Day 1 - Kingston

Left West Bay Marina at 5:10 AM under clear skies and calm winds. Great to have Josef help with the Zipper. Just as we were leaving so did another boat - the "SV Halcyon Days." We traveled with that boat all the way to Kingston. Sometimes we were in the lead other times he was. While some may of thought that would be fun; I found it to be a pain. I think it would've been different if we would have krown them.

We rode a good ebb up Budd Inlet making 6.6 knots or more. At Dana Passage we did well over 7 knots. At times the sun was blinding me. At 7 AM we were by Eagle Is. By 9:30 AM we were by Pt. Defiance, at 11 AM we were passing Blake Is., and into Kingston at 2:30 PM, just as planned. We rode the ebb all the way to Blake Is. where then we hit the flood tide and really slowed down. Before we were making 6.8 knots average, then we made just above 5 knots. Also the NW wind picked up to 10+ knots. It made for some cool cruising; I actually got cold. The temperature out on the main Sound was 74 F. However once we got into Kingston the temperature shot way up to 86 F. I went from cold to HOT. Ugh.

When we got to Kingston we fueled up. I picked up 85 gallons at $2.95/gallon. Should've fueled up completely last season when it was only $2.39/gallon.

After fueling we pulled into a slip and tied up for the day. Here's the stats: 56.3 nm, avg. speed 6.3 knots, and 8:55 trip time. The engine hour meter said 5967.7 or 9.7 hours.

One of the real treats in Kingston is the restaurant "Bella Luna." We've been going to Bella Luna for well over 15 years. The tradition is to order the "Morgans Special Pizza." This pizza has everything - onions, peppers, italian sausage, jalapenos, green & black olives, and plenty of cheese. Its tradition to order the Morgans Special each time we're in Kingston - this time was no different. What we don't eat we always box up for breakfast the next day. The only difference this time was that it was so hot, eating jalapenos on a hot day just didn't set well.

After a long day of cruising, I closed off the day with a shot of whiskey on ice and that did the trick. As soon as my head it the pillow I was out.