Blog Post
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Making a Run for It
Our destination for a good part of this trip is to explore the Broughton Archipelago, a group of numerous islands and islets east of the northern tip of Vancouver Island. As we work our way north from the familiar waters of Desolation Sound, we need to transit several rapids—narrow channels that are tidal gates of…
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Encountering Whales and Wildlife Near Quadra Island
Bull Steller Sea Lions can weigh up to 2,500 pounds, amass harems of 30 females, and yet may defend territories no larger than 20 feet in diameter. We encountered this rookery as we cruised by Mitlenatch Island—a small island in the middle of the Strait of Georgia—on our way to Rebecca Spit Marine Park on…
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Shakedown
Normally, it’s wise to do what’s called a shakedown cruise before heading out on a longer voyage. But spring repairs and upgrades took longer than expected. So, we didn’t have that week or two to get the boat away from the dock to practice using all the systems and make sure they’re working. More importantly,…
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Graduation Weekend
Our planned departure date for this trip centered around being in Bellingham this weekend for our grandson Kaiden’s graduation from high school and what a fabulous weekend we’ve had! The few days it took us to get from Pleasant Harbor to the Squalicum Marina in Bellingham worked perfectly as a mini shake-down cruise. Three days…
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Day 3—Full Sails
After two hard days of motoring, today we got to sail. But we didn’t get out right away, this was a coffee in the cockpit, journaling and drawing, yoga on the foredeck kind of morning. What a relief to just stop. We can both be so driven and there was much to do to prepare…
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Day 2—Crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca
We cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca to get from Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula to the San Juan Islands. It’s considered a narrow channel—11 to 17 miles wide—but it carries all the water that fills the Puget Sound and Salish Sea from the Pacific Ocean—and that’s a lot of water. It’s a…
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DAY 1 —The Adventure Begins
After last minute cleaning and goodbyes we were off the dock at 10:07AM this morning— just seven minutes later than our planned departure, which is a feat unto itself. It was a glorious calm and sunny morning as we motored out of the marina feeling pretty good about our preparations and the condition of the…
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Getting Ready
It’s just a few days now before we embark on our trip to explore British Columbia’s Inside Passage and circumnavigate Vancouver Island. We will be exploring in remote areas, far from where we can get ready help if we break down. So making sure Oceana is ready is our first priority. We hauled her out…
Oceana Voyage 