Ucluelet was a great layover! We had a chance to dry out the gear, repair the boat and sails as well as enjoy a great salmon bbq. We chatted with some local elementary school children who had come out to see the fleet and got 2 good nights sleep in a hotel. Best of all there was plenty of hot water for showers. If you are ever in the area, I’d recommend a visit along the way to Tofino. Additionally, Patrick joined the boat for a total of 7 sailors for what would turn out to be a very difficult leg.

Wednesday morning started with a poor wind forecast: light winds out of the SW but building and switching to the desired NW in the late afternoon and into the evening. The forecast was mostly correct except the winds were more westerly so we switched from the genoa to the spinnaker and back twice by lunch. Unfortunately, we didn’t follow most of the fleet that headed farther out to sea in search of wind, so we struggled up the shoreline headed for the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Rounding the corner into the strait the winds finally began to build. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon sailing downwind under sunny skies and we saw multiple grey whales surfacing around the boat. After another excellent lasagne dinner we began our work shifts, expecting to arrive in Victoria around 6 am.

As the sun began to set, we were running downwind under our spinnaker, surfing 2 meter swells and going around 10 knots. A beautiful evening. As the night wore on though, the winds continued to build and around midnight we chose to drop the spinnaker and go back to the genoa to help depower the boat. We were still exceeding 10 knots on the downhill side of the swells occasionally, so this didn’t seem to hurt at all. By 2 am, the winds had continued to build above 20 knots and we chose to douse the genoa as well. The only impact of this was more control of the boat as our speed was reduced only half a knot.

At this point we were well down the Strait but we were still encountering a large swell (1-3 meters) and the tide was flowing out against the winds. The swell frequency was around 7-8 seconds so it made for a nice ride but it was work for the helmsman off keep the boat on course. Peak ebb was at 5:30 am at 5.7 knots so we were definitely going into a strong tide.

Approaching Race Rocks, a we’ll know outcropping of rocks that most sailors duck inside of when competing, the sea state deteriorated rapidly. Swells became much more frequent and the winds climbed to 28-30 with gusts to 35. Controlling the boat became more difficult and we decided that going between Race Rocks and land was not going to be a good choice. We worked to bring in the main sail for a jibe, but with such strong winds it was extremely difficult. Surfing down a wave the boat tried to round up and decided to jibe immediately to change our course away from the rocks ahead. During the jibe the boom swung across the boat with such force that the U bolt attaching the main sheet to the traveler ripped out of the boom.

Fortunately, no ones was injuries when this happened, but it did rendered the main sail useless as we could no longer control it. With all hands on deck, in pitching seas, we fought to drop the main after starting the engine. We successfully secured the boom and main sail then proceeded to Victoria. We still had 5 knots of current in the face so it took over 4 hours to cover the last 8 miles to the dock.

Now, at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, we’ve had a chance to assess the damage and make a repair that will get us through the last leg of the race tomorrow. Many thanks to Gleb and Murray for tackling that job before they both get off the boat to head home.

After a good nap, our spirits are improving and we are looking forward to the last leg of the race.