Only 11 am and we’re done for today….winds were ok this morning but picking back up now and will be close to gale force this afternoon (see weather report from R2AK’s instagram below). Made it to Dungeness Spit where we’ll spend the night before heading across the Strait tomorrow when the wind is supposed to die down.
The way over to Dungeness was really not bad, but there was some initial drama when we found ourselves on the wrong side of a tongue of gnarly water extending out from Point Wilson, just north of Port Townsend. We thought we could skirt around it but were prevented from doing so by the Vessel Traffic no-go zone (entering it means you are disqualified from the rest of the race). So we had to turn around and buck the increasingly strong ebb current to head back to Point Wilson. All of this time we were in 6-9′ steep swells, though we stayed well out of the terrifying area – we’ll call it the Tongue of Destruction – where these tall, steep swells were breaking. As we neared Point Wilson again, thinking we’d have to go back to port and wait to try again later, we found that near shore the Tongue of Destruction (aka, the Point Wilson tide rip) was nonexistent, and we were able to turn west along the shoreline and everything was fine after that.
I’m sure this is only the first of many times when local knowledge would have saved us some time….but we’re excited to learn as we go. Lots of lessons already today.
Sending “good weather” thoughts your way! We are already addicted to tracking your progress. In awe!
Had lots of fun tracking you. Glad you have finished the first stage and will have time to rest. Proud of you guys. Play safe!
Love Mom
Congratulations on reaching Victoria! A feat in and of itself.
Good boat! Great oars! Amazing rowers!
6-9 foot swells?! Geezum!
Good job