We woke up in Victoria to a beautiful, sunny morning. The RVYC hosted the fleet and put on an excellent bbq the previous evening. We all had a nice warm shower and we were ready to race the last leg.
Pushing off the dock there was nice breeze blowing and we motored our to the start line. The line was set at the same place where the Swiftsure race starts. Last year we sailed that race and head a great time so hopes were high that we’d have a similarly successful day.
The game plan for the day was to head for the Strait of Georgia. The predictions showed decreasing winds in the evening and then building after midnight. The Straits were supposed to be the first to get the new wind and with our luck, we figured we’d be in the doldrums for a while. There were several options along the course to get out to the Strait, the last of which was to go through Dodd Narrows.
The race started with a nice breeze and we stayed off shore to stay in it. Approaching San Juan Island we turned north and headed up the Haro Strait. Freighters offered a new hazard as there was a steady stream of them.
Our first passage out to the Strait of Georgia was the Boundary Pass at the US/Canada border. Passing Stewart Island we could see a couple of boats headed out but their progress looked very slow as there was little wind in the pass. We were making good progress so we chose to continue north towards Active Pass.
The tides and winds made Active Pass a poor choice for an exit to the strait. We saw a few boats on the race tracker making very slow through the pass and we decided to continue north to Porlier Pass. This pass was a straight shot out with no ferries and was the shortest route to the straight. Additionally, several boats in our class were continuing north and we figured we’d stay with them. We were battling with Goldcrest, seesawing positions as one boat would get better wind or current.
At Porlier Pass we were prepared to head out when we encountered the current. 4+ knots into us and we were only making 4 knots through the water. Boats in front of us were continue towards Dodd Narrows and once we calculated when slack tide was, we decided to risk heading that way.
After a nerve wracking 3 hours, we arrived at Dodd Narrows. This pass in about 1000 feet long and only 70-80 wide. When the current is running it can reach 8-10 knots and if we had missed the window, we would have had to go back and around. Fortunately, we had 5 boats just in front of us to show us the dead air spots and current so we had a good line through. Near the exit we even had a chat with a couple of families out watching all the crazy sailors coming through the narrows. 
With the stress behind us we sailed the last 5 miles to the finish. We almost caught Goldcrest, finishing just a couple of minutes behind them in calming air. This was the first leg of the race when we weren’t becalmed at some point during the day.
11:00 pm at the dock. We finished ahead of enough boats that we actually tied up to the dock instead of rafting for this first time. We celebrated with other crews, regaling our harrowing stories and decisions, good and bad. It was quite an adventure circumnavigating Vancouver Island. And we still like each other.