Juan de Fuca Channel Crossing

The overall feeling and thoughts I have a day after this event are: God is so gentle with me on these events. I am so thankful that we are all on shore safe and sound. And, there were way too many stories for one adventure. 

Thursday, June 13th

The journey began on Thursday, June 13th. I woke up early and loaded everything up on the truck with Eli Gish and Darren Sweeney piling in as we headed to the Coho ferry terminal and checked in at just after 7am. Stuart Roach was next to come down and we loaded his kayak on top of the truck with mine, and then Jim Baxley and Kris Pennell walked their kayaks and checked in and sat their kayaks by the large gray building right by the ferry ramp. At 8am, Kris and Jim were able to load their kayaks first onto the car deck and placed them at the front of the boat right by the exit ramp. The trip over we were able to get some photographs off the back of the boat and saw numerous whales breaching and spraying water in the air for over 15 minutes. The view was gorgeous with the Olympic Mountains in the background and Victoria, Canada coming into view as we traversed the water. After the 90 minute ferry ride, Kris and Jim unloaded first and walked their kayaks to the Royal Scot Hotel. They were kind enough to let us store all six of our kayaks overnight in their parking garage which was a huge benefit and easy to access right off the ferry. We unloaded the two from my truck as well and had all four secured so we could go enjoy the afternoon. We all took the time to check into our hotels. Eli, Darren and I had the privilege of staying with my friend Yuko Sakata, who I know from my Rotary youth exchange trip to India back in 1997.  Yuko had set up an air mattress for the three of us and left some snacks and pretty much everything we needed. 

After getting situated we started the afternoon with lunch at the Bellevilles’ Watering Hole & Dinner right across from where you get off the ferry and we all went our separate ways for the afternoon. I had a few Zoom sessions for work, Kris and Jim headed off to Chinatown and numerous other places. Stewart went for a well deserved nap to get rested for the day ahead, and Eli and Darren explored the city. At 5pm we all headed to the Coast Victoria Hotel and bounced between the hot tub, pool and sauna numerous times and enjoyed relaxing and soaking in the restlessness before the following days’ excursions ahead. We all made our way to Nubo at 6pm to meet my friend Yuko for some sushi and drinks. I must have eaten about three pounds of sushi including steak tartar that Kris ordered, and numerous rolls with different types of fish, topping, and some even flame kissed right in front of us. At 7pm we headed over to pick up Gay and Vicki who were walking off the ferry. Unfortunately the evening crew on the Coho had them load the ferry last and they were the final ones to depart the boat. That had them walking and waiting about 45 minutes for customs. Not a major deal but definitely something to be aware of if you’re biking or kayaking across on the Coho, it seems that depending on the crew or possibly the departure time they might insist that you either are first on/off or have to wait until the end, plan accordingly. 

After taking the kayaks to the Royal Scot Hotel for storage we headed to the Coast Hotel for drinks and final safety briefing before heading our ways around 9pm for the night before beginning our adventure in the morning. 

Friday, June 14th

It seems like most of our crew slept great the night before the kayak, me being the notable exception. This last month I’ve had a flood of energy and sharpness enter back into my mental state and after laying down I could feel my mind racing with excitement for the day ahead, prayers, reflections, and an alertness that wasn’t going to let me really shut my eyes for long. I spent the night cycling through resting my body and my mind and then doing little bits of tasks for the week on my computer and then back to laying quietly with my eyes closed soaking in the appreciation that we were about to have a grand adventure. 

At 3:45am my alarm went off and we began to prepare for the day. This included a quick shower, packing up our items, eating a banana and apple that Yuko had laid out for us and bringing our gear down to the truck. Darren, Eli, and I left the apartment at 4:40am and made our way to the Royal Scot to pick up the kayaks. We met Stuart, Vicki and Gay there and I slid two of them on top of the truck and headed to the Coast hotel to unload them near their marina. I circled back around and grabbed two other kayaks and had Gay jump in the truck while Stuart and Vicki walked their kayaks just over half a mile down to the Coast Hotel. When we arrived it was now just after 5am and still no sign of Jim and Kris. I started calling them as we continued to get our gear situated. After alternating calls back and forth between their two phones Jim picked up and his response was one of my joys in the morning. Apparently they had slept through his alarm and his words were, “yep, we’re scrambling”. I assured him we had everything on track with the kayaks and would get them down to the water, so he could take his time and meet us by the dock.This gave the rest of us a bit of time to get situated. Gay made Stuart and I a cup of outstanding coffee and we snacked on the items we had with us to start off our day. Yuko met us at the hotel and joined us as we prepared for the trip ahead. After walking the six kayaks down the ramp onto the docks in front of the hotel we all grouped up, took a few photos did a final safety briefing led by Jim and one by one we put the kayaks in water and loaded each person in, kicking off the shoreline and saying goodbye to Darren, Eli, and Yuko at 6:04am. We had been in touch with our boat driver Andre Corpus who had agreed to pick up Eli from the dock and take him with him on the boat to capture images along the way. 

The first section getting out of Victoria harbor was gorgeous, calm and a great start to the day. We made it out the half mile passage and then out into the straits with a full clear view of the Majestic Olympic Mountains off in the distance and a clear view of our final destination. The water started having a bit of character with a gentle breeze at our right side and we were underway! About a mile into the journey Andre passed us and checked in on his way to pick up Eli. We signaled all good to go and kept going. About a quarter mile later a decent size yellow boat with PILOT on the side went roaring by sending up six to eight foot swells that sent each of us scrambling for a bit to keep ourselves stabilized. Stuart unfortunately got caught sideways and flipped his kayak which started our first opportunity to put into place our practice of getting back in the kayaks from the water, “the drink”. I remember my time in Alaska fishing where that was our number one thing, don’t fall into “the drink.” Kris and I were holding our position and Jim and the others helped Stuart back in and pumped out his kayak and we were good to go again. There was a light rain as we continued underway but very gentle, and I reminded the group, “we’re not made of sugar.” The rain isn’t concerning, just the wind, wildlife and the currents. The next five miles were fairly uneventful as we gently moved forward one stroke after another making our way across. The water was exceptionally calm that day with minimal waves and long stretches of flat surface all around. Jim had mentioned that his aunt was affiliated with some nuns in Texas and they had over 50 nuns praying for us for the journey we were on. That became one of our major battle cries for the trip. When the surface flattened out it was, “the 50 nuns in Texas” clearing the way. I also had my usual prayer chain activated and a few individuals I have recently began reaching out to more including JoDee Ahmann, Jennifer Van Dyke, Lucy Tiemersma, Beth Carey, Randi McIntyre, and Emily Johnston. At about the seven mile mark on my Coros tracker, Jim and I were talking with Andre and realizing we had only covered about 5 miles of forward distance and the currents were shifting us a bit. With over 3 hours passed we were best case scenario right around ⅓ of the way across the channel. We made the quick call to split the group to take advantage of the flat surface water “smooth like glass while we had it.” Vicki and I took the lead, and Jim led the rest of the pack with Andre as support.

The next 2-3 hours were pretty incredible for Vicki and me. We got into a rhythm and our 25 minute miles quickly turned to 18 minute miles, and then to 15 minute miles and even had one that was 12 minutes. The currents in the ocean and the different streams of flow are hard to explain unless you’ve been on top of it or passing through it and can feel the shifting and swaying of the water. At times it literally pulls you toward your destination and then without notice it pulls your kayak at an odd angle and you drop the rudder to the side at almost a 30 degree angle to keep centered on your targeted destination. We went through some jelly fish patches with numerous large fluffy jelly fish some twice the size of your hand. Thankfully being on top of the water these sea creatures aren’t a bother. We went steady for the first five miles taking a quick break at the 12 mile mark to grab some food and water then hammered out another five miles putting us to about 17 miles when the water started to turn a bit choppy and the wind slowly picked up from a gentle breeze to a notable yet still very reasonable gust. 

This for me was where the too many stories for one adventure started to kick in and where some of the scenarios that play out on the water quickly turn into disorganization. My recounting of this is a bit blurry and yet clear as day at the same time as I’ll describe, but the memories are all mixed together as events and emotions played out. There was something weird in the water as the choppiness picked up a bit. I’m not sure what was going on but I would describe it as the current pulling us one way and the wind hitting at a slightly different angle which then as I was kayaking forward I felt like I was getting pushed backwards and yet paddling in a direction that just didn’t feel on track. I tried to track on the kayak in front of me adjusting continually to keep myself moving forward in the right direction. 

The wind began to calm a bit and we started pushing forward and then in the next moment I found myself off center and quickly flipped over and was “in the drink.”  One thing you need to know about me is that I’m a natural heater and the 50 degree water was almost a reprieve from the increase in core temperature I had from the 2+ hour push with Vicki to make up some ground. I took a minute to completely relieve myself in the water (6 hours in a kayak is a long time to hold your bladder) and then put into practice our self rescue training and loaded back into the kayak. After pumping it out, we were quickly back under way. Within about 10 minutes I was right back in the drink for my second time and Vicki and I repeated the maneuver loading back into the kayak. As I was getting back into the kayak we could all see the Whale watching boat near us and a couple humpback whales playing in the water around us breaching a few hundred yards off and the sightseeing group enjoying the spectacle of the kayakers crossing the channel. At this time Gay and Stuart had caught up to us and helped me get recentered in my boat. Kris was not interested in spending any time near the whales and as they breached around us he took the opportunity to head out like a bat out of hell onward towards the Coast Guard base some 5 miles or so off in our distance. Jim went off after Kris and the four of us were now in the rear of the group. Once I got back into the boat I took the time to completely get all the water out and even used the sponge that Vicki brought to get it pretty much bone dry. We touched base with Jim on the radio but couldn’t get a clear message from him. We were on Channel 16 mainly to keep tabs on alerts on the water and then switched to 68 for our communication. The radio call was faint and we finally gave up and put the radio back, figuring that Kris and Jim were fine on their own, with the four of us in the back. There were a few large freighters in the shipping lane ahead of us and over the course of the last leg of the journey we watched three of these massive vessels turn from tiny images on the horizon to these massive ships passing through the waters we would cross. 

I’ve mentioned “bad time” in other race reports and being on the water in a discipline I have very minimal experience, which made it all the much more concerning. After I got re-situated in the boat I had to readjust a few times with Vicki’s help and I told her something is off in my body. My balance and equilibrium is not right and I didn’t know how I was going to keep from continuing to roll over. We did some breathing exercises, she walked me through keeping my weight towards the back and leaning back and bracing my hips whenever there was a shift in the current and calmly talked me through starting to slowly stroke and take it one stroke at a time. I raced through my checklist of what could be off in my body… My lack of sleep was noted but not highly relevant, I had fully hydrated that morning and was gradually sipping on fluids so that was a bit of a signal so I drank half a bottle of water to counter that. Food, calories, and electrolytes were minimal but seemed reasonable for our activity. I had a couple bars to ensure if that was a factor that I countered. I hadn’t been cramping at all to my surprise and joy even though my hips and feet at times were extremely uncomfortable being in that seated position for that long. I decided that all of those factors were in check and that the main variable that likely threw me out off center was the semi vertigo-like conditions from the current shifts, and change in wave activity. Now that it’s assessed, what do you do? I talked to Vicki as clearly as I could about my condition and concern. Trying not to raise too much of an alarm but also indicate the very real circumstances that I didn’t know how I was going to keep myself from flipping again. I had Vicki pull in front and I matched her stroke for stroke and followed her kayak which seemed to minimize the uneasiness on the water and my balance was coming back to center. The other problem I was having was that once you get in a head space of “bad time” the whole world slows to a crawl. The next mile felt like it passed just as quickly as the past 5 miles had, basically felt like an eternity and that I was just treading water. As the mile clicked off on my watch I could see we were hitting right around 20 minutes per mile so the pace was decent. It was just my perspective that was out of alignment. Vicki continued to gently talk with me and assure me I was doing good, intentionally distracting me from my dark thoughts and fears. I prayed out loud and took the time to be grateful to be out there and the wonderful scenery around us. Eventually after a few miles the bad time passed and my normal state of mind returned. At this point I laughed with Vicki and thanked her for walking me through that experience. I asked her what my face looked like during it, and it was pretty much that 1000 yard stare, pasty white expression of a person when their spirit is trying to figure out where their body is and not quite connected to it. 

We were now about three miles from the Coast Guard base paddling at a pretty sharp angle as we had been pulled almost 5 miles to the west with currents and somehow mistargeting our angles on the crossing. We now had a completely different problem to deal with and one that was highly confusing at the time. We caught up to Kris who was not in a similar headspace to what I had been in the past hour and was slowly paddling his way to the Coast Guard base. Jim was nowhere in sight, and Stuart and Gay were behind us gently making their way up the coast behind us. We pulled up near Kris and confirmed where we were and how much further it likely was to the coast guard base and decided to all stay together. I was still a little rattled from my own bad time and hesitant to slow my pace at all knowing that it could return at any time and I could go through another wave of struggle. Vicki and I quickly debriefed and decided to slow our pace and put Kris in the middle with each of us on one side of him. During this time the boat driver Andre had headed off to an event he had scheduled and swapped to Brandon the new boat driver who was just a gem of a guy as well. We had such good fortune with the boat drivers and they really made the day possible. When Brandon pulled up we were trying to put the pieces together. Kris had never seen Jim chasing him, and Vicki and I were pretty certain that Jim had been with Kris although it was right at the time when I had flipped over and then was in a funky head space so it had been more than an hour that anyone had seen Jim. About this time a boat from Fish and Wildlife pulled up and had said they received a radio call checking on a kayaker that had been separated from the group and wanted to make sure we were all alright. Kris seemed to think that Vicki had radio called it in and I came to the conclusion that it had to be either Jim or something to do with the Whale watching boat. We determined we knew where all five of us were but now the big mystery was Jim and the whole series of events with the whales, time in the water and then bad time had just thrown me a bit.

We continued up the coastline, pushing Kris along and fortunately we were still moving at about 20-minute miles even though when you looked at the shoreline it felt like you were standing still. The only visual that gave us a clear indication that we were actually making progress was the buildings on the base kept getting larger pretty rapidly. As we neared the edge of Edis Hook we decided to wait there and try to figure out what happened to Jim, and Kris was determined to stay there until we found him. I pulled around the corner and enjoyed the calmer water on the inside of the hook but as I rested just off shore my hips continued to ache and I wasn’t sure how long I could take being in one place. After a while I started back around the corner to reconnect with Vicki and Kris. It was at this time that Brandon came back by and said that he had heard from Kristin, and Jim was safe and sound on shore and had taken a straight line for the shore after not being able to catch Kris who was booking it away from the Whales. Our worst fears were taken away, and I grouped up with Vicki and shed a few tears of relief that we were all safe and sound and just needed to punch out the last mile and a half to the shoreline. 

The three of us made it around the corner with Gay and Stuart about a mile back or so. We decided to make the crossing with our group and cheer on Gay and Stewart from the shore. As usual the final leg is still not a gimme in these events. The choppiness and breeze picking up was a bit unnerving in our fatigued state but with so little water ahead of us hope brimmed from our spirits. We did our best to stay together, pulling Kris back to center as he still had the 1000 yard stare across his face. One stroke at a time and as Vicki kept saying “about a quarter mile to go” we made our way towards Hollywood Beach and saw the individual people get larger in our view as we approached. The three of us made our landing together where friends, family, the HOPE61 team joyfully waited for our arrival. We all slowly got out of our kayaks and hugged our families. It was so good to see Kristin, Hudson, Kalea, my brother Rich, neighbor Bill Rinehart and so many others on the shore including my Rotary friends Jim Jones, and Jay Cline, a local photographer who captured some great images. My first line when asked how it was: “It’s good to be out of the water.” I said this with a laugh and smile of absolute relief. About 15 minutes later Gay came paddling in to her husband David, followed by Stuart 10 minutes later who was greeted by his neighbor Lisa Joslin and friends. With that the kayak journey was a wrap. It all together took around 9 hours and again I would say “too many stories for one adventure”. 

As I sit here and write this two days out, the nostalgia is already kicking in. I am still looking in awe at the weather the rest of the week. The days leading up to our kayak were extremely windy with small craft advisory and the days following there isn’t a single window of decent weather and the crossing could not be attempted. A few weeks out from this journey we picked a day, prayed for good weather and calm waters, planned our journey and through the prayer and support of our communities and those 50 nuns in Texas – by the grace of God – the six of us successfully crossed the channel!

The pain and discomfort subsiding and the excitement for round 2 on the kayak coming up on July 21st from Catalina Island covering 21 miles to San Pedro, CA is starting to brim with anticipation. There are definitely some lessons learned to be taken note of but with proper planning, a great crew and supporters around us, and the community encouraging it’s incredible the things that you can accomplish and pass through. On the beach a customs officer who happened to see us come in came down and checked us back in on her scanner and was a delight to deal with. It saved us the trip heading over to the ferry terminal and was a treat to finish up the trip with such a positive experience with border patrol. In the future she made us aware of how easy it could have been if we had used the CBP Roam app. Once we all passed customs we made our way to Barhop Brewing where they had set us up with a section and some complimentary beers to celebrate the momentous occasion! Just like the night before with the sushi, I think I ate about 3 pounds of incredible artisan pizza to refuel after the journey. Barhop has been one of our consistent supporters over the years, and I am continually grateful for Tom & Ronda Curry and their wonderful daughter Natalie who keeps us all in check at our favorite watering hole here in Port Angeles.

As of Sunday, June 16 we are currently just coming up on halfway to the $10,000 fundraising goal. We will keep the fundraiser open through Wednesday June 19th. If you feel encouraged to donate to HOPE61 as they are fighting to prevent human trafficking you can do that following this link: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/e/GlVbUQ?vid=164udw. 

These massive events can’t take place without the support of family, friends, community, crew and sponsors. A very special thanks to: Brandon Sampson of Wet Dog Boats, Black Ball Ferry, Bill Rinehart of Rinehart and Voyles Consulting, Pat Flood of Olympic Acupuncture & Natural Wellness, Barhop Brewing and Artisan Pizza, and my good friend Yuko for lodging in Victoria and a wonderful time reminiscing about our Rotary journeys.