Arriving in Juan de Fuca strait after 20 days at sea looking for plastic debris it was a surprise to have the strongest winds of our voyage. We raced across the channel with staysail and 2 reefs in the main and entered into the beautiful harbour town of Victoria on Vancouver Island,B.C. One night there, and at 4 in the morning we moved on to Vancouver itself, leaving early meant we would catch the Orcas on their morning feeding run. It was great to see these magnificent beasts in all their beauty.
Vancouver itself is a very clean city, impeccably cleaned everyday but still the insistent need to use single use plastics persists. As we always have to look for “free” wi-fi we spend a lot of time in coffee shops, and it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people who get take-away cups and sit at the coffee shop to drink it,only to throw it away 5 minutes later. I always ask people; Why do you get a take away cup? The answer is usually; I like it. Personally I like a ceramic cup with a handle. The other one; Its recyclable; OK, but does it get recycled? I don’t know. Ask the guy working in the shop; How many coffees do you make a day? Thousands. Where do the cups go? Don’t know. Baffling.
Marcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins did a presentation at the Vancouver Aquarium about our voyage which brought together an interesting group of eco minded folks interested in marine debris.Watching peoples faces as they begin to see the extent of waste in the ocean never ceases to amaze me. This is an important message to get across.
At the same time I put a call out for crew to help take the SeaDragon from Vancouver to San Francisco. I bought a bicycle and pedaled my way around Vancouver posting flyers offering the voyage that left in the next few days. At last minute I got together an interesting group of 8 Canadians and 1 American and here we are flying all sail ,wing and wing ,cruising along at 8 knots. We caught a Salmon and 2 Tuna and have been eating like Kings, these Canadians sure know how to cook. SeaDragon has an amazing talent to bring together great people.
The sun has gone down. The fog is closing in. The moon is trying to force it’s way through. SeaDragon continues eating up the miles. San Francisco Awaits.