Lisa had been after me for years to take the boat (and her) to Victoria, and this was the year.
Here is the route from Roche Harbor to Victoria BC.
It's only about 21 miles, so not a long run at all.
I had asked the staff at Roche Harbor when "check out" time was.
She just laughed, and looked at the totally empty guest floats.
She said, "You can leave whenever you want."
We pulled out of Roche Harbor at about 11:20 AM.
No need to rush.
We were not technically allowed to arrive in Victoria until 1 PM.
It was a beautiful calm sunny day.
Lisa and Bina were up on the flybridge with me and we were cruising along in sunshine.
We were just a couple of miles from the USA/Canada border, on the water of course.
All of a sudden an ear splitting alarm went off!
In a panic I started looking all around to see what system was generating it.
I'd had new systems installed over the winter but I could not imagine which of them could be generating this hellish alarm.
Then it went off again!
Again I was frantically looking around, considered going down into the engine room to check there, and then Lisa pointed to the back of the boat and said look down there.
It was the US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) patrol boat, complete with four 250 HP outboards, and 3 or 4 strong young men with guns. I didn't have my radar on, and they weren't broadcasting an AIS signal (Gee, I wonder why not?) so I was not aware they were sneaking up on us from astern.
They were very nice, and just asked a few general questions, and then said "Have a nice day," and then they were gone. They left so fast I didn't even have time to snap a picture.
I guess Lisa and Bina and myself did not fit the profile they were looking for.
As we approached Victoria we were entering Canadian waters from US waters and so we had to check in with Canadian Customs. We had previously applied for and received what they call CANPASS certificates, which are sort of like a pre-approval. I called them and they asked a few questions and then issued our reporting number which confirms that we are cleared into Canada. Easy-peazy.
Entry into Victoria's Inner Harbour (they spell it that way in Canada) is very tightly controlled. There are entry and exit lanes marked by different color buoys, and you must stay in your designated lane. There is so much traffic there that this is necessary for safety.
When we got close enough I called the Victoria Harbour Authority and asked for our moorage assignment. They put us right in front of the Empress Hotel, which is in the extreme lower right area of the chart segment shown above.
This was our slip at the guest float in the Inner Harbour.
Most of the slips were empty due to the early season.
The Empress Hotel was just up the ramp from where we were moored. They were working on it while we were there and I could see work men up on the scaffolding very high up on the building. I guess they had no fear of heights.
We had logged 125 nm to this point. The leg down to Victoria was somewhat out of the way for a north bound voyage, but we wanted to experience Victoria, so here we were.
The link below takes you to numerous photos of the Inner Harbour (not taken by me). My photos will be embedded in the post as they always are.
Pictures of Victoria Inner Harbour
This was a very unique stop for us from a number of different perspectives. It certainly was not a remote anchorage. While planning the trip I guess I sort of envisioned it being like a marina. But in fact we were right in the center of downtown Victoria. I asked the harbour authority lady where the best spots would be to walk a dog and she just made a face. It's hard to find grass in the middle of downtown, but we did find a few places.
Just up the ramp from the boat there was a promenade of sorts, with booths and carts from local artists and vendors. There were also some street musicians and performers, although this really wasn't in full swing yet since it was so early in the season. This place really gets hopping as the season progresses.
I was coming along the promenade very late the evening before our departure and a juggler was practicing.
He said he was scheduled to perform there the next day.
So myself and a couple of others who happened by got a preview of his show.
The Inner Harbour area really lights up at night.
Here are a few of our night shots.
Some are a little blurry, my apologies.
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| Faraway in her slip at night |
On our second day in Victoria we rented a car and drove out to Butchart Gardens.
Here is some information from Wikipedia about the history of the gardens:
Robert Pim Butchart (1856–1943) began manufacturing Portland cement in 1888 near his birthplace of Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife Jennie Butchart (1866–1950) came to the west coast of Canada because of rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production.
In 1907, 65-year-old garden designer Isaburo Kishida of Yokohama came to Victoria, at the request of his son, to build a tea garden for Esquimalt Gorge Park. This garden was wildly popular and a place to be seen. Several prominent citizens, Jennie Butchart among them, commissioned Japanese gardens from Kishida for their estates. He returned to Japan in 1912.
In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. They named their home "Benvenuto" ("welcome" in Italian), and began to receive visitors to their gardens.
In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden and in 1929 they replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevant of Seattle. Samuel Maclure, who was consultant to the Butchart Gardens, reflected the aesthetic of the English Arts and Crafts Movement.
In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later.
In 1953, miles of underground wiring was laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens. In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary.
In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens. In 2004, two 30-foot (9.1 m) totem poles were installed to mark the 100th anniversary, and The Gardens were designated as a national historic site.
Ownership of The Gardens remains within the Butchart family; the owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butcharts' great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.
In 1982 the Butchart Gardens was used as the inspiration for the gardens at the Canadian pavilion opened at Epcot Centre in Orlando Florida.
In December, 2009 the Children's Pavilion and the Rose Carousel were opened. The menagerie includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras and mirrors the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors. The designs were hand picked by the owner, in consultation with an artist from North Carolina. The carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. Each animal is carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate disabled persons.
Here are some of our pictures from our day at the Gardens.
I actually had to wait quite a while to get this picture with no one in front of it. As you can see there are stone benches in front and many groups of visitors stopped there to get pictures of themselves and their groups or families in front of the sign.
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| The Gardens are dog friendly |
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| Ross Fountain |
What you can't see in this shot is that sign in the grass, just behind Lisa.
That's right - it says "Keep Off The Grass."
I guess Bina didn't see it either.
She was hot and wanted to roll in the cool grass.
They have very big squirrels in these parts!
Finally, something I recognize, an Iris.
I have to say that as someone who is not normally impressed by flowers, plants, and landscaping, the Butchart Gardens were indeed awesome. I really enjoyed walking all amongst the various themed gardens and seeing the wonderful arrays of color.
Since we had a vehicle we took advantage of that and made a road trip of sorts.
We replenished our groceries and other supplies, and then returned the car.
It was just a short walk from the car rental agency to the boat.
We really enjoyed our brief visit to Victoria, but were now ready to begin our voyage north bound in earnest.
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