Day 10; May 8: Last night sucked! We had wind all night, we did notice 40 mph a couple of times. We didn’t sleep well with the boat spinning and dragging the chain on a rocky bottom. Thankfully, the anchor did its thing and didn’t slip much. Our departure was timed to get to Dodd Narrows at slack (8:30AM). The narrows were calm as could be at slack. As we were underway, they were broadcasting that Whisky Gulf military test range was active so we needed to stay away from it. Mid-day we decided to go farther than planned and went all the way to Campbell River. Note to self, 10 hours is too long of a day. We met a nice couple from Portland on the dock.

Day 11; May 9: Today we had Seymour narrows to transit at 10:00 AM. Hit it on time and got a push for a while during the day until the tide changed and it slowed us down for several hours. We spent the night in Port Nevill, a large wide-open anchorage that was very quiet. Listening to the radio several whale watching boats were trading info on sightings but there were no whales to be found. We didn’t see any either.

Day 12; May 10: We left the anchorage with a short day planned to get to Port McNeill and 35 miles. On our way checking the weather for Cape Caution it was clear that we needed to try for tomorrow or wait a week. High winds and rough seas all in the forecast after Sunday. We got in tied up and the guy at the dock brought the fuel hose to us. This was a first, normally you go to the fuel dock and then move to your slip. I was pleasantly surprised. Walked to get lunch and got a few groceries at the IGA and returned to the boat to make a plan for going around Cape Caution tomorrow.

Day 13; May10: Happy Mother’s Day! The alarm went off a 4:00 AM to check the forecast and make sure Sunday was still ok. So, the plan was to put two days’ worth of miles on in one day. Water was better than we could have hoped for even out around Cape Caution. It was another 10-hour day but it worked out better than either of us imagined. Staying in a nice little anchorage, Warrior Cove.

 Day 5; May 3 We washed the boat the majority of the day. Stayed amazingly dry despite the wind blowing all day. We tied up in front of another Nordic Tug very similar to ours. As it turns out it was built right after ours, ours is 59 and it is 60. The owners got into town this evening and they came over for a chat.

Day 6; May 4: We decided to stay the day to let the water calm down. The wind had calmed but it takes a while for the water to catch up. We walked to town to stretch our legs and then we prepared to cross the straight tomorrow.

Day 7; May 5: Before leaving for Victoria, we filled up the boat with fuel. The straight was smooth and calm making the ride across really enjoyable. We stopped at the customs dock and got checked in. We also got a slip in front of the Empress Hotel downtown which is one of the more iconic marinas that I am aware of. We went for a walk in the afternoon through downtown and Chinatown. All of the Mexican restaurants near us were all closed on Mondays. No margaritas today. We made a reservation for a tour of the town and Butchart Gardens.

Day8; May 6: Went on the tour through town and learned some interesting things about the founding fathers of Victoria. The Butchart Gardens was stunning! The different flowers, trees and shrubs was just amazing. I will let some of the pictures speak for themselves. Oh, they also said flag sales have gone up 300% recently.

Day 9; May 7: We had rain and high winds early morning before we got up. We got up early to get an early start because of the forecast winds. Underway at 7:00 AM and had no wind the entire day. We are anchored just outside Ladysmith BC.

 Pictures are out of order due to multiple cameras being used.

 Day 1; Apr29: We left St Helens headed to Ilwaco; it was very uneventful. There were hundreds of sea lions around the mouth of the Cowlitz river and Longview. They like our prized spring salmon as well as we do. There was a large cruise ship at Astoria. Tuesday is a bad day for anything being open in Ilwaco but we found a cider place to have a drink.

Day 2; Apr30: Tides and current to get over the bar were not the best for heading out early but having light as well. So, we chose to cross the bar at 11:00 AM, as it turns out along with a car carrier and a fuel barge tug combo. The bar pilot called us and asked us to give them the entire channel. That meant we were going to be going over on the Peacock Spit area (north side of channel). The waves/swell in the center channel was 2-4 feet, Peacock Spit was 4-6 feet. We did see our first whale, a humpback while we were going through the bar. All went well to Westport it wasn’t rough but it was wet. I was worried the wipers might burn up running so long.

Day 3; May 1: The tide was at 3:30 and we planned to leave at 5:30 thinking we would beat the charter fleet out. Well, that didn’t work out, people started showing up at the charters a 3:00 and most were gone by the time we left so it worked out. The water was fantastic all day long. The water being so nice it made the 13-hour trip boring. We didn’t have any new finger prints in the wood finish like last time. Anchored at Neah Bay with two other boats and a Coast Guard Cutter. One of the other boats are friends that advised us on the dos and don’ts of cruising to Alaska.

Day4; May 2: Our friends told us that they were staying at Neah Bay until Monday due to small craft advisories. We decided to push on to Port Angeles since the advisory didn’t start until 3 PM. A Couple hours in the water got very rough 3–5-foot wave/swell, that lasted for 2.5 hours. I am in the dog house again. We got in to PA just fine albeit a bit frazzled. Walked to town for dinner and a drink. We are likely staying through the weekend waiting out the wind.

At Astoria

Cutter in Neah Bay

Cape Flattery Light House