Day Three: Into International Waters
Echo Bay, Sucia Island —> Bedwell & Chemainus, B.C.
Rte. #19 & #104 - 43.38 Miles
Up at 7am, gone by 7:30 the Curtis is heading to Canadian waters! Before we left Sucia Island, the crew had to raise the anchor. This must be done with precision and lots of communication, as to not damage the boat with the anchor. With an 80+ year old all wood boat, you don’t want to cause damage!
Pulling up anchor takes a lot of hands, and steady patience. Skipper Tom teaches by letting the scouts take action.
As we head to our destination for the night, Chemanius, we must first make it to Bedwell for border passing. Thank goodness for great preparations! Everyone’s passports and our paperwork had been organized in Tacoma to minimize delay. Skipper Tom had planned on doing fog training sometime on this trip, but with fog banks blinding the ocean, there was no time for practice.
Mother Nature put the crew to the test for the real thing.
Mother Nature calls the shots. Once the navigation crew saw this, focus became even more important.
When navigating in fog, the wheelhouse becomes quiet and focused on one thing only = getting out of that fog safely. While in the fog, one crew member is in charge of marking where they are. This means that every two minutes, they mark where they are by blowing the fog horn for six seconds. That navigation crewmember repeats this until the Captain determines visibility and they are out of the fog.
The Sea Scouts prep year round by reading and studying, but the real test is on the water. They passed.
Once we passed the fog AND passed the customs check at Bedwell, off to Chemainus we went. There were a couple rough spots due to flooding and we saw the actual currents colliding. We actually picked up 1 to 2 knots due to the currents! Captain Tom was quite please. From there on it was smooth cruising. We docked at Chemainus and the crew was quick to start their tasks.
Who gets to radio in international travel plans with the Coast Guard for a Sub Chapter-T passenger vessel? Under the tutelage of Skipper Tom, Lily can check this off her list - all before her 16th birthday.
After everything was taken care of and the all-crew meeting was done, it was time for shore leave. With small shops, parks, and jungle gyms occupying the town, the scouts had endless options of fun. Chemainus honors their history and is known for their multiple murals dedicated to the town’s history on various buildings throughout the town. Around 6pm, most scouts were showered and everyone was ready for an amazing roast beef sandwich with au jus dinner.
Dinner gave everyone the second energy boost they needed and it was back on shore exploring the town some more. Believe it or not, many scouts stay on board for bonding and working on their journals.
The journey of long cruise is not just the miles traveled….it’s the relationships formed and strengthened.
Around 9pm, we had some wet scouts returning to the boat. Apparently, there was a small beach who’s water was “…77 degrees, it was literally a bathtub!” one of the Sea Scouts exclaimed. With everyone returning to the boat, it was lights out at 10:30pm, as we were all fast asleep once again.
