We awoke Thursday morning to clear skies and the coldest day yet-39 degrees. The skies were clear all night, so there was nothing to trap in the heat. We entered the Strait of Georgia and heard the report that Whiskey-Gulf was active. That meant that the Canadian Navy was conducting wargames in the area encompassing much of the
Strait north and east of Nanaimo. No one is allowed in the area when this is going on. Our plan called for us to head due south which just clipped the very northeast corner of the area. The winds quickly filled in from the northwest and, but for the WG activity, it would have been a great day to sail almost west back to Nanaimo and then through Dodd Narrows. We had to settle for motor sailing with the genoa giving us about an extra tenth or two knots of speed. We timed our arrival at Porlier Pass for a calm transit back into the Gulf Islands. We decided to make our next stop at Montague Harbour, a place we have visited in the past. After anchoring, we launched the dinghy and headed for the dock which services the marine park. We had a delightful walk in the forest and along the shore before returning to the dock. For some unexplained reason, I suggested that we walk to the end of the dock where there was a sailboat tied up. As we reached the cockpit, we started talking with the occupants. One of the women said: “I know you from somewhere.” After a brief thought process, we realized that these were fellow cruisers from Mexico: Anne and Dick from Full & By! They were on a friend’s boat since Full & By was still in Mexico. We were invited onboard and proceeded to catch up on what has taken place since 2011 when we first met. They were in the process of planning their participation in the 2018 Pacific Puddle Jump, so we shared some of our experiences. They plan to only go as far as French Polynesia. Also onboard was a man who has his boat at Vuda Point Marina in Fiji where we lost Murar’s Dream to a fire. He knew Peter Drysdale who administered the Murar’s Dream Fund to help underprivileged Fijians. In fact, he is about to return to Fiji shortly, and he will be seeing Peter and can share our encounter with him. We returned to Lion’s Paw for dinner and an early night’s retirement.

We arose this morning to overcast skies with rain in the forecast. It was about 50 degrees, which really shows how overcast skies can trap the earth’s heat overnight. We weighed anchor and headed for the U.S. with our first stop at Friday Harbor. The crossing was uneventful, and we successfully checked in via telephone, avoiding the need to physically visit U.S. Customs. We were spared of rain for the first half of the journey, but it has been raining ever since. We have reservations for a multi-course dinner at a local restaurant tonight, and we will then be cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca tomorrow. We had hoped for some decent wind, but it does not appear to be in the forecast for now. Two more days, and we will be home.

Sorry for the lack of pictures in this blog. We both forgot our cameras when we were doing our walk at Montague Harbour, which was quite scenic. Full & By managed to get a picture of us, but we could not reciprocate.