Day 2 - Port Ludlow to Smuggler Cove

Long day today, we left Port Ludlow this morning at the crack of dawn, 5:30am to be exact, and made our way out to the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The forecast was for calm seas and it didn't disappoint. Flat calm across Juan de Fuca, into Haro Strait and into Canada. We reported to customs at Sidney then continued north to see how far we could get today. Completely calm the entire day, ran at 9.5 knots most of the day except for a couple of hours when we brought it down to 6 knots to stall for the slack tide going through Gabriola Passage. The sun provided a nice warm afternoon topside, no coats needed. Once through, the view across the straits of Georgia was again, flat calm, so at 4:30pm we commenced the 2-1/2 hour crossing, arriving at our destination around 7:00pm. The crossing was uneventful (thank you Greg Abell), in fact the largest wave of the day was a ferry that passed in front of us in the last hour of our journey. Of remarkable note, for the entire trip across the Straits of Georgia we sat outside, topside, completely warm. In fact I even spent some quality time laying on the bow in the warm sun listening to the water whoosh by the bow of the boat. Soothing. The past two days have been an incredible start to our trip! Our fellow boating pals know how rare of a day it is for such a fair weather and seas crossing.

Smugglers Cove is a beautiful small anchorage on mainland Canada with a super narrow entrance. We motored inside to find 4 other boats already nestled in for the night but were able to find the perfect spot complete with a chain set into the rock for our shore tie. Shannon and David rafted alongside and soon the four of us were sitting on the back deck with celebratory adult beverages in hand. Dinner tonight was burgers stuffed with bacon bits and cheese from Fischer Meats in Issaquah, one of the last family owned butchers in the area. If you haven't been there, it's a must stop. Their products and especially these burgers are incredible! Everyone turned in early, it was a long day on the water.