Irish Goodbye

And we’re off! The official start date for the rally is 8/24 but the weather window looks good and we’re eager to get going. Caught the morning ebb up the Strait in beautiful conditions. Stopped in Port Angeles briefly to top up the fiel tanks. Lots of whales in the Strait and a mysterious autonomous vessel. We even had a nice bit of downwind sailing. Planning worked out and we dropped the hook in Neah Bay right at last light. We’ll spend the night and get some rest before going offshore in the morning. We also hit a huge may of kelp in the Strait so I’d like to look under the boat before we go offshore. 

Port Townsend to Neah Bay

The first leg of the 2025 Coho Hoho Cruisers Rally from Port Townsend to San Diego. Spirits are high and our goal is to go non stop offshore if possible!

Elliott Bay to Port Townsend

Karaoke night at the Siren for the win! The last leg of the summer shakedown cruise before the Coho rally to San Diego in a few weeks. The boat did great and I’m much more comfortable and confident. A little maintenance, provisioning, blue water prep, and she’s ready to go!

Port Townsend to Elliott Bay

Finishing up the shakedown. It’s been great having me hermana Betsy aboard with me for the last legs of the journey. Roche Harbor is always a favorite. And we finally got some crab!

Roche Harbor to Port Townsend 

Victoria is a great stop, so glad we came. Easy in and out. Our berth in front of The Empress was great. Butchart Gardens is amazing. We had a fantastic dinner at The Courtney Room. 

Victoria to Roche Harbor

Departed Hot Springs to drop Charley in Tofino to catch his flight. Bon voyage Charley! Thanks for getting me safely around the Capes. We planned the ride well into Tofino as far as entering from seaward to catch the push but we couldn’t time arrival for slack water. A LOT of current in Tofino. And rocks and other obstacles near town. No dock space and I was going to spend the night so we anchored around the corner past the resort which worked out well. Dinghied into town against the current which was a good test for the electric outboard. Coastal Rides is the “Uber” in this part of the world. Worked well. 

Another great day. Got some downwind sailing in with just the jib poles out and Genoa, no main for a while. Practiced rigging the preventer on the main. Less fog. Watched the Canadian Coast guard air lift what we think were construction supplies to a light house. The hot springs were incredible! Almost a mile of wooden boardwalk and then the springs. Very hot like a hot tub and the scenery was just amazing. We had it all to ourselves. Very nice anchorage as well. 

Friendly Cove to Hot Springs Cove

General pattern has been morning (and sometimes afternoon) fog and a bit chilly. We’ve been surprised at how little wind we’ve had. Doesn’t even really fill in in the afternoons as advertised. But amazing scenery and friendly people. We were going to stop at Queen’s Cove but decided to continue to Friendly to make tomorrow’s trip to hot springs shorter. Learned about the Nootka chief Maquinna and the influence of Spanish and British fur traders. Captain Cook met with Maquinna at Friendly Cove and that’s how it got that name. We continue to eat well between scratch cooking and heating up frozen meals I prepared before the trip. Charley holds the backgammon crown. 

Walter’s Cove to Friendly Cove

Around Brook’s Peninsula with enough wind for some sailing! Fog lifted finally. But settled back in to make the approach to Walter’s challenging. Watch the channel markers! Once in a quiet bay with a nice dock and small community. Also the last working pay phone in the world. 

Klaskish to Walter’s Cove

Sea Otter Cove is very shallow in spots. I wouldn’t be comfortable moving around in there without at least 6’ of tide. Once on the hurricane mooring ball it’s great-well protected and scenic. We had benign conditions but quite foggy. Thank you radar. Klaskish is another great anchorage, the narrow entrance is very cool, and deep, without obstacles. We had the whole place to ourselves again. Great meal!

Christian McLaughlin