Day 5

          Today was, in stark contrast to yesterday, one of the greatest sailing days so far. We got up fairly late, around 0730, and motored over to Gibsons towing the dinghy to top up fuel. At the fuel dock we also got another 6-gallon jerry jug, as there might not be a chance to refuel for a while.

            After we crossed the shoal channel again in company with two other sailboats, one of which turned south and the other motor sailing north along the same route as us, I raised the main and genoa without any kind of autopilot, help from the crew, or even tying the tiller off, which was fun to say the least. The wind at this point was around 8-10 knots from the south and it was bright and sunny with some thin clouds to the south.

            As we headed out on a broad reach into the Straits of Georgia the wind continued to build up to a brisk 10-15 knot southeast breeze, kicking up a 2-3 foot chop, but with a full main and the big genoa flying, we surfed along at sustained speeds of well over five knots.

            We kept up this pace and sail configuration for around 3 or 4 hours, making the occasional gybe to keep the wind on the quarter rather than dead astern. This lengthens a passage, but the extra speed gained by heading up slightly and the reduced danger of an accidental gybe makes up for it many times over. Just one more example that the shortest route is not always a straight line, especially when you’re on a sailboat. However, as we neared and entered Welcome Passage, between an island and the mainland, our perfect run was just slightly interrupted.

            At Welcome Passage, we surfed into the entrance at around 5.5-6 knots boatspeed, which is pretty amazing considering hull speed (the maximum speed the boat can travel through the water) is 5.9 knots. The problem arose when as we travelled further and further into the narrowing straight, the wind funneled and was soon too strong for the sails we had up, so we had to head into the wind to change to the smaller #2 jib and take in a reef in the main. This turned out top be a very prudent move, as in only a few minuets we were back up to 5 knots even under reduced sail. This was all well and good, but after we got through the passage and back into the larger straits, the wind died off a bit until we had to shake out the reef in the main, only to have it build up again right to the edge of safely sailing without a reef.

             By this time, we were nearly at the entrance to Pender Harbor, and a larger French sailboat, the Chloe was approaching on our tail, also headed in for Pender. The condition were right, so when we both started to heat it up to a beam reach for the last few miles, one of those unofficial, unspoken, races that cruising boats have with each other began. These races, for those who don’t know, began with two vessels of similar speed sighting each other on the same course and within a few miles of each other, then as all skippers are immensely proud of their boats, the overtaking vessel will do his utmost to pass, and the overtaken will sail for all he’s worth to hold his own and uphold the name of his vessel, even if it is only to himself. Thus, two boats, without ever speaking a word to one another, will suddenly sail as hard as they can, racing to the next port. In the case of the Darwind and Chloe, the later was a larger 36 foot racer/cruiser that slowly gained on the downwind run until she was about a mile away, then on the reach into harbor, Darwind came into her element, holding her own and at times even gaining on the larger boat as she surfed the small chop and took off at almost 6.5 knots, and ultimately winning the “race” into Pender harbor by only a few hundred yards as the larger Chloe gained when the wind died inside the entrance.

             Thus the Darwind and her skipper entered Pender Harbor with heads held high in the streaming Pacific Northwest rain, to come very neatly to dock at Pender Harbor Resort Marina. Unfortunately we were both publicly humiliated a few minuets later when, while moving to a different marina slip to get power, we snagged the starboard side upper shroud on the anchor of another sailboat in the marina. In or defense however, the marina was extremely tight, and she doesn’t back up very well with the offset motor and large rudder.