Celebrating our success!

Friday, July 5, 2024

Exhaustion led to sound sleep for some members of Braesail’s crew, but others didn’t sleep as well as they might have–too much on their minds?

Rubbish and items to be recycled were taken up the ramp to the shore, past an isle of racks containing the dinghies that local kids use for training and racing, by Walt and me while Karen found her way to a bakery in Oak Bay and Martin had two teleconferences. When I was on shore looking down into the shallow seawater (very low tide!), I spotted a small crab and took the picture below.

Karen returned from a very popular bakery with six scrumptious and creatively decorated pastries with which to celebrate our successful circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, and as Martin was beginning his second teleconference shortly before noon, we left the Cadboro Bay Marina and headed for Canoe Cove, from which Martin and Karen could conveniently catch a ferry back to Vancouver on Saturday.

The weather continued very warm and bright, with just enough wind to allow us to sail lazily for several hours. We could see both Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier, which is about 185 miles away and can be seen from waters near Victoria only on especially clear days. We saw a sailboat passing not far from Braesail, and Martin (who brought along a terrific camera) took a photo of that boat with Mt. Rainier in the background. We hailed the skipper, got his email address, and sent him the fine photo after Martin had processed it. The skipper was highly pleased and told Martin that he’d take him out for beer if they both found themselves in Seattle!

In the marina at Canoe Cove, a community near the city of Sidney on the North Saanich Peninsula, we moored Braesail in a rather tight slip next to a large powerboat; it took us some time to make her secure since the wind was blowing her toward the end of the slip and we did not want her bow to come in contact with the dock. With mooring complete, we walked quite a ways up the hill from the docks, through a lovely forest, and to the Stonehouse Restaurant & Pub, an excellent eatery in a magical woodland/garden setting where we officially celebrated the end of our journey around Vancouver Island. While we were walking back to the marina, Karen saw several deer in the woods beside the path–an added treat!

Back on the boat, we relaxed and watched a comedy video before finding our way to Slumberland. Tomorrow, we will bid farewell to Karen and Martin, who must return to work on Monday. What a fantastic time we’ve had together!! I’m sad to see them go–we all look forward to making a similar trip together as soon as we can!