And, a look at the C-Dory door mat we won...
The appointed time for a small group of us to head out was 10:30... turns out it was a really small group, since 3 of them had departed earlier, leaving C-Cakes (Barry and Patti) and the Wild Blue crew. As we pulled out of the marina, I noticed our main chartplotter wasn't playing nice - the heading indicator was going every which way. Not the sort of thing you want to see on departure. With the iPad and phone as back-ups, we kept going...
Truly, the iPad does a fine job. Still, I checked the other features on the chartplotter to make sure radar and depth were still functioning normal. Yep. The iPad is actually easier to route plan.
It was an easy crossing of Haro Strait, around Sidney Spit, and into Port Sidney Marina. We took our turn at the Customs dock, and cleared via phone. The slips we had reserved turned out to be the furthest from the marina facilities... apparently, they could tell I needed the exercise. It's a nice marina, but the bathroom situation left something to be desired... the women's facility is being redone, so there is a "time share" of 4 hour blocks for men and women in the men's shower/restrooms. My bladder doesn't march to anyone else's schedule... nor does Joan's. I stood guard at the door while she slipped in on an "off" time. A view of the marina...
We walked to a nearby restaurant...
Good food - I was able to get a sorta Texas meal of chicken fried steak (no white gravy?) and eggs. A pretty design in the brick between the marina and the restaurant...
We walked around town with Roger and Janet (Dreamer); didn't need any stuff, but some bakery items called my name.
Later that afternoon and evening, most of us gathered on Roger and Janet's TomCat for drinks, snacks, and conversation. Fun getting to know everyone better.
The original plan was to do a night at Sidney, because we couldn't get into Victoria that day; then do a couple nights in Victoria. Mother Nature had other plans, and the weather was predicted to be snotty for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and getting to Victoria. We all agreed that cancelling our stay at Victoria was probably the best plan. The rest of the group decided to head north, we chose to head back to Friday Harbor. The forecast was for rain the next few days.
So, this morning after cleaning up and breakfast, we said our good-byes to those who were up and about, and shoved off. In a light rain. Coming out of the marina, the visibility was about 3 to 5 miles... of course, you couldn't see that from the slip, due to the height of the breakwater. The wind was predicted to come up by mid-morning, but it was light on our 8:00 departure. Just overcast and rain, but still very pretty...
We cleared Customs at Friday Harbor. The Small Vessel Reporting System that we signed up for has a flaw for those of us who don't have Canadian cell phone coverage: no way to file a float plan... and it doesn't work without the float plan. The Customs agent who came to our boat suggested we come to the office at a "non-busy time" and sign up for another plan, the I-68, that would allow us to clear by phone when coming back into the US. Same type of interview that we just did a few days ago, and a $16 fee each.
So, we're back in the good ol' USA. Back in our slip at Friday Harbor. TV and internet. In the rain. Yep, good to be home. ;-)
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