June 1, 2007 :
It was a clear sunny morning, dead calm, and strong ebb current when we left Sidney. By the time we approached Discovery Island we were making 11 knots over the bottom. We also had to work our way through and around several wicked tiderips. As we went through Race Passage the head winds and tide rips were building. We chose to go into Becher Bay and anchor in Campbell Cove (N 48° 19.795 / W123° 37.847) for the reminder of the day and night.
We anchored in Murder Cove at the north end, but the rollers became unbearable as the west wind built, so we moved to the south end of Campbell Cove and re-anchored in close and escaped the rollers. Northwest winds built into the night, but with the aid of our riding sail to keep us bow to the wind and the flopper-stopper to keep us on an even keel, we were able to get a good night sleep. Then at daybreak I had to shorten up the anchor rode to pull us into deeper water as we approached low tide. We still wanted to go into Sooke Harbour, so we left Becher Bay early enough to get into Sooke just before low tide and avoid the strong ebb currents coming out of Sooke Basin. Coming out of Becher Bay and rounding Alldridge Point we ran into a dense fog bank and had to suffer only 1/8-mile visibility and severe tide rips all the way into Sooke Harbor. (N 48°21.951 / W 123°43.690) 
Once tied down to the guest dock at Sooke Harbor Marina, we walked the mile or so into the neat little town of Sooke. We hit the grocery store and visited McGregor Park where we napped on the manicured grass in the warm sun before returning to the boat. We were able hook up to the web via wireless while on Teal and get this post published. We will head further up the coast tomorrow, weather permitting. We’ll post our progress, when we are able to get on line again. George & JoAnne
