Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The first leg: Seattle to Victoria


Ric and I successfully made it to Victoria! Monday evening, we went under the Fremont Bridge, and out the locks, and then anchored just outside the locks. Tuesday morning we got up early and headed out north, stopping at Fort Flagler for a walk around, and then sitting at a mooring bouy in Port Townsend.
Wednesday morning we got up early and crossed the strait of juan de fuca. This is the longest crossing I've ever done, it was about 35 miles across mostly open water. At first I was worried about the south winds, blowing about 10-15 kts, so I put a reef in the main and put up a small Jib. The boat handled the winds great, so I then figured I could probably put up the spinnaker.
It was a terrific ride, we were going about 8 kts at one point, flying along and pulling the canoe behind.
White Knight (the canoe) decided to become a submarine, however. 8 kts is a bit too fast for a canoe, it seems.
After a little while the wind died, and we were forced to motor the rest of the way over to Victoria.
Customs was a breeze. I was worried about it, but we came ashore, called a number, and talked to a guy on the phone. He gave us a number that we put in our window. That was it. Call, answer questions, get the number, put it in the window. We'll see what the US customs is like tomorrow.
Coming ashore, there is so much beauty in this little city. The colors (colours?) are stunning, probably because there is so little color out on the water.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I see being a sailor-man has weathered you a bit in that first picture. More sunscreen?
The Jolly Roger flag is fitting touch, by the way. I expect a demonstration of the cannon.

I'm also glad to hear your earlier troubles didn't snowball or alter your plans.

Peace.