It feels as though a lifetime of adventures have taken place since I departed Port Hardy on that foggy August 18 morning. It was a bitter-sweet departure with a myriad of emotions ranging from the excitement of the voyage that lies ahead, missing I.V. and my wonderful friends in Canada, to knowing that Precious Metal will likely not be returning to the wonderful life that we had on "D" dock in Port Hardy. I was hoping to sail away and wave farewell to Port Hardy in style, but instead it was so foggy that I could barely see the bow of the boat and had to creep along at minimal speed glued to the radar screen. But I was well rewarded later that day when the Sailing Gods gave me a very special treat with following 15 knot winds, strong favourable current and sunny skies allowing me to clock 10-12 knots through the entire Johnstone Strait...one of those magical rewards of owning a sailboat with everything working in my favour.

Lots of fun-filled social stops in each evening anchorage along the way to Vancouver followed by three days in Vancouver doing final preparations and taking aboard three crew/friends for the voyage to San Diego...Sadly I.V. couldn't join us for this passage down the coast as he's still busy with the property development in Port Hardy and will be arriving in San Diego early October.

I was very fortunate to have four wonderful crew members for this leg of the voyage - which is instrumental to a successful and fun passage. First Mate Riley rarely did much but sleep and cuddle and managed to hold his "business" for several days at a time until the seas were calm enough to allow him to "purchase himself" in the appropriate position - needless to say he was the happiest of all to see land...(such a good little doggie and wonderful companion).

Introducing the rest of my crew: Guy Walters - fellow RVYC Vic-Maui race Trustee with extensive sailing ability and offshore experience, Jim Grace - Campbell River physician with several offshore voyages in his repertoire and intensely entertaining, Joanne Victory - close friend with no offshore experience but a wonderful cook and has recently been taking sailing lessons to improve her participation as crew for this voyage.

We checked into the US in Roche Harbour on the evening of August 24 and began the long slog through Juan de Fuca Strait early the next morning - against wind and tide, arriving at Tatoosh Point (westernmost point of Juan de Fuca Strait) just as darkness was upon us.

I first discovered Jim's wonderful humour when he woke me during his watch sometime around midnight, "Pamela there's a bright boat light behind us and I can hear the engine but I can't pick it up on radar." This bright orange light happened to be the crescent u-shaped moon rising on the edge of the horizon - obviously too distant for radar but a truly spectacular sight. After tons of laughter and Jim digesting the fact that if he couldn't capture the moon by camera he would definitely not find it on radar, he questioned me one more time before I settled back to sleep. "One more question for morning watch Pamela, does the sun have an engine?" Jim is approaching 60, taking his degree in literature, and I wish I had a penny for every time he made us laugh.

We had two storms during the 12 day passage. The first one is what we refer to as the "surprise" storm - only one night into the voyage and it lasted throughout the night - clearly catching us off guard. South-easterly 35-40 knot winds, confused seas and because it arrived during the night it seemed far more daunting. We actually steered north for the balance of that night in order to maintain a decent sailing position. We reefed the sails most nights during the voyage (reefed mainsail and staysail) choosing comfort (all relative) over speed.

The second storm was no surprise, in fact I was aware of the system prior to our departure and looked forward to discovering how Precious Metal's 'metal' is in challenging winds and seas. We were approximately 120 nm off the Oregon Coast and reports via sat phone from I.V. and weather-expert/friend Greg Harms indicated that we were heading into a big one. Facing gale force winds and huge seas for several days from the northwest (which is what excited us) we decided to stay offshore and ride out the storm rather than head into port - several boats that were out there at the same time went in to harbour for cover (I have since learned that one Transpac experienced sailor had to be rescued and abandon his vessel during his storm).

Precious Metal handled the storm wonderfully well - albeit with a few bruises. Notes from the log include:
- Jim just sat down after his watch at 4am with a beer (I allow one drink of alcohol after each watch) and a giant wave smacked the hull sending him flying across the cockpit, ricocheting off me on the opposite side, flying through the canvass window (breaking through the snaps) and landing just inside the stanchions on the deck (he was somewhat bruised and shocked but climbed into the cockpit checking over his should to see if he had wings). Had he fallen through the stanchions we would never have found him on that dark and stormy night. His beer soaked into my sleeping bag that was later used as a mop for cleaning up diesel that spewed from the engine filter several days later - but that's another story...
- Both locked tool drawers in the engine room burst open and landed upside-down in the engine compartment emptying their entire stock into the engine well. Fortunately I heard the crash and managed to retrieve the tools from the running engine, but at the same time the 18 litre drinking water container (which had been tightly secured) turned over and flooded the bilge so my two drawers full of tools and spares floated underneath the floorboards and are now likely impossible to reach. I have a big job ahead of bringing up all the floorboards (sigh) to find my once floating spares and tools.
- Jim caught a tuna!! Best tuna ever. But was we were admiring it in the fridge deciding how we'd prepare it a huge wave hit the side of the hull and sent us both crashing across the galley floor, broke the table stand and we landed on top of each other underneath the broken table.
- Continuous engine failure due to dirty fuel plagued us throughout the voyage. Both fuel tanks were cleaned this spring but unfortunately I faced a continuing saga of changing filters and bleeding the engine throughout the voyage - including 5 miles from the San Diego channel. I can proudly say that I have mastered the art of filter changing and bleeding the engine systems - a good thing to know. Truly, there's no better sound than an engine that engages when you're 150 miles offshore and dependent on power to run all of the systems on the boat.
- Joanne was absolutely terrified at night during the storms. While the three of us enjoyed tears of laughter and exhilaration in the cockpit during the nights of the second storm, poor Joanne struggled with huge anxiety (although she was fine in daylight). The intensity of steering in high winds and huge seas requires full concentration and our shifts became shortened together with a lot of strain on my recently operated foot - but so, so much fun. Disney land rides don't begin to compare to the thrill of being at the helm in these conditions.
- We saw minimal traffic during the voyage; however, the oil tankers, freighters, and cruise ships that we did see - particularly as we approaching San Diego were all so friendly and helpful to us.
We popped into Avalon on Catalina Island (20 nm from Los Angeles) on our final day to pick up some fuel and enjoy a fancy meal. What an amazing place and worthy of another visit...

All in all, I have tremendous gratitude to my wonderful crew for making this voyage such a memorable chapter. Guy gave me the confidence to sail Precious Metal to her optimum, Jim was keenly reliable and entertaining, and Joanne provided the most amazing meals for us - despite every challenge...I feel very privileged to have had each of them on board.

My next seven weeks in San Diego is fully occupied by repairs and maintenance of a long list of tasks to bring Precious Metal back to her former "precious" self, together with
a number of guests coming aboard - including my three sisters who are arriving today and my long-time friend Bruce shortly afterwards. I'm nicely settled into San Diego Yacht Club where the hospitality is fantastic, and I really look forward to sharing this wonderful chapter with I.V. in October - followed by the Baja Ha Ha regatta to Cabo and points beyond in Mexico.


Pamela and Riley