Good Food & Good Company

Sunday, Sept. 6, 2010

I took Hank & Rocky - the dogs - to the beach so they could do their "dog stuff." Of course they ran all over the beach with Hank almost barking continuously. I'm sure other boats anchored in the bay wanting to sleep in enjoyed hearing dog barking. Oh well it was after 0800 anyway. Dave & Mary rowed over and watched the dogs play too.

Afterwards I went over and enjoyed a cup of coffee on the MV Explorer with Rob & Sandy. As I said earlier, I hadn't seen Sandy in over 30 years so we had a lot of catching up to do. We talked of then and now, and of course about boats. I invited them over for our traditional boat breakfast of corned beef hash.

Dave & Mary came, as well as Rob & Sandy. The galley was full with six (6) adults and two dogs. Kim had made a healthy batch of corned beef hash that was excellent. We sat around, supped together and chatted. It was a great time. By 1200 Dave & Mary left to make preparations to leave back to Olympia; they were going to sail back. Sandy & Rob stayed aboard for a bit longer and we continued to chat. Finally we bid them adieu and we too made preparations for leaving.

The wind was blowing about 12 knots from the SW but the sky seemed to be clearing. Although I knew that rain was on the way. It was tempting to stay another night at McMicken but we decided to head home. We weighed anchor at 1320. We cruised down Case Inlet, following the eastern shore of Hartstine Island until we spied the SV Mary O' Farrell under full sail in Dana Passage. Dave was enjoying the wind and a fair current. Prior to meeting the SV Mary O'Farrell I was doing 8 knots. I slowed down, circled the Mary O' Farrell just for fun, and then we motored on. There were quite a few sailboats out all enjoying the fair winds. It seemed that as we motored down Budd Inlet the wind abated a bit. There was no sign of any of the boating crowds because the tug boat races were long over. All that remained were the racing course markers. Kim met me at the dock because we had the Zipper. We got into our slip at 1400. We quickly unloaded the boat and then I sent Kim on her way back over to East Bay Marina so I could haul the Zipper.

It was a fun Labor Day weekend that makes boating oh so much fun and memorable. I really enjoyed meeting up with both the MV Explorer and the SV Mary O'Farrell.

Stats: 13.6 nm, average speed 5.1 knots, running time 2:39, ending engine hours 6076.1

Zipperin' to Allyn

Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010

Woke to cloudy skies and a brisk SW wind. Although for most of the night it was calm. After breakfast I cleaned up the Zipper. It was still filthy from our recent summer trip up the coast. So with lots of elbow grease and some scrubby pads I made her presentable.

We then went over to the SV Mary O'Farrell and picked up Dave & Mary for a Zipper trip to Allyn. We had a full crew contingent on the Zipper - Dave, Mary, Hank, Rocky, Kim and myself. The cruise up to Allyn was smooth for the most part with only rippled seas. We tied up to the Allyn dock and walked into town hoping to get some "Bubba's Big Burgers" but found it closed. So we walked farther down to "Leonard K's" and ordered some burgers and fish & chips to go. We walked back to the Port of Allyn beach front park and ate. While we ate we noticed that the wind from the SW was building - it was no longer rippled but about a 1' chop. We boarded the Zipper and started out neglected to notice that Hank's dog life jacket had been blown out of the boat. We flew S down Case Inlet at 20 knots riding over the tops of the chop.

We motored over into Jarrell's Cove where I was hoping to meet up with Sandy and Rob in the MV Explorer. Jarrell's Cove was quite crowded with all the dock space and mooring buoys taken. As we were motoring into Jarrell's Cove the MV Explorer had come in behind us. They looked for anchoring options and I encouraged them to join us in anchoring over at McMicken Island. Fortunately they decided to change their plans and join us. The wind had abated some for our quick cruise from Jarrell's Cove back to McMicken Island.

The MV Explorer arrived about 45 minutes later and anchored just behind the Independence. I hadn't seen Sandy in about 30 years and it was good to re-meet and catch up. The wind was brisk and cool from the SW.

Dave & Mary from the SV Mary O' Farrell came over for supper at 1900. We had a multi-course meal - smoked salmon appetizer, then my grilled spicy Vindaloo pork chops, corn on the cob, finished off with spicy red pepper scallop fettucine. It was a fun feast.

Zipper stats: 23 nm, average speed 15.1 knots, running time 1:42

McMicken Island Bound

Friday, Sept. 3, 2010

We launched the Zipper over at East Bay and then I drove the truck & empty trailer over to the marina and met Kim. She had Hank the dog as her crew mate for the short voyage, and I had Rocky the little demon dog for mine. This was going to be his first boat trip adventure.

We left the West Bay dock at 1450 for a Labor Day weekend trip to McMicken Island. Weather is mostly sunny and warm but the barometer is falling and there's mare's tails in the sky. I am reminded of the saying, "Mares tails and mackerel scales make lofty ships carry low sails." This means the weather is going to change. But for now it's a beautiful day. There's a 10+ knot breeze out of the WSW. Olympia is crowded because of the Harbor Days celebration and Tug Boat races.

When we left the tide was high, or near high, so we cruised straight up Budd Inlet instead of following the channel and going W around Olympia Shoal. We still stayed well E of the Olympia Shoal. Several other boats were plotting the same course which generally should be avoided because of shoal water. There were lots of boats out and boat traffic - boats coming into Olympia and Budd Inlet and boats leaving. We rounded Boston Harbor, made our way up Dana Passage and then N into Case Inlet. The cruise was quite enjoyable and uneventful.

We dropped the hook at 1730 and in 25' of water well W of McMicken Island, or about half-way between the island and the Hartstine Island shore. We were well N of the tombolo that connected McMicken Island to Hartstine and with the tide so high you saw no sign of it. There's a brisk SW breeze blowing through the anchorage. There's six boats here not counting the Independence.

After arriving I noticed that my depth sounder was not always working. I checked it and found that it was "chock-a-block" full of mussels to about the size of a volleyball. I layed down on the swim step and removed the little bastards - "no more free rides for you!"

We had a leisurely evening waiting for our friends in the SV Mary O'Farrell to arrive. They arrived just before 2000 and we met for a quick drink but we were all pretty tired, so the event was short lived. The SV Mary O'Farrell was anchored about 100 yards W of us.

Stats: 13.0 nm, average speed 5.4 knots, running time 2:44, ending engine hours 6073.2

Oil Change

6070.6 hours
Took advantage of some of the crew being out of town to do some needed engine maintenance. First, I checked to see if there was any "junk" on the leading end (intake) of the oil cooler. It was clean. Next I changed the injector oil. Its been over 50 hours, but the oil looked fine. Next I tackled the main engine oil change. Since I had no commitments I took my time to change the oil. First I sucked the oil out of the dip stick hole using the little portable oil changer pump which went quicker than I expected. I didn't start the engine to heat up the oil like I normally do. Rather the day was kind of warm and just sucked the oil out "cold." I had to use 3 containers to hold all the oil - or about 3.9 gallons. Next I removed all the old "oil zorb" pads and pillow out of the engine room. I didn't have an oil filter so I had to go to the store and buy a new Fram 8A oil filter. So when I took the oil up to the oil recycling center I went to the auto parts store too. When I came back I changed the oil filter and cleaned up. A trick I learned was to remove the oil filter bracket from the engine, then loosen the filter, then put a plastic zip lock bag around the filter and screw the filter off. When the filter is off, simply seal up the zip lock bag - no mess and no fuss. Finally I enjoyed a couple of fingers of whiskey after the oil changing project to relax. I'm ready for doing a little local cruise.

The last time the main engine oil was changed was at 5952.7 hours or 117.9 hours elapsed.

Post Trip Stats

I came down to the boat to tidy some things up, enjoy a finger or two of whiskey and quietly reminisce about the recent 2010 summer trip.

Here's some cumulative 2010 trip stats:

• Total engine hours for the trip: 112.6
• Total trip miles (not including Zipper excursions): 628.7 nm
• Total running time (not including Zipper excursions): 105 hours
• Average trip speed (not including Zipper excursions): 5.98 knots
• Average trip rpm (estimated): 1750 rpm
• Estimated fuel used (not including Zipper excursions): 175 gallons
• Nights anchored/moored out: 19
• Nights at a marina: 5
• Time spent: Priceless
  

Day 24 - Home

Saturday, July 31, 2010
We left our Eagle Island mooring buoy at 0655 under thick gray cloudy skies and a W wind about 10 knots or so. The current was flooding so we took advantage of it - although it was not flooding as hard as it was yesterday afternoon so the benefit to us was not that great. As we motored along I was hoping for more of a push from the flood current but it just never happened. So we took it slow - we were in no hurry to get home. Besides that, late yesterday I noticed that the temperature was a bit higher than normal, so there's probably a bunch of "junk" on the intake side of the oil cooler. Cruising through Central Puget Sound yesterday I noticed a lot of debris - eel grass, bits of kelp, algae, and other junk - in the water.

We had that persistent W - SW breeze all the way home; around Devils Head, down Dana Passage and into Budd Inlet. As it always is, it was relieving to round the Boston Harbor light and get your first glimpse of the state capitol and the end of our journey. I remembered the sailor's dilemma, "Can't wait to leave port, can't wait to get back." As we motored down Budd Inlet we started packing some things instinctively into bags and preparing for the end of our trip. Passing the #5 day mark into Olympia Harbor I started my chores of taking down the mast, radio antennas, and putting out the fenders. Just outside West Bay Marina Kim took the Zipper in and helped me bring the Independence into our slip. I noticed that we have two new sailboat neighbors on the other side of the finger pier and end of the dock. We'll haul the Zipper out this morning, since there's no convenient place to keep her for a day or two.

Well, it was a good safe trip. Once again the Independence took us the whole way up and back without any problems or concerns - she's a good boat. Thanks be to God for a safe trip.

All in all we traveled with the Zipper and Independence 667.7 nautical miles! We returned to our slip at 0940.

Stats: 15.3 nm, average speed 5.4 knots, running time 2:49, ending engine hours 6070.6.

Day 23 - Down the Sound

Friday, July 30, 2010

It is terribly foggy, you can't even see to the end of the breakwater, so the "viz" is about 1/4 mile or less. A neighboring motorsailer left at 0800 only to return because it was so "pea soupy out there." Earlier I heard the Kingston ferry do a "5 horn blast" probably because of some boater being in the ferry's way. By the time we decided to leave the fog was starting to lift and I didn't even have to turn on the radar. We left late so we would make the Tacoma Narrows on time to take advantage of the flood current on our last leg to home. We left Kingston late at 1005.

We motored out of Appletree Cove and into the Central Sound. The morning's fog and clouds were rapidly lifting to another clear and sunny day. There were quite a few boats out fishing and we avoided them and by the time we hit President Point they were all gone. I made for a way-point just off of the east side of Blake Island. I turned the helm over to Kim for a bit and I rested on the settee. It really was kind of boring cruising - there was no wind or boats, just heading S in the open central sound. By the time we hit the Blake Island waypoint I took over to do my "Colvos Passage thing" - that is, cruise close to the W shore of Vashon Island to take advantage of the back eddy. Besides that it makes it more interesting to see all the houses and stuff on shore. We made about 6.5 - 7 knots along the shore. I deviated from my route about 2/3 of the way down Colvos - near the Colvos #3 day marker - since the back eddy was kind of waning and I wasn't getting the speed I wanted. So I went straight and followed my GPS course to Pt. Richmond. We made Pt. Defiance according to schedule at 1526 (3:26 PM) and proceeded to ride the flood current into the South Sound. We started to make supper by Hyde Point on McNeil Island. As we were passing Eagle Island in Balch Passage I noticed that a mooring buoy on the W side of Eagle Island was available. So we decided to take advantage of it and stay out one more night.

Originally we planned to be in Olympia on Friday night to travel to Wenatchee by car on Saturday to pick up a new pup. But just before Eagle Island the lady we were getting the pup from called and said that Saturday was not available to pick up the pup. This further justified our staying out one more night. Besides that it was a beautiful sunny evening and now we were not in a hurry. We tied up to the mooring buoy at 1700.

We had already enjoyed supper so we lazily motored around the island in the Zipper enjoying the evening and sipping some after dinner drinks. There were plenty of Harbor seals about and a pair of bald eagles. A pair of Kingfishers were not happy with our interruption of there fishing and let us know with a noisy call. I then finished off the day with a cigar on the bow of the Independence.

As the evening wore on to night the weather changed to lots of low clouds and a 10-15 knot W wind which ended any sort of a peaceful evening and sleep.

Stats: 41.4 nm, average speed 6.0 knots, running time 6:56, ending engine hours 6067.5.

Day 22 - On to Kingston

Thursday, July 29, 2010
We untied from our mooring buoy at 0610 under foggy skies. Visibility was about 1 mile or less. I turned on the radar just to be safe. We cruised against an ebb current making only 4.5 knots or less to about Strawberry Point, Whidbey Island and Skagit Bay. Once we passed Strawberry Point we rode the southerly ebb to our advantage out of Saratoga Passage. It was pretty easy cruising in that there weren't too many boats out, and the weather was fairly calm. I laid down at about Columbia Beach (just after we passed the Clinton ferry) and let Kim take the helm until we reached about Possession Point - about an hour later. We had low clouds all the way to Kingston when it quickly burned off. Just by the Kingston ferry dock in the outer cove, Kim got into the Zipper and met me at the dock. We got to Kingston and tied up at the dock at about 1320 (1:20 PM). Initially we pulled into a slip because the gas dock was busy, however then we went over to the gas dock and filled up with diesel.

I put 150 gallons of diesel in at $2.90 a gallon for a total of $435.02. We last got fuel at 5967.7 hours which calculates to be 92.3 hours which calculated to be 1.63 gph! Most of our cruising rpm was at 1750 rpm which was a bit lower than years past.

It's good to be in Kingston. We've cruised 102 hours so far. We'll have a long cruising day tomorrow. We went up to Bella Luna for our traditional supper of a "Morgan's Special Pizza." As always it was very good. We ate about half, boxed the other half for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch for the cruise down.

Like yesterday, there was a minus tide around 1230-1300. As we were coming into to Appletree Cove I hailed a 30' planing cruiser boat on the VHF which was headed towards Appletree Cove Point but a bit too close to shore. I said, "You're cruising a bit to close to shore and as you get to the point it will be shoal." He was cruising fast and I don't think he payed attention to my radio call. As he approached the point he came to a dead stop. I think he discovered the shoal.

We met another boater from Olympia who had a blue heeler dog just like Hank. We chatted for a bit. He was just starting his vacation while we were ending ours. I passed on some of my boating knowledge during our conversation since he was a relatively new boater.

Stats: 43.6 nm, average speed 5.9 knots, running time 7:22, ending engine hours 6060.0.

Day 21 - Short cruise day

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

I got up early to get doughnuts at the "doughnut shop" in Friday Harbor - cinnamon rolls, maple bars, and chocolate covered cake donuts - one with sprinkles and one with nuts. This is kind of a tradition that we've doing over the past few years.

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Left Friday Harbor at 0815 under foggy skies. We turned the radar on after just getting out of Friday Harbor for our cruise up Upright Channel. We used it until we just got past Flat Point in Upright Channel. I was worried about a ferry encounter like we experienced last year, but we could easily see the ferry regardless of radar or not. He passed us heading S down Upright Channel just before Flat Point. We rounded Upright Head and worked our towards Thatcher Pass, passing Leo Rocks to our starboard side. The boat traffic was increasing; it seemed that most boats were leaving the San Juans, but a few are coming into the San Juans too. After Thatcher Pass we turned down the small channel between James Island and Decatur Island riding a pretty healthy ebb right into Rosario Strait. As we passed the southern end of James Island I worked our way towards Bird Rocks and was making a good 9 knots or more taking advantage of the ebb. Using this ebb to our advantage, we crabbed our way across the Strait moving more S than E. Again it was strange pointing the bow to the E, but the course was more southerly. In the center of Rosario Strait it was a bit rolly from Juan de Fuca Strait but not too bad - it just made our ride a bit uncomfortable with a side-to-side roll. We made Deception Pass at 1130 which was a bit early for slack but it was no problem working our way against the ebb current in the pass. We rounded Hoypus Point on Whidbey Island and headed towards Hope Island where we hoped we could get a mooring buoy for the night.

There's four mooring buoys at Hope Island State Park; #1 is the farthest W and #4 is the farthest E along the N Hope Island shore. Initially we took buoy #2 but found that we were almost touching bottom. There was a minus tide. According to the depth sounder (located at the stern) we only had ONE foot of water between the keel and the bottom. I took a look and could see that when I engaged the prop we were churning up muddy water. Too shallow for me. So we moved on to buoy #4. Buoy #4 had 7 feet of water but it seemed way too close to shore. After we tied up to the buoy it seemed that there was only 15-20 feet between us (stern of the boat) and the shore. I still chose to take this buoy since the tide was rising and there was more water beneath us than at mooring buoy #2. The next low tide was not really low and we would not be challenged with low water. We tied up to mooring buoy #4 by 1218.

We made lunch and then about 1330 the heavy clouds begain to clear and by 1400 we enjoyed clear skies. After lunch we took the Zipper over to Skagit Island and the marine trail campsite where we spent the afternoon on the beach. We then came back to the Independence and had a nice supper of European wieners and home fried potatoes. Later, Josef called us and told us he was signing with the Oceanside (Parksville) Generals.

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Stats: 24.3 nm, average speed 6.0 knots, running time 4:02, ending engine hours 6052.4

Day 20 - Back in the US

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

An absolutely still night made for a very good sleep. There wasn't a ripple or a breath of wind all night long.

We untied from the mooring buoy at Montague Harbor at 0615 for the next leg of our journey - on to Friday Harbor and the US. We left under clear skies and that persistent NW wind of about 10 knots. As we motored down Trincomali Channel, into Navy Channel, and into Plumper Sound we had a brisk SE wind of 10 knots. We seemed to be fighting the current most of the way to Friday Harbor. Crossing Haro Strait/Boundary Pass was lumpy. We crossed the border at about 0846. There were quite a few boats out.

One funny comment, as we were crossing Boundary Pass, we saw a large cruise ship heading W. The VHF radio crackled "This is the Princess of the Seas, calling the Pacific Pearl." "This is the Pacific Pearl. " Princess: "Good morning skipper, what are your intentions?" Pacific Pearl: "We're going to pick up speed and try to cut across your bow." Princess: "Are you sure skipper? We're doing almost 30 knots. I don't think that would be too wise. We're pretty heavy." Pacific Pearl: "Okay skipper we'll slip in behind you." Princess: "Wise choice skipper. Have a great day." Pearl: no answer. Kim and I laughed and laughed. We're familiar with the Pacific Pearl. It's a 40+ foot cruiser. It also proves my axiom, "Never ever mess with a ship."

Once again we found ourselves crabbing across Boundary Pass. I had the bow pointed almost towards Jones Island but the current was pushing us W. We were not making good speed, only about 4+ knots. Once we passed our waypoint W of Jones Island and in San Juan Channel we stared picking up speed towards Friday Harbor. We called Friday Harbor for a slip and were put on a waiting list at #6. Meanwhile we headed for the customs dock. After what seemed to be an eternity a customs agent came down to the boat and asked for our papers and just looked at the boat from the dock. He asked a few questions then left. He told me to wait and then pick up the customs phone. Next thing you know the customs phone rang, I answered, and it was a different customs agent. I answered their questions and was granted permission to enter the US with clearance #: 301420100727142547. One interesting thing I did find out though was that this was the busiest pleasure boat port of entry in the US.

When I returned to the boat, Kim told me that we had received our slip assignment: E21. Kim went off in the Zipper to meet me at the finger pier and help me in. Fortunately the current was not running and I got into the slip - bow in, starboard tie - without any problem. We finally got all tied up at 1150. I was exhausted.

We called Ted Leche - our good friend and retired Episcopalian priest who's wife had recently passed away - to see if he wanted to visit. We enjoyed a beer and snacks down at the boat and then went up to Herb's Tavern for supper. Kim was in the mood for a cheeseburger. Kim had a blue cheese and bacon burger, and I had the beer batter fish and chips. It was really good. After supper I came back to the boat and crashed. I always get so nervous about going through customs and the current in Friday Harbor. I know, I know there's nothing to worry about. And there wasn't.

Stats: 28.1 nm, average speed 5.3 knots, running time 5:20, ending engine time 6048.0.