As I sit writing this, I’m looking out over sunny protected Ganges Harbour at Salt Spring Island, BC. It’s a busy harbor filled with marinas, boats on mooring balls and at anchor, plus a sea plane landing strip. With all of that going on, it’s still peaceful. I woke up to the light rocking of our boat as we swing around the anchor while the winds pick up. The sky is completely blue without a cloud, and the area is expecting a heat wave in the next few days. We are north of 48 degrees latitude, so a heat wave is not quite as intense as some of you may be experiencing this summer. We expect the temperature to reach 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the coming days.
We departed Seattle on June 30, as planned. All went well, until 20 minutes into our journey when the autopilot failed. So, we had the opportunity to hand steer for a few days as we made our way out of Puget Sound. Mark did some troubleshooting and ultimately we learned we needed a new clutch. We ordered the part from a shop in Victoria, BC while sailing through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and it miraculously arrived at the shop before our scheduled departure from Victoria. Mark installed the new clutch and we’re back to business as usual.
We’ve had a mix of motoring and sailing, with the best sailing when we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It can be a treacherous passage if the wind is funneling off the Pacific Ocean in the opposite direction of the outgoing tide. We timed it well with the tides, and luckily the wind was in our favor. It was rough in a few spots, but nothing that was too much for our boat or for us. Invigorating. The few days in Victoria were excellent. We tied up at the dock right in the heart of town. It was a mix of fun, relaxation, and errands. We cleared customs in Victoria, went grocery shopping, got travel vaccinations, picked up the autopilot clutch (and a whole spare autopilot drive), and bought a paper chart I forgot to purchase earlier. We took a pickle boat ride to dinner one night, and spent a very relaxing afternoon at HAVN (the outdoor spa floating on a barge in Victoria Harbour).
We’re continuing to make our way northwest through the Inside Passage. Our next stops include a small island with a sandy beach and the city of Nanaimo before we continue onward to Desolation Sound.