Tuesday 5th October
Back in the water, at last, on Friday, for final sail adjustments and work. Removed all cabin doors and several bunk cushions, together with dinghy, outboard,
folding bike, etc, etc, to leave behind until my return next year... Will simplify access to below bunks in case of problems, make moving around in rough seas easier and give better stowage..
Even less wind today than when I left Port Townsend on Monday... grrr!!! Left Orcas Island at sunrise and negotiated narrow Pole Pass with bated breath.... I'd cleared out of USA at Friday Hbr on Lopez Island and then cleared into Canada on reaching Vancouver - very friendly, helpful officials in both places.
So very nice to be back in the water after several days of delays due to more work needed - a badly leaking chainplate needed an urgent repair and waiting for a rudder sealing ring to arrive very much later than expected also didn't help ... Everything seems to take so much longer than hoped for - I'm a perpetual optimist where timing is concerned...!
I'd forgotten just how good it feels to be back on passage .... always the expectation of the unknown.... a great feeling of freedom and escape ..... until, that is, I found problems with the radar, VHF radio and charting software.. to add in to a non-firing, newly-'fixed' heater I'd discovered on a cold Sunday night !!! Oh well, .... C'est la vie en bateau!! Hopefully, I can sort them out before I leave.
Photos...of calm sea, penguin guillemots (?) about to dive below the surface and sealions hauled out on an islet - all on the approach to the San Juan Islands from the Strait of Juan de Fuca..... a beautiful sunrise over Orcas Island looking back to Pole Pass and the approach to Vancouver from Pt Grey, with snow-capped Rockies as a backdrop.
