To Seattle Via Victoria
Wednesday, July 19th – In the morning, we leave dismal Neah Bay and set our sights for Victoria, Canada. Heading down the Strait of Juan de Fuega, whose middle is the international border between the US and Canada, is exciting. As much as we would have wanted Bob and Jim to share this end of the trip, it is thrilling to be on our own. We are in the great Pacific Northwest, on Avante, and it feels good!
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Victoria Harbor is dynamically impressive to enter and hugely challenging to traverse. Along with the many different types of boats moving up and down and sideways across the water, we have to deal with commercial float planes. Buoys mark the route, but still it is disconcerting for The First Mate at the helm. She had gotten used to sharing the waterway with the Naval ships in San Diego, but planes? To her they are another animal all together out there on the water!
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We clear customs and immigration and, to our delight, are berthed right below the Empress Hotel. What a great spot! Victoria is a small city but wonderfully vibrant.
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The public docks in front of the hotel are not locked which allows people to stroll up and down looking at all the boats. Avante draws her share of attention. She is a beauty, and people want to know more about her and her owners. What a great way to have conversations with absolute strangers!
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The quay in front of the harbor is full of all kinds of entertainers and crafts people which makes for a very lively scene.
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Victoria is a picturesque, old city. At night, the Empress Hotel and the Government Building are outlined in lights which add to the magic of the place.
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There appears to be a philanthropic auction of life-sized painted bear statues going on this fall. These statues are all over town, and many are quite interesting. We enjoy scouting them out and so do other people judging by the number of photos being taken of them. There is one outside the entrance to the boat docks painted in a colorful pattern.
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Along with all the activity generated by people, boats and planes are these adorable little harbor tug taxis. They scooter about like little bugs on the water and add to the charm and color of the place.
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As can be seen from the photos, we had absolutely gorgeous weather while we were here. Sun shining, skies blue, warm temperature, and the city welcomed us with a full display of flowers. After the weather of our passage north, we felt we deserved it!
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Friday, July 21st – ON TO SEATTLE! – We leave Victoria wishing we could stay there longer but eager to sail on and fully complete our intended passage from San Diego to Seattle. We make a stop north of Seattle at Shilshole Marina to clear customs into the US and take on fuel. The poor First Mate has her first real mishap at the wheel when she fails to compensate for how much the wind is pushing us onto the fuel dock. Avante slams into the dock, and a fender is blown out and busted. The Captain, who had been warning her to angle further away from the dock, fortunately, does not say, “I told you so!”, and he does not yell either. His eye roll is enough, though, to make her feel truly bad. Not wanting or feeling capable of being the one to jump down off a moving boat onto a dock and quickly tie the boat up with thick, unyielding lines, she has chosen to be at the helm when docking or berthing the boat. It is not easy, but she will get the hang of it eventually. Until then, she just hopes Avante and The Captain will be forgiving!
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In the early evening, we motor into Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle. The day is still gorgeous. Underneath an eggshell blue sky, the city seems to be welcoming us, and we are thrilled to be here. We have been able to reserve a berth in this marina where we will leave Avante until September, while we go home to play in the San Juan mountains of Colorado.
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Our first big adventure with Avante is complete. We have traveled over 1,400nm from San Diego to Seattle. We could see Mexico as we departed San Diego, and we have covered the entire West Coast of the continental United States on this journey. What a great start!
Kind of a post-log: For me, this trip has been quite an achievement. Though I did very little boat handling and none of the decision making, I still “sailed” the passage. The voyage north along the coast was mostly rough especially north of Point Conception and even further north along the Oregon Coast. It was cold. It was uncomfortable, but I did it and felt I held my own. It really is something to think we sailed the whole western coast of our country from San Diego to Seattle. It is a trek just to drive it, but we sailed it. What an adventure, and I truly enjoyed it!
Now begins further adventures on Avante. The little bit of the Pacific Northwest islands and towns we saw from Avante teased us with their beauty. We are eager to return and will be doing so this September. Next summer we plan to undertake the Inside Passage to Alaska. From there, who knows? I just know I like this sailing life.