The storm we got into made us turn back a little bit and head to a small port on the coast of Taiwan. It was the safe choice, and therefore the right one. We were bombarded by government officials once we arrived, and it took nearly the whole day to check in, and then to basically check out again right away based on a weather window. We will never know what all of this would have been like if we didn't have two Chinese crew on board (for those that don't know, there is a lot of tension between Taiwan and China). But having both Fido and Captain Wang was so crucial being that we don't speak Chinese and language barriers were a continual problem.

Once we left that harbour, we had a beautiful calm sea all the way to our final destination - a port outside of Taipei City. Steve, Ian and I went swimming in the Taiwan straight - what fun that was! (I never received the footage of Ian's plunge, but he did it). The sea temperature was 29-30 degrees celsius! After that we were approached by the Taiwan coast guard. Word got out about this Canadian yacht with three Canadians and two Chinese crew, so they kept a very close eye on us! They were kind and offering help if we needed, on a couple of different occasions. Otherwise our sail/journey was calm, cool, and collected 😊

Once in Taipei we were again bombarded by more government officials. All of this was rather painful, yet entertaining at the same time. We said goodbye to Fido and Captain Wang, who were never allowed to set foot on land, and had to be escorted to the airport (nearly in handcuffs! haha). The funny thing was they all got along so well (Captain Wang and Fido spent hours 'shooting the shit' with the staff on guard).

We spent about 3 days at the marina cleaning the boat, and getting it set to rest for a few months time. We will return in the fall to take her to Japan.

This ends the pacific crossing adventures for now - we are home and reunited with our beloved pets whom we missed dearly.

Thank you all so much for watching, and see you in the next video on more familiar territory! 💝

M