Leaving Canada

We dropped Sam and Kate off in Ucluelet yesterday at midday, then sailed late into the evening in order to stay ahead of bad weather. Our reward was this sunset view, accented by fog, off Carmanah Point, just at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

This passage was a bit sad because we are leaving Canada, after five happy years of part-time residence there. The coastal waters of British Columbia have become like a second home to us; we know the ports, the passages, the anchorages, and the weather. Or we have begun to know them, in the way that any visitor claims acquaintance after the second visit. We will miss the sense of returning to familiar spots, and guess that we won't see many anchorages or passages as pristine and unspoiled as those in British Columbia.

In anticipation of further journeys, we are gathering the items we will no longer be needing on the boat. We are accumulating a pile of books, charts, and navigation information specific to Canada. A look through our stores reveals how attached we have become to a few Canadian goods. The Captain is grim at the thought that he will no longer be able to buy Canadian maple syrup, and I will miss my PeekFreans ginger cookies. But I won't give up my Canadian baking powder! I've stocked up so that my galley will never be without poudre MAGIC!