Monday was our best day of sailing yet. However, we awoke to beautiful blue skies and sunshine.

Before leaving the anchorage, we took the dinghy to Meares Island which is a native reserve which has never been logged. The trail is quite boggy, consisting of peat, so the entire trail consists of a boardwalk. The interesting fact is that the individual boards consist of rough split cedar logs.

The only drawback is that you need to watch where you step so viewing the landscape is restricted. Nevertheless, we managed to spot a few of the 1,000+ year old cedars.

We returned to Lion's Paw and awaited the turning tide for the best current in leaving the Tofino area into the open sea. We left at 11am in hopes that by the time we reached the open ocean, the afternoon winds would have filled in. However, it took about an hour for that to happen, but once it did, we set the spinnaker and sailed all the way to the entrance to Ucluelet Harbor, our next destination.

We were under 15-20 knots of wind the entire way as we cruised along at 8+ knots. As we approached Ucluelet, which means "safe harbor" in the native tongue, we doused the sails and motored into the harbor where we located the public dock and tied up for the night. Steve had a nephew who lives in Ucluelet, so he called him on the phone. He drove over where we had happy hour and then walked to a wood fired pizza restaurant which had some of the best pizza I have eaten. The crust was chewy and the toppings outstanding. We returned to Lion's Paw and called it a night.

We awoke this morning to overcast skies. We re-checked the weather forecast, and the prediction of very strong winds and seas through Wednesday were still in effect, so we decided to hunker down at this secure dock for another night. We walked to the main marina about a mile away and checked in. There were showers there so we took advantage before setting out for our daily trek-the Wild Pacific Trail. There are several sections, and we wanted to take the one which led out to the lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour. It was a fairly long walk to the start of the trail, but once we found it, it was a beautiful walk through the old forest.

At one point, we had the opportunity to look out to the open ocean and quickly decided that we had made the right choice in staying put for another day.

We completed the loop of the trail and walked back into town where we found a food truck which supplied us with a lunch of fish and chips. The sun had finally come out, and the skies had cleared, so we sat on benches enjoying the meal before returning to Lion's Paw where we are currently hunkered down. The wind is howling through the rigging, but we do had a bit of shelter from the large, commercial fishing boat tied up just upwind. It could be an interesting night if the winds continue.

Tomorrow we can move a bit closer to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, our final leg before reaching Victoria. The wind forecast for Thursday is looking favorable. Keep your fingers crossed for us.