Tuesday, July 28, 2009. Day 24.
Left Kingston very early to make sure we hit the right currents at the Tacoma Narrows. We left at 0530. We watched a beautiful sunrise over North Seattle - the sun was so big and red. Waters are calm, skies are clear, it's easy cruising. We went down the central Puget Sound, down Colvos Passage, and into the Tacoma Narrows. We passed Pt. Defiance at 1015. Up to this point our speed was averaging about 6.3 knots. We made it through the Tacoma Narrows at 1100.Just after the Tacoma Narrows I noticed the water temperature getting high again. This time it would get high and only slightly drop. When we reached McNeil Island and Balch Passage the water temperature guage needle just kept on going up. Something had to be done. So I turned to use a mooring buoy on the W side of Eagle Island. I stopped the boat and investigated the problem. I cleaned the raw water strainer, but also removed the hose that goes to the engine oil cooler. When I did that a golf ball sized lump of seaweed and junk popped out. I peered in and made sure that I got all the junk. I reconnected everything and the water temperature was much lower. So I got rid of this stress on me. However, as we were trying to tie up to the mooring buoy we got caught in the current and lost the boat hook. This didn't make me too happy. The problem was the current caught the boat and Josef didn't want to let go of the mooring buoy. There is no way you are strong enough to fight these forces - the current won. Minus one boat hook.
We
then continued on our way. The day was looking to be hot. I looked at the sea water temperature on the depth sounder and was amazed at how warm the water was. The farther we continued into South Sound the warmer the water got. I told Josef that if the sea water temperature got above 70F I was going to stop the boat and jump in. Finally as we were in Olympia Harbor, just between the #1 and #3 day markers I noticed the sea water temperature hit 75 F! True to my promise, I stopped the boat and jumped in. The water was very warm and it was refreshing to cool down a bit, but not as refreshing as I thought. I would have liked the sea water temperature to be a bit cooler. After our quick dip, we made our way into our slip at West Bay Marina at 1530. It is so hot out. Max came down to help us in.
We
then continued on our way. The day was looking to be hot. I looked at the sea water temperature on the depth sounder and was amazed at how warm the water was. The farther we continued into South Sound the warmer the water got. I told Josef that if the sea water temperature got above 70F I was going to stop the boat and jump in. Finally as we were in Olympia Harbor, just between the #1 and #3 day markers I noticed the sea water temperature hit 75 F! True to my promise, I stopped the boat and jumped in. The water was very warm and it was refreshing to cool down a bit, but not as refreshing as I thought. I would have liked the sea water temperature to be a bit cooler. After our quick dip, we made our way into our slip at West Bay Marina at 1530. It is so hot out. Max came down to help us in.Thanks be to God for a safe trip. We cruised about 728.8 total miles - both the Zipper and the Independence. Total miles for the trip, not including Zipper excursions and side trips, was 532.5 nautical miles. This took 90:25 hours. This calculates to an average speed of 5.89 knots. Total engine hours for the trip was 109.1.
Nm: 56.6 Avg. speed: 5.9 knots Time: 9:38 Hours: 10.1 Engine hours: 5949.5
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