Spring Break - off to Victoria

It looks like we are in for a couple of days of rain. The snowline on Grouse mountain is just a couple of hundred metres up from here. We are going to Vancouver Island and taking one of the other Aussie teachers with us. Kerrie is from Melbourne and we have worked out that we have some connections through people that we both know. Her AP is a friend of mine from Wangaratta.

We went out to Coquitlam to pick Kerrie up and then headed for the ferry terminal at Tsawassen. We got there at about 12:30 pm. and purchased a Circle Pac Pass which gives us a 15% discount as long as we go in a circular direction. We intend to spend two nights in Victoria, then head up the island. We have 2 nights on Quadra Island, and then head across to the Sunshine Coast for a couple of days.

We went and had some lunch at the terminal and waited for the 2:00 pm. sailing. The trip from Tsawassen to Schwatz Bay takes about an hour and a half. It was a very cold and windy trip. We went up to the top deck to have a look around. Even in the freezing cold and blasting wind the trip is very scenic.

As were getting close to the island some of the crew began to come up to the top deck. It was raining and the wind was extremely strong. I was standing under shelter when one of the crew appeared next to me reaching out to grab the railing. She said that if she had missed grabbing the rail she would have been blown down the deck towards the back of the ferry. I looked out at the deck from where she had come and saw another crew member coming up on deck. I went to the rail in case she might need help. They had to cross about 10 meters of deck to get under cover, but as I was watching she was blown off her feet and along the wet deck to slam into a fixed metal seat on the deck. She hit two of the legs and looked hurt. I went over to help. She was rubbing her head and had also hit her leg. She was having trouble moving and the wind was blowing a gale. I tried to help her to her feet, but she couldn't, so I grabbed her under the arms and dragged her back to shelter. All the time the first crew member was watching. She called on her radio for assistance and to say how dangerous it was on the open deck and that it should be closed. Announcements came over the speakers saying that because of the danger from the wind and rain that the top deck was closed. When other crew members arrived and they had a look at her leg it was pretty bad. Her shin had hit the metal leg and there was a huge open wound about 6 cm round where open flesh and bone. I left my details as a witness and headed back downstairs for the last few minutes of the trip.

We drove to Victoria, found the motel that we had booked, unpacked and headed off for a quick tour of the city. We drove through town, along the coast, and then back to the harbour area. We stopped at a wharf where there were quite a few interesting looking houseboats, wandered around town for while and then found a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. Pretty good value.