Thursday, July 5 - Day 22

56.02 N
137.06 W

104 NM - 104 to go!

All going well, today is our last day at sea. We expect to arrive in Sitka sometime tomorrow morning. I find it hard to believe that the journey is almost over - at times I felt like it was never going to end. Today, contrarily, I feel somewhat nostalgic. This is probably my last offshore passage and what an adventure it has been! We've covered thousands of sea miles since we left Puerto Vallarta on April 24 and now it all seems like a dream.

We still have quite a ways to go before we arrive back in Comox, but it will be a very different type of trip. For example, we will be gunkholing - meaning that each night we will be either at anchor, a mooring or on the dock. Sleeping the night through and not holding watch will make a big difference. If the weather outlook is not to our liking, we will have the option of staying put. There will not be the constant stress of trying to strategize and deal with adverse conditions. We won't have to deal with uncomfortable sea states very often. We will see land, flora and fauna, as well as people. Yes, these can all bring their own sets of problems but we are ready for the change.

Right now we are close reaching on 041 T direct to Sitka. Our full jib and reefed main are set and we are making over 5 knots in easy seas. We saw some sunshine this morning, but we are back in the mist as a result of warm air and cold seas. This morning we were able to tidy the boat in preparation for arriving in port. We are going to look shipshape when we arrive and we are prideful enough to hope to hear: "You came all the way from Hawaii???? Sure doesn't look like it!".

Darlene, on the Great North Boater's Net tells us the Pioneer Bar is the place to be on a Friday night, so we are looking forward to it. Alaska Amber on tap! Who could ask for anything more! In the meantime, we are waiting for the cloud to lift in anticipation of our first sight of the magnificent coastal Alaskan mountains. Tally ho!

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