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Spirit of
Freedom's Gunkhole Adventure 2009
June 12 - October 11, 2009 1,615.4 nautical miles
Part Fourteen: The West
Coast of Vancouver Island August 8-28
The Eighth Leg: Port San Juan/Port Renfrew to Port Angeles
August 28 Time to start the last leg of our trip down the West Coast of Vancouver Island. The morning was cold, foggy, rainy and windy. We had an absolutely fantastic sail after clearing the bar, all the way into the port of Port Angeles! Winds were running 25+ knots, fairly steady, with some gusts as we approached Port Angeles. We were glad we had radar and AIS, using them both as we crossed the very busy traffic lanes, sailing between the large freighters traversing the Strait. BJ, Dad and Cliff helmed, with Cliff being at the helm approaching and entering Port Angeles. It was a great experience for him; a first sailing in these conditions. It was a sleigh ride, flying across and down the Strait. When we were approaching Pt. Angeles, and in the heaviest winds and waves (by then gale warnings were up) I went below to call the Customs Office to advise them we were coming into port for clearance. I dropped my paperwork, and just as I bent over to pick it up, Cliff fell off of a wave and gave us a bit of a roller-coaster whoopee! That was the only time I felt sea-sick all summer! And WOW! Did I feel nasty for a few seconds!! Luckily it was just a few seconds; I don't know how Tricia handles it, she is seasick a lot and still keeps on sailing. And navigating!!! Impressive! Feeling poorly she was glued to the AIS and plotter for most of the trip across the Strait, figuring our course between all the traffic.
We were told where to tie up, and to call Customs when we were. The Customs agent came onboard; he was really nice, one of the easiest going agents we have ever met. He asked us a couple of basic questions; didn't care at all what we had brought back with us. In fact he even looked at my basil plant that I had purchased in back in June in the Gulf Islands and kept us provided with fresh basil for over three months. I thought sure he was going to confiscate it, but he didn't say a thing. He gave us our clearance number, and headed on out. It took all of 15 minutes, just enough time for him to copy down all of our passport and boat info. We cleaned up the boat a bit (it was pretty tossed from the day's run) and caught a taxi and went downtown to a recommended restuaraunt at the Coho Dock. The food was OK, but nothing special. We got back to the boat, and BJ, Tricia and Dad started packing to leave the next day. Dad decided he was going to head on home, to let Cliff and me have a month alone together. We tried to talk him out of it, but I guess three months aboard was enough! It was freezing cold in Port Angeles, where did summer go??
August 29: The fog and rain and cold went away and the sun came out again! Tricia's parents arrived in the morning just after breakfast. While they visited onboard I borrowed their car and ran to the grocery store to re-supply and BJ washed Spirit. After I got back, all the gear was loaded into the car, along with a lot of frozen salmon. We all said our goodbyes and the trip down the West Coast of Vancouver Island was over! Just like that!
Cliff and I planned to head across the Strait again and into the San Juan Islands; and from there we would figure out what we were going to do. If the weather held, we planned to head up to Desolation Sound to spend September there. Meanwhile we had laundry to do. We called a taxi and headed to the laundromat and did 45 pounds of laundry. It was hot outside and hotter in the laundromat. But we came prepared, having brought ice cold beers to drink while doing the laundry! Had to ease the pain some way! After getting back to the boat I defrosted the freezer and cleaned. Poor Spirit was a mess after having that many people onboard for 20 days! Angel was depressed already, having figured out that Scupper was gone. I think DC was happy to have "her" cabin back to herself. The boat seemed much bigger after everybody was gone; but it is funny, it didn't really seem cramped while everybody was onboard.
Next: Part Fifteen 2009
(under construction)
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