Awesome Soup and Rowdy Locals - 6/17

It was a much nicer day today, as we worked our way eastward through Juan de Fuca Strait, than it would have been if the starter motor had not decided to burn itself to smithereens.  What exactly is a smithereen?  In any case, while we waited for the replacement part, hobbled in that sorry excuse for an anchorage, a storm rolled though with gale force winds blowing up the strait.  At least in that respect, it worked out well.  Clear skies replaced stormy skies, calm replaced gale force winds, placid water replaced chop and swell and a burned out starter motor was replaced by a brand new one.  It dutifully fired up the engine this morning and off we went into the wild blue yonder.  At last.

The passage to Sooke Harbour was blissfully uneventful.  I have to report though that the boaters around these parts are in serious need of some manners.  To get into the protected water you travel through a narrow passage that makes a shallow dog leg left.  There isn’t a lot of room to maneuver, but that doesn’t stop the locals from flying through on two wheels, practically taking the paint of your hull on their way by.  I’m thinking: really?!  Is that necessary?  Apparently so.

We found the indentation that passes for an anchorage in this bay and it's full of crab pots.  Nice.  But, always a glutton for punishment, we put our hook down anyway.  All will be well as long as the wind doesn’t come up from the east and blow us in the wrong direction.

Kevin and I lowered the genoa shortly after our arrival and Vi put on a pot of soup.  The furling genoa is coming down because I’m going to hand it off to the sailmaker in Port Townsend on my through for survey.  She’ll let me know what maintenance it needs or whether replacement is a better option.  It looks to me to be in good shape, if a little green in places from algae, but she has a finer eye for these things.

And the corn soup was awesome.