Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 12 at Roche Harbor

Today was the day for the crossing of the Strait of Georgia back over to the Gulf Islands. Since there have been up to 30 knot winds this past week, we decided to leave at 6:00am when the waters would be the calmest. We ended up with 15-20 knot winds. It was not dangerous but we really had a ride! We secured everything carefully before leaving and we still found some things that managed to roll around the boats or come loose. Not only did we have the Strait to cross but we also had some riptides to go through. I managed to get a few pictures but most of the time was spent hanging on.

On the way across the straight, we found that one of our kayaks that was strapped on the deck overhead seemed to be slipping. Bob had to step outside in the turbulent waves and secure the strap. Once we were through the rough water, Bob also had to go back to the stern and tie our dinghy in place because one of the brackets that secures it to the boat and broken lose. All in all, we did very well coming across and were thankful that it was not any rougher than it was.

Once we arrived at Roche Harbor, we went through customs and then found our slips at the marina. We did a quick inventory of our boats and made sure everything was secure. It seems that there is always something on a boat that needs to be repaired and we discovered that the latch on our door was broken. It would not stay latched and we could only lock it with a deadbolt. Bob had to spend some time taking the door apart, make a new spring out of a clip used to attach flags, and reassemble the door.

 

 



Before dinner we took a walk up to the well-known mausoleum built by John McMillin for his family. It was begun in 1930 and was built to incorporate things important to him - Republican, the Bible, Masons and Sigma Chi fraternity. Each chair was for a family member and listed their own involvements. I found it interesting that his wife's chair simply lists her identity as "wife of John McMillin" and none of her individual activities. The last picture shows Bob and Al at the broken column. It was built this way to symbolize the broken column of life - his belief that death comes before one's work is finished.



The evening ended with the ceremonial lowering of the flags and the firing of a cannon. A short time later we were treated to an incredibly beautiful sunset.