Bamfield to Seattle

Monday 7^th to Sunday 13^th September

1. Bamfield

2. Sooke

3. Victoria

4. Port Townsend

6. Port Ludlow

7. Seattle

The decision made, we left Bamfield at 7:15 a.m. on Monday, 7^th September, heading for Sooke Harbour 76 miles away. The coast line back into the Straights of Juan De Fuca used to be called the “Grave Yard of the Pacific” because of the number of boats that sunk in this area.  This generated the construction of five lighthouses in this stretch of the Straights. It was difficult to get help to stranded sailors in the area and rescues were generally untimely. To aid rescue efforts, the West Coast Trail (WCT) was created in 1907 between Bamfield and Port Renfrew. This helped rescuers get to ships that had run aground and get medical aid to those in need. The rugged and legendary 48 mile WCT with its cliffs, ladders and beaches is today one of the top hikes to do.

Early departure from Bamfield

We passed dozens of this size of fishing boat during the day

Cape Beale on rout to the Pacific, the last of our capes

 Sooke Harbour:  Monday, September 7^th  - Wednesday, September 9^th :

We had considered a stopover in Port Renfrew, but with its limited protection from wind should the weather turn bad, we decided to go all the way to Sooke Harbour.  With little wind to sail, but a favorable tide, we covered the 76 miles in eleven and one-half hours, averaging 6.6 knots: very respectable for a sailboat.

The entrance into Sooke Harbour is very shallow in places and has lots of turns that require attention. We thought we would be able to tie up at the Sooke Resort & Marina, but found that they cater primarily to small sport fishing boats between 20’ - 25’ and there was no moorage for a 40’ boat.  We were fortunate to find space at the government dock and power to plug in our small heater.  The Espar central heating system failed a few days earlier at Effingham Bay so this gave me the opportunity to check it out. 

Tied up, we took advantage of being ashore by taking some long walks, visiting the local coffee shop and just relaxing.  We discovered a nice boardwalk through the Ed MacGregor Park that led down to the waterfront where we could look out on the harbor, and also found a nice bakery called Little Vienna which in addition to great soup, bread, and other bakery items had high-speed internet – a real treat since we’d been technology deprived for several weeks.

 Ed MacGregor Park

 Ian on the boardwalk

 Pat on the boardwalk

Looking across Sooke Harbour with the Straights of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Peninsula in the back ground

Victoria: Wednesday, September 9^th  – Friday morning, September 11^th :

The next morning we left Sooke Harbour around 8:30 a.m. for Victoria, 26 miles away.  Leaving in very heavy fog, visibility was only 50’ – 100’ maximum. The shallow, twisting-turning exit from Sooke Harbour took on a whole new life in these conditions.  I had to rely 100% on radar and the chart plotter for guidance.  Channel markers were only visible when we were almost on top of them. Fishing boats could be seen on radar and sometimes heard passing us 200’ to a quarter-of-a-mile away but we never actually saw them. This was the only time during the entire trip that we’d encountered instrument-only conditions and the thick fog stayed with us to within three miles of Victoria’s harbor entrance.  

We had a slip reserved at the marina in front of the Empress Hotel in the heart of downtown Victoria.  We’d stayed here on other trips and it has always been fun to watch the street performers and stroll along Government Street and people watch.  

  

Tuamotu tied up in front of the Empress Hotel, down town Victoria












Anxious to stretch our legs, we walked in front of the Parliament Building toward Fishermen’s Wharf where there are several small restaurants and 33 floating homes.  We stopped for an ice cream cone and continued our walk past the cruise line terminal where ships heading to or returning from Alaska stop for the evening. 

Victoria's floating homes  

Victoria's floating homes 

Victoria's floating homes 

Victoria's floating homes 

We followed Douglas Road around the outer headland and stayed on the sidewalk abutting the ocean.  Near the largest totem pole in the world (about 137’), we entered Beacon Hill Park and meandered through the still blooming flower gardens.

On Yates Street, we walked uptown and then looped our way back to the marina where we had dinner and then did a night time stroll through town.  When we returned to the boat and checked our Garmin watches, we discovered we’d walked around nine miles.  No wonder we had tired feet!

Rose garden Beacon Hill

 Peacocks Beacon Hill

After a leisurely breakfast of yogurt, fruit and muffins the next morning, we walked the other side of the bay.  It was sunny, warm and inviting as we crossed the bridge and followed the walkway to Old Esquimalt in West Vancouver.  There are several waterfront multi-story condominiums along the way, together with restaurants and pubs.  Esquimalt is like a “little Victoria” loaded with history of the first settlers in Victoria.

Victoria from the Esquimalt footpath 

Il Terrazzo Italian restaurant down town

Later that afternoon, Pat journeyed uptown to look through some of the stores, finding a great cookbook called Sea Salt written by some women who, with their families had done the Van Isle 360 Vancouver Island circumnavigation as a race.  While we did it as a cruise, Pat thought it was a good representation of what it’s like cooking and eating on a boat.  That night, we treated ourselves to outdoor dining at a nearby restaurant.  It was a fantastic sunset that evening, and some relaxation after walking over nine miles that day felt good.  

Departing Victoria you have to share the water with float planes. Lots of float planes.
There is a defined lane for boats to keep us out of the way.











Strait of Juan de Fuca and Port Townsend:  Friday, September 11^th :

Friday morning we took a quick walk, and left the dock around 9:00 a.m. heading to Port Townsend.  It was a crisp, blue-sky morning, with little to no wind.  Have you noticed that the “no wind,” or “wind from the wrong direction” repeats in this narrative?  Yes.  Those have been the over-arching surprises on this voyage.

The trip across the Juan De Fuca Straight was uneventful weather-wise.  We did see a U.S. Naval ship on maneuvers firing at underwater targets.  We later learned they’re using live ammo!  We also observed the Coast Guard escorting two nuclear submarines toward Bangor, the naval submarine base in Puget Sound.  We gave wide clearance, not wanting to invite a Coast Guard inspection or boarding which can easily happen if a boater strays too close to military activity.

A US submarine in between two escort ships and surrounded by Coast Guard chase boats. When did the Coast Guard start carrying 50 caliber machine guns on inflatable chase boats?








With the return of good cell coverage by our U.S. carrier, we placed a call to the NEXUS-Pass people.  We were painlessly cleared whilst underway and didn’t get rerouted to Port Angeles for a land-based appointment.

As we neared Port Townsend, we caught an inbound tide that gave us four knots of help.  There was very turbulent water as we approached Fort Warden at the northern point of the town.  It felt good to be in Port and a town that was familiar and back in the U.S.A.!

The 37^th Wooden Boat Show was underway when we arrived Friday afternoon in Port Townsend and all the marinas were full.  There were at least a hundred sailboats anchored in the bay – more than we’d recalled seeing in the past.  Late in the afternoon and tired, we were a bit overwhelmed by so many boaters and craziness.  We ducked through the boats and dropped anchor in front of downtown and spent the night in a very rolley anchorage – worse than we’d experienced our entire trip! 

Boats at anchor Port Townsend

Boats at anchor at Port Townsend

The next day we attended the Wooden Boat Show and visited some pretty spectacular wooden boats. We got to board Deer’s Leap, a beautiful wooden boat we’d shared anchorage with in Claydon Bay in The Broughtons.  The owner lives in San Francisco but regularly comes north during the summer.  It’s a stately, grand boat reminiscent of the grandeur of the 1930’s.  We also attended a presentation by a woman who, with her husband, has done sixteen trips to the west side of Vancouver Island over the past 25 – 30 years.  We enjoyed her talk, learned about a few places we missed, but felt pretty satisfied with what we DID see and do. 

The Wooden Boat show 

The Wooden Boat show

Wooden boats sailing in Port Townsend bay, sharing space with ferries.













Rather than stay another night with the town and harbor so packed, we pulled anchor headed to Port Ludlow.  Quiet and beautiful!  We arrived near sunset, set anchor and enjoyed a very calm quiet evening.

The next morning, we were feeling anxious to be home.  Pulling the anchor and enjoying a cup of coffee, we motored out of Port Ludlow, heading for Shilshole Marina in Seattle.

Seattle Sunday 13^th – 15^th

We arrived at Shilshole Marina on Sunday, September 13^th around 3:00.  Our friends, Marchelle and Paul, met us around 4:00 p.m. at the Marina and transported us and Winslow, together with most of the food in the refrigerator and essential clothing back to our home in Sammamish.  It was a happy reunion, but we had mixed feelings about leaving our boat life behind.

We’d spent 81 nights on the boat and visited 53 different locations covering over 1,200 miles. We had a tough “shakedown” at the beginning of the trip, but met each technical failure with a solution, not letting anything really slow down the trip.  Luckily, I keep a pretty extensive toolkit on board and inventory of parts which proved invaluable. 

The work our windlass did setting and pulling up usually 100’ and more of anchor chain almost daily, took our anchoring skills to a whole new level.  We learned how to use our single sideband radio to receive Canadian weather reports, and send/receive email, keeping in touch with family and friends.  Our navigation and sail planning skills are greatly improved and the trust and faith in our boat has grown even more. 

We enjoyed our time kayaking, which we hadn’t done much of in the past, and had a great time discovering new and unusual places together.  We also discovered – or Pat did – that she’s more adventurous than she previously thought. 

Since retiring this was our first major trip of which the hardest part was making the decision to leave the house, knowing we were going to be gone nearly three months.  To our surprise, we found that we COULD leave land and transport ourselves to a different way of living and do so pretty comfortably. All this in less than 400 sq ft of living space.

We also want to thank our friends, family and neighbor, Liz Tickman, who supported us on this trip by staying in contact with us, watching over the house and yard during a stressful summer of drought.  Not seeing our family for such a long time was hard on both of us, so we’re looking forward to time with all five grandchildren and parents in October.

This circumnavigation was a great shakedown cruise which taught us what we need for future long-term travel on our boat.  It’s taught us not to become stuck in the comfort of home, and that  one’s living room can stretch to the horizon.

Back home in Seattle with Rainier in the back ground behind the sailboat masts