Our June 30th
departure date came, went and we were still at our dock in Everett. Brittney (our niece), Kelly Boy
& I finally shoved off on July 4th when we found our independence from
the marina. Our deadline was missed due to some rigging delays.
The 4th was celebrated in Oak Harbor,
where we anchored out and watched the fireworks from our bow. The next
morning Moorea needed to catch up with Rutledge, Ray & Pat on their boat
the Second Wind. They left on July 2nd for the San Juans. We met up with them
on July 5th by Anacortes. Our next destination was Sucia
Island, the Northern most of the San Juan Islands. After 8 hours of motoring, Moorea was
safely anchored in the bay.
The goal was to reach Canada and we checked into customs at Bedwell Harbor, British Columbia
and moved onto Saltspring
Island. The wind speed
was 10 knots, coming from the Northwest so Moorea & crew ended up tacking
most of the way. Arriving in Ganges Harbor around 5:30 pm we tied up to the wharf and
decided to stay an extra day to relax and enjoy Ganges Village.
July 8th, Kelly Boy and I
celebrated five years of marriage while Ray & Pat left us for the States.
Rutledge stowed away on Moorea as she was headed up to Nanaimo
anchoring at Degnen Bay, Gabriola
Island along the way. Nanaimo is a fun, busy
little city with all the facilities within walking distance.
Rutledge and Brittney left us on
July 11th, from Nanaimo back to Oregon. They were
great crew and we enjoyed their company. Our next destination was the sleepy
town of Comox,
where we anchored for 2 days and hooked up our HAM radio. I pulled Kelly Boy
up the backstay in the Bosons Chair to connect the antenna to the tuner.
Our next stop was Campbell River, where
the Salmon fishing is in full swing. The currents in Campbell River are swift and we found
ourselves fending off a 46’ Power Boat from our stern. I clutched on to our
boat hook and yelled forward to the driver. (I would call this driver a
“Captain” if he had any nautical sense.) Kelly watched him hit into a dock
with his stern and a piling with his bow. We decided not to stay tied up at
Coast Marina and moved out to a protected bay. July 15th our friends, Tom
& Jen were to meet up with us in Campbell River
so we tied up at Discovery
Harbor.
With new provisions, our friends
and a new destination of Port McNeil, Moorea was ready to tackle the Seymour Narrows in Discovery Passage. The Narrows are known to have swift currents up to 15
knots. Timing the passage through the Narrows
during a slack tide is critical otherwise you may find yourself going
backwards. Our transit through Seymour
Narrows went smoothly
and we decided to pull up our sails with one reef in the mainsail and only
rolled out 50% of our jib sail since the wind was registering 20 knots dead
on the nose. Twenty minutes of tacking our jib sail slammed all the way open,
jolting the boat. Rolling the jib in was unsuccessful and leaving the jib
fully unfurled was not an option considering the wind strength. While Tom
steered the bow into the wind Kelly Boy and I wrestled the sail onto the
deck. Upon inspection of the Roller Furling, one of the foils which contains the sail in its track was completely twisted 180
degrees.
Our new challenge was to get to
Port McNeil which was about 80 miles away and replace the Roller Furling. Our
quickest route was through Johnstone Straight which Gale force winds were
predicted to be 35-40 knots in the afternoon and evening. We also had to get
Tom & Jen to Port McNeil by July 21, in order for them to catch a bus
back to Campbell River.
We found ourselves motoring into 2-3 foot waves and 25-30 knots of wind head
on. That first day Moorea only gained 18 miles. The second and third day we
had smaller waves, 20-25 knots of head wind and managed another 30 miles
combined. The final day of the Johnstone Straight run was 15-20 knots of head
wind where we pulled up our smaller jib with a double reefed main sail and
tacked 32 miles which took 12 hours, up to Telegraph Cove. This was our best
sailing the whole trip and the next day we motored 2 hours into Port McNeil.
Tom & Jen left us this
morning for home. They were great sports and wonderful crew. We would be
happy to have them as crew again. Our plan is to wait for the New Roller
Furling, which may take 5 days to arrive and work on Moorea. Then next step
is on for Port Hardy and the West Side of Vancouver.
So far what we have found on our
journey is …. in Canada there is usually a public
shower at the Laundromat. The Dr. Pepper made in Ontario
doesn’t taste as good as the Plano,
Texas version. The wind in
Johnstone Straights is always heading us and we are enjoying this trip.