The Send Off

Mom, Dad, Brock, Tyra and Opa came over on Saturday night to take us out to dinner at Spinnakers Brew Pub. We had a great meal. The dessert chef made this incredible Bon-Voyage cake that included a map of the pacific, our route to Hawaii and a little sailboat all done in icing.

The next morning we had breakfast and the Empress Hotel. After breakfast, the whole gang came down to the boat and helped finish up a few last minute projects. Goodbyes were said and a few tears were shed. By the time we were fueled and watered, it was one in the afternoon.

Fast and Rough Start

We cleared the Victoria harbour at 13:45 PDT. Hoisted the main with a double reef and the staysail. Beated into the wind toward Race Rocks. The wind blew a solid 20 knots and the seas were rough 4-5' chop. Not very pleasant sailing and hard on the boat. Never the less, we made very good speed to the south shore, averaging about 7 knots.

Tyler went down for a nap in the v-berth. A couple hours later he was awaken by a splash of water across the face. The port bookshelf was full of water and sloshing back and forth. We were defiantly taking on water. Tyler abandoned the v-berth and I went in to investigate. We had both seen water come in there once before about a year ago. I drilled a drain hole in the bookshelf to let the water out, but it was having problems keeping up. I tracked the water ingress to the upper corner of the forward bulkhead. Substantial water was coming in from the anchor locker through two wire holes near the deck. We had been running at hull speed in heavy seas, which meant the bow was under water most of the time and the anchor locker couldn't drain. We've plugged the holes temporary and will seal them properly when the anchor locker dries out.

Sea Sick

I cannot type on this computer in rough weather, for fear of loosing me dinner. Other than that, neither of us have had any problems. I cooked up a couple of steaks for dinner (thanks mom) and we ate steak and beer in the cockpit.

Boarding

Half way out the strait, dark out, Tyler sleeping below, lots of traffic. I'm watching the radar and lights carefully. A target about 4 miles ahead appears to be clearing us to the east. Half an hour later, it's going west. I want to take a quick nap, but not until I'm convinced it's going to be out of the way. A little later, I see a spot light. It's flashing at me. I go down stairs and grab the searchlight and shine it at them: "Yes, I see you". I then see a blue strobe. Hmm... time to turn on the radio. "Sailing vessel approaching Clallam Bay from the North, this is the Coast Guard Cutter on your bow". Sure enough, they want to do a "voluntary" inspection.

Tyler half asleep: "We've got company?" Me: "Yep, US Coast Guard"

Three guys plus a driver come over on a launch (Zodiac 540 for those playing along at ZHT). I help them on board. Tyler takes them through the boat twice: once for safety, a second time for contraband. They look at our IDs and ships registration. As we approached the south shore they asked if we needed to change coarse. I said yes, but I'll wait until your done, or you can help me tack the boat. They took that as their queue to leave and called their launch back over. The whole process took about a half hour.

No one likes to be boarded and searched by armed men in the middle of the night. But I have to say; these guys were cool, calm, professional and most off all friendly. They were careful of not interfering with the sailing of the boat and did their inspection in a courteous manner. A fine example of professional mariners.

Open Ocean

We're speeding along at 6.5 knots, 30 miles off shore. Land is over the horizon. After the USCG left us, I turned on the motor to make up some time as the wind was dying. I motored for another couple hours and hand off to Tyler. Tyler past Cape Flattery in the early hours of the morning. I got up momentarily to see the shadow of the Cape off our quarter. Tyler watched the moon rise astern, while I watched the sun rise an hour later. We motored until just after sunrise, until the wind picked back up. It's time cook some breakfast.