Port Angeles to Neah Bay: 40 nautical miles 11.5 hours
0730: Left Port Angeles with seas calm, cloudy and no fog (a big deal this time of year) Winds are light
1000: Crescent Bay and I saw 5 pinks jump out of the water at the same time. Then 2 in unison like synchronized swimmers. What a show!
Fog up ahead and the air is moist so survival suit is on
Radar shows a ship 5 miles away but no visual.
Sun is trying to come out!
David has already lost one hat - will keep a tally for this adventure and see how many he loses!
1036: 4 miles from Twin Rivers and the fog has lifted. The sun is out and I am getting my last sightings of Vancouver Island off Sheringham Point. Captain is leaving me on my watch so he can get some sleep. The Olympic Penninsula looks very lush with no snow on the upper peaks. There is a beauty to this that I am not sure that I can describe. It's like me and Confidence have become one with the nature around us. I have no fear or apprehension, just an unbelievable sense of calm (for now) There is a bizarre site at the fog line which I have never experienced before - it looks like the fog is erupting - kind of like Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. It is kind of weird approaching a fog bank but never actually catching up to it. I guess that is a good thing!
1053: there is a freighter about 3 miles away called the Ultrabulk - I can see him now instead of just a blip on the radar screen.
The water is an oily charcoal grey - shiny like oil but not because there is oil on it.
Keeping watch is the correct term as the auto helm is doing all of the work. That pesky alarm is still making irritating music.
1111: sighted another freighter. Getting a bit of the flood against us. Speed on the display says 5.3 but we are actually doing 4.7 over the ground (SOG).
Also sighted some dolphins. Survival suit has been removed because it is too warm.
Note to all you: for the well seasoned sailors who are following this blog - you may find some of my comments almost juvenile however this focus of the blog is really for those people who are doing this for the first time and for my family and friends so that they get a feeling as to what I am actually feeling as this adventure progresses.So bear with me.
Like right now - trusting your boat and your autopilot enough to leave the helm and go squirt (pee) might seem like a normal experience for some - for me it turned a normal everyday bodily function into an event, not to mention relief.
Now the freighters are gone. There are no boats in sight - just me and Confidence and the terns and the dolphins and the salmon. It's as if this entire Strait of Juan de Fuca is all mine!
1200: 48o12'N and 123o59'W
Captain arises and he is hungry.
So I made up some Mulligatawny Soup - cheater version. My friend Kelly gave me a deli prepared dried package of soup mix that she obtained from the Red Barn Market in Victoria. For those who are putting together supplies for the galley - this is a great idea. A few additions of whatever you have in the fridge can turn this into a healthy hearty soup. I added some diced chicken, onion, carrot and some canned corn and boxed low sodium chicken stock.. The only mistake I made was not reading the suggestions on the package that said to mix the ingredients and divide in half for smaller portions. So I have ended up with enough soup to feed the marina. I did pass on a good serving to our neighbour - Dan - a blind man on his Norwegion Tug. He was very grateful. This is the nice thing about cruising - helping others out and sharing what you have! Good thing the freezer is working well as this surplus soup will come in handy later on.
1240: Pillar Point by the Fish River
Steering 285 5.3 SOG
1440: Callam Bay
1830: Neah Bay where we discovered not only no WiFi but no cell coverage either. This could become the norm so oven though I will try to post this blog every weekend it may not be possible.
We are anchored with boats from France, Sweden, US Coast Guard and Canada.
Sweet and Sour chicken for dinner because the one chicken breast had thawed. guess this will be the determining factor along with weather as to what is on the daily menu!
Tomorrow will be an exciting day as this is when we turn left and wander into the big Pacific Ocean. To bed early as it. Should be a long day!
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