I can’t believe we’re only now making this final leg of our passage N to B.C.! But a lot of good jobs have been done on the way, in different places, so the job list has shortened.
Left SF at midnight under low overcast. 7kt of headwind until passing under the GG Bridge soon died down to give light wind and the deck was soon wet with heavy dew and threatening fog all night.
9 a.m. - Sun is struggling to get out, there are frequent patches of fog and the sea is glassy-surfaced. Pairs of small murrelets (like a sea duck with black top and pointed beak & white underbody) are often seen resting on the surface, in between diving for food. The state of tide has a noticeable effect on our speed over the ground (SOG) - LW now, so we should start picking up speed again as the flood tide picks up.
Checking the weather forecasts, light winds are expected off the coast for several days, so I changed my intended route to stay 50-100ml off the coast . I’ll be motoring mostly, so I’ll have to keep a careful eye on fuel use. To head more offshore by another 200-300 miles to sail where winds are stronger would be a waste of time since winds will be from N-NW so a lot of tacking would be needed to get N. Since I can use my engine to make better progress at present, I might as well do so! Hopefully, I’ll be able to sail once we get near to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.