Picture: Pam doing yoga with the gorgeous yacht club property in the background.

End of the day miles: 14

Miles since Mexico: 26,091

Weather: Sunny and warm

Wind: SE wind 0 to 5 knots

Boat speed: 3 - 8 knots with motor and the current.

We left late morning with light wind so we had to motor out of the Ganges harbor. After studying the numerous different anchorages and marinas the night before we decided to head for the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club which has reciprocal moorage privileges with our home club at Shelton, Washington state.

As we entered Sidney harbor we passed marinas back to back and crowded anchorages everywhere. Our faithful GPS took us right to the Sidney North Saanich Yacht Club. We were grateful to find a mooring spot because there are limited spaces reserved for reciprocal yacht clubs and there so many yachts in the area! We noticed many yachts with Washington State cities as their home port but since they mostly did not have registration decals on their bows we were left with the impression that they had never actually been to the state, thus avoiding "Use tax" or sales tax (which is the same rate, 9 or 10% of the value of the vessel).

We were impressed when we saw the yacht club building and its grounds. The building is situated near the waterfront and the dining room has a terrific view of the harbor. We shared a pizza and a pitcher of beer in the elegant setting. There are decorative gardens and fruit trees planted near the parking area and a small park strategically placed amongst the trees near the water. Free showers and laundry are located in the basement. The club seemed to buzz with activity including a summer sailing program for school age children.

We felt honored to be able to reap the benefits of the amenities while at the same time being in close proximity to some of the major tourist attractions.