Just Like Ketchikan

I've traveled the water route of the Kwakiutls, the Haida's, and the Tshimshian's, through the maze of islands and green water to a land of where there is no shoreline, just steep rocky shores. I remembered my trips to Alaska, but no I was still securely tied up to my slip. It's just that when I look outside its just like being in Ketchikan. There's just enough rain to make you wet going down the dock, but at the same time not enough to bother you. You notice the concentric circles the drops make in the water, but again they're not so many to really notice that it is raining. Finally there is no relief to the sky just grey, ubiquitous grey. Standing outside my boat looking at Puget Sound really mentally took me back to SE Alaska.

As with other Friday afternoons I tinkered around a bit and then started the engine. It roared to life easily. I reduced the throttle to 500-600 RPM and then put it in gear to let the transmission get a work out too. The boat tugged at its mooring lines wanting to leave but I checked them they're tight and snug. We are not going any where today, except where my imagination takes me. I let the boat run in gear for about 30 or so minutes, before I shut her down.

A friend from North Vancouver Island calls and says, "We're thinking of cruising to Dixon Entrance and up Alice Inlet." Funny I tell them it looks just like SE now in Olympia. They comment that in Port McNeill the weather is nice. Again they ask, "You coming with us this summer?" I reply that at this time I am unsure. I tell them the grey has got me down in the dumps. My "grey mind" reminds me of the endless hours of motoring, not the scenery, the crabbing, the fishing, the adventure. I am grey just like the sky and water. Disappointed they leave me with a final jab - Canada will win hockey gold over the US. I hang up and return to my grey mood. Not even that jab could get me out of my grey funk.

I must have sent out vibrations to the world that I am feeling grey because others call and text me about adventure and exciting things. I remain grey. I call a friend in Ketchikan and she replies that "Yep yesterday was grey, but today is beautiful with sunny skies." I am undeterred in my mood. I am grey. By now the outside grey has turned to black. I figure I better leave my Friday visit to my floating refuge before I turn black myself. Just then as I stow away things in the cabin I begin to feel the warmth of the boat, I stop and pour a final finger of rye, and then it magically comes back to me the memories of warm days, green water, mountains, ravens, orcas, and eagles. The adventure that always made me go beyond Puget Sound. To follow the trail of the Kwakiutls, the Haida's and Tshimshians. Hmmm? Alice Inlet? I continue to think about that as I walk down the dock in the light rain, I was dry but now I am wet again. Just like Ketchikan.

Jimmy Buffet Songs In My Head

As I walked down the dock, I started humming a Jimmy Buffet tune, "Changes in Lattitudes, Changes in Attitudes." I particularly liked the phrase, "Good times and riches and son of bitches I've seen more than I can recall." Bottom line for me though was the chorus line, "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane." Now, ain't that the truth.

I re-tied the dinghy sitting on its side on the dock, checked other lines, and went inside the boat. I poured myself a stiff one because it was a long week and I had a lot of reflecting to do. The only way I can stay sane is by sitting in the port-side chair, sippin' some rye, looking out at the water, and slowly recanting each of the week's past events. One good note though is that this blog got recognized by Motor Boating Magazine as its "Blog of the Week." Woo hoo. Unfortunately, I noticed I must be doing a lot of this reflectin' lately because inside the cabin is getting to be a mess. The cabin sole needs sweeping, there's things that need to be stowed away, decks need sweeping and cleaning, and the engine oil needs changing. Oh my, what kind of skipper am I?

Funny as soon as I realized this the CD player was playing Buffet's song "Sandbar." Coincidence or is there a message here? Well I took the easy way out and poured myself another two fingers of rye, picked up the log book and re-read some past cruising entries. I figured this would get me out of my funk, off the mental sandbar, and get to doing some chores. Nah, instead I looked out the window some more and simply dreamed of far away anchorages and warm days. Winters in the NW can be just too depressing. Oh my, I was really stuck on this mental sandbar.

By now the Jimmy Buffet CD was playing the song "They're sending the old man home, back to where the buffalo roam." Huh? Again, coincidence or is there some sort of mystic message being sent to me? I was about to go into a trance but my cell phone rang reminding me that I was still attached to shore and reality. "Yes, I will be home soon" I mumbled into the phone. By now "Margaritaville" was playing and I had the strong urge to pour another finger or two of rye, but no; my short dock-side trip was drawing nigh. I picked up a few things around the cabin, checked to make sure the galley pump was off, turned of the CD player and lights, and exited out of the cabin via the stern door and my Friday adventure was once again over.

As I walked down the dock toward shore and another week I found myself humming the tune to a song, "So young Mr. Moon flew away in the night with his best friend Magnus right by his side; The sun was rising, they’d be home by noon, humming the words to this magical tune."

Starts Right Up!

We've had snow, and several days of very cold temperatures. So cold that a thin layer of ice even covered the salt water around the marina. No, it's not that cold that salt water is freezing but cold enough for the thin layer of fresh water on top to freeze. I came down just before the cold snap and plugged in a small space heater in the main cabin. Prior to this the cabin temp was about 40F. Now it's just above 50 F. However, now the cold spell has passed and we're starting to get back to normal Puget Sound temperatures of the mid 40's.

I lifted the main engine room access lid and gave a peek - no excess water in the bilge. So I decided to start 'er up. I checked the battery levels, moved the throttle lever forward, turned the key, and pushed the button... about 9 seconds later the engine came to life. Good. I then adjusted the throttle lever to about 700 RPM and put her in gear to let her idle in gear at the dock. Meanwhile I poured my self a couple fingers of whiskey and pondered warmer times and faraway places. The purring of the engine, and gentle vibration throughout the cabin helped me think of cruising to some distant anchorage. I remained in this semi-lucid dream state for about 30 minutes when I checked the engine temperature gauge to see if she had warmed up enough. Sure enough she was warmed up. I then took her out of gear, revved her up, let her idle for a moment more, then hit the kill switch. All quiet.

I finished my drink and thought some more of distant anchorages and warmer times. I turned the space heater down and put it in the aft cabin. Turned off all the lights and locked her up. Another Friday done.

Doo doo doo looking out my front...

Fall is definitely here. I had to break out the portable space heater and plug it in to warm up the main cabin. It was a long and all too busy week at work, so the peace and quiet here in the Independence is so appreciated. Several thundershowers are moving through the area bringing wind and heavy rains, along with the occasional thunder and lightning. The wind whips through the marina, and the rain pounds the covered moorage roof. In between showers the sun briefly shines and I got to witness at least three rainbows over the Olympia Harbor. I took a picture of one these rainbows, but alas a cell phone camera is not the finest in photographic quality.

The Capt'n of the SV Mary O'Farrell stopped by and brought a bottle of very fine Pyrat Rum. I brought out the British Navy regulation rum ration cups and we treated ourselves to two rations of rum. As a result the conversation turned from casual chit-chat to some pretty heady stuff. And, another ration was enjoyed. It's always good to see Capt'n Dave. The conversation faded off after the SV Mary O'Farrell's First Mate (both literally and figuratively) showed up.

Another Friday passed.

October

Went down last night and started the boat. It started right up within 5 seconds. I let it run for almost 30 min at idle in gear.

The wind was really blowing down at the marina. I retied the dingy lines securing it to the dock and keeping it off of the piling. I also re-checked the mooring lines. I put on an extra spring line to keep the boat from moving forward in the slip. When it does this the bow gets the detritus from the moorage roof and it makes a mess.

I've got to replace the no. 3 battery and give her an oil change. I checked the bilge and it looked dry. I've got to spend some time just cleaning some things up.

I spent some time sipping a glass of whiskey and watching the wind on the water blow through the slips and causeway. It was a very long week and this is my "man cave" and refuge to reflect and renew.

Back home - Olympia

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.

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

Kingston

Monday, July 27, 2009. Day 23.
Clear skies and calm seas. We left the Skagit Island mooring buoy at 0630 to continue our trip home. We had perfectly calm seas to about Francis Bay in Saratoga Passage. Not too many boats out either. I layed down at Francis Bay and got up again when we reached Sandy Point on Whidbey Island. There's a light N/NW breeze of about 5 knots. It's going to be a hot day. We're making good speed after rouding Rocky Point, we're averaging over 6.5 knots.

As we were going around Possession Point I noticed that the water temperature guage was fluctuating a bit. It would climb and then drop. I kept an eye on it but wasn't too bothered. What I did notice is that there was a lot of seaweed and junk in the water.

I joined JoJo up on the flying bridge crossing from Saratoga Passage across Puget Sound to Kingston. We made it into Kingston at 1330 and headed to the fuel dock. I got 210 gallons at $2.39/gal or $504.01. Since we last filled up, 117.3 engine hours have elapsed, which figures to be about 1.79 gallons/hour. We then went over to our slip and tied up for the day.

It's very hot here in Kingston. It's clear, cloudless, and windless. We all took cold showers to cool off. Later we went to Luna Bella for our traditional dinner and our traditional pizza - "Morgan's Special." As usual it was very good. We topped it off with ice cream - we were all stuffed.

Nm: 43.8 Avg. speed: 6.4 knots Time: 6:52 Hours: 7.2 Engine hours: 5939.4

FOG

Sunday, July 26, 2009. Day 22.

Woke to partly cloudy skies and light winds. We met our good friends from Olympia - Dave & Mary Delong - who were up meeting with Mary's Mom & Dad who live in Friday Harbor. We decided to have breakfast at the Friday Harbor Donut Shop. This place serves great breakfasts, has great doughnuts, is very popular, and as a result very crowded. We had a great time eating and chatting. It is always so good to see the Delongs and Mary's parents the Leche's.

As the morning progressed the fog rolled in. It got quite soupy. We left Friday Harbor with a full send off from the Delongs and Leche's. The fog was very thick all the way to Leo Reef. As we were leaving Friday Harbor we had a couple of boats follow us although they had radar too. We went up Upright Channel past Flat Point and to Upright Head on Lopez Island. Just past Upgright Head where the ferry docks for Lopez Island I had to to do an emergency turn around because the ferry was wanting to dock at Lopez. You couldn't see the ferry until he was less than 1/8 mile away. This was very stressful. I wonder what the boats following me thought when all of a sudden I'm turning around. All in all we made it through this challenge fine and shortly thereafter the fog cleared. We went through Thatcher Pass and into Rosario Strait where we rode a healthy ebb all the way down to Deception Pass. We made Deception Pass at about 1305.

There were lots of boats attempting to go through Deception Pass both E and W at the same time. We had one big yacht fly by us with a 6' or more wake just feet from our port side. To say the least I was not too happy. I let him know my displeasure. Of course his reply was "get out of the way."

As we rounded Hoypus Point we could see that the N shore of Hope Island was crowded with anchored boats and the mooring buoys were all taken. So we cruised over to the N side of Skagit Island and found an open mooring buoy. Initially I was a bit concerned since the mooring buoy is very close to shore, but we tied up and decided to give it a try. The wind blew right out of Deception Pass briskly and right into where we were tied up. It was not too peaceful. We went to shore and explored the Marine Trail Campsite. We also played another game of waterfetch with Hank. You couldn't throw the stick out too far into the water since the current was quite strong.

Nm: 23.6 Avg. speed: 6.1 knots Time: 3:51 Hours: 4.1 Engine hours: 5932.2

Back in the US

Saturday, July 25, 2009. Day 21.
We left Montague at 0610 to continue our trip S. Weather was calm with a few clouds. We went down Navy Channel & Plumper Sound and crossed over into the US at approximately 0825.

As we were cruising we heard a fellow Olympia boater the "Velocity" on the radio. I hailed them and we had a short chat. It was nice to connect to somebody from home when you are out.

We continued on down San Juan Channel and into Friday Harbor at 1030. We stopped at the Customs dock and got our clearance number: 3014200907251333334. I don't know why but clearing customs is always a bit nerve wracking for me. This time, while I was talking on the shore phone to Customs a boat tide up in front of us and let a bunch of people off. The Customs area is very visibly marked CUSTOMS ONLY. Next thing the Customs agent is asking me who these people are and what are they doing. He then became interested in them and not so interested in me. He quickly processed us and sent us on our way. We then proceeded to slip G50.

Friday Harbor is a time to get showers, and reconnect with friends and family in the US - we did both. The the marina showers were quite busy and we had to wait for quite some time. We then did our customary trip to the Front Street Ale House. As always I had the "Bangers, Bubbles and Squeak" for dinner. Josef had Prime Rib. I was a little "freaked" because of all the people coming and going. After being weeks out in the wilderness and now you see all these people it takes some getting used to.

As the day turned into evening we were presented with a spectacular show of lightening and thunder as a storm passed just overhead. I watched and counted the seconds after seeing the lightning and figured it struck not more than 2 miles away.

Nm: 27.9 Avg. speed: 6.1 kts. Time: 4:33 Hours: 4.8 Ending hours: 5928.1

Montague - Last Night in Canada

Friday, July 24, 2009. Day 20.

The SE winds that blew through the Newcastle anchorage died down late in the evening and we had a very peaceful night. Newcastle Harbor is a busy anchorage being right across from Nanaimo and being a popular marine park. Also, it was Friday night so you could hear people talking, arguing, and partying late into the night. That's one thing about Newcastle - welcome back to civilization after being in the wilderness.

We woke to partly cloudy skies and no wind. We weighed anchor very early at 0525 to get through Dodd Narrows. We made it to Dodd at 0624, about 15 min. past slack, and ebbing in our favor of pushing us S through the Narrows. Because it was so early, we only had to contend with 3 boats instead of the usual parade of boats when later in the day - this was nice. Trincomali Channel was perfectly calm with only an occasional ripple here and there all the way to Montague Harbor. We experienced very few boats from Dodd to Montague. We got to Montague at 0950 and got a mooring buoy. Kim took Hank immediately to the beach. Skies are overcast but no threat of rain. I enjoyed that we were not anchoring, we just had to tie up to a mooring buoy.

We spent the afternoon being lazy. We went to the park and a short walk to the beach facing W, or opposite of the harbor. It was a hot afternoon and there were quite a few people out. We found a secluded spot on down and made it our. I played water fetch with Hank and he enjoyed that a lot again. We whiled away the afternoon doing nothing. Finally we returned to the boat and made some grilled chicken for dinner. We used the recipe that I invented back at Beaver Inlet. It was very good - again.

Nm: 28 Avg. speed: 6.3 kts. Time: 4:25 Hours: 4.9 Ending hours: 5923.3