Time Warp

The fine weather continues. This is generally good, except that during these good summer weather spells, the west wind blows a gale through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We are trying to travel east through the strait as we head for Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Yesterday, we were motoring directly into 25 knots of wind, taking lots of salt water over the bow, when we encountered the scene above. It was like entering into a time warp (except, of course, for the red pilot on the left, which is definitely a 21st century craft). We had the good fortune to end up in th midst of a dozen or more tall ships which had just left Victoria.

We traveled with the ships for several hours, and the wind and seas continued to build. Snapping photos was a challenge, as we were continually dunked and slapped around by the waves. But our strong diesel motor gave us a steady course directly into the wind, while the tall ships had to tack back and forth. It was awesome to see the feats of sailing.
Once we were anchored in Port Angeles, we walked to the city pier where a half dozen of the ships were tied up and open for visits from the public. Most of the crew members are college age, wearing outfits that combine 19th century sailors garb with 21st century climbing gear. We felt as if we had sailed into the past.