The wind finally died as we came into Blind Channel. I am seldom as happy to be out of the wind as I was this day. We motored up to the marina and took a slip for the night.
The wind wasn't bad. It was exhilarating and fun. But sometimes enough is enough. We left Owen Bay on a race against the predicted gale in Johnstone Strait. Much to my consternation, we were just beginning the motor propelled portion of our trip.
With a gale called for and a need to reach the turn to Blind Channel before the wind came up against the ebb current in the strait, turning the waters into a dangerous, steep chop, we motored out of Owen Bay and began a long day's transit under power.
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This lasted until the wind came up so much that we could sail to windward faster than we could motor. With our boat loaded with our worldly belongings, facing a head wind and a speed-killing chop, our 25 year old 20 horsepower diesel wasn't up to the task of driving headlong into it at any more than three knots.
I was ecstatic that I could make better time under sail than under power. We took off briskly, tacking from one side to the other of the strait, eventually getting over-powered and tucking in a reef. Eventually, we made our turn out of the strait toward Blind Channel resort. We shook out our reef, and then the wind got gusty. Jibing through the channel with this unpredictable, boisterous wind behind us was wearing on the nerves. Exact wind angle and strength varied with topology. Looking back at the strait, we could see the gale was well on its way.
And the we turned the final corner, and the wind died completely. Behind us, it was blowing, in front, nothing. This turned out to be one of our last days of motoring. We were well into a shift towards sailing that was finally cemented in place by our upcoming transit of Johnstone Strait's far northern end. We still use the engine, but its role in our lives has radically shifted.
（翻譯）
在我們航行進入「盲目海道」之後，風終於平息。我很少像今天一般如此開心見到風的消逝。我們以引擎駛入碼頭停留一夜。
風其實沒有那麼糟，事實上，它令我們振奮與充滿樂趣。但是有時我們就是受夠了。離開歐文灣，我們加快馬力前進，希望避開Johnstone海峽預測的下午強風。我不知道的是，我們即將進入逐漸無引擎航行的旅程。
我們希望在強風到臨之前通過海峽進入盲目海道。若強風正對海峽的退潮水流吹起，Johnstone海峽將轉變為充滿危險的陡浪。所以我們開啟引擎離開歐文灣，開始我們一天在引擎下的長程行駛。
然而風在水道中升起，我們順風航行可以比引擎行駛更為快速。這艘滿載俗物的舊船，面對迎面陣風與顛波海浪，25年資歷的20馬力柴油引擎無法負擔重任，只能以3海里速度喘息前進。
我太高興居然以帆航行可以快過引擎前進。我們立刻昇帆，逆風轉舵，風力逐漸增強，我們不得不縮降主帆。終於，我們脫離海峽進入盲目海道。我們再度升滿主帆，但面臨強力陣風，所以我們換上小前帆，在海道中詭譎不定的陣風如履薄冰的行駛。地形風隨著地勢改變方向與強度。我們回頭往海峽一望，可以看到強風已經籠罩。
我們轉彎駛入今日目的地，然後風完全停止。我們後方，風仍強勁；前方，風平浪靜。這是我們引擎航行的轉換時刻。前方是Johnstone海峽的北方端，我們終於穩固的準備好以風帆航行。我們仍然使用引擎，但是它扮演的角色在這趟旅程中從此大幅轉變。
The wind wasn't bad. It was exhilarating and fun. But sometimes enough is enough. We left Owen Bay on a race against the predicted gale in Johnstone Strait. Much to my consternation, we were just beginning the motor propelled portion of our trip.
With a gale called for and a need to reach the turn to Blind Channel before the wind came up against the ebb current in the strait, turning the waters into a dangerous, steep chop, we motored out of Owen Bay and began a long day's transit under power.
.jpg)
This lasted until the wind came up so much that we could sail to windward faster than we could motor. With our boat loaded with our worldly belongings, facing a head wind and a speed-killing chop, our 25 year old 20 horsepower diesel wasn't up to the task of driving headlong into it at any more than three knots.
I was ecstatic that I could make better time under sail than under power. We took off briskly, tacking from one side to the other of the strait, eventually getting over-powered and tucking in a reef. Eventually, we made our turn out of the strait toward Blind Channel resort. We shook out our reef, and then the wind got gusty. Jibing through the channel with this unpredictable, boisterous wind behind us was wearing on the nerves. Exact wind angle and strength varied with topology. Looking back at the strait, we could see the gale was well on its way.
And the we turned the final corner, and the wind died completely. Behind us, it was blowing, in front, nothing. This turned out to be one of our last days of motoring. We were well into a shift towards sailing that was finally cemented in place by our upcoming transit of Johnstone Strait's far northern end. We still use the engine, but its role in our lives has radically shifted.
（翻譯）
在我們航行進入「盲目海道」之後，風終於平息。我很少像今天一般如此開心見到風的消逝。我們以引擎駛入碼頭停留一夜。
風其實沒有那麼糟，事實上，它令我們振奮與充滿樂趣。但是有時我們就是受夠了。離開歐文灣，我們加快馬力前進，希望避開Johnstone海峽預測的下午強風。我不知道的是，我們即將進入逐漸無引擎航行的旅程。
我們希望在強風到臨之前通過海峽進入盲目海道。若強風正對海峽的退潮水流吹起，Johnstone海峽將轉變為充滿危險的陡浪。所以我們開啟引擎離開歐文灣，開始我們一天在引擎下的長程行駛。
然而風在水道中升起，我們順風航行可以比引擎行駛更為快速。這艘滿載俗物的舊船，面對迎面陣風與顛波海浪，25年資歷的20馬力柴油引擎無法負擔重任，只能以3海里速度喘息前進。
我太高興居然以帆航行可以快過引擎前進。我們立刻昇帆，逆風轉舵，風力逐漸增強，我們不得不縮降主帆。終於，我們脫離海峽進入盲目海道。我們再度升滿主帆，但面臨強力陣風，所以我們換上小前帆，在海道中詭譎不定的陣風如履薄冰的行駛。地形風隨著地勢改變方向與強度。我們回頭往海峽一望，可以看到強風已經籠罩。
我們轉彎駛入今日目的地，然後風完全停止。我們後方，風仍強勁；前方，風平浪靜。這是我們引擎航行的轉換時刻。前方是Johnstone海峽的北方端，我們終於穩固的準備好以風帆航行。我們仍然使用引擎，但是它扮演的角色在這趟旅程中從此大幅轉變。
