#46 Sooke

It's dark at 4:30AM on Monday. The crew is asleep, hungover from a late night dinner party of BBQ lamb chops from Willie's ranch. Gary from the sailboat Azad joined us for dinner, and again the group watched another movie from the John Wayne Collection. Hey! This IS an all man's cruise and we watch John Wayne every night! Last night's feature: The Sons of Katie Elder.

Alex makes coffee, then stows the electrical cable, hose, unties all except for two lines and starts the engine. At last the crew comes alive and we depart for a long journey down Vancouver Island's west coast to Sooke Harbour.

Our 70-mile run down the coast to Sooke Harbour.

Once outside Bamfield Inlet we turn left to the ocean, then left again, pointed down the coastline. We're about a mile off the coast in 20 fathoms (120 feet) and the seas are bumpy but bearable. We immediately pass Cape Beale, then 3 hours later, Cape Carmanah the halfway point. We could bale out at Port San Juan but now, as we enter the Strait of Juan De Fuca, the seas calm and the flood current adds almost 2 knots to our speed. This is living!

Our cell phones come alive with AT&T cell service from Washington State. Quick make your calls now, download the email without Canadian surcharges. We do and by 1PM we are entering Sooke Harbour in flat seas.

Sooke Harbour entrance is flat with just a little flood current pushing us inward.

As we round the point, we see this unique catamaran passing us outbound. Note the guy up in the "wishbone" rig. Not sure if this is a power boat, sailboat or house boat.

The public dock had space for us in Sooke. A genuine Canadian pub was conveniently located just a short walk away. We partook.

Sooke is also attempting capitalize on tourism. This new hotel resort is under construction just in front of the marina.

Several beautiful homes line the harbour. This one was our favorite.

It was Willie's prawns and buffalo chicken wings tonight with John Wayne starring in El Dorado for dessert. Tomorrow it's on to the City: Victoria.