Life after Tofino…after we bid farewell to our Belgian clowns*…went by fast.
First we continued to the Broken Group where we enjoyed three anchorages in six days. Then we sailed our longest day yet; 75.4 miles in the infamous Juan de Fuca Strait. It took us 14 hours; 13 of those were in dense fog. The last hour before anchoring in Sooke Inlet we finally could see land and everything else only our radar detected beforehand. The next day we finished our final leg of the west coast of Vancouver Island: Sooke to Victoria.
Our re-entry into civilization really began to take place when we went to the popular Hot Springs Cove just north of Tofino. The farther south we traveled, the more people we saw, but arriving in Victoria and docking directly in front of The Empress Hotel was a bit over the top. The place crawled with tourists. City sights, sounds and smells caused a sensory overload. The first siren we heard nearly made me jump out of my skin. In spite of it all, Clay and I had fun exploring the capital of British Columbia.
From Victoria, we rounded the bottom of Vancouver Island, past Sidney to Russel Island where we rendezvoused with our friends Ruth and Harold and Harold’s family from Holland. What a fun group! On their recommendation, we went to Clam Bay by Thetus Island, and then over to Irish Bay by Saturna Island.
Alas, we could postpone the inevitable no longer and made the leap across Boundary Pass and checked into U.S. customs in Roche Harbor, San Juan Island. From there we enjoyed a good sail to to Deer Harbor on Orcas Island to visit our friends Bob and Sandy.
A couple days later, we hopped back over to San Juan Island to pick up our son, Chad, and his girlfriend, Ryann. They flew to Seattle, took a shuttle bus to Anacortes, then traveled by ferry to Friday Harbor. We had a blast showing them around Jones and Matia Islands, Mackaye Bay on Lopez Island, Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island and then Anacortes.
After logging 2,211.5 miles since May 12 (112 days), Sundown is now tucked back into her slip in the Anacortes Marina, and we’re preparing to fly home to Colorado to visit more family and hopefully a few friends. Of course, I’ll be regrouping with clients, too, as my fall work schedule will ramp up fast.
But don’t think our sailing season is over! My mom is returning to Washington with us and we hope to show her a good time on the water. Then a couple of friends will be aboard for a few days of sailing fun in early October. And who knows? Maybe this winter will be a bit milder and more conducive to getting off the dock. Stay tuned!
*The clowns, Amandine and Quentin, are hitchhiking in the states now bound for Cuba! They stayed with our sons in Fort Collins when they passed through Colorado. We’re glad they could meet the guys they heard so much about. Follow their blog here.
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