A Long Weekend of Firsts.

We loaded up the boat and we moved to Beverley. Bamfield, BC that is…..

We have talked for years that when we load the boat for a longer trip away from normal supplies, we did not want to leave the dock looking like the Clampets…

Once we got the boat loaded for this trip it was pretty close! I’m not going to tag the pictures! I’ll let you do that!

We motored out of Everett, through Possession Sound, out to Admiralty Inlet and continued into Port Ludlow. We secured Pellucidar to the fuel dock where we topped up her fuel tank and emptied her holding tank while we waited for the rest of her crew, Barrett and Jill to arrive. Once everyone was on board and the gear was stored, we left Port Ludlow around 1930 with our first destination the customs dock in Victoria Harbour. We continued out Admiralty, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca in about 8 knots of wind on the nose.

This trip was going to encompass a lot of firsts for both boat and crew. First trip to blue water for Pellucidar and Linda. First night watches for Linda. First trip to Barkley Sound for all of us, and running at night with “new to us” equipment, across busy port entrances and out the Straits through VTS zones.

Below is our tract from Port Ludlow to Victoria.

(Ignore the record speed. She’s fast but not that fast!)

The run across to Victoria was pretty uneventful as we familiarized our selves with the boat and settled into our night watches. Barrett & Jill went through the boat with a fine tooth comb making sure we had everything lashed down and looking for anything we may have missed. It was great having their experience on board for our first ocean voyage.

We were all very vigilant that first night as all the shipping lanes converge beginning at Port Townsend. It gets very busy with ships heading in or out Admiralty, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, or the strait. We transmit AIS as well as receive on several devices. We also have several sources of GPS on board as well as paper charts for all the areas we are traveling to and an older radar unit that works well. Just as we were approaching Victoria Harbour, the fog started to roll in and the wind picked up out of the West. Things were about to get more interesting.

We arrived at the customs dock in Victoria at 0200 Thursday morning. Checkin went very smoothly. We received our clearance number and were off once again headed out the Strait for Barkley Sound.

Leaving Victoria Harbour, the fog had thickened and once again we were heading directly into the wind. The light at Race Rocks was barely visible through the mist and fog. None of us got much sleep. At most times all of us were on watch or we took turns cat napping in the cockpit or salon when the AIS and radar were clear.

As the darkness faded away and we began feeling the swell coming into the strait, the view did not improve much. Just made it harder to see the instruments.

The daylight did allow us to extend our ” longblinks” and catch up on some much needed sleep.

The day continued with rotating watches, scanning instruments and looking into the fog. I got the bright idea of making a large breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs. This was a bad “bright idea”. Eating a heavy breakfast on the first day of a passage as you enter into ocean swells in the fog….. No one got sick but let’s just say some of us were not as “spunky” as we were in the beginning.

As we started up the West Coast of Vancouver Island, the fog began to lift and the sun highlighted the dramatic rock formations surrounding Cape Beale. It was nothing short of spectacular. We continued up Trevor Channel alongside Mills Peninsula and turned at Aguilar Point into Bamfield Inlet.

Bamfield is a small finishing village on the South Side of Barkley Sound. The town is separated by Bamfield Inlet, also known in town as “Main Street”. You want to cross Main Street? You do it by boat.

We located a rare empty dock on the West Side large enough to accommodate Pellucidar. We secured the boat, lowered the dingy and crossed the “street” to the public dock on the Eastside. We walked a short distance up the hill where we found ” The Market” A well stocked grocery store and across the street and up the hill a bit we found “The Pub” Their crispy halibut burger was just what we needed after a 22 hour run. We finished dinner and headed beck to the boat. It was an early night for this crew to catch up on some much needed rest. We had logged 176 nautical miles since 1430 the previous afternoon. Another first.

Next up: Laying low for a few days in paradise.