Have been made very welcome by so many people here in B.C. - thanks to all of you!
Had a nice two-day stay at Causeway dock in heart of Victoria last week - fun events going on, with Busker Festival, street entertainers and usual small stalls by waterside.
Weather has turned sunny - summer has finally arrived here...!
Saw Mark at 'Prince of Whales' - they're happy to tow 'Nereida' out to Ogden Pt breakwater (and back when I finish!) at beginning of my RTW attempt - engine will be sealed off, so not useable.
Wandered around and enjoyed re-visiting Victoria waterfront - lovely flowers and historic buildings.
Moved around to Cadboro Bay and the Royal Victoria Y.C. for a short stay - but the Commodore Dunnery and Rear-Commodore Randy made me very welcome and extended my stay - and said to come back again anytime but especially before I take off in October - they've people and facilities they feel sure I can make use of. Thank you so much for your friendly generosity!
I gave the boat a thorough wash down - nice to get rid of the sticky salt everywhere - and slowly started on boat jobs. One small but important item on my list was a leaking portlight over the galley - but it turned out that all I needed to do was to tighten some screws on the closure - an unexpectedly quick and easy fix!
Today, I took advantage of a calm day (rather than the strong wind yesterday) to move over to Westport marina, where I'll probably haul out at some point. A pleasant trip in bright sunshine inside Discovery Island and on to just beyond Sidney.
As I approached Tsehum hbr entrance, I met a small boat - and was hailed on VHF soon after they had passed - good cruiser friends (first met up in Hawaii) were on board - we're meeting up for a meal and to catch up tonight.
Once Nereida" was safely tied up at Westport, I though I should look at another problem - auto-tuning to the various shore-station radio frequencies used to send and receive my emails when at sea. It hasn't been happening for quite a while and I've had to manually set the different frequencies. I'd spoken to Shea Weston, of Sailmail, when I was in San Diego recently - but he was in Hawaii on holiday. He mentioned a few possible things to check on - so I've just gone through some of them.. and finally, I'm delighted to report, I've solved the problem. It wasn't quite as simple as it sounded, but I found a 'work around' - and the auto-tuning to the different frequencies I choose to use for emailing is finally happening - great!!
My friends have just arrived to pick me up and take me to their house...