Do you see Lea Scotia? We didn't.

With mainsail and staysail in tow, and a fresh bottle of Balvenie single malt in hand from the Duty Free, Willem van der Hoeven and I disembarked the Blackball ferry in Victoria from Port Angeles on July 1^st for the final run home.  We had to bring the sails with us, as we’d had some repair work done on them while in Ft. Lauderdale and those crucial pieces of gear missed the boat, so to speak.  We strained our eyes from the ferry deck to spot Lea Scotia but we couldn’t locate her.  Once ashore, we weaved around the masses of humanity dressed in red and white towards the marina in front of the Empress Hotel.  Boy, these Canadians sure are patriotic!  Oh yeah, July 1^st is Canada Day, eh?  Although there were plenty of revelers on the waterfront, no amount of good cheer could ease the growing concern that was building – Lea Scotia simply wasn’t there!

After several phone calls, the boat was apparently located at the Fisherman’s Wharf Marina, some distance from the inner harbor.  Luckily, Will had brought his handy hand truck to haul the sails… it would have been a long walk without it.  We breathed a sigh of relief when the boat was sighted. She looks like a boat that’s been ½ way around the world and back, that’s for sure.  But all in all, nothing looked damaged or appeared to be missing.

What a cold night – it was 55 degrees in the cabin the following morning – I’m still used to the 90 degrees in Florida the last time I had been aboard.  We spent the morning stowing gear, tuning the rig and installing the sails.  We were almost done by early afternoon when the harbormaster walked up and began laying into us for not registering with the port authority.  We told him that we’d just learned the night before that the shipping company, YachtPath, had apparently moved the boat here.  He understood we weren’t liable for the confusion but that we should talk to the authorities, since the boat had been reported as stolen!  Apparently YPI hadn’t bothered to even leave a note.  I paid the four night’s moorage and we set off across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  We encountered very light seas but enough breeze to enjoy a fantastic spinnaker run most of the way into Port Townsend, anchoring just before dark.  We made over 9 knots at times on the crossing!  Once set, I contacted US Customs and after finally reaching the official on duty in Port Angeles (Pt Townsend was closed), we were berated for the second time today for not having made an appointment.  He was not happy to have to clear us in at this late hour, not happy at all.  Many apologies and an hour or so later, we were cleared in at the fuel dock.  We had a longish walk into town for dinner and were re-anchored after midnight.

The last official day of our voyage (July 3^rd) started with rainclouds and a southerly breeze, counter to our intended direction.  We set off against the current as well, but it wasn’t long until the breeze died and the sun began breaking through the clouds.  It was a relaxing and uneventful run down Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound, as we played the eddies along the shore to keep our speed up against the opposing current.  We made it through the Ballard locks without much of a delay and made it up to Kenmore by nightfall – back in freshwater and Lea Scotia’s home for the next several months.  She is ready for some rest while we tend to family matters but we’ll be back aboard soon to start getting her ready for some local cruising, and who knows when our next extended voyage will be?

tdm

Lea Scotia is rumored to be waiting for me in front of the Empress Hotel in Victoria.  Today I’ll head up with a good friend, Willem van der Hoeven, to deliver her back to Seattle this weekend.  I miss the boat!

tdm

So… it’s off to the hospital early tomorrow morning to welcome in our new family member – Lea Scotia will have to wait a few more days in Victoria for me to get up there and deliver her back to Seattle.

tdm