Rocking on the waves

Sunday, June 30, 2024

There was one crab in our trap on Sunday morning when Martin and Karen took Coracle out to retrieve it following a very quiet night, but the crab was female and had to be returned to the water. We enjoyed a Belgian waffle breakfast and raised the anchor at about 10:30 am–it dredged up no sea creatures (a large orange sea star in a wad of kelp had become attached to the anchor chain in West Whitepine Cove!).

The rain was gone and only filmy mists remained as we motored out of Windy Bay, past Tofino, and out into the open sea. There was minimal wind and the ocean swells were relatively small and rather soporific as we traveled southeast to the pleasant fishing town of Ucluelet over the course of about five hours. We raised the boat’s mainsail to provide more stability and a more comfortable ride, and Martin, Karen, and I napped now and then as the waves lifted, lowered, and rocked the boat. There were beautiful sea-spray fountains to admire as the surf broke against rocks, reefs, and shores to our port, while on our starboard, the endless swells stretched out and finally splashed a cloudy sky. Our autopilot began to experience problems, shutting off now and then, and after doing some research and thinking, Walt decided that repair work on it would have to wait until our return to Everett. When the autopilot isn’t behaving as it should, Walt can steer manually.

We turned inland around Amphitrite (Greek goddess of the sea) Point, where surf leaped onto the rocks below the lighthouse,

and made our way up the channel to Ucluelet and docked Braesail at a public wharf with little difficulty. Walt took a long nap in the now-sun-warmed cockpit while I straightened up the main cabin and galley and did some blog-post-writing, and Martin and Karen explored the area around the dock, purchasing some unusual teas at a nearby shop. They returned to shore a little later to investigate a new seafood store, and came back with fresh salmon and prawns (the prawns became the topping for a white-sauce pizza that they prepared for dinner).

We spent the evening finishing Saturday night’s game of “Phase 10,” of which Walt was the winner, and thought about places to visit in the “Broken Group” of innumerable islands that are scattered along this part of Vancouver Island’s southwest coast. We finished our day without finishing our researches–a task for Monday morning!