
John and Joanne arrived Saturday afternoon on the 9th of July. We are staying overnight in Sidney and off to Poets Cove on Sunday morning. Nice day but not a lot of wind on the Sunday. still managed to sail 50% of the way.
This was our first trip with both kidlets on board. We just did a sail/motor to Gooch Island so Mom could practise anchoring before all the trips she gets to do without us in July. We sailed a little bit in light winds, but we got there. Not the greatest place to anchor. The only real suitable place was already occupied. Harumph... Alice was a bit overtired and certainly didn't have her listening ears on. She kept trying to take the wheel at the helm. No matter how many times Chris told her not to, she kept right on doing it. Result? Time-out in the fore-cabin!! She was mighty ticked off, but eventually she cried herself to sleep and had a much needed 2-hour nap. George was alright. He's not too keen on being out in the wind, much like Alice was at that age. He was happy playing the port cabin practising his new rolling skills. Weather was so-so. It was cloudy during most of our trip, about 10 nm. It's now beautiful and sunny now that we're back at Sidney. Naturally.
Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha. What a day. We woke up to 6 inches of snow on the deck which was kind of a surprise! It snowed until about 10:00am, when it finally stopped we were able get out and clean it off. Dinner plates make great make-shift snow shovels! The sun broke through and it was actually a pleasant morning. We even built a snowman crew member to supervise. Winds were calm coming out of Ganges and the sun was a nice change from yesterday's rain. On a broad reach and light winds we decided to try out the new Gennaker. It was a bit of a hassle getting it out and flying but we managed to figure it out and it was spectacular. It will take some getting used to as it got a bit scary when there would be any gusts over 10 kts. When the winds were pushing 12-14 kts we decided to douse the sail and put up the regular rigging. It was fine and the sail doused as expected. It was a strange gusty day though and and we were soon finding ourselves in light winds once again. The second try of the Gennaker wasn't was successful. Just as we were getting it going, the sailbag blew away and went overboard!! Oh no! Bag overboard!! So... a man-overboard drill was in the cards. We managed to douse the sail (taming the wild bull as Chris and Justin said...) and successfully turn the boat around. Dad will be relieved to hear that the sail bag was safely retrieved and is safe and sound in the lazerette. We motored the rest of the way to Poet's Cove and appear to be the only vessel here! Are we crazy?
Cold! But better than being in Calgary in the snow. We sailed about 80% of the time today. At times were getting gusts upwards of 25kts. It was fun, but maybe a little intense for Justin, David and Tamara's first day sailing Crescent Wave! Everyone did great. Most of the way here we sailed on one starboard tack on a close reach. The gusts were fun to deal with as we taught the crew how to spill the main if the boat heeled too much. We made it to Ganges in time for lunch and we're all looking forward to some hot tea and something to eat. I feel very proud! Let's hope that they're wrong about the snowfall warning tonight....
Well, the last day of the trip went pretty well. We had a nice walk around downtown Friday Harbor in the morning. We found a neat hole-in-the-wall 'Latte House', which was a nice change. Great bookstore and great marine chandelery "King's Marine". We bought a set of coiled charts for the San Juan Islands and for Puget Sounds. Someday we'll get to Seattle! It was about a 19 mile trip today and it took us about 4 hours. We sailed here and there, possibly for about half of the distance. Alice slept for over two hours so that was very handy. I think the 4 hour trip was a bit much for her. She really was keen to get off the boat and run around once we got to Sidney. All in all, it wasn't too bad having her with us. Cleared customs on the way back - number 2010-2760303.
Weather was a bit misty and it rained lightly here and there. We did get to see dolphins as we were entering Spieden Channel! There were several popping up here there and everywhere. I think there were aout 8 we saw in total - not sure if we're double counting ones that were following us or not. Nice treat.
Another beautiful October day. We ended up staying in Roche Harbor a bit longer than we thought we would. We enjoyed it so much. Mom and Sara went for facials! We had llunch on a sunny lawn and Alice ran around and burned off some energy. There were lots of other kids around and she found that fascinating. The trip to Friday Harbor was uneventful. There was only 3kts of wind, so needless to say there was no sailing to be had. The beautiful weather made up for it. Bright sunshine never makes for a bad trip! I can't believe this is October. We've really lucked out with the weather. The typcial cruising season is considered to be over, so there is lots of space in the marinas. We haven't had to make any reservations. People who have already but their boats away are missing out and this perfect boating weather.
Returning to Sidney tomorrow.
Well, this was our first trip to the USA by boat! The trip was only about 11 miles from Sidney and we made in about 2 hours. It was ideal since we're trying to keep the sailing to minimum with onland exploring to a maximum with Alice on board. She wasn't too bad during the sailing though. She was entertained with DVDs and such... until barfing all over the forecabin's duvet. It was right after a tack, so I'm hoping that it was just a little sea sickness, and not anything more serious. She was pretty cranky during the evening since she didn't get a very good nap earlier in the day, but I digress...
The wind was fabulous right out of Sidney and accross Haro Strait. We were making great time in about 10-14 kits of wind. As we crossed into US waters the US coast guard boat zoomed up to us to check us out. I guess we passed inspection and they decided that we weren't a threat. The wind died shortly after that, but we only had about 2.5 miles to go, so no huge loss there. The customs dock was a bit hard to find since it's in a different place than where the Dreamspeaker Guide was indicating, but we got there. Sara did an awesome job getting Crescent Wave into her berth for the evening. Rock on.
Roche Harbor is quaint and is definitely worth a return trip. The restaurants were extremely busy which was a surprise given the time of year. There was a wedding and a private party, so the rest of us only had one restaurant choice and they were swamped. Alice was a bit of a handful since she was so tired, but Chris gets a gold star for taking her back early to put her to bed. Sara had a terrible case of the hangries. She should not forget to eat in her condition!!
Tomorrow's forecast is looking good once again and we're planning to go to Friday Harbor around the south end of San Juan Island. Looking forward to the trip!
Awoke to a beautiful morning in spite of a bad weather prediction. Had coffee outside but retreated inside to have breakfast due to the annoyance of wasps. Had a beautiful day of sailing full of sunshine with the sighting of five whales playing to cap our day. Lost wind as we approached the Ganges Harbour. Remembered to turn on the motor head into the wind and took the sails down without incident. Moored well. Went shopping for more supplies, looked into some art galleries. Tonight dinner at the Hastings Restaurant to celebrate Nicole and Ray's second anniversary.
We are just about to set sail for Poets Cove, the new boat is great - has that new boat smell. Looks like there will be some wind today which is exciting because my first foray into sailing, the wind was non-existent.
Will check back when we arive in Poets Cove. Experienced some good wind on our way to Poets Cove getting up to about 8 kts of speed. Had a period of no wind in the channel then the wind picked up just as we were headed into Bedwell Harbour. We made the error of trying to put the sails down without the motor on so we had some difficulty keeping the boat into the wind until...duh we figured out what we did wrong.. Anyway, no harm, no danger, all went well after that. Came into Poet's Cove to discover some other vessel was in our assigned birth. So we had to back out and play around outside the marina until they could get the offending party out of our assigned birth. After that, mooring went well in spite of some windy conditions. Nicole and Patty had their facials aahh. Foot massage...ahh. Dinner at the hotel outside while we watched the sun set, then home to the boat some chit chat then bed.
Here we are, at Medicine Beach at the very western end of Bedwell Harbour. It's about a mile or so away from Poet's Cove. We were originally archored at Poet's, however it was extremely busy and we couldn't get a spot to anchor in shallow enough water. Oh well. It's very serene here and very reminiscent of Muskoka with homes on steep rocky cliffs. If we had arrived here earlier, we might have inflated the dighy to go explore the beach a bit, but we were exhausted when we got here at about 6:30. It was a long day.
The morning was fabulous. We set out at about 10:15 from Siva Bay, which was later than planned. We had to wait until the restaurant opened to check for Chris's sungalsses. Luckily the wait was productive! Anyhow, we ventured out into the Strait where we were faced with another northwesterly, but likely stronger than yesterday. (Not like we'd know since the wind meter still doesn't work. ARGH) We set Crescent Wave up on a beam-to-broad reach where initially we picked up 8 kts with just the mainsail out. At that point we decided that it would be wise to put in a reef. With a reefed main and the jib furled out at about 30%, we ended up with about 9kts. The swell made life more interesting than it has in the past. This was the first time we've at to deal with any real swell. I think it was 3-4ft or so today. We both got the hang of taking the helm and steering through the swell so that the boat didn't get rocked around like a cork. It was a great challenge, and we felt really great when we got to Porlier pass. We arrived there earlier than planned due to the speedy progress we made so we had to play around a bit to wait for the current to settle down.
When we crossed over into Trincolmali channel, we were greeting with hot sunny skies and absolutely no wind. We tried our best to get going under sail once or twice, but 2.0 kts of progress isn't good for anyone's morale! We motored the rest of the day and into Bedwell Harbour. Hot hot hot day. Even the breeze seemed warm.
We tried to rig the main halyard through the large block at the base of the mast and then through the large clutch. We managed to get it through the the bigger block, however the line was too fat for the clutch to take. I think we will need a skinnier main halyard line - we are hoping that running through the stronger clutch will stop the fraying that's been plaguing our halyards.
First aid kit was christened - I cut my pinky finger when opening the head holding tank. Argh.
Looking forward to a great day of sailing. Forecast is calling for 25 kts of wind from the NW. What could be better when we're planning to travel S?? Forgot to mention yesterday that Chris got the autopilot working. Huzzah! We can now eat lunch together while motoring. It will be good to get a break today. I haven't planned in a lunch stop, but that may be wise if the wind is big and we get tired.
Another beautiful day of sailing. We sailed right out of Montague Harbour, however the winds didn't last. We could have been determined and kept the sails up, but we had to make sure we were going through Porlier Pass in time for slack water. We made it through just fine, though some eddies and strong currents were still apparent. It must be some sight when the current is at it's full 9kts of power. Yowzah.
After the pass, the fun began. There was a great northwesterly blowing in the Strait. It was a blast. We got a bit carried away trying to catch and pass other sailboats so we got a bit off course. Oh well, it was FUN. We managed to tack our way back to get close enough to motor in to Silva Bay. In stronger winds, I learned that you can't be timid when tacking. You don't need to ease into it like a gybe. Just keep the speed up through the turn to let the sails fill quickly so they don't get overpowered. The boat really feels the big gusts since the sails are so big. When upwind, we let the main out during a gust to spill the wind. There were a few exciting moments. Speeds of 5-7 kts today sailing. It was perfect.
Silva Bay only has 30 amp power, so we've needed to use the splitter. Yay! It works.
Arrived at shortly before 2pm. A beautiful sunny hot day, and we even had some wind. We did end up sailing most of the way from Sidney. Top speed of 9 kts on a beam reach. Most of the wind was on a beam or broad reach. Good downwind practise. No mooring balls were available even this early in the afternoon. We are at anchor. Tightened the bolt on the windlass and it works wonderfully. Decided against going to the bakery boat tomorrow morning, so we're not inflating the dinghy. Need an early start for the journey to Silva Bay tomorrow. Chilling out and warming ourselves in the fabulous evening sunshine.