Sunday, August 19, 2018

      Montague Harbor between Galiano and Parker Island among the northern half of the Gulf Islands, Canada:

      Wow! Time flies when it comes to blogging. I last left off in Poet’s Nook way over on the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island. We spent a good half day in this very secluded little cove inside Barkley Sound after an uneventful motoring back down Alberny Inlet. We came down the inlet in sunshine and warmth, following Suzi and David on their boat Sidewinder. 

      It was foggy at first when we arrived in the sound about 11:00 am. The fog discouraged us from trying to make Pipestem Inlet and Lucky Creek. Poet’s Nook was the go to spot, closer by far and the fog was already beginning to dissipate in that direction. Suzi and I spent a couple of hours sailing our dinghy in the cove. Cocktails and dinner was on their  boat. We’d hoped for a moonrise inside the cove but by dusk the fog was already forming around us. Good conversation was had by all below deck, inside and away from the chilling fog.

      The next morning we said good-bye to Suzi and David. They were headed to Pipestem Inlet but we were headed back to Bamfield town and harbor. We had to start our return to the States so I could meet my sisters for our annual reunion beginning on the fifth of August. Because we travel “slow”, at least by twenty first century standards, a week wasn’t too much time for us to get ourselves to the southern half of Puget Sound to a bay created by Vashon Island and Maury Island and close to Tacoma on the mainland. Traveling in a boat that averages 5mph (with or without wind), we are also constrained by the possibility of too much wind, current speeds moving with us or against us, and fog. All these variables spell out the need for “time”. With airplanes and boats, research has shown that when one has a strict deadline or timeline, accidents are more likely to happen if one does not factor in “extra time” needed in order to reach ones destination “on time”. The variables we have no control over, like weather for example, have to be included in one’s time frame. We had great luck with the weather and used the currents to our advantage, i.e. getting up early in the morning when the current would be “with” us.

      Our first day we left Barkley Sound, our destination was Port Renfrew/ San Juan, 40 miles along the western coast of Vancouver Island. There are no islands or bays or harbors to take refuge from bad weather. By the way, there is a marine weather station that covers all these boating areas and we listen to this every day we are on the water. We left Bamfield by 7:00 am so to benefit from an incoming current from the ocean. There was fog of course but visibility was at least a half a mile which increased as the morning wore on, until the sun came out around 10:30 or 11:00. There was very little wind so we were motoring. We made good time; arriving at Port Renfrew by 2:30 pm. The sun was shining, the ocean swells were small and smooth, we didn’t feel too tired, so we did some calculations, and decided to keep going on to Sooke, another 30 miles but already inside the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We would arrive by 7:00 pm. The wind changed direction and came from behind us, a following wind, so we unfurled our smaller foresail and motor sailed.  It wasn’t very much wind but boosted our moral. Motoring is tiresome when you know sailing is so much more soothing and noiseless. At least in moderate winds. There is a certain anxiety that creeps up on me when we are out on the ocean side of shore. I know it originates with our lack of experience on the ocean. Until we gain more experience that anxiety will persist. By the time we passed the point where Sheringham Lighthouse is perched; it is the last major point before Sooke Harbor, I was flooded with relief that this leg of the journey was almost over. Fog was forming beyond our turn into the harbor, the wind was gradually building but not to the point of making us feel uncomfortable, so less than 20mph, the sun was shining, all was well. 

      By the time we were inside Sooke Harbor and anchoring the wind had picked up. The wind does blow into Sooke but it has no means for the waves to build, and that is all that counts for a restful night of sleep. It was Friday evening and on the wind we could hear music playing a song about home being wherever” you are”. It’s an uplifting song for me and as the wind blew, cold and humid to the bone, I felt triumphant. By 8:30 in the evening it was as if someone had hit a switch. The wind stopped blowing and the water became glassy smooth. I settled into the book I was reading at the time, The Plover by Brian Doyle. It’s a curious tale, disturbing and uplifting all at once. I was kind of sad and at loose ends when it ended.

       In the morning there was fog out in the strait. Cotton wool fog for fifteen minutes or so. We slowed down to 3 knots or less, keeping an eye out for the little fishing boats that were out in big numbers. We were crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca for Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula in the States. There is a customs office and port of entry for boats coming from other countries. Luckily for us, by the time we reached the shipping channel, the fog was dissipating. We could use our eyes not just the AIS and radar to see if any barges, freighters, or cruise ships, were coming our way while crossing the deep channel, designated for the large to huge commercial ships. Sure enough there was a cruise ship coming. Then we went to the AIS to see how fast they were moving and how close we would pass each other. We decided we would let them pass us first even though the AIS said we could cross in front of them.  There were no boats in the outbound lane and a smaller boat coming up behind the cruise ship, which turned out to be the Coast Guard. Small enough to maneuver around us. This is another source of anxiety for me, that is, passing large ships. This being the fifth year we’re on the water I know that enough experience has reduced that anxiety.

        Mike called customs in Port Angeles. This was our first time using  our pass, called an I-68, which required a thorough background check before one could qualify. There are no guaranties that customs will give you the clearance over the phone even with this pass but one can only try it after all the fuss of getting the darn thing. Once more, luck was with us! We didn’t have to go into Port Angeles at all. U.S. Customs cleared us over the phone! This pass is wonderful when they accept it! We went on to Sequim Bay that same day and anchored for the night. The whole of our journey to the south of Puget Sound and Vashon Island was very relaxing. We arrived in Quartermaster Harbor on the south end of Vashon Island and the west side of Maury Island, the day before Tony was to arrive and two days before I was to meet my sisters. After a quick ride on a ferry to Raston, a suburb of Tacoma, my sisters who were driving from Spokane met and picked me up and we drove further south to a resort town called Long Beach. Of course there were miles and miles of sandy beach and big breaking waves to stare at and listen to.The sun came out on Vashon. We had stopped in Port Townsend to pick up mail and say hello to friends. The day we left there was a fine rain falling all morning; the kind that makes you feel like you’re in a cool sauna.

      Dear Readers, I have not caught you up to the present moment yet, Monday, August 

27th, but I am going to post this before I get even further behind, We are currently up at the northern end of the Strait of Georgia in a lovely harbor and town called Comox on the eastern side of Vancouver Island. Tomorrow if wind permits we will be off for Desolation Sound. It is a famous marine park which should be tranquil and isolated except that it is August and everyone who owns a boat will still be there. Oh well, one can’t have everything. Our days haven’t been too strenuous and we’ve only had a little rain and overcast. Lots and lots of haze from the fires. The rain cleared it up for a couple of days but today it is back.