It wasn't exactly the way we planned it.
We left the Port Townsend boat harbor early in the morning for our passage up Rosario Strait.
Yes we were riding an ebb tide, and yes there was a bit of a westerly breeze. But then it always
blows harder in the boat basin than it does at Point Wilson, doesn't it?
Well, just to be safe, we use only the jib, reefed, with the engine for a while until we can see how things are shaping up. Once clear of Point Wilson we found out!
Things did shape up, and up, and then a bit more. The swells from the west met with the ebb flow and rose to ten or twelve feet with steep faces as it was about a hundred feet between crests. They were characteristically chaotic in that they were only two or three times wider than their height.
This allowed some success in steering around their crests. Close reaching permitted enough maneuverability to avoid falling into the following trough ... most times.
The, just for spice (spite?) the wind started blowing the tops of the crests into spray. We were pretty well salted down and ready for the barrel when we finished that stretch. By now the engine had been turned off, but we hadn't slowed down.
Soon we fetched Partridge Channel and were able to crack off a bit. Eventually this evolved into a broad reach east of Smith Island. Steering then became serious business, as we began surfing. Our maximum surfing speed was almost ten knots, with just a reefed jib. At that speed in Vela one does not want to look back!
And so it continued to Point Coville, the SE corner of Lopez Island. From there it was a piece of cake, all the way to Echo Bay on Sucia Island.
Let me tell you, we took several 'splices-in-the-main-brace' before we put that day behind us. The best laid plans of mice and men . . . !
George Hansen, Vela