Weather: rain, fog.  Wind: NW 1 knot.  Channel: Light chop

Engine Hours: 62.1,  Fuel Used: 127 gal.

The big day is finally here!  Canada and the boarder await us at last. We are away from othe FHYC dock at 7:30 am.  After a few qliches with the nav system – the gps tracking seems stuck and once free the Nobeltech plotter doesn’t like the autopilot so we decide to press on the old fashioned way and hand steer our way to Canada. 

While uneventful, it turns out to be a long, 8 hour push against counter currents most of the way.  WS handles well but speeds of 6 – 7 knots are all we can average.  Rain makes visibility difficult at best but the digital radar performs flawlessly.

On the customs dock in Coal Harbor, Vancouver by 4:30. Once cleared, we head over to the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club for the night.  In the morning, we will head back aroung Stanley Park and up False Creek to the southern side of Vancouver with its fun and colorful nightlife/theater district on Granville Island. Here we’ll stay as guest of the False Creek Yacht Club for several days as we finish preparations and provisioning for the trip north and our departure on Thursday.

Weather: cloudy, cold.  Wind: S 10-15 kts, Channel: choppy

Engine Hours: 62.6,  Fuel Used: 127 gal.

Leisurely but cold morning doing inside boat chores.

Anchor up at 11:30 for the 2-hour run back to Friday Harbor, our staging area for tomorrows run for the boarder and our official crossing into Canada.  We plan on moving one boat at a time to allow us to take the car across for a few days of use in Vancouver before it is put in storage for the month before we need to come home from Alaska for Heather’s wedding.

The mid-day, 2 hour run back is routine with just some strong head on currents to deal with to make it more interesting.  Once tucked back into the Friday harbor marine, the rest of the afternoon is spent on routine maintenance, All of us head to the local pub for dinner in honor of Cinco de Mayo but it is pretty quiet celebration this far north so we are back on board early for a good nights rest before a long day of travel tomorrow.

Weather: Partly Cloudy, Wind: S 10 Knots,  Channel: choppy

Engine Hours: 59.5,      Fuel used: 121 gal.

Spent the morning working with Ken on my watermaker bring it on line for the first time. After some consternation with the wiring, we were soon able to start making water at the rate of 20 gallons per hour while we recharge the ships batteries achieving true independence from shore ties at last (except for fuel). So now we can make electricity, make drinking water from sea water, process our sewerage, run our communications network with internet, shortwave, satellite, cell phone, do laundry, and watch Direct TV wherever we go!

Up anchor at 11:30 for a cruise back to East Bay and the main town of Orcas Island.  We decide to anchor in Fisherman’s cove just beyond the point for better protection from the predicted westerly breeze that never came.  Instead, we had a south wind blowing directly down the long fetch of the channel all night with gusts up to 19 knots by morning.

The crews of both boats took the Dtreamweaver dinghy ashore for a walk around town, some margaritas, and a few items from the local market before heading back for dinner aboard WS. The new Rocna anchor held us solidly in 20 feet of soft mud all night without any sign of dragging and a good night sleep was possible despite the high wind,

Weather: partly cloudy,  Wind: calm  Channel: calm

Engine Hours: 52.3       Fuel Used: 101.2

Jo’s back so we ran up to have a look at Rosario Resort on Orcas Island – the staging site of Heather’s Primal Quest adventure race. The wind was blowing right into the anchorage so we continued to explore the area checking out Blind Bay On Stewart Island before deciding to head back to Deer Harbor on the western side of Orcas to spend the night.

We anchored in 30 feet of soft mud tucked up against a substantial hill before heading off on foot to explore the Bellport Marina that is here and the local area.  Back on board before sharing dinner on our boat with D&K.

Today’s Fuel: 5.1 gal

Weather: Partly Cloudy,  Wind: S 8-knots, Channel: calm

Engine Hours: 50.1, Fuel Used: 93.2

Decided to take a quick trip back to Friday Harbor so that Jo could catch the ferry back to the mainland on Wednesday to do some errands. The trip was only a couple of hours and we are getting very comfortable running around these islands – the water is deep and except for the occasional ferry, easy to navigate.  The scenery is quite nice – lots of quaint little cabins tucked away on remote islands with no way in or out except by boat.

Dinner and a movie with Jo before her early morning departure.

Weather: partly cloudy  Wind: calm  Sea: calm

Engine Hours: 48.8  Fuel Used: 91.5

Off the hook (we moved off the dock on Sunday for some anchoring practice) by 10 AM for the short 3.1 NM trip to Stuart just across the strait from Roche.  A beautiful large well protected bay awaits us and we are soon anchored in 27 feet at the head of the sound.

This is island is a national park so we pick up Dottie and Ken right after lunch and head to shore for some hiking after a quick lunch. The 2.5 mile trail takes us to Turn Point Lighthouse, right on the Canadian-US boarder with spectacular views of Victoria Island across the Haro Straits.  Much of the trail involves up and down the hill trekking through forests and marshes – a real good workout after a winter on boat commissioning.

Dinner on board followed by a quiet night makes a nice end to our first real taste of Pacific Northwest cruising.

The next four days are devoted to meeting other Selene owners, touring their boats, eating and even some drinking.  On the serious side, most mornings are spent in classes on first aid, navigation, cruising to Mexico, and other useful boating topics. Even the weather cooperated with several sunny days. Much fun was had by all.

Weather: Cloudy, chance of showers.  Wind: calm.  Seas: calm

Engine Hours: 43.5  Fuel Used: 85.8

Our current program tells us that a 12:30pm departure is best for the 10.7 NM trip to Roche Harbor.  Again lots of flotsam and jetsam as we round the point leaving Friday Harbor again reminding us that vigilance is the order of the day.

Our Simrad autopilot performs does a precise job of keeping us on course and dealing with the wind and currents.  Rounding the turn into the final approach to Roche we do go over a sea mount where the depth quickly goes from many fathoms to 11 feet – more careful placement of our future waypoints is certainly indicated to avoid these moments of acute anxiety.

Once inside, we contact the harbor master on channel 78 for a slip assignment. The 35 Selene’s coming to the rendezvous are to be lined up on the huge end dock with all the blue hulls like ours on the outer side ties. As one of the first to arrive, we get a prime location right next to the party tent.  Dottie and Ken anchor out a few hundred yards in center harbor.

Weather: showers, cold  Wind: S 15 knots  Sea: calm

Engine: 40.3  Fuel Used:  69.4

Today we experience our first difficult challenge as we navigate Deception Pass, a narrow, rocky, windy passage known for its treacherous currents and nasty whirlpools. Key to successfully passage lies in hitting “The narrows” at exactly slack tide so carefully planning makes the departure time critical.  Our computer based Tides and Currents software coupled with Nobeltec’s Navigation System make this critical calculation easy. We find that by leaving Oak Harbor at 0600, traveling at a consistent 7 knots and we’ll arrive there just as the tide changes from ebb to flood. 

Lots of wind, current and debris mark the early going - keeping us on our toes throughout the early morning. At 0900, just ten minutes before slack, we enter the pass just 10 minutes before slack tide. The passage goes smoothly and the scenery is remarkable.  Coming out the side of the pass, we cross Rossario Straits, round the South end of Lopez Island before the final few miles up the San Juan Channel to Friday Harbor.

Slip for the night is courtesy of our friend Gary at Friday Harbor yachts – the brokerage we used to buy Wandering Star. Lots of good docking practice in very tight quarters as we squeeze WS into the tight quarters between the ferry dock and the brokers slips. We do some shopping in town followed by dinner on board.