This is a picture of Wayne, Wendy, Faye,Ken,Corrie, Richard. We made the circumnavigation , but our Blue Water Cruising Flag did not.

We traveled as 3 boats. Wayne and Wayne had guests for the entire trip. The pictures of the trip will get put into a photo album and captioned as soon as I have a little time.

We actually spent more than a week in the Bamfield area. It was nice to spend time in one spot. It allowed us to get some things done on the boat that needed to be finished before we head south.
Well we finished circumnavigating Vancouver Island. We arrived in Vancouver today.
We motored 1300 nautical miles. The same mileage that it will take to get to San Diego.
Why did we choose to take this trip before our departure South?
BC waters have it all! Boat here and you can boat anywhere in the world. A great training ground for boaters/sailors.
The inside of Vancouver Island offers Georgia Strait with its river bar crossings, funneled winds, passage currents, extreme tidal changes and congested traffic from fishing boats, cruise ships, ferries, sailboats, pleasure boats and tugs. Not to mention logs both vertical and horizontal.
As you head to the North end of Vancouver Island you encounter weather fronts, the lessons here are about fog, winds and picking weather windows.
Rounding the head of Vancouver Island the lessons change to true off shore. You are now in the ocean swells .You take a breath and get into the rhythm. Even flat calm seas have a little swell to them. They originate in Japan.
You are now dependent on the weather reports. There are major land obstructions…… capes and peninsulas, all creating confused seas. Arrival at the correct time to minimize the effects is critical otherwise you get slammed. (We arrived at Brookes Peninsula in the afternoon). This was probably the most important lesson as we will have several heading south and Brookes rivals any of those in fact is reported to be up there with the likes of Cape Horn. I have a hard time believing that but if it is we have done it! We learnt to maneuver from ocean into reefs. No different than any South Pacific Island. We encountered williwaws (night winds blowing from high mountains down into anchorages) The effects are strong gusts.
More importantly we learnt we are ready, our boat is ready and the dream and plans started 10 yrs ago are now a reality.
I didn’t really write about the areas we visited because we did not spend enough time in any one place. I would suggest 3 – 5 mths to do the West Coast.
We are homeless, car less and you know it feels right.
Craig and his little people are flying into Vancouver and we will head out to Campbell River. We will depart from there to head south around Aug. 01.

July 5, 2008

Early retirement allowed the time needed for extended cruising. We sold our houses and belongings and became live aboards
Living aboard a boat is a unique experience. There is the sense of freedom as we venture out for months. The carefree serendipitous of this lifestyle lifts the soul. Every trip is an adventure, breathtaking scenery, tranquil anchorages and the never ending supply of natures entertainment.
You witness or participate in the coastal communities.
Yet, as romantic as it may sound there’s the weather with its reminders of who is the true boss of our destinies. The worst weather will always be at night. You can count on it, leaving the crew blurry eyed in the morning. Last night we found our anchor dragging. Never does this seem to happen during a reasonable hour. SE winds blew with gusts of 25knots last night with pouring rain. We pulled the anchor only to try twice before planting it firmly in the mud. Just as we would put the anchor down we would cast a light over the water to see crab pots in our swinging area. The problem being in this anchorage is that it is proliferated with commercial crab traps. A night watch may not have been necessary but I implemented it anyways. Things always look and sound different at night.
I voted that this is not my favourite anchorage. Ironic since the cove is called God’s Pocket and even a boat named Genesis had a problem
The weather has been generally cool, overcast and windy on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. While the East Coast of Vancouver Island is having unusually warm weather.
We visited Hot Spring Coves with its natural hot springs. It has become quite the tourist attraction unfortunately. Float planes and fast boats coming and going every 3 – 5 minutes from Tofino dropping off tourist for a few hours. We chose to walk the one mile boardwalk later in the day when it was less busy. It was well worth it. The springs have a small waterfall and 4 pools that get cooler as you get closer to the ocean. The falls probably range around 110, the first pool around 104 degrees. (It felt like the temp we kept our hot tub at home)
We are currently in Tofino, known for its enviro-tourism, fishing and surfing. We will spend a few days here doing maintenance, laundry etc., waiting for our next weather window to head to Barkley Sound.