clear then cloudy

4’ swell beyond Pachena Pt.

July 16

July 17

West 15

NW 22

Clear until 6 AM

fog in AM on 7/17

Bright sun in PM

-fog in Russell Channel

-outside sunny 4PM – Hot Springs

Santa Gertrutis Cove

clearing in evening

W 5-15 after 2PM

bright sun in PM

W 15-30 after 2 PM

55 in PM

cloudy until Hot Springs

5’ swell & white caps by 6 PM

W 10 –12 in PM

bright sun after 3 PM

fog while sailing

cloudy in PM

bright sunshine in PM

confused at times

5 – 10

5-10

thunderstorm & rain

sunny in GH

Powerboat that is renting our slip was outside waiting for us to leave

Sailed from Blake Island to west point? & Apple Tree Point to Point No Point

Lee Kulla came along with us

dinner w/ Lee & Lucy & Regan @ Port Angles Inn

moorage $34

town dock moorage $8

dinner $25 @ Brew Pub. Had polenta lasagna?? Was pretty good

terrible waves at dock – almost impossible to sleep - ferry runs 5 AM to 1 AM

tried to sail for an hour east of Dungeness Spit – pretty slow progress

heavy fog Ediz Hook to Sekiu - at times 100 yard visibility

very heavy and confused swells & chop at times – up to 5’. Boat falling off waves and slamming – not very comfortable

sailed 1 hour single reef & full genoa then 110% genoa - got into real shallow water west of Sekiu but it did knock down the swell for some reason

Put 32 gallons of diesel in tank at Neah Bay & 15 gallons diesel in cans $1.20 per gallon

anchored with Mystique. MJH put down a 45# CQR and 200’ of chain. I tried to set the Bruce 44 but it dragged at 2400 RPM. Finally set the FX55 with 180’ chain and 50’ of rode. We tied Mystique alongside Mirador’s starboard side.

Ate Barbecued chicken from Fred Meyer.

Visited grocery and NW breakwater. Ran out of gas on way back to boat with Martin & Sandy & Jim in dinghy. Had to row ½ mile upwind.

Martin pointed out our list – appears we have a 3 ½ list to port while sitting still. I guess the 100 pounds of diesel, 100 pounds of sail, 100 pounds of tools, 100 pounds of this and that all stored on port do make a difference.

While looking North out of Neah Bay past Waddah Island we noticed a steady stream of tankers headed east. I commented to MJH about the exceptional boat traffic. He looked with Bino’s . The tankers were really 15+’ swell marching east towards Sekiu and PA. Straits don't look very inviting for a couple days - 36 nautical miles upwind, upswell to Beal Point & Barkley Sound

Hamburgers for dinner.

Ran engine for 70’. Replaced 75 amp hours and ran freezer on manual freeze.

We had tried to free the anchor before MJH convinced me to stay in the harbor. Mirador and Mystique had done at least one 360 degree spin. The anchor chains were knotted. Took MJH, Jim, and I two hours to get them free. Finally had to unshackle our chain from the rode. MJH sat in dinghy as we dropped the chain to him and he untied the knot. While the wind blew 20 knots and there was a 1’ chop.

Made a Pizza for dinner.

Experimented with my Sony SSB receviever tied to MJH’s compter. Works well at times for weather FAX – then as we turn in the wind we would lose reception. .

First tack on a 12’ wave was scary but turned out to be very easy.

At bottom of swell we would lose sight of Cape Flattery.

Tacked and gybbed back to Neah Bay. Boat felt fine. Swell was from 290 degrees & too short a period. Great big waves with breakers on horizon toward Cape Beal. Looked like things were even worse further offshore. I think we were seeing Swiftsure Banks where depth goes from 65 fathoms to 28 in about ½ mile.

Big ebb current flowing directly into the wind is probably why the swell and waves were so big. Or maybe it was the 48 hours of NW gales along the Vancouver Island coast. Dumb idea trying to go offshore, MJH rubbed it in. Fortunately Jim didn’t seem too concerned about my lack of judgement or mis-judgement in going out.

Sailed 3.4 NM from Waddah island before deciding to return to Neah Bay – Good choice!

motor sailed to Pachena Pt then wing & wing with pole. Big tidal current out straits – made 10+ knots toward Cape Beal first two hours. Swell way down from yesterday but still over 7;.

Dropped pole and reached 7 NM SE at 210 degrees, gybed and reached all the way to Bamfield entrance. Swell was about 7’ until Pachena Pt. Very nice sailing, even got sunny & warm.

Got a liitle queasy while working below early in the trip. Steering made feeling go away. Took Stugeron at 12 PM.

Checked in with Canadian Customs at Bamfield

Left Bamfield and motored to Marble Cove via Robber Passage. Lost all GPS signals in Robber Passage which was 50 yards wide and full of submerged rocks. Jim stood on bow and pointed out rocks.

Then got totally dis-oriented when trying to find entrance to Marble Cove – all the rocks and islands looked the same. Stopped boat and sat for 10 minutes trying to figure out where we were. Didn’t trust the GPS but it was correct.

Anchored with Bruce in 28’ of water with 100’ chain- stern about 20’ from rocks.

..

Big eagle nest directly overhead. One other boat in Marble Cove. Noisy eagles – young ones make a huge noise when parent returns with food

Salmon for dinner-cooked in oven.

Pancakes & bacon for breakfast with sun & rain showers.

Left Marble Cove & sailed down Imperial Eagle Channel and out into Pacific with full sail in about 12 knots & bright sunshine.

Sailed NW toward Amphitrite Point then offshore 42 NM. Used full main & genoa w/ staysail.

Pasta with Alfredo sauce for dinner.

Took ¼ sturgeron at 14:00 – no problem entire time.

At dark reefed main and rolled Genoa to 110%.

Talked to Tofino traffic – they had trouble finding me on radar at a distance of 75 miles. Lots of big ships.

Put on full winter sailing gear at dusk – long undies, long sleeve tee shirt, wool shirt, wool sweater, fleece jacket, rain gear and wool cap. Stayed warm but just barely. Slept in cockpit off and on at times but wind kept shifting and upsetting autopilot so it would ring its offcourse alarm about every 10 minutes.

Beautiful sunset, moonset and stars – great night to be at sea – never really dark. Still a lot of light at 11PM.

Tried to sleep in quarterberth but not enough room on inside since I forgot the headboard. Autopilot very noisy at foot of quarterberth.

Jim said sleeping on settee was very comfortable.

About 1AM furled genoa and used only staysail. Wind steady in 15-18 knot true range. Boat making a steady 8 knots with 25 degree heel and 10 degrees of rudder. Very nice motion. Apparent wind at 46 degrees.

Big mess with staysail sheets and whisker pole jaw at 3AM. Tried to tack from starboard but staysail would not do it.

Forgot we had spreader lights so I worked in the dark. Took ½ hour to figure out that both staysail sheets had gotten into the open jaw of the reaching pole. The jaw then had snapped shut. Finally figured out that the jaw was facing aft toward the mast and I couldn’t remove the sheets even with the jaw open. Fatigue and lack of sleep made me stupid.

20 knot winds and 4’ sea at the time. While working on getting staysheet sheets out of whisker pole jaw I was hit in head by sheet or sail – knocked silly and saw stars for 10 seconds. Thank goodness for the tether!

About 4 AM went forward to tighten staysail halyard – big wave, I slipped off cabin and both feet were thru the life lines. I had a death grip on the dorade cover so was in no danger. But it did shock me how quick my feet went overboard. We were heeled about 25 degrees and the deck was wet from waves coming over the bow.

Rolled genoa out again at about 5 AM.

Disappointing Sunrise – too much low clouds. Was really looking forward to sunrise at sea.

Wind died and fog developed about 7 AM. Siphon break on engine exhaust didn’t work. No raw water discharge. Primed raw water intake but didn’t help. Took siphon break off and blew thru it. Tried to start engine – solenoid connection bad again. Finally got engine started with raw water flow at 8:30 AM. Nasty business working upside down in engine room while boat is rolling 25° each way with no forward way on. Spent 1 hour standing on my head.

Boat rolling badly with no wind and 3’ swell abeam. Lost footing twice while tying down the mainsail – both times I was able to grab the boom as the boat rolled sharply toward my backside – ended up hanging from the boom.

Fog cleared about 11:30 AM as we approached Sydney Inlet, (Sharp Point), from the SW. Motored up Sydney Inlet and anchored in Reilly Cove. No one here except Eagles. Another noisy nest overhead.

Slept from 3:30PM to 5:30 PM.

Hamburgers on the Bar-B-Que

Anchored with Bruce on 150’ chain in 32’.

Lost cell phone coverage once inside Sharp Point

Slept 10.5 hours until 9:10AM Bacon,eggs,hash browns, english muffins for breakfast @ 11:30 AM

Hiked up creek, hill, road to try to find Reilly Lake – lots of bush wacking, no lake. Three hour hike – beautiful cedar trees that they seem to be selectively logging. Jim says there is about 50 –100 years per inch of trunk thickness – straight grain.

Never found the lake – I think the charts are wrong – should have been a ½ mile hike at most.

Motored up Sydney Inlet and back (12 miles round trip). 1/2 mile wide fjord like channel that has 3000 foot mountains on all sides - ends at a cliff.

Sailed from Adventure Point to Bacchante Bay entrance. Broad reach and wing & wing all the way. Great sail. Almost aground in mud. 2 knots at 30’, turned hard around, saw 6’ before turn was completed. Got more shallow towards center of bay – OOPS!. Anchored in bay with Bruce, all the chain and 20’ rode. Didn’t hold at first but didn’t bother resetting.

Entrance to Baccante Bay is 40 yards wide, 75 yards long with submerged rocks on both sides.

The bay is surrounded by 4000’ mountains that still have a lot of snow on them. No other boats in bay which is 12 miles inland from ocean. Lots of eagles. Loons, and large water animals that I think are muskrats or sea otters. They come out in the dark and are real noisy but dive as soon as we put a light on them.

As soon as we put out fishing gear a seal appeared – wonder how they do it? 12 miles from the ocean

Hamburgers and fries for dinner.

Tried to take PortaBote up Watta Creek – too much current, too shallow. Grounded prop, tried to drag boat. Finally just walked thru grass and up bank about ¼ mile to rapids.

Mirador motored thru Haynes Passage on 1 knot flood- four other boats with us. Fog started at Marktosis and continued thru much of afternoon. Sailed from Tibbs Island – tacked thru 120 degrees on each try. Swell seems to push bow off.

25 knot whale watching boat appeared off starboard bow in middle of Tibbs Island Channel on a crossing path. Visibility at the time was 100 yards. Scared the be-jesus out of us – they just waved as they crossed the bow at 25 yards. Never saw them on radar!

Fog lifted about 4 miles off shore-hot sun even in the fog.

Motored last 3.5 miles to Hot Springs.

Granola & banana for breakfastg. Bar-B-Que chicken, baked potatoes, salad, cheese cake for dinner.

Anchored behind point just past public floats. Used Bruce, all the chain and 20’ of rode.

Left boat at 7:45 AM, took dinghy to dock and hiked 1.6 km to Hot Springs. Made hash browns, bacon, scrambled eggs for breakfast. Left at 11:00 AM

Sailed from Sharp Point to inside Nootka Lighthouse.

Full main & genoa. Hard going into swell at 220 degrees (magnetic) fast and easy going across swell at 330. Hard to get around Estavan Point, tacked three times to clear Perez rocks. Very nice close reach from Perez Rocks all the way to Nootka Light (8.5 miles).

Anchored in 30 feet with Bruce, all the chain & 10’ of rope.

Mashed potatoes, chicken, hamburger for dinner. Cheesecake for dessert.

Granola, banana, PB&J for breakfast. Motored all the way thru narrow channels. Steep mountains on all sides, snow at 3,000’ in gullies.

Tied up at public dock in Zeballos which has about 200 inhabitants, a log dump, and some fishing.

Took on 36.2 gallons diesel & 120 gallons water. Diesel was $71.46 Cdn. Dumped trash. Walked around Zeballos and had a beer in the only pub. Found a phone to call home with. Lady at diesel dock says the only public phone north of here is in Winter Haven and there is no cell coverage.

Terrible dinner in the diner – one of worst I have ever had - frozen fish sticks!.

Paid $22 Cdn for moorage

Oatmeal, banana, english muffin for breakfast about 1 hour after leaving Zeballos.

Motored in fog & drizzle thru the islands off Rolling Roadstead. Motored all the way around Solander Island. SW & South wind kept main full and drawing at 60 degrees apparent. Sailed for an hour on a close reach south of Clerke Point.

Tried Spinnaker about 14 NM south of Solander – wind was 10 knots true when we started rigging it. We were sailing with full Genoa. Wind died to less than 5 as soon as we got the chute up and pulling. Could only make 4 knots with spinnaker.

Sailed on nice fast reach from Solander to Klaskish Inlet. Went between Hackett Island and Clerke Reef in Brooks Bay. Saw several grey whales breaching. One surfaced about 100 yards from boat, headed directly for it. Never saw it again?

Went thru Klaskish Narrows, about 20 yards wide & 40 feet deep with 50’ cliffs – about ¼ mile long.

Tied up to mooring ring – only boat in the basin which is about 1/2 mile wide and 2 miles long Mountains to north are 3000’ and to south about 1500’. No VHF reception – no ambient light, no radio, no cell phone. Lots of animal noises. Really puts you in your place.

Steak, onion rings, baked beans for dinner.

Started raining just after dinner.

took dinghy up the Klaskish river. Had to stop at bend in river where blown down trees are stacked 30’ high. Some of the trees are 15’ in diameter. Looks like there may be logging upstream.

Spent afternoon working on boat.

Took dinghy up East Creek about 1 mile.

The Creek is narrow and winding but quite beautiful.

Had to portage over sandbar.

Saw bear, wolf, racoon tracks. Fresh steaming wolf shit. Heard bear growling in woods, maybe! Jim wanted to try for a picture I wanted to try for the boat. I stood by the boat while he poked in the edge of the woods. Couldn't see more than 5' into the underbrush. Golden Eagle made swoop at us in the East Creek approach. Came within 5’ of Jim’s head – looked like a 6’ wingspan. I guess it was his territory.

Nordhavn 46 moored about 50 yards from us when we returned from East Creek. They are from San Diego, headed south from Queen Charlottes.

Spaghetti for dinner.

Motored into West swell. Put up single reefed main at Scarf Reef and motor sailed past Quatsino Lighthouse.

Washed clothes. Dryers wouldn’t run. Talked to Jolly Bear’s crew while waiting for clothes 3 ½ hours to wash two loads.

Jolly Bear is a 52’ wood boat out of Portland. The owner built her in five years. He had never built a boat before. She is all standard size lumber from a lumber yard and galvanised wire and fittings from a hardware store. Interesting boat.

Slow Saturday in Winter Haven.

Cleaned out spoiled food in refridgerator. Threw out pork chops, lettuce, onions – had to walk ½ mile to find trash can.

Hamburgers for dinner. Called home from last and only land phone from this point north. No fresh food in the little general store - everything is frozen and expensive. I left my 18 oz Starbuck's insulated plastic coffee mug in the store at the counter while buying wine - when I came back 15 minutes later the owner claimed the mug had never been there. I guess they like Starbuck's as much as I do. Wine was cheap - great french white and red for about $Cdn each - they are $25 dollars in Washington. No produce or fresh meat but cheap wine.

Granola, english muffin, banana for breakfast.

Motored to and then around Cape Scott in almost no wind and flat seas. Went into Experiment Bight about 1 PM but didn’t anchor because I didn’t trust the weather would stay calm. I was intimidated by the Cape Scott reputation and horror stories. The wind and sea were perfect for easy motoring which probably made me more nervous – it was like I was being lured into a trap. I was about as nervous as I have ever been in a boat – all because of the reputation. Too many stories of calm to storm force in 2 hours and breaking seas in dead calms. The closest anchorage was 4 hours away and that would close out in a SE gale and we were seeing increasing SE winds. I’m afraid my imagination got the better of me today.

Talked to the lighthouse keeper on VHF but they don’t get local forecasts during the summer.

Sailed from Experiment Bight to Sea Otter Cove. Close hauled for 25 miles in SE 8 – 12 knots. Very nice sailing. Swell was very gentle. No pounding going SW and a nice soft ride down the swell going East. We are finally get some nice sailing after days of bashing into the NW winds and swell.

Sailed alongside a pod of Orcas for 20 minutes. One big male, several females, and at least two very small ones. They surfaced within 10 yards of the boat several times. Seemed oblivious to us. The just appeared coming from the Scott Islands headed down the coast and never deviated from the course they were on. It appeared they went right under the boat one time. I was worried about the 300 yard rule but no boat anywhere in sight.

Crept into Sea Otter Cove on our tiptoes. Saw 8’ depth a couple of times in the entrance which is only 30’ wide and lined with nasty rocks. Tide will drop 3.5’ from current level. May not be able to leave until after 9AM since low tide is at 6:30 AM

Tied up to buoy next to Jolly Bear. She didn’t try to round Cape Scott today.

Buoys are what Vancouver fisheries call "Hurricane Buoys" since they are designed to hold large trawlers in full storm force winds. Really ugly mooring for a small boat – four sets of four car tires each stacked together on foam and covered with a steel plate. The steel plate has a 3’ high loop of 2" pipe welded to the top of it. The four stacks of tires are joined together in a rough square. If there is not enough wind the boat rubs on the tires. Ugly black marks. They are forecasting SW 20+ tonight so the buoy is not quite so ugly.

Jim & I took the dinghy over to one of the barrier islands and explored on foot. Then took the dinghy out the NW channel to explore the outside. Ran aground on a rock about 30 yards off shore. The swell was still coming in and we were worried that we would tip over. The water was only 3’ deep but the swell and surge was powerful. After getting free and staying dry we surfed for a while in the small swell in the channel. The Portabote surfs nicely,

Went down the west side of Otter Cove until we found another sand bar that we had to carry/drag the boat across. Started to rain so we beat it back to Mirador.

Carefully left Sea Otter Cove – saw 7’ at one point as we approached the inside of the entrance. Jolly Bear had gone ahead of us and she draws 7’ so figured we would be OK.

Blueberry pancakes & sausage for breakfast while motoring south.

Motored until 2 PM – forecast NW wind but had SE 5-8

Wing & Wing from Solander Island south. Reached SE for a while then set wing & wing again with pole. Tried using staysail – might have helped

Good sailing for 30 miles. Made 4.8 – 5.2 knots at 140 apparent in 12 knots true with pole up.

Anchored in Rugged Cove in 30’ with Bruce, all chain & 20’ of rode

Steak and onion rings for dinner – pretty tired but the spectacular moonrise (full) kept us awake

Hash browns & eggs for breakfast – bright sunshine

Took Clear Passage SW from Rugged Point – lots of rocks and reefs but pretty interesting since the big ocean swell breaks on the outside of the rocks. The passage is 6 miles of delicate negotiations. Thank goodness for the computer & GPS.

Motor sailed first 3.5 hours. 7 knots with Main & 2400 RPM

Put up genoa & staysail about 1:30 PM (28 NM) – started with pole on port – then reached off to SW. Dropped staysail after an hour. Reached at 120° apparent for several hours. 5.5 – 6 knots boat speed in 10 – 12 knots true.

Wind from 290 true. Autopilot has trouble with following quartering seas. It lets the bow round up too far. Was trying to keep wind at 130 apparent but was rounding up to 90 degrees apparent. Did better as wind picked up.

Gybed genoa and put pole up again on port and carried it for 20 miles to Estavan Point. Wind was 12 – 18 knots true with 6 – 6.4 knot boat speed. Course- 140 apparent. Preventer stopped several crash jibes from happening.

About an hour south of Estavan decided to go into Hot Springs rather than continue to Ashahout. It would have been at least 10 PM when we arrived at Ashahout – my birthday dinner that Jim wanted to buy me will have to wait.

Gybed onto broad reach for Hot Springs at 7 PM. Sailed at 7.5 – 8.3 knots for over an hour while surfing on 5’ swell with some break. Gusts to 30 knots true. Kept full genoa & main. Boat felt great and autopilot kept pretty good control but did allow bow to get pretty far down wind at times. 14 degrees of weather helm in big gusts as boat accelerates to 8.3 knots.

Sailed a total of 44 miles – all downwind.

Cold – thermometer said 55 degrees at 8 PM! Jim complaining that San Diego isn't this cold in January.

Anchored in Hot Springs by point with pipeline. Used Bruce with all the chain and 10’ of rode. Dozens of boats in anchorage.

Spaghetti and steak for dinner with red wine. Cheese cake for dessert.

Pretty good birthday!

granola & banana for breakfast while underway

motored 7 knots at 2300 RPM with main up until 2:30 PM.

genoa & staysail on broad reach for an hour – 5.5 knots but wind shifted so we were sailing at 140 degrees and course was 95 degrees

set spinnaker on 120 degree reach – worked good with the staysail

last hour set spinnaker on pole on port and main on starboard-worked great

dead on course at 6 knots with no rolling – apparent wind at 160-170 degrees. Was very easy to set & take down

Tied up to mooring bouy at entrance to Ucluelet small craft harbour. No charge.

Took dinghy to government warf and walked up the hill to the Co-Op. More cheap French wine.

Went to dinner at Canadian Princess where Jim bought me a birthday dinner in the lounge. Caesar salad and pizza. I ordered a Ceasar salad while Jim talked to Susan on the phone. We had already ordered a Pizza. The waitress didn't bother to tell me that a Ceasar salad also comes with the Pizza. Found out Jim hates Ceasar salads.

Cell coverage came back at Estavan point.

banana & english muffin for breakfast

rain and drizzle until 10 AM

took Dinghy into town & walked around

took on 41.5 gallons diesel at 956.2 hours (guage was at 3/8)

filled up with water

50’ charter fishing boat came blasting out of fog at a full plane while in Uclelet channel no-wake zone. Visability was about 50 yards at the time. He dropped off plane and I killed engine – I couldn’t turn away since I was at edge of flats. Passed at 20’ with him throwing huge wake – finger and airhorn were not acknowledged by other boat.

motored out Newcomb channel then sailed with genoa only to Dodd Island . The first 6 miles sailing was in fog with ¼ to ½ mile visibility. Fog Horn on mast works great

anchored in 30’ with Bruce, all chain & 20’ rode.

4 other boats in anchorage in Turtle Bay.

Spent afternoon exploring the islands around Turtle Bay - lots of kayakers and even more oysters. Kayak company filmed a commercial while talking to kayakers in the water using our boat as a backdrop. They talked about making Chicken Cordon Bleu over the campfire for their guests. They didn't mention sleeping in the bogs or sand with mosquitoes and sand fleas. Hard not to make comments since the kayakers come by in groups of 10 or more and are awfully noisy. The same groups seem to enjoy getting in front of a boat sailing and then spreading out over 100 yars and forcing an unplanned tack. Human power does have the right of way but why force it?

Lost cell coverage east of Ucluelet

Hash browns, bacon, eggs for breakfast

spent morning working on flag halyard and hiking around one of the islands surrounding Turtle Bay. There were some big old growth trees.

downwind all the way to Vernon Bay– set pole on starboard and went wing & wing for 4 miles at six knots

Jim took pictures from dinghy as I sailed around him for about 15 minutes. After I sailed by and Jim threw me the dinghy rope I tied it to stern rail and kept sailing. Eventually noticed a distant whistle. Jim and the dinghy were fading into the distance – the knot I tied came undone and Jim was left sitting in the dinghy while I sailed away.

anchored in 70’ with Bruce, all chain and 150’ rope - stern was 10’ from rocks- 15’ deep Only one other boat in entire basin which is about 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide. The entrance involves a 90 degree turn thru a 30 yard wide channel between two cliffs. The hills are 1000' to 2500' feet on all sides.

Dinner at Eagle Nook lodge – neat place. Real surprised to find a lodge in such a remote spot. Only accessible by boat and sea plane. Very sophisticated place. Only open May thru Oct. Spent some time with the other boat - they are from Vancouver and are also planning on going to Mexico next year.

Pancakes, bacon, eggs for breakfast.

Climbed mast for pictures. Jim doesn’t approve of my mast climbing techniques. I guess he knows after 30 years of climbing telephone poles.

Explored creek at head of Frank’s Bay. Millions of huge oysters.

Set full main & genoa as soon as we left Frank’ Bay – great sail in 10 – 15 knots true all the way to Dodger Channel. Fog & 1/2 mile visibility at times.

Starboard tack heels about 4 – 5 degrees more than port tack??? Is this still part of loading problem? We have moved the tools to starboard and we have used 70 pounds of diesel. I’ll need to work on this at home.

Anchored in South Cove in Dodger Channel about 1/4 mile off beach but there was a group of people on beach with fire, ghetto blaster, kids, screaming. Fish camp on point and 50 kayakers on opposite shore. Way too noisy so we hauled anchor and motored to Bamfield government wharf (3.5 miles up Trevor Channel).

Took the dinghy across the Bamfield channel to dinner in tavern – fish & chips with Guinness. Ran out of gas on way back – rowed 200 yards. Tavern appeared to have teak dance floor – owner didn’t know what it was.

Walked entire boardwalk in the dark to find the garbage drop – never found it so had to use the one at the customs dock. $6 per bag!

No one collected warf fee and no place to leave money.

24’ powerboat running Honda generator on the dock all night. Drunk fisherman returning at 2 AM

motored down Trevor Channel and out into ocean and then the Straits of Juan de Fuca to a point ½ way between Bonnilla & Sherringham Points.

Granola & PB&J for breakfast while underway.

Set the spinnaker & full main in 12 knots true at 2 PM. Carried spinnaker on port pole with main on starboard. Wanted to sail 86°M but wind kept increasing and forcing boat up to 60°M. Wind increased to 20 true with gusts to 25. Boat speed 8.4+ much of the time. Tide turned eastward at 2:30 PM so had VMG for Sooke of 10 knots at times. Autopilot could not begin to steer – wandered 20 degrees either side of course and was very slow to react. Making 10 knots toward Sooke with the current giving a big boost.

Huge snafu putting the chute up. Wrapped on forestay, screwed up Parl beads and downhaul, twisted lines for pulling sock up and down.

About 4:45PM decided to drop pole and gybe for Port Angles which was 28NM dead downwind and across the straits with about 20 knots gusting to 25. Set full main and genoa on starboard and sailed apparent wind of 120°. A lot of 9 knot surfing. Wanted to sail 98° but wind kept us at about 125° Magnetic. Put one reef in main using cunningham block to haul luff down. Was very easy to reef while headed downwind. Have to be careful of bottom batten getting bent to far around aft lazy jack. Putting reef in main eased load on autopilot.

Sailed too close to Washington shore (2 miles) and wind abruptly switched around to SW and dropped from 20+ true to 10 true. Gybed again and set the pole on port with the main on starboard side. Seas became very confused and rolled the boat 30 degrees back and forth. A couple of times looked like either the outboard pole end or boom end was going to go into the water. Pole set wing & wing works very well downwind in 20+ knots. Set the pole with the genoa furled then rolled the genoa out. Much easier! Rigged preventers on both sides. Saved several jibes.

Sailed NE to try to get back to clean air and water. Eventually found the wind again and sailed straight for Ediz Hook at 8+ knots with 4’ – 5’ seas with some breakers. Lot of work steering since the seas were still coming from odd angles at times.

Had to gybe one more time to get around Ediz Hook light with some sea room. Sailed all the way to city dock arrived just past dark - spectacular sunset out the straights - Jim shot his last picture.

Max true wind as reported by ST50 was 32 knots. Broad reach with full main & spinnaker in 22 knots true was fairly easy. Single reef in main really reduced the weather helm and didn’t hurt the speed much. Several bursts of 9+ knots thru the water & 10+ knots VMG. 37 miles sailing downwind – Great!

Tried to find someplace to eat in PA but only the Crab House was still open at 10:15 PM on Sunday night. Had Crab Dip and chicken salad for dinner. Way too much garlic.

Called in to US customs from boat in straits - no problem

Tough night to sleep – a lot of rolling.

couldn’t pay moorage – no envelopes or pencils at money drop

Re-rigged the Spinnaker halyard, down haul, parl beads. Should prevent further disasters.

motored to Pt. Wilson into 1.9 knot current

ran the Dungeness measured mile – knotmeter distance 9% fast but we where making 7 knots into 1.9 knot current.

sailed wing & wing with pole on starboard to Marrowstone

motored to Bush Point

sailed to Pt. No Point

Jim had heart failure when the depth sounder went to a steady 12’ then 10’ off Apple Tree Point. The charts showed 300’+ where we were but there were shoals about 100 yards west of us. The GPS & computer confirmed we were in deep water. The depth sounder kept saying 11’ and getting shallow. Just as we were going to bail out and make a hard turn to port (deep water we hoped) the depth sounder went back to 270’. Don’t know if there was a new sand bar or what.

I was on the bow talking to Arlene on the cell phone when all this started. I ignored the problem at first because I had sailed that spot at least 5 times this summer. Glad Jim didn't panic.

drinks with Lee & Lucy on the boat

dinner at restaruant above dock – fish & chips.

$14 moorage

sailed down Colvos- wing & wing

lots of lightning over Vashon – some big bolts hitting within ½ mile on hilltops. Lasted about an hour

Couldn’t get the crew to handsteer the boat – no one wanted to touch any metal. I disconnected all the electronics

heavy rain at times – a little good sailing.