Day 61, Monday, August 22,

Left this morning around 7am heading to Roche Harbor to check into customs. We arrived in Roche about 8:30 and had to wait until 9 for the customs agent to arrive to check us in. I did have a contraband orange that I had to turn over to customs, other than that we were cleared to enter the USA. YEAH!
We said goodbye to Jerre and Ute as they were going to take the long way home with a few stops along the way, Ben and I put the pedal to the metal and headed towards Port Townsend. We had a good crossing and made good time we even got to see a pod of Orcas just below San Juan island. The poor things were surrounded by "whale watching" tour boats. There must have been 15 or 20 in the pod. It was very cool to watch them.
When we finally arrived in Port Townsend the reciprocal dock was full.... Called Port Hadlock, they wanted $1.25 per foot, called port Ludlow, they were full up so we headed for Kingston marina and secured recip moorage at the dock. So after a good 9 hrs at the helm we finally tied up for the evening.
At least we are close to home, only about a 2 1/2 hr. drive tomorrow and we'll be in Port Orchard.
So excited to get home!

Day 60, Sunday, August 21, Provost Harbour

YAs usual, we left at the crack of daylight to catch the tide heading for the good ol' US of A. I'm so excited!
Funny how in the past when we wanted to cruise somewhere we just headed out and went.... Now that we are "experienced" boaters we understand the importance of checking the tide and currents. Makes a big difference in fuel and time when you are going WITH the tide instead of against it!
We have learned so much from Jerre and Ute on this trip, everything from how to set an anchor, how to read a tide book, where the best fishing holes are, how to NOT generate garbage.... This has been such a great adventure, I'm so glad they let us tag along!
We took the dogs ashore to the Stuart Island park and let them sniff around, wonder if they remember being here a month ago? We didn't do much exploring as we will head to Roche Harbor in the morning to check into customs, but I'm sure we will be back here again.

Day 59, Saturday, August 20, Montague Harbor

Day 59, Saturday August 20, Montague Harbor
The trip through Dodd Narrows was a piece of cake, and sleeping in was heaven! I slept until 8am, WOW!
We said goodbye to Nanimo around ten and arrived at Montague Harbor about 2:30.
Again it was smooth sailing, we had a little turbulence at first but once we passed through the narrows it calmed down nicely.
Montague Harbor was PACKED when we got here, holy cow, every body and their dog must be heading home for the summer. We almost couldn't find a place to anchor!
Tomorrow we will be back in the USA at Stuart Island. I think we will go through customs at Roche Harbor. So excited!

Day 58, Friday, August 19, Nanaimo

We left at the crack of dawn heading towards Nanaimo, it was a smooth cruise and we arrived around 10:30. We were able to get a spot at the reciprocal dock at the Yacht Club, it's only $5 per day and they have power, water AND a garbage dumpster! SCORE! Although the town/store is only a short walk away we had stocked up at Port Harvey so we didn't need anything from town.
It was nice not having to unload the skiff to take the dogs ashore. I love Nanaimo, I would love to come up and spend some time here.
Once again the temps are in the 80s so I decided to take a dip in the water, OMG it was wonderful! However, although it was easy to get into the water from our swim step.... We do not have a ladder in which to get back on the swim step, and I am way to old to herf myself up and out... So I ended up swimming around the dock until I found one of those emergency ladders to climb back on the dock.
Note to self... We must get a swim ladder for the boat!
Tomorrow we head for Montague Harbor through the Dodd Narrows, the tide isn't until noon so we get to sleep in! Thank God!
I am so ready to get home!

Day 57, Thursday, August 18, Tribune Bay

We headed out from Hariot Bay bright and early around 6 am to catch the tide. Down through the Strait of Georgia to Hornby Island. We just had small swells so it was easy cruising. Once again the temps are in the 80's and Ben and I are dying from the heat. Here I was whinning about not having any summer and BOOM it hits us all at once! CRAZY!
As always Hornby Island is beautiful, the beaches are packed and the water is so warm, I wish the Puget Sound was this warm!
We took the dogs ashore to the beach and they loved playing in the water. I was surprised how much Itty Bitty liked getting into the water, maybe it was the heat but she was out to her belly.... which of course is only about 3 inches deep, but still, so brave of her!
The beach was covered with sand dollars, I have never seen so many sand dollars in my life! Both white and black ones, I didn't even know there were black sand dollars. Weird.
In the morning we head out to Nanaimo, Jerre wants to leave at the crack of dawn so hopefully we can get reciprocal moorage at the Nanaimo Yacht Club. So it's early to bed again tonight!

Day 56, Wednesday, August 17, Hariot Bay

The day dawned sunny but windy, we pulled up anchor around nine and headed out Okisollo Channel and down through Hoskyn Channel to Hariot Bay. The trip only took a little over two hours and we didn't have any of the wild waves we had the day before.
I spent the entire trip on the back deck cleaning crab. As a matter of fact I'm gonna eat some of them suckers tonight for my dinner!
We anchored in the bay and headed into town in the dingy. Had lunch at the cafe and did a load of laundry and picked up a few things at the grocery store.
I was surprised to see people playing in the water and lounging on the beach. Are they crazy OR WHAT! Although it's a beautiful day it's still only about 72 deg. And the water is only about 55 deg.
Of course if you live here year around I guess you get used to the temps.
I however can't wait to get back home to normal summer temps.
Of course after spending the summer up here in the no sun zone I'll probably die of heat exhaustion when we get home and the temp gets above 80.
We are heading out bright and early... Around 6 am to catch the tide for our next stop on our journey home.

Day 55, Tuesday, August 16, Owen Bay

Once again we are back in Owen Bay, home of the Lingcod and crabs. Both Ben and Ute a set out their crab traps as soon as we anchored, and Ben tried too fish but the winds were just too much.
Our trip over today across Johnstone Strait was certainly an adventure! The wind and waves made the trip very strenuous and tiring. Especially without auto nav. The waves push the bow of the boat all over and you are constantly correcting direction just to keep heading in a somewhat straight course.
The crabbing was AWESOME, when we checked the traps we had ten crab and right of them were keepers. YUM
Tomorrow we head out to Hariot Bay, that's where we spent the days on our way up broke down with the exhaust issue. We'll only spend one night there, then it's off to Nanimo. Getting closer to home every day.