That's It is tied up securely to her berth at the Salt Spring Marina (where she is staying during dock renovations at the Sailing Club) and we are relaxing at home. Yesterday we looked at the weather and thought that perhaps we should head to Poets Cove on Pender Island, but we really wanted to stay in Friday Harbour another day and the forecast for today did not look so bad....well, when we woke up this morning the forecasts had all deteriorated and there was a Small Craft Advisory in effect, followed by a gale warning and subsequent days of wind between 25 and 35 knots......so we decided to finish our coffee, batten down the hatches and head for home! San Juan Channel was nice and calm, but Boundary Pass was really rough, with 4 ft waves in close frequency and a beam sea if we were going to follow our direct course to Bedwell Harbour on Pender Island......Skipper Patrick adjusted our course at an angle to minimize the bounce and it became apparent that we would not be able to enter Bedwell from the south without taking even more of a pounding. We ran up the East side of Pender, between Pender and Saturna and straight into Browning Harbour and through Pender Canal to Bedwell, where we tied up to the dock and cleared customs. Once cleared by Customs we decided to stick our nose back out in the channel and see how rough it was to take the direct route home. It was very calm, even off Pender Bluffs where we can find choppy seas on a perfectly calm day. We cruised into Ganges Harbour with flat calm seas and the sun peeking through the clouds. We tied up at the marina and headed up to Moby's for some lunch before unloading and tidying the boat. The wind was just starting to build as we headed to the car.
This week was definitely not the trip that we planned, but we had fun, saw some good friends, and have some good stories to tell!! Perhaps a mid winter cruise between Christmas and New Years will become a new tradition.
Patrick and Gail
That's It
2008 R-25 Classic
Salt Spring Island, B.c.
