During my trip to Victoria, Canada, I came across a stark, beautiful red-sailed tall ship called the Thane, with daily cruises through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I booked passage with Sue, and also met Boca and Trinket – two seasoned seadogs who just happened to be cats. The Thane, built from recycled materials by Captain Len, is modeled after Joshua Slocum’s Spray, which was the first vessel to circumnavigate single-handedly back in 1895...
It was a memorable experience, to say the least! We helped raise the sail, learned nautical language, and enjoyed sitting at watch on the bowsprit as we cruised the waves with Len and Sue, all while hearing entertaining stories about Victoria and the history of the ship.
We also sailed by the Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race, and had an up-close look at the yachts sailing into Victoria. We even saw Dragonfly sail past us at an incredible speed, the ship that holds the record for fastest elapsed time in two different yacht races.
Captain Len mentioned having a canon on board, and asked if we should fire at them. I smiled at his joke, and responded with an enthusiastic "Sure!"
With that, Captain Len jumped up and grabbed a match. That’s when I learned he wasn’t joking at all. Then it was "BANG!" – and we got quite a few heads turned at us from the yachts at our tall ship after that. And we couldn’t stop laughing.
I agree with your conclusions and looking forward to your coming updates. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I loved getting to see the race up close and hope I can make it up to Victoria again soon!
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