The guys got up early and started off to either Victoria or Roche Harbor. They decided it would be best to go straight to Victoria since it was rough weather. I’m so glad they did because it was fun to visit Victoria by boat.
After arriving (around noon time) we all set off to find fish & chips down the way. It was really crowded with people so we figured it must be good fish & chips – and sure enough it was delicious!
We walked up and down the docks to check out the adorable floating boat houses – each one unique. Then we walked in to Victoria to enjoy the sights. We walked over to a parliament building with big statues and soaring lawns, then over to the Empress hotel where we managed to sneak inside to see what it was like. 
Then we walked down by the waterfront to check out some booths and onto the docks to look at the boats. My feet started hurting, so Scott and I took a little shuttle ferry boat back to our marina. We learned the history of how these little passenger ferries got started, and that they were built by hand by a man who still lives today. They’re like little miniature ferry boats – so cute! 
So that evening we all ate leftovers to clean out the ‘fridge of foods that would have to be thrown out or confiscated by the customs officials the next morning. So we all ate something different: Cindy had scrambled eggs, I had left-over salmon with a salad, Scott had left-over spaghetti, and Tom had some grilled sandwiches. It’s a great way to clean out the ‘fridge….
So that evening we all ate leftovers to clean out the ‘fridge of foods that would have to be thrown out or confiscated by the customs officials the next morning. So we all ate something different: Cindy had scrambled eggs, I had left-over salmon with a salad, Scott had left-over spaghetti, and Tom had some grilled sandwiches. It’s a great way to clean out the ‘fridge….-Admiral Marian
“They say there are two types of skippers, those that have run aground and those that will”
As Marian mentioned, today we needed to have flexibility in our trip. The forecast was for strong winds and we were concerned that we might not be able to make it down the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria. As we headed south we found delightful cruising in little or no wind so we made the commitment to go to Victoria. Carter left in his Camano about an hour after us, so we hailed him on the radio to tell him we were Victoria bound.
While Tom was taking a shower and I was at the helm we were on autopilot heading down the east side of James Island. I had spent a lot of time qualifying our route in an area of very complex depths at the south east end of Vancouver Island, but had not paid as much attention on the earlier portion of the route. My CMAP cartography on the Furuno chartplotter left me with the impression we should never have seen less than 4 or 5 fathoms of water, about 25 to 30 feet. However, as we motored along I glanced over at the depth sounder, that I know is showing feet, and saw it register 10, then 8, I turned to Cindy and Marian and said “could we be in 8 feet of water?” As the “r” in water left my lips the bow of Alanui dipped ever so slightly as the boat lost about a quarter of a knot of speed and the depth sounder briefly showed 0. I reached for the throttle, pulled it back, disengaged the autopilot and began a turn to port and hopefully deeper water. Immediately the sounder said 5, 10, 20, 30… As my heart left my throat and breathing began again, I glanced back at the south end of the island. I was really glad to see it was an eroding cliff face of soft sand. That left me with the feeling that it was most likely I’d hit sand rather than rock. As we slowed to a few knots I looked at various systems. I didn’t really describe the impact very well; you could hardly call it an “impact”. To quote Cindy, we really just “kissed” the bottom. It was a very gentle lowering of the bow with no real loss of speed and no grinding sound of fiberglass on rock.
As I returned to my route I looked at Coastal Explorer, which uses completely different cartography than the Furuno chartplotter. Sure enough, just where we touched the bottom there was a ¼ sounding shown on the chart. This suggest there was about a foot of water at low tide, a situation that would have been much, much more serious. The CMAP cartography didn’t include this sounding, but it’s still my fault for putting us in water that was way to shallow. Another lesson learned without serious damage, thank you God!!!
As we rounded the south east end of Vancouver Island we saw a Strait of Juan de Fuca that was flecked with whitecaps. The tide was ebbing, flowing out against the wind, and this caused the waves to stand up a bit. However, it was no problem and we threaded our way through the narrow channels and made the turn to Victoria. For some time we were fighting a 3 knot current that must have been an eddy formed by the underwater structures in the area. After 30 minutes we looked out the stern of the boat and guess who comes flying by in his Camano? Carter had left several hours after us, but he was going to beat us into Victoria by at least a half an hour! His little boat went charging by and I realized why I loved my Camano the way I did. It’s a do it all boat! Anyway, with Carter leading the way we threaded our way through the harbor entrance, crowded with fishermen and boats and made our way to the slip at the Coast Grand Hotel. By the time we were ready to dock the wind had kicked up to 15 to 20 and I was a bit concerned. I let the wind blow us down from the dock and took an aggressive angle to the slip. When the time was right I put her in gear and powered forward, kicking the stern upwind as the bow pulpit arrived over the dock. The result was a near perfect landing, I feel like I’m beginning to get a feel for Alanui, although I still have a long way to go. We tied the boat up and went into the town center for food!!!
As Marian mentioned, today we needed to have flexibility in our trip. The forecast was for strong winds and we were concerned that we might not be able to make it down the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria. As we headed south we found delightful cruising in little or no wind so we made the commitment to go to Victoria. Carter left in his Camano about an hour after us, so we hailed him on the radio to tell him we were Victoria bound.
While Tom was taking a shower and I was at the helm we were on autopilot heading down the east side of James Island. I had spent a lot of time qualifying our route in an area of very complex depths at the south east end of Vancouver Island, but had not paid as much attention on the earlier portion of the route. My CMAP cartography on the Furuno chartplotter left me with the impression we should never have seen less than 4 or 5 fathoms of water, about 25 to 30 feet. However, as we motored along I glanced over at the depth sounder, that I know is showing feet, and saw it register 10, then 8, I turned to Cindy and Marian and said “could we be in 8 feet of water?” As the “r” in water left my lips the bow of Alanui dipped ever so slightly as the boat lost about a quarter of a knot of speed and the depth sounder briefly showed 0. I reached for the throttle, pulled it back, disengaged the autopilot and began a turn to port and hopefully deeper water. Immediately the sounder said 5, 10, 20, 30… As my heart left my throat and breathing began again, I glanced back at the south end of the island. I was really glad to see it was an eroding cliff face of soft sand. That left me with the feeling that it was most likely I’d hit sand rather than rock. As we slowed to a few knots I looked at various systems. I didn’t really describe the impact very well; you could hardly call it an “impact”. To quote Cindy, we really just “kissed” the bottom. It was a very gentle lowering of the bow with no real loss of speed and no grinding sound of fiberglass on rock.
As I returned to my route I looked at Coastal Explorer, which uses completely different cartography than the Furuno chartplotter. Sure enough, just where we touched the bottom there was a ¼ sounding shown on the chart. This suggest there was about a foot of water at low tide, a situation that would have been much, much more serious. The CMAP cartography didn’t include this sounding, but it’s still my fault for putting us in water that was way to shallow. Another lesson learned without serious damage, thank you God!!!
As we rounded the south east end of Vancouver Island we saw a Strait of Juan de Fuca that was flecked with whitecaps. The tide was ebbing, flowing out against the wind, and this caused the waves to stand up a bit. However, it was no problem and we threaded our way through the narrow channels and made the turn to Victoria. For some time we were fighting a 3 knot current that must have been an eddy formed by the underwater structures in the area. After 30 minutes we looked out the stern of the boat and guess who comes flying by in his Camano? Carter had left several hours after us, but he was going to beat us into Victoria by at least a half an hour! His little boat went charging by and I realized why I loved my Camano the way I did. It’s a do it all boat! Anyway, with Carter leading the way we threaded our way through the harbor entrance, crowded with fishermen and boats and made our way to the slip at the Coast Grand Hotel. By the time we were ready to dock the wind had kicked up to 15 to 20 and I was a bit concerned. I let the wind blow us down from the dock and took an aggressive angle to the slip. When the time was right I put her in gear and powered forward, kicking the stern upwind as the bow pulpit arrived over the dock. The result was a near perfect landing, I feel like I’m beginning to get a feel for Alanui, although I still have a long way to go. We tied the boat up and went into the town center for food!!!
-Skipper
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