The cruise ends, but the story is not over!

September 1, 2010

The marina was still when we awoke and prepared to get underway for the final day of the 2010 Spirit Voyage. The heavy rain from the night before had stopped and the skies were clearing as we disconnected shore power and untied the lines for the final push to Anacortes shortly before 7 AM. The weather report from Environment Canada was favorable, the gale warnings were lifted and the Halibut Bank Buoy (about 12 miles north of our projected course) showed 10 knot winds and 2 foot seas.

We should have known better. Conditions in the Straits of Georgia can be wildly different just a few miles apart.

As we headed out of English Bay past Spanish Bank, the wind continued to increase, and the seas followed. We noticed that there was a small sailboat hard aground on Spanish Bank as we passed. The skies were clear, but instead of 10 knot winds, we were soon in 27 knot winds and seas big enough that we could hardly see where we were going due to the spray. We tried altering course to the South, but the roll motion in the quartering seas was scary, even with stabilizers. The best course we could make would take us to somewhere between Gabriola and Porlier Passes in the Gulf Islands, where we hoped for a lee from the brisk westerly winds. We did not pick up the lee shore until about 4 miles from Gabriola Pass, but were then able to head south to Porlier Pass, which we hit just at slack water. Once inside, we had calm seas and light winds as we headed south through the Gulf Islands, down Trincomali Channel and finally passing Bedwell Harbor.

We had intended to clear customs at Anacortes, and we had plenty of time, so we just headed across the international boundary, lowering the Canadian Flag for the first time since the 4^th of August as we crossed the boundary about 1325 in the afternoon. The weather continued clear and calm as we headed past Stuart Island, down San Juan Channel, through Harney Channel, across Blakely Sound, through Thatcher Pass, across Rosario Strait, up Guemes Channel and into Cap Sante Marina to clear US Customs.

We arrived at Cap Sante Marina at 1710, during dinner hour, but by 1830 we had not only finished the formalities, but were back in our slip at Anacortes Marina, where we were greeted by Suzanne and Gary Patton (37 Nordic Tug "General"). After a quick rinse to remove some of the salt, we spent time reconnecting on our mutual adventures in the Broughton's this year before calling it a night.

Our guest for the past month, John Duvall, reluctantly packed his bags and headed back to his boat "Sabbatical" to get ready to re-enter the working world in the morning.

We are preparing for the diesel mechanic to look at the throttle problem in the morning.

After 124 days, we have 4,228 miles on the log. There are lots more statistics, observations and pictures about our cruise, but that is why the 2010 Spirit Voyage is not yet over!

Stay Tuned In!