Thursday was our marathon day. We arose at 5am and cast off at 5:30. Our destination was Sooke Basin, about 75 miles away. The winds did not cooperate, so it was a total motoring day as we traversed a substantial portion of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Fortunately, we had trailing seas because the swells were in the 4-8 foot range, starting big and reducing in size throughout the day. I tried my best to take a photo to give you an appreciation of the size of the waves, and here is what those waves do when they reach the seashore.

We entered Sooke Basin at 3:30pm and first dropped our crab pot in hopes of being rewarded tomorrow with Dungeness crab. We then checked out the public dock which was unfortunately full, so we found a spot to anchor and spent a pleasant evening aboard. Our last official leg will be Friday when we travel the final 20 miles or so to Victoria where Bob will depart. I will then carry on with Steve to complete this journey to Bainbridge Island where I will await the arrival of Debra whom I have missed dearly.

We awoke to sunny skies and light winds today. Bob and I launched the dinghy to recover the crab pot. We went to the area where we set it, and it was nowhere to be found. We were convinced that either someone had stolen it or some commercial fisherman did it in. As we started back to the boat, we looked to the opposite side of the lagoon, and I saw what looked like the blue oil container that I use as a float. We crossed over (about a few hundred yards) and there it was! We hauled it in, and it was filled with crabs. After releasing the females and those too small to keep, we caught one Dungeness and half a dozen red rock crabs which are now cleaned and cooked for a subsequent dinner on Saturday night.

We completed our traverse of the Strait as we crossed the harbour which accesses Victoria.

As we passed Victoria, we had a nice view of Mount Baker.

We arrived at Oak Bay Marina near Victoria in the early afternoon and secured our dock for the next two nights. Bob's wife came down to pick us up, and we went to their daughter and son-in-law's house nearby where Steve and I took advantage of the showers. Bob then drove us down to the inner harbour where we viewed all of the sailboats moored for tomorrow's start of the Swiftsure International Yacht Race which is an out and back course to the end of the Strait and back. The number and variety of boats was a sight to be seen.

We then rendezvoused with Bob and his wife, Brenda, for dinner at my favorite Victoria restaurant, Nubo Japanese Tapas. We had an outstanding dinner before calling it a day. Bob drove us back to the marina where we are spending a quiet night. Tomorrow is our "clean the boat" day, and we will then leave for the U.S. on Sunday when the winds are forecast to fill in.