September 2006 – Sailing Trip time again!

After no small amount of discussion about trying for Barkley Sound, we decided to go back to the Gulf Islands again, hitting the San Juan Islands on the way up or back (or both). We still want to get to Barkley in the near future, once we get a proper dinghy & outboard engine, and get the long-desired radar installed on the boat.

We also knew early on that several of our friends were heading up to the Gulf Islands around the same time, which definitely helped sway our decision. More on that later in the trip.

As usual we’re heading out on Sleepwalk, our 1988 C&C 38 sailboat. We’ve had her for 4 ½ years now, and have put a lot of work and $$ into turning a great boat into one that’s almost perfect for vacationing.

This year we decided not to make a tradition out of last year’s mad dash, load-it-all-in-one-trip-and-go panic departure. We had all our gear, clothing and provisions loaded on the boat well ahead of time, and only brought a load of frozen food and a small cooler of dry ice with us on departure day. Turns out that’s a much more relaxing way to leave town.

(hint: you can click on most of the images to see a larger version)

Day 1: Friday – September 15 – Seattle to Port Townsend

By design, we don’t have a hard-core itinerary planned, other than to head to Port Townsend tonight, then on to Victoria. Beyond that, plans are very flexible. Hoping to cross paths with various friends once we’re well into Canadian waters.

Departed Shilshole Bay Marina at 2:00pm. Fair weather, light N wind and a slight ebb tide helping us on the way up. We motored the whole way, as the wind was light and right on our nose. Plus we wanted to get into the tight marina entrance before dark if possible.

Arrived at Point Hudson Marina, Port Townsend, at 7:00pm
Total time: 5:00
Distance: 30.5 nm

Had dinner at Waterfront Pizza on Water Street, an old favorite. Excellent as usual. The Port Townsend Film Festival is happening this weekend, looks like good fun with an eclectic selection of known and obscure films playing in multiple venues downtown. They even have an outdoor cinema with a street blocked off and a big inflatable screen. The local High School football team has a home game tonight (the field is just 2 blocks from the marina); sounds like they won.


Day 2: Saturday – September 16 – Port Townsend to Victoria

Got espressos and strolled around downtown PT a bit in the morning. Clockwork Orange is the midnight show at one of the theaters in town tonight, and it turns out that Malcolm McDowell has been in town to pitch the festival and hang out with the local high school video production class.

Left the Pt. Hudson marina to top off fuel at the city marina at the other end of town. On our way out of PT by noon.

Fair weather & flat water crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, although both the wind speed and direction were unreliable. Started out tacking across Admiralty Inlet and got pushed across to Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. Couldn’t clear Pt. Wilson under sail and ended up motoring across the Strait to Victoria. A little chilly by the time we got into the customs dock.

Leftover pizza – a perfect fair-weather sailing lunch. Arrived at Victoria Inner Harbour at 7:00pm, cleared Canadian customs by phone from the customs dock and then tied up at the city dock right in front of the Empress Hotel.

Total time: 7:00
Distance: 38.7nm

Found ourselves once again at the sushi bar at Japanese Village in downtown Victoria. Sammy the sushi chef is still running the show and is still a madman. Great food as always. The city was filled with a zillion tourists, probably due to the three – yes three – cruise ships in town. Plus it looked like maybe U-Vic was just getting ready to start fall classes – lots of kids around town.

 

Day 3: Sunday – September 17 – Victoria to Reid Harbor

Breakfast of muffins & espresso @ Mirage Coffee on Government Street. Walked around town a bit, and then picked up ‘supplies’ at The Strath liquor store. Topped off water tanks while water was handy, and departed Victoria at 1:15pm.

Very bumpy, wallowy ride east around Discovery Island back into the Strait of Juan De Fuca. Finished the last of the leftover pizza for lunch, and somehow managed to keep it down. Lisa made a pot of hot tea but had to leave it below. Couldn’t take the bumpy ride any more, and had to go topside. Finally mellowed out once we were headed north into Haro Strait. Classic tide and wind collision at the entrance. Some of the cresting swells on our starboard quarter were 5-6’ from trough to top. Very lumpy. It rained all last night and all day today. We saw one freighter and one BC Ferry in Haro Strait. That’s it. Turns out everyone else was smarter than us and stayed inside. Wind was gusty – pretty high at times – but inconsistent direction all afternoon. Motored the whole way.

Arrived @ Reid Harbor, Stuart Island @ 6:00pm and tied up to a mooring buoy.

Total time: 4:45
Distance: 26.4nm

We chilled and grilled on the boat in Reid Harbor in the evening. Good day for Seattle sports fans as the Huskies, Seahawks and Mariners all won today. Steak, potato, giant yellow tomato (from the garden at home) for dinner.

Tomorrow’s destination? No idea yet.

 

 

Day 4: Monday – September 18 – Reid Harbor to Glenthorne Passage

Rained overnight. Woke up to fog covering the surrounding hills – very pretty. Burned off mid-morning and by noon it was a beautiful, sunny day. The house battery bank (separate from the engine starter battery) is struggling a little. By mid-morning the lights are flickering and the heater fan won’t come on. Ran the engine for about 40 minutes to recharge. Figured out how to enter waypoints & routes in the PC then upload to the GPS – way easier than entering directly into the GPS. Plotted a course for Glenthorn Passage, Prevost Island, in the Gulf Islands.

Breakfast – Espresso & tea, Oatmeal.

Sailed off our mooring buoy in Reid Harbor at 12:45pm. It’s always very cool to take off without even starting the engine. The wind didn’t last long though, and we ended up motoring most of the way. Crossed Boundary Pass and officially made it into the Gulf Islands.

Arrived @ Glenthorne Passage, Prevost Island at 5:00pm. Anchored in ~24ft with a 10+ tide.
N48°49.26’ W123°23.075’

Time: 4:15
Distance: approx 16.7nm.

Raining since we turned into Captain Passage from Swanson Channel.

This is a very protected anchorage; the quietest we’ve had since maybe Tod Inlet last year. Good thing – a nasty cold has set in for Jim, and it felt great to sleep in all morning.

Oatmeal & espresso for breakfast. Steak sandwiches for lunch. Chicken & rice casserole for dinner. Eating like royalty is pretty typical for these trips; glad to see this year is no exception.

 

 

 

Day 5: Tuesday – September 19 – Glenthorne Passage to Montague Harbour

Rained like hell overnight and into the early morning, but turned sunny and calm by lunchtime. Yogurt & espresso for breakfast, instant spicy noodle soup for lunch.

Departed Glenthorne Passage at 12:45pm.

Went out into Captain Passage for a really nice afternoon sail, tacking across the bay a couple of times just to enjoy the weather. Our destination for the evening was to be Long Harbour, only a couple miles away on Saltspring Island, so we were just having a leisurely sail for the afternoon. Very nice, light wind, easy sailing. Beautiful sunny weather. We eventually headed NE past James Bay on Prevost Island (stayed there last year, nice spot) on our way into Trincomali Channel to head up & drop sail, and saw 5 boats rafted together in James Bay. Turned out to be “the Armada” – some of Jim’s sailing buddies mentioned earlier, on their annual cruising trip. They were just breaking up and heading to Montague Harbour, and we fell in with them. We’ll get to Long Harbour another time. So on to Montague we went. Arrived at Montague Harbour, Galiano Island at around 6:00pm.

Time: 5:15
Distance: 12.4 miles.

We tied to one boat that had already set a bow & stern anchor. We set a stern anchor, and the others joined in. It was 5 boats on this raft in the middle of the bay for the night, with the 6th (Slide) opting for the marina.

Dinner was at a French restaurant called La Berengerie on Galiano Island, with 14 of us. We dinghied in to the marina and walked a mile or so up the road to where the restaurant was tucked into the woods. It was a fixed menu dinner, very nice. Then back to the Armada raft for drinks (Painkillers for you Caribbean veterans) aboard Groove Supply.

This is the other side of Montague Harbour from where we have been before – we normally go for the less popular north side. But it was a nice anchorage, very quiet night.

The 2006 Armada:
Aurora – Carl’s Ericsson 34
Groove Supply – Chris' Ericson 38 (1980) with Ted on board too.
Kaulana – Dave & Julie’s C&C 38 (1986)
Non Sequiter – Pete & Rochelle’s CS 34
Slide – Marcus’s O’day 32, with Ilse (his mom), Pete (step-dad), Marilyn & Bart (friends of Ilsa & Pete) on board.


Day 6: Wednesday – September 20 – Montague Harbour to Clam Bay

Rained all morning. Lisa baked some banana bread (while Jim slept in to try and get over his cold a bit), but the oven wasn’t really hot enough, so it’s just OK. It was a pretty lazy day, waiting for the rain to let up. Marcus & Pete went diving; everyone else just relaxed and stayed warm inside.

Leftover Chicken & rice casserole for lunch.

Topped off fuel @ Montague Marina. Departed Montague Harbour ~ 3:00pm.

Pretty good sailing despite the wet weather. We were able to sail downwind most of the way north. We brought up the rear – the rest of the armada had spinnakers, so we were a little behind in this light downwind sailing.

Snacked on warm quesadillas under way.

Arrived at Clam Bay, between Thetis & Kuper Islands, @ around 6:45pm.

Time: 3:45
Distance: 15.2nm

Anchored in ~43 ft with Non Sequiter rafted to us.

Dinner was the whole armada on our boat. Definitely the most people we have ever had aboard Sleepwalk. The theme was Mediterranean night (they have a different theme every night, and each boat supplies a dish, and a different boat hosts), we supplied Paella. Good time and clearly the most people we’ve had in that boat at one time.


Day 7: Thursday – September 21 – Clam Bay to Tod Inlet

SE wind became NW overnight, rising into the 20’s. It was a pretty bumpy night. By morning we and Non Sequiter were pounding each other pretty solid. Good fender test; no damage anywhere. Good anchor test too – both boats were held by just our anchor.

Departed Clam bay @ 9:20am. Headed south down Sansom Narrows between Saltspring and Vancouver Islands, bound for Tod Inlet.

Hoowee! Amazing day of sailing! Good wind and favorable swells down Stuart Channel and into Sansom Narrows. Steady mid-20’s, with 30+ knots of windspeed at one point. Sailed very broad reaches until we ran out of wind deep in the narrows. Had a majestic round-up that tossed things around a bit down below, but boat and crew all survived fine. Mellow motor with a little wind from Sansum Narrows down in to Saanich Inlet, Brentwood Bay and Tod Inlet.

The big wind blew all the clouds away – by the end of the day it was beautiful and sunny again.

Arrived at Tod Inlet, Vancouver Island, at 2:00pm. We rafted up to Non Sequiter, with Aurora tied to us. Non Sequiter and Kaulana set anchors; everyone else just rafted to them. We eventually ran a stern line to shore just in case. A nice mellow afternoon, snacking and reading at anchor in the cockpit.

Total time: 4:40
Distance: 28.7nm

Groove Supply did not arrive until after dark. Turns out they left Clam Bay a good while after the rest of us, got a spinnaker sheet wrapped around their rudder and propeller, and had to radio for help and go into Maple Bay to get it un-fouled and buy a new sheet.

Asian Night for dinner, on board Kaulana – we brought teriyaki flank steak and rice. Altogether an amazing day – lots of toasting our good fortune and our advanced sailing skills at dinner.

 

 

 

Ok - I haven't updated this site in a year.  So I guess it's about time.  And maybe I'll try to actually post things here every now and then.

 

The good news is that it's been a fairly uneventful year.  No major construction at home, no major travel.  It's been nice to be home and spend time together.

 

We did take our annual sailing trip in September.  I have the notes all written up for you - complete with maps and photos.  But Jim wants to insert his commentary, and he hasn't gotten around to doing that yet.  So as a teaser - I have added one photo of me enjoying the view in Howe Sound.

 

Stay tuned...

 

 

Fall 2005 sailing trip – Seattle to Gulf Islands

 

Miscellaneous trip and provisioning notes from our 2+ week sailing vacation in the Gulf Islands in British Columbia.  Unless noted, all meals prepared on the boat – a 1988 C&C 38 sailboat named ‘Sleepwalk’.

 

 

Thursday – 9/8

Departed Shilshole Bay Marina, Seattle @7:00 pm

Motored the whole way in pretty choppy seas, swells; wind 15-20 knots.  As we occasionally glimpsed wave crests go by in the darkness above our heads when we were in troughs, we speculated that it was good that it was already dark.  J

Arrived @ Port Ludlow on the Olympic Peninsula at about 12:00 midnight.

Anchored in about 40ft off the marina

Dinner = frozen lasagna, cooked & eaten underway

 

Friday – 9/9 – day 1

Stayed anchored at Port Ludlow

Spent the day organizing, stowing provisions & gear – had intended to this on the way up Thursday night, but it was too rough to be down below for very long, plus we were tired and needed a day of rest, Thursday was a long day.  Started plowing through the entire Patrick O’Brian book collection.

Brunch = sausage, potato & egg scramble, lattes.  Italian stove-top coffee makers work great for boat lattes.  Fundamental part of the daily routine for the entire trip.

Dinner = chicken & squash curry & rice. 

 

Saturday 9/10 – day 2

Departed Port Ludlow @ 10:00 am

Stopped at the fuel dock to fill up (8.35 gals diesel)

Crossed the St of Juan de Fuca in totally flat, calm, sunny seas.  No wind at all; motored the whole way.  Baked zucchini muffins during the passage.

Arrived @ Victoria Inner Harbour 6:45 pm

Cleared customs (by phone @ the customs dock), then moored at the city dock in front of the Empress Hotel and the Parliament buildings.  Provisioned wine (beyond the good stuff we brought with) & liquor at The Strath on Douglas Street – nice wine selection. 

Surprisingly quiet night for being right in the middle of the city.  The marina was busy, but everybody was pretty mellow.  Great location.

Breakfast = yogurt, lattes

Lunch = grilled turkey, cheddar & tomato sandwiches

Dinner = sushi @ Japanese Village on Broughton Street in Victoria.  Sammy the sushi chef is The Man.

 

Sunday 9/11 – day 3

Departed Victoria 11:00 am (after the final water-taxi ballet show of the season in the harbor in front of the marina.  Who knew?)

Went east around Discovery Island, then north through Sidney Channel & John Passage.  Sailed most of the day.  Superb sailing all day, rarely less than 7 kts of boat speed.  A bit hairy at the end – we probably waited too long to drop the mainsail, and the wind was up and we didn’t have quite as much maneuvering room as we would normally have allowed.

Arrived at Royal Cove, Portland Island at about 7:00 pm. 

Trip log = 106 nm.  GPS = N 48°44.063’ ; W 123°22.327’

Anchored in 14-20 feet (saw a low of 9.9 at low tide – cutting it a little close for a 7.5’ draft) and used a stern-tie line to tie to shore (convenient metal loop anchored into the rock on shore). 

Nice spot, some rollers from passing ferries, but not bad at all.  3-4 other boats in the cove.  Shore tie worked well, but may want to get some more line (would have been easier if the line was a little longer).

Breakfast = Starbucks in Victoria, lattes & scones

Lunch = oven toasted ham, cheddar & tomato sandwiches.

Dinner = teriyaki flank steak, fried rice, sautéed swiss chard.  Turley 2002 Dogtown Vineyard Zinfandel.  Mmmmm.

 

Monday 9/12 – Day 4

Departed Royal Cove at 10:30am

Arrived at Tod Inlet, Vancouver Island at 3:15pm. 

Anchored in 25 ft (+10 tide)

Trip log = 119 nm.  GPS = N 48°33.569’ ; W 123°28.091’

Nice easy, lazy sail in light air with flat water down the length of Saanich Inlet.  Good current push made steady 3 – 3.5 knots even with half that in boat speed.  Amazing slow motor into Tod Inlet.  Great spot.  Butchart cove also looked good, but very small and all the mooring buoys were full.  Tod was definitely the nicer anchorage.  Looked like there are trails on shore that can take you to Butchart Gardens, but we didn’t go ashore.  This turned out to be the most picturesque and sheltered anchorage of the trip.

Removed the 2^nd jib halyard & topping lift, messenger lines in place.  This cleaned up unused lines that we were always moving from one place to another on the foredeck.

Breakfast = zucchini muffins, lattes

Lunch = grilled steak, cheddar & tomato sandwiches (leftover teriyaki steak)

Dinner = pork chops, new potatoes, tomato grits

 

Tuesday 9/13 – Day 5

Departed Tod Inlet at 10:30 am

Another sunny day.  Motored up Saanich Inlet & took showers while underway.  Then sailed most of the way – Satellite Channel, Swanson Channel, Trincomali Channel. 

Arrived at James Bay, Prevost Island at 5:15pm.

Anchored in 34 ft (+9 tide)

Trip log = 141.4 nm.  GPS = N 48°50.461’ ; W 123°23.865’

Very mellow sailing all day, mostly off the wind at 90 – 120 degrees.  Surprisingly breezy when we arrived in James Bay, but very quiet by dinner time.  Two other boats in the bay, some campers on the west shore who appear to have arrived by kayak. 

Breakfast = zucchini muffins & lattes

Lunch = chop salad w/ tuna

Dinner = gnocchi with chicken & tomato sauce, creamed spinach.

 

Wednesday 9/14 – Day 6

Departed James Bay at 11:15

Arrived at Ganges, Saltspring Island at 12:15

Topped off diesel & water, unloaded trash, got terrible lattes, bought a few groceries and more beer (Granville Island Brewing, English Bay Pale Ale.  Good Vancouver microbrew.  J)

Departed Ganges at 2:00

Arrived at Princess Bay, Wallace Island at 5:40.

Anchored in 35 ft (+9 tide)

Trip log = 161.7 nm.  GPS = N 48°56.597’ ; W 123°33.355’

Nice mellow broad reach sailing up Trincomali Channel in the late afternoon.  The shore along Galiano Island is so deep that you could get close enough to get fouled in the trees before you saw shallows (we didn’t get quite that close).  The bay was fairly crowded.  About 8 other boats in Princess Bay, a couple tied to shore with stern ties.  We anchored toward the head of the bay.  It might have been nice to get a bit further in, but we preferred not to anchor right in the middle of a crowd.  Interesting that most other boats don’t bother with anchor lights, so makes them very hard to see once it gets dark.  Overall a very nice spot.  Conover Cove is right next door to the south; supposed to be a popular spot, but a little shallow.  Classic beautiful Gulf Islands sunset.  Mostly full moon through broken clouds.

Breakfast = cantaloupe, toasted bagels, lattes

Lunch = leftovers (gnocchi, steak)

Dinner = beef stroganoff and green salad.  DeLille 2002 Doyenne Syrah.  Mmmmm.

 

Thursday 9/15 – Day 7

Departed Princess Bay at 10:45

Arrived Herring Bay, Ruston Island at 2:45

Anchored in 33.8 ft (+9 tide)

Trip log = 178.3 nm.  GPS = N 49°05.003’ ; W 123°42.848’

Very light winds until the afternoon, finally sailed under genoa alone in the north end of Stuart Channel, right up to Ruxton Passage, while eating lunch.  The boat goes surprisingly well with just 1 sail.  Quiet anchorage, one boat on a mooring buoy plus several other buoys with dinghies tied up, and just one other boat anchored.  Not quite as calm as last year when we were here, got some swells coming in from the channel.  Started to sprinkle after dinner and rained most of the night, but dry by morning.  Good to see the overnight rain – the boat was getting grungy.

Breakfast – instant oatmeal & lattes

Lunch – toasted ham, turkey and salami sandwiches.

Dinner – chicken cacciatore and Polenta.  Finished the Doyenne.  Mmmmm.

 

Friday 9/16 – day 8

Departed Herring bay at 1:30pm

Arrived at Mark Bay, Newcastle Island at 4:45

Anchored in 30 ft (+14 tide)

Trip log = 193.4 nm.  GPS = N 49°10.845’ ; W 123°55.957’

Hung out at Herring Bay for the morning, to wait for the slack tide at Dodd Narrows.  Baked banana bread, worked on some boat chores.  Went through Dodd Narrows at 2:43pm.  Slack tide was reported to be at 2:50, and just 7 minutes before the calculated slack we were seeing 2.5 knots of push from the current, and pretty good swirling eddies on the north side of the narrows. Motored all day today. Had showers while under way. The coolest day so far, as it was overcast (our only really overcast day), but it was dry and the clouds had cleared by the time we anchored in the evening. Touched our northernmost point on this trip as we rounded the top of Newcastle Island.  Mark Bay is a nice anchorage.  It’s busy, lots of boats, many of which look somewhat permanently anchored, but we had plenty of room.  It was quiet and calm all night and it has a great view across the bay to the town of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island.  Clear night with an almost full moon.

Brunch – fried eggs, potato pancakes, bacon, cantaloupe, lattes

Dinner – meatloaf, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy. Concannon 2003 Pinot Noir.  Not bad.

 

Saturday 9/17 – day 9

Departed Mark Bay at 10:45am

Arrived at Montague Harbour, Galiano Island at 8:30 pm

Anchored in 34.2 ft (+8 tide)

Trip log = 235 nm.  GPS = N 48°54.039’ ; W 123°24.596’

Had a beautiful sail in the Strait of Georgia down the outside of Gabriola Island.  Nice breeze, mellow swells, endless sunshine.  Re-entered the Gulf Islands via Gabriola Pass.  15 minutes before scheduled slack water the pass looked like river rapids.  Even right at the exact time of reported slack water, we still had a very strong current against us through the pass – boat speed 5.5 knots but speed over ground down to less than 1 knot at one point, very strong eddies. Covered the whole length of Valdez Island and most of Galiano Island in the afternoon & evening.  Sailed for a while and then motored as the wind died.  Amazing sunset while underway.  Long day but really a nice one.  Anchored in the dark at Montague Harbor, but the full moon made it pretty easy.  Two other boats adjacent to us on the north side of the spit separating the park, opposite of the main marine park & anchorage area.  We came here last year and liked this side better – fewer boats, better sunset.

Breakfast – instant oatmeal, yogurt, lattes

Lunch – meatloaf sandwiches

Dinner – Pizza (prepared underway). 

 

Sunday 9/18 – day 10

Stayed at Montague Harbour.

Rowed ashore and walked around the park to the other side and the main part of the harbor, the big side.  Also a very nice anchorage, lots of mooring buoys, park dock, marina, store, restaurant.  But definitely way more crowded, we prefer the quiet side.  We were the only boat anchored on that side the 2^nd night.  Another beautiful day and great sunset.  Dry ice basically all gone today – need to move the frozen food into the fridge tomorrow.

Breakfast – banana bread, lattes

Lunch – leftovers (stroganoff & pizza)

Dinner – grilled rib-eye steaks, baked potatoes.  Turley 2002 Hayne Vineyard Zinfandel – sublime.

 

Monday 9/19 – day 11

S. wind picked up in the night and we were rocking & rolling a fair amount.  Had to get up and douse banging courtesy flag in the middle of the night.

Departed Montague Harbour at 12:00

Arrived at Irish Bay, Samuel Island at 2:50

Anchored in the northwest end of the bay in about 30 feet.

GPS = N 48°49.294’ ; W 123°12.674’

Motored all day, wind was on the nose and we would have been beating against it the whole way.  Only one other boat here by bed time.  Very nice anchorage – quietest night we’ve had the whole trip other than maybe Tod Inlet.  Starboard water tank ran out today, switched to port tank.  Approx 32 gals lasted about 4.5 days since fill up in Ganges.

Breakfast – banana bread, lattes

Lunch – leftovers – meatloaf, chicken cacciatore

Dinner – beef stew.  Failla 2002 Pinot Noir.  Tasty.

 

Tuesday 9/20 – day 12

Departed Irish bay at 10:20.

Arrived Reid Harbor, Stuart Island (back in the San Juans) at 3:00 pm.

Tied to a mooring buoy in about 30 ft.

Trip log = 262.2 nm.  GPS = N 48°40.433 ; W 123°12.036

Sailed most of the way until we needed to get out of the way of freighters blasting out of Haro Strait at Turn Point and the wind was mostly dying.  Then strong tide against us down Stuart Island.  Saw several Orcas in Haro Strait off Stuart Island – probably 5 or 6.  Very cool until all the whale-watching charter boats appeared out of nowhere.

Breakfast – banana bread, lattes

Lunch – sandwiches, beer

Dinner – Orichiette pasta with bread crumbs, proscuitto & parm. Roasted Zuchinni, sliced tomatoes.

 

Wednesday 9/21 – day 13

Departed Reid Harbor at 9:15 am

Arrived Friday Harbor 12:15

Cleared US customs by phone from the customs dock.  Note that you can no longer clear customs by phone while underway, you have to come to a customs dock unless you have a special card – the old PIN system is no longer in place as of April 1 2005.  Also note that the customs dock at Roche Harbor is closed for the season after Labor Day.  Had lunch in town, bought some more beer & wine.  Kings Market right on the main street is a very nice, well stocked market.

Departed Friday Harbor at 3:00

Arrived at Parks Bay, Shaw Island 3:30

Anchored in 32 ft.

Trip = 277.3 nm.  GPS = N 48°33.563’ ; W 122°58.579’

Yet another gorgeous sunny day, but temps much cooler.  Maybe high 50s, whereas previously had been mid or high 60’s.  Sailed the whole way from Reid Harbor, right on into Friday Harbor.  Lots of seals and porpoises. Parks Bay is just across the channel from Friday Harbor.  2 other boats here.

Breakfast – banana bread

Lunch – in Friday harbor

Dinner – bbq’d flank steak, tortillas, beans, quac, etc.  Foppiano 2002 Petite Syrah.  Not bad.

 

Thursday 9/22 – day 14

Very quiet and calm night until about 8am, then started getting some small swells from passing boats out in the channel.

Departed Parks Bay at 11:00

Arrived at Hunter Bay, Lopez Island at 4:00

Anchored in 21 ft (+6 tide)

Trip = 294.1 nm.  GPS = N 48°27.657’ ; W 122°51.465’

Tried to stop in at Olga on Orcas Island for the legendary pie, but the dock was full and the wind was up, so we passed.  Nice day, good wind, although somewhat shifty, and sailed most of the day.  Managed to get a nasty tight wrap with the genoa sheet on the starboard winch – had to bring the other sheet around and winch it in to loosen the wrap and get it free.  Might have been stressful if we had been in a narrow spot, but we had plenty of room in the channel to work, so it worked out just fine.

Another amazing anchorage, beautiful clear day & night, great moon.

Breakfast – bagels, sausage, slice tomato, lattes

Lunch – PB & J sandwiches.  Really.

Dinner – lamb chops, potatoes, green beans & spinach.  Turley 2002 Tofanelli Zinfandel.  Mmmmm.  Andretti 2002 Chardonnay.  Yes, that Andretti.  Not bad.

 

Friday 9/23 – day 15

Northerly wind shift generated rolling swells down Lopez Sound early in the AM, so it was a bit of a lumpy morning.

Departed Hunter Bay at 11:00

Arrived at Point Hudson Marina, Port Townsend at 5:30

Moored at the marina

Trip log = 320 nm

Another fantastic day of sailing.  Motored for a bit in fluky winds off the south end of Lopez Island, but otherwise sailed the whole way across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Calm seas, 8 – 10 knots of wind.

Breakfast – banana bread, lattes

Lunch – steak sandwiches

Dinner – Thai restaurant in PT.

 

Saturday, 9/24 – day 16

Departed Port Townsend at 11:45

Arrived back in our slip at Shilshole marina at 7:00pm

Trip log = 355.6 nm.  Also broke 1000 nm since we installed the GPS.

Couldn’t have asked for a better last day of the trip.  Warm and sunny.  Sailed most of the way until Apple Cove Point around the corner from Kingston.  Nice broad reaching and wing + wing downwind sailing all day.  Great sunset over the Olympics right before we got to the marina.

Breakfast – banana bread, lattes

Lunch – turkey, ham, salami & cheddar sandwiches

Dinner – enchilada casserole

 

Overall trip notes:

Fantastic weather – we had rain one night, but never during the day.  We only had one day where it was overcast.  Every other day we had mostly sunny, with a few scattered clouds.  Great wind most days – even the direction cooperated with the direction we wanted to go most days, so that we were doing a lot of broad reaching and downwind sailing both northbound and southbound.  Temps this time of year are a bit cool – 60’s mostly while underway.  But at anchor with the sun out and the breeze on the nose, it’s pretty much shorts & tank top weather in the protected cockpit.  Until the sun goes down – as soon as the sun dips behind the trees it gets chilly right now.  Cabin heat is a must.  Ours was a little unreliable this trip – we think the hose might be pinched or disconnected somewhere under the cockpit because it wasn’t working nearly as great as before.  But turning on the oven or cooking on the stove heats the cabin up great.

 

We saw tons of seals in the gulf islands, and porpoises in the more open San Juans and the various Straits.

 

We attempted crabbing in the Gulf Islands, but no luck.  Two very small crabs that we threw back.  We’re either not very lucky with this, or maybe (probably) a little too lazy to really do it right.

 

Took way too much food, but it’s nice to have variety and not be stuck to a hard meal plan.  Cooler full of dry ice worked great, kept everything solidly frozen for 9 days.  Next time we’ll use just the blocks, as the pellets didn’t last very long, and were completely evaporated after just a couple days.  Had our traditional cocktails upon anchoring each night, and usually some appetizers before dinner – cheese, pate, smoked salmon, etc.  This was the opposite of ocean racing – we were gone for 17 days and probably gained weight.

 

Only had a few minor issues:

• Engine throttle response was weird one day.  No increase in RPMs when accelerating from idle until you really pushed it.  Not a big deal, and only occurred when departing from the customs and fuel docks at Friday Harbor.  Worked fine afterward.  Maybe just a Friday Harbor thing, but I’ll check out the linkage next time I burrow under the cockpit.
• Not as much output from the diesel heater as we’re used to.  Strongly suspect this is due to the primary section of heater hose getting pinched against one of the cockpit drain seacocks under the cockpit.  I had to crawl over this several times when running the XM antenna cable from the transom into the cabin, and I expect to find it partly crushed.
• Speedometer conked out twice for very brief periods while underway.  We’re assuming it was just due to running over small floating debris and momentarily jamming the paddlewheel.  Never lasted more than a minute.
• The apparent wind indicator went psycho for 5 minutes or so while sailing in a steady breeze on day 16.  Worked fine afterward.  By the time I set the autopilot and went to where I could get a good look up at the masthead unit, everything was working fine again.  I wonder now if we had a hitchhiking seagull.  Or maybe there’s a very tiny Bermuda Triangle thing at the south end of Whidbey Island.
• We’re overdue for a bigger dinghy.  Lisa says I looked like some giant guy playing in a kiddie wading pool when I was rowing in to run the shore-tie line in Royal Cove.  Worked OK for the two of us rowing to shore in calm water, but definitely only usable when calm.

 

Good stuff:

• XM radio (plus the new speakers in the main salon) – this was huge.  XM always been cool in the car, but having hundreds of very clear music channels just made each evening that much more enjoyable.  And having the cable news TV channel feeds to listen to over coffee each morning was great too, although it was pretty grim following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita clobbering the Gulf coast.
• Autopilot – still hanging in there.  After cleaning up and re-soldering the wiring to the cockpit bulkhead connector last month, the ancient / obsolete / unsupported Autohelm 4000 (“Otto”, of course) worked like a champ whenever needed.  Saved the autopilot replacement budget for another year.
• Anchoring – still haven’t had even a hint of dragging while at anchor, nor have we had to clean off any mud & seaweed hairballs when pulling the anchor in.  If Lewmar needs owner testimonials for Delta anchors, we’re there.
• Water tank capacity.  Replaced the leaking output valve in the port water tank earlier in the month, so both water tanks were available for use for the first time since we bought the boat.  As mentioned above, we only ran one of the two tanks dry once, so we always had at least 25 gallons of fresh water in reserve for dishes and showers.  We took about 12 gallon bottles and maybe 30 liter bottles of drinking water too, which turned out to be plenty.  The storage areas behind the salon settees were perfect for storing water, juice and sodas; we had storage capacity to spare.

 

 

That’s twice to the Gulf Islands now.  On to Princess Louisa Inlet next year.  J