A thin line of clear blue sky ahead promised relief from the grey clouds overhead as I approached the Pacific Ocean beyond the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca which separates Canada’s Vancouver Island from Washington State in the USA. It felt great to be heading out to sea once more. The forecast was for an enjoyable sail to San Francisco over the next few days.
I was looking forward to getting back into some sailing once more, having spent all spring and summer of 2022 in British Columbia, working solidly on what became a virtual refit of Nereida. The work stemmed from damage sustained during my last non-stop circumnavigation, a lot of use in rough conditions (three complete trips around the world plus many other voyages) and the pandemic preventing me from getting back to her for over two years after a flight to Australia in 2020.
