On our last night in Port Hadlock we had a wonderful meal at a restaurant several of you know about in Port Townsend. The name of the restaurant is Fins. As we were leaving Jim was leading the way and the three of us realized something must be wrong when we heard him say,"whoa!!". (He has lost 50 pounds) We were surprised to find him standing in the middle of the walkway with his pants down around his ankles. Thank God for Walmart!! We may never be asked back to that restaurant. None of us had ever seen Jim move so quickly. In one fluid action he scooped up his "drawers" and returned them to the proper position. The rest of us burst out in laughter. A couple walking by, observing our laughter in crane like whoops, said "we want to have what they had." We said, "I don't think so."
The next morning we all arrived by 6:45 at the boat. We planned to leave by 7:00 however there was a slight problem with the helmswoman (that would be Joy). She thought the wheel was in the right position however when backing out of the slip, the wheel would not turn correctly. We had to carefully come back in the slip and try again. This time things went well and we were on our way at about 7:15. The skies were a brilliant blue and the water was as clear as glass. We had a delightful passage through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We observed all kinds of wildlife including numerous breeds of duck, several playful dolphins, and orcas surrounded by a whale watching boat. We arrived at the Inner Harbour in Victoria at about 1:00. Our first stop was the customs dock. Jim, our fearless captain, had to check us all in with the customs agent on the dock phone. Several questions were asked including our names, birth dates, reason for being in Canada, how much alcohol we had on board, and any fruit or vegetables stored. Jim was put on hold for several minutes. When the customs agent returned to the phone Jim was informed that we needed to all stay on the boat until two officers came down to perform an inspection. After about 5 minutes one cranky officer and her sidekick arrived at the boat and told us to stand on the dock, arms at our side, while they performed an inspection of the boat. Several minutes later they emerged triumphantly with two U.S. fuji apples they had confiscated. Hopefully they enjoyed them for lunch. It was then on to our assigned dock space in front of the Empress Hotel. We were assigned a 40ft. slip between a million dollar Grand Banks and a 25ft sailboat whose captain had an eye patch and looked like a pirate. (Bob is afraid of pirates. He never met one he trusted.) The "pirate" turned out to be a great guy. Another lesson learned about not prejudging people.
The boat was safely docked due to a fellow boater who helped, a skillful captain (Jim), two capable dock hands (Bob and Joy), and an expert dingy tender. (Betty) Once the boat was safely secured, we realized that it was "hotter than hell" in Victoria. On the straits it had been 70 degrees so we could only imagine that it was near 98 degrees in Victoria. We found a great restaurant for lunch and then explored a bit around Victoria. We returned to the boat and after a short rest, Jim decided he needed a shower. We all applauded with our sweaty hands. Upon returning from the shower, new life lessons had been learned. Number 1-remember to take your towel, Jim had not. Number 2-the shower rooms come equipped with a timer knob that turns on the light and the fan. Be sure to turn the knob to an amount of time which is longer than your anticipated shower. He had not and in the middle of his shower, all the lights went out and he was left in a pitch black room. It occurred to him that blind people shower this way all the time. He decided not to be outdone. He continued until the timed shower (about 3 minutes for one loonie-one Canadian dollar) ran out. Jim was then faced with the task of groping the walls, dripping wet, looking for the timer switch. Once found he was then faced with the challenge of drying himself off without a towel. How that challenge was met will be left to the imagination.
Number 3-wait to shower until it cools down, otherwise you will arrive at the boat smelling just as bad as when you left. We all followed Jim's advice and showered after it cooled off. Bob to faced his own challenges with the shower. After putting in two loonies, the shower began and Bob proceeded to drop his soap bar numerous times. He then shampooed his hair, and after getting a full head of suds, at 5 minutes 58 seconds the shower shut off. Having no more loonies, Bob was left with the alternative of rinsing his hair by filling his plastic soap dish in the sink and pouring it over his head. You can probably tell that the men on this trip have "numerous issues." We will spend today enjoying Victoria and set sail for Ganges in the Saltspring Islands on Wednesday.
Stay tuned!
