The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

[Ron on Meander]

Jim,
If you do decide to visit Butchart Gardens, its very simple by water. There are mooring bouys on the backside of Butchart by Todd Inlet. Todd is a great place to anchor overnight and you can stay on the mooring bouys in the little bay at Butchart if there is room. You do have to go around Sanich peninsula from Victoria though. Back past Sydney spit and on around past Swartz bay and up into Sanich inlet. Its a great visit by water though.
Cheers
Ron

 

[JamesTXSD]

Thanks, Ron. We did consider going there last Saturday night to see the fireworks. Since Mother Nature tossed a bit of rain into the works, we went to Sidney Spit instead. The Gardens may have to wait until our next visit (and there will be a next visit). There is so much to see and do here in Victoria... quite a contrast from quiet coves. It's nice to be able to have that mix.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[Pat Anderson]

Amen, Victoria is a wonderful place! And by rights, it SHOULD be in the U.S. - just look at any map, it is SO far below the 49th parallel north! Hey, Ron - can we trade you guys Point Roberts or something for Victoria and Vancouver Island below the 49th parallel???? Maybe we could throw in North Dakota or something too - deal?:lol:

There is so much to see and do here in Victoria... quite a contrast from quiet coves. It's nice to be able to have that mix.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[thataway]

The "other" boat in the British Columbia Maritime museum is Tilikum, Captain Voss' cedar dugout which he took 2/3of the way around the world and popularized the Sea Anchor. See http://www.begent.org/voss.htm for a summary of the voyage. A lot of intigue, including renaming the boat the "Pelican" to avoid a Coast Guard cutter, because Voss was accused of smuggling, and the loss of a crew member overboard, perhaps murdered???. Sort of sounds like a C Dory voyage! The voyage of Voss is extremely significant because of his use of the Sea Anchor.

A good couple of evenings read in the C Dory is the The Venturesome Voyages of Captain Voss or 40,000 miles in a Canoe--a more modern publication of that and another story. Very worth while having in the library.

 

[Ron on Meander]

Amen, Victoria is a wonderful place! And by rights, it SHOULD be in the U.S. - just look at any map, it is SO far below the 49th parallel north! Hey, Ron - can we trade you guys Point Roberts or something for Victoria and Vancouver Island below the 49th parallel???? Maybe we could throw in North Dakota or something too - deal

Pat,
I have often thought of that too..... however, .....I was thinking that if back in 18something or other the US and Britain had settled on a degree or two further south we'd have ended up with some pretty nice country and you'd have learned to pronounce "eh" properly. :lol: Heck, you guys would never have missed northern Minnesota anyway! (my mom was born there)

Ron

 

[iggy]

I sent a PM to JamesTXSD, somewhat off topic, and included the following comment, which rec'd the following reply:

I've been enjoying all your travels, as with El and Bill's, George's, Hunky Dory, etc. Thanks, and continue to enjoy!

Thanks for the kind words about the travel stuff; we are just having fun and hope we aren't bothering anyone with our ramblings.

Jim - I don't think you are 'bothering' anyone with your 'ramblings'! If you were, no one needs to read them.

To date I see there have been 29,113 views of your thread; I guess that indicates how 'bothered' we all are!

Enjoy! And keep 'rambling'! (Both literally, and figuratively.)

iggy

 

[Pat Anderson]

I will just take a wild guess, you know, that a Chinese restaurant in Texas or South Dakota does not serve dim sum...and with that I will let it go!!!!

And just so you don't think we're total bumpkins, we do have Chinese restaurants in Texas and South Dakota... right there in our little home towns.

 

[Pat Anderson]

Touche! A degree or two further south and Birch Bay would be South White Rock! Actually, I am pretty good with "eh," my Mom was born in Vancouver (family just living there at the time), and my Dad in Brandon, Manitoba - that side of the family is truly Canadian, a fact I did not know until R-Matey Ruth did her research magic for me...Minnesota - hell, I would throw that in the trade in a heartbeat! Take the damn Vikings! Seattle and Vancouver root for the Seahawks anyway!

te]
Pat,
I have often thought of that too..... however, .....I was thinking that if back in 18something or other the US and Britain had settled on a degree or two further south we'd have ended up with some pretty nice country and you'd have learned to pronounce "eh" properly. :lol: Heck, you guys would never have missed northern Minnesota anyway! (my mom was born there)

Ron

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the additional information on the Tilikum. I have never read the whole story.

I learned about Trekka by reading the book by the Smeatons. They are the ones that tried to round Cape Horn twice. The wife has a grave site or dedication plack somewhere in the Gulf Islands where they lived. I think I remember a c-brat posting about visiting the site some time back.

Steve

 

[Big Bad Ben]

"Amen, Victoria is a wonderful place! And by rights, it SHOULD be in the U.S. - just look at any map, it is SO far below the 49th parallel north! "

We should trade Lake of the Woods, Minnesota for Vancouver, Island.

Take a look at a map - it's the most northern part of the US.

 

[Pat Anderson]

OK then! Point Roberts, North Dakota AND Lake of the Woods, MN for "our" part of Vancouver Island! Is it a deal, Ron???? :lol:

We should trade Lake of the Woods, Minnesota for Vancouver, Island.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Ah, had that "trade" happened years ago, Victoria wouldn't be the same. There is plenty of history here about who got what with the British Empire and the US. As it is, it's nice to be able to visit a "foreign port" so close, yet with an international feel.

An easy ferry ride from WA, obvious with all the ferry traffic. Even more fun to do it in your own boat and stay in the Inner Harbour.

Let's forget trying to trade off North Dakota and parts of Minnesota (then we'd have to import Ole and Lena jokes) and just enjoy this jewel that's so close.

We're about to wrap up our time in Canada; Victoria has been the perfect way to top it off.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[Jazzmanic]

Jim, I love reading your travel logs. You have a very folksy way of writing that keeps me interested, as well as a lot of others. :thup

Caryn and I have been to Sidney a couple of times but not to Victoria by boat. Did you make advance reservations at the marina in front of the Empress or did you just call the same day? It sounds like a nice place to visit before summer ends (next week) :wink

Peter
C-Dancer

 

[starcrafttom]

I am willing to give you the east coast, the south (not including florida), and all of california south and west of sacramento for vancouver Island. Sorry you guys but I have been to all those places and have no want to go back to any of them soon.

 

[Captains Cat]

Let's forget trying to trade off North Dakota and parts of Minnesota (then we'd have to import Ole and Lena jokes) and just enjoy this jewel that's so close.

Usn's her on the Right Coast would be willing to trade Washington DC for a 6 Pack of Snowqualamie and a 6th round draft choice. :thup

Jim, keep up the posts, we live through them! :lol: :lol:

Charlie

 

[JamesTXSD]

Thanks for the kind words, folks.

Peter, you can't make reservations for the Inner Harbour... unless your boat is 65+ feet or you have 4 or more boats in your party. I did call the Victoria Harbour Authority a couple days ahead of time... just wanted to be sure we'd be able to get some kinda space somewhere. The young lady was very friendly and told me that they rarely have to turn anyone away, and that a boat our size would be no problem. Last weekend, they had their "Splash", a big celebration that includes the Victoria Symphony playing on a barge in the middle of the harbor - a very big deal there. The place was full and they were turning folks away during that. Knowing that ahead of time, we came in on Sunday and had no problem.

I'd suggest that you call them ahead of time to see if there is any big event going on when you plan to be there. There is a "Dragon Boat Festival" this coming weekend, but I don't know how busy that will be.

The cruising guides all say to call Victoria Harbour Authority when you get to the Inner Harbour. That's the way we did it. We also planned our arrival to be just before noon (their check-out time). It paid off for us - we had a perfect place on the dock... we could hear the music on the waterfront from the cockpit of our boat; thoroughly enjoyed the hustle-bustle for our three nights there. We walked to restaurants, took the bus to get an overview of the area. It was a great way to experience the waterfront. :thup

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Tuesday, August 14th. We visited with folks on the dock, then hopped on the bus to see more of downtown and get to Fishermen’s Wharf. This area is a lot different from that in San Francisco: it is a collection of floating homes and a few businesses... including Barb’s, which is supposed to be the best fish & chips place in Victoria.

Joan waited in line for the fishy stuff, while I went for a steak sandwich. We met back at a picnic table and shared. I have to admit, for fish, it was pretty darn good.

After eating, we walked the docks, looking at the floating homes. Most of them would be considered low rent if they were on land... there were two of them for sale: $350k for an OK place, $249k for a two bedroom, one bath, small, fixer-upper. And you still have to pay a monthly dock rental. You can't take it anywhere. Interesting.



Boat? House? Houseboat?



From there, we walked back along the waterfront; past some nice hotels and condos, and the ferry terminals. Taking the ferry is much like commercial flying - you have to get there ahead of time to get checked in.



We walked through blocks of shops, but couldn’t find any souvenirs that could make us part with our money. The window shopping and people watching were fun, though.

Joan made nachos for supper... we had to use up the ground beef we had, you can’t bring it into the US. Then we walked along the waterfront; sat and watched some street entertainers and musicians.

Wednesday, August 15th. Our last morning at Victoria’s Inner Harbour. After cleaning up, we walked to Bastion Square for breakfast. Along the way, I stopped to admire a mural on a building and a bird used my head for target practice. Swell. Fortunately, Joan had plenty of Kleenex and a Handi-Wipe.

Breakfast was good, the walk around town was a nice way to finish our stay here. Back at the boat, I washed my hair again (damn bird) and we topped off water tanks.



I took Molly for one last walk along the waterfront, and we got ready to head out. We could see the Olympic Mountains across Juan de Fuca on our way out of the harbor. And now back to the good ol’ USA.



Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Wednesday, August 15

The Straits of Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait... both can be very rough. Not today. Juan de Fuca was glassy smooth. Of course, we did plan this departure time based on the forecast and tide. Haro Strait was almost as easy, with a few small waves after we crossed into US waters.

We came in through Mosquito Pass to Roche Harbor, where we planned to clear Customs. The Customs dock was packed; and at least a dozen boats circling around, waiting for their turn at the dock.

We got into the conga line of boats... 1, 2, 3, reverse; 1, 2, 3, turn; turn your head and look and reverse, 2, 3. There was no order, and you could see that this was going to take some time. About that time, a 50 foot yacht came chugging right through the middle of the circling boats. The boat’s name was SL* M* (want to buy a vowel?); I don’t know the owner’s name, so I’ll just refer to him as: Dumas. It looked like the scene from Caddyshack with Rodney Dangerfield blasting his big-ass boat through the marina. It ended similarly, too.

WHANG! “You @#%** idiot!!” Yes, Dumas/SL* M* let his boat whack into a sailboat. I waited for him to say, “Hey, you scratched my anchor!”

Boats scattered as SL* M* put it into reverse. The man was a menace. The radio crackled as people asked Roche Harbor to do something about this guy. Since we were the smallest boat in the fray, I just did my best to keep other boats between us and Dumas.

A few minutes later, a small space opened at the Customs dock and we scurried in. The guys in the Customs office were not happy... apparently SL* M* left the harbor. They were calling ahead to Customs at Friday Harbor to let them know that he was likely on the way.

Check-in was easy. Wild Blue was right outside the office door. The agent asked the questions, I answered. He looked at the boat and said, “I’m guessing you didn’t bring too much back, huh?” He handed me back our passports, a clearance number, and said, “Welcome back.”

Roche Harbor was as busy as the Customs dock. We don’t have an actual slip - we are tied to the promonade (the main dock), but we do have power and can visit with folks as they pass by, looking at all the big boats.

First order of business: make some phone calls and check messages (we couldn’t retrieve our messages while in Canada). Next order of business: ice cream and wine. Guess who wanted which?

I had given one of our boat cards to the guy with the sailboat that got hit (he was in the Customs office)... just in case he needed an impartial party to say what happened. He happens to be in a slip just a few over from us. And now, the rest of the story... Dumas did go to Friday Harbor. On the way, he called the Sheriff to say that another boat hit his in Roche Harbor and he felt unsafe there, so he left (the scene of the incident) to go check-in at Friday. Again, I don’t know his name, but I’m guessing his middle initials are BS. The sailboat doesn’t have any damage; no idea about the Ocean 50. But, I’m guessing that if he does have a scratch, he will present a different interpretation of the events. Did I mention his middle initials?

Sorry I don’t have photos of all this... I had my hands full, keeping space around Wild Blue. Never a dull moment.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Well, it looks like our home may have dodged the bullet for now. Tropical Depression/Storm Erin's path is taking her north of our home. The alerts are now for the Corpus Christi area, putting us on the "easier" side. We'll see what landfall brings. Tis the season... and part of why we wanted to be back in the US and "connected". And here comes Dean, and he looks much nastier than Erin.

Other C-Brats in "whirly-girl" prone areas know the angst: you want it to miss you, but then you know it's going to affect someone else.

In the meantime, we'll poke around in the San Juans... looks like a few cool days in store for this area.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[Rock-C]

Jim & Joan
I hope everything is OK with your home in Texas. I was thinking of you as I watched the weather reports.
I have enjoyed your Grand Adventure. Keep the reports comming.
Terry