The Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina

A Break in the Weather

2012-01-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

After snow, ice, wind and rain storms have pelted the Pacific Northwest in the last few weeks, I take a trip south to visit Shatoosh and Pashmina. The sky is blue, but the temperature is in the high 30's. All the marina dredging has been completed that started this month. This project has been 7 years in the works, so I am certain the owners are happy to get this project checked off their list. I also see some new metal pilings that have been placed at the north side.

I had purchased a new IPhone 4 so I have been busy leaning how to operate it. I learned that all my old ipod Mini chargers(house, boat and car) will function with the phone, so I don't have to buy new chargers, which is a relief. I remove all my old phone chargers, belt clips to bring them home for recycling. John, in Georgia, who is building his hardtop for Ms Bettencourt has asked for some new measurements on grab bars and radar mount. This will give me a good opportunity to test out the phone-camera. Today I had enough signal to send emails from the slip to John. Things are looking up.

My radar is a small JRC 1000, which is no longer made. I bought the mount from West Marine in 2003. It is a Power Tower made by Scan Strut, Universal, 5 inch forward leaning and is thru bolted into the eyebrow of the hardtop. This means it is outside of the helm station and the radar cable is then run along the underside of the hardtop and enters the cabin on the starboard side. The excess cable is stored in the storage area beneath the helm station flooring.

I start the engine and the diesel heater and get the boat nice and warm to take some inventories of supplies, and to check things out. I keep a list of spare parts/numbers, clothes on board and keep them in the note section on the phone. That way I always know what is on board and can buy the right item when I am at the marine stores.

After all items done, I call a friend who lives nearby in a retirement community and pay her a visit. She is 86 and very spry, but she needs helps getting a bookcase into her car from the local store. We head out to take care of that, but I find in the car port an older couple taking groceries out of their car. She is all bent over hobbling on a cane and he is wrestling a recalcitrant cart. He looses his footing and I watch in slow motion as he topples over and hear the sound of "crack" as his head hits the asphalt. He is alert, oriented and refuses to have 911 called. I get the bleeding stopped on his head and assess that nothing is broken. His wife has recently had a stroke, my friend probably weighs 90 pounds, so between the old man and me, we are able to get him up and he walks into the house. I encourage him to get checked out medically and later learn his daughter gets him to the ER and he is fine. This could have been a very serious injury. I get my friend to the store and get her bookcase unboxed and set up for her. Life after 85 is not easy, so they tell me.

My Big World Gets Smaller

2012-01-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

Kristi and Al live aboard their wooden Monk designed, MV Viking Star, and are spending the winter in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. I check into their wonderful blog http://mvvikingstar.blogspot.com regularly since meeting them this summer. This was Kristi's post the other day, which shows the boating world with blogging and boat forums, that we are just one big boating family. It is so nice to be able to read other boating blogs, which I routinely encourage new blogs to be written by my fellow Albin owners, but I am always surprised to read about me and my boats. Thanks Kristi and its great you and Al are enjoying Friday Harbor so much this winter.

"Saturday, January 14, 2012

It's a Small World!

Last summer we introduced ourselves to Hira by knocking on her boat Shatoosh and announcing 'We follow your blog!" She invited us aboard and she told us stories of her FBR's as she calls them -- Faceless Blog Readers.

We suspect that we have a few too -- people who check out our blog, occasionally OR regularly, without going through the rigamarole of signing up to be an official Follower.

Well, today, we had OUR first knock on the boat with the words, 'I found your blog!' It was Amy and her dog out for a morning walk. She had seen our boat name, and looked us up. I turned to Al and said 'I'll have to let Hira know we have our first FBR's!' Amy didn't recognize when I said that we followed 'The Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina'. http://shatooshandpashmina.blogspot.com

She and her husband had brought their boat over last night to see 'The Muppets', held over at the Palace Movie Theater here in Friday Harbor. They live on Orcas Island, on the other side of Mt. Constitution. Turns out, their boat is an Albin, just the kind that Hira skippers. She told us that they meet at Roche Harbor the second weekend in September, and we said that Shatoosh had been there last summer! She asked again what Hira's name was, and then said 'Well, I know Hira!'"

_____________

Speaking of interesting blogs, 2 tandem Albin 27's are cruising in Florida and have crossed the state via Lake Okeechobee and will be heading south along the west coast of Florida to the Keys. They have had their fair share of troubleshooting problems. See my link below to Carol and Jim's blog: Always an Adventure..In Slow Motion.

Winter Projects: Mine and Others

2012-01-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

Albin owners are busy with their winter projects and since returning from Texas I have made one trip to Shatoosh and Pashmina. They have weathered my long absence well, but needed a good scrubbing. The marina is getting a good, but overdue dredging, so boats and docks have been moved about and hopefully, I can make an outing within the next few days, as the weather looks promising.

I have been helping some Albin boaters with their projects; John in Georgia is now well into building his hardtop, which is looking good, Anton is re-powering his engine with a Volvo MD2030 B, like Shatoosh's, so I was photographing the engine the other day, and today I sent off a tracing of my swim platform for Nick in Illinois.

I will need to get Pashmina's Impresa to the graphic guy in Olympia, so she can have a new look. There is a lot of routine maintenance on the upcoming docket, all of which will keep me busy.

My Last Day in Texas

2012-01-03T22:07:00.000-08:00

My Favorite

The sun is out, the sky is blue, so with our stomachs full of our last enchiladas, we head north on the back road to the upper valley to find a very unique old Mexican door warehouse. We could hang out here for hours, rummaging through the vast array of doors, saddles, hinges, benches and chuck wagons. This place is like nothing I have seen. What a fun afternoon.

Second Favorite

Too Tall was looking for a small land yacht and we
thought this might be a good fixer upper for him, now that he is in Texas.

I decide to rope this hombre

Still a cowgirl at heart

Not much agua in this canteen

Glad I don't have to ride this saddle

Maybe this has some Corona in the keg.

2012 Happy New Year

2012-01-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite presents I got for Christmas was a new ditty bag for Pashmina 2 that has her impresa on it. I can't wait to go out and put it to use.

I'm still in the Texas desert and getting ready to return home to Washington state. I have abandoned my dock shoes for boots and have been to all places Texican and New Mexican to eat my fill of tacos and to make some dinero at the local casinos/racetrack.

Leave Your Boots At The Door

Travels this Christmas

Hira and Jean at Old Mesilla, NM

The Plaza at Old Mesilla

Modern Indian Artwork
Inn of the Mountain Gods
Apache Indian Reservation

Approaching Snow Storm
El Paso, Tx

The Plaza El Paso

San Jacinta Plaza El Paso, Texas

A New Blog for Albins

2011-12-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

John Stokes in Georgia owns Ms Bettencourt, an Albin 25, HN 1117(Shatoosh is 1124). He has recently started a new project of fabricating a hardtop, similar to Shatoosh's. With my encouragement he has taken on the task of documenting it on his new blog. Let's stay tuned in and watch his progress.
http://msbettencourtsnewtop.blogspot.com/

John, thank you so much for starting up this blog, as it is important that we all share, so we can make upgrades to our Albin fleet.

Blog and Faceless Readers

2011-11-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

The Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina

After cruising over 6,800nm on 70 navigable waterways in the California Delta, the Columbia, Snake and Willamette Rivers, Shatoosh, an Albin 25 HN 1124, and Pashmina, an adorable Zodiac, head north along the Pacific coastal waters of Washington and gain entrance to the great Salish Sea...the Adventures continue and Pashmina is replaced with Pashmina 2, an 8 foot Porta Bote.
I always kept a type written log of the Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina and inserted photos, just like I do now with the blog. I would give my crew a copy so they could have their own log and I kept a copy on board so others could read it. In July 2008 my niece showed me how to create a blog and in minutes I had it up and running. The blog and having a Verizon Broadband Netbook really changed my life on the water. I could blog anywhere I had a cell signal. This summer while on land at LaPush the signal was poor, but just offshore it was good. I didn't put a counter on the blog until Sept of 2010 and while we have not gone viral by any means, there are lots of people from around the world reading the blog, enjoying it, learning from it, motivated and inspired by it. I never would have thought my simple little blog would impact so many and be read world wide. Based on present hits, I compute about 51,000 hits since the beginning of the blog.

This summer I met so many readers while cruising in Washington state and people introduced themselves as blog readers when they saw Shatoosh tied to their local dock. I even went out of my way to meet a faceless blog reader on Lummi Island, which turned out to be a wonderful side trip.Very few people cruise to Lummi as there are no marinas, but I discovered a jewel of an anchorage in Inati Bay, which I learned the Bellingham boaters have kept a tight lip on this anchorage. It is spectacular. It has been wonderful to meet and hear from so many readers, while few people make comments in the comment section, they do email me on occasion.

To date there are over 60 countries reading or checking out the blog and while most are in the USA, I am amazed and often wonder who would be reading the blog in Bangledesh, Pakistan, Slovenia, Estonia or Nepal. Whoever you are, where ever you live, please know I am forever grateful that you are interested in my simple life on board a simple boat traveling on some, not so simple, waterways.

I send you all blessings for a good life and thank you for all your support.

2011 Cruising Season

2011-11-27T17:40:00.000-08:00

The Pacific north west continues to be plummeted with gale winds and flooding rain storms. My cruises have come to an end for this year and what a year it has been. 2011 has been my most traveled year (1244 nm), since buying Shatoosh in 1999 which culminated in bringing Shatoosh and Pashmina to the Salish Sea, near my home in Puyallup,WA.

After 8 years of exploration on the Columbia, Willamette and Snake Rivers, I headed down river for my final run in May 2011. In June, Joyce, my able-bodied first mate from Arizona, and I crossed the Columbia River Bar and harbor hopped our way up the coast bringing Shatoosh and Pashmina to the Puget Sound for a

run of 470nm. With 2 months of local cruising under our keel, I headed north in August-September for a 5 week cruise to the San Juan Islands and returning to our new home port at Zittel’s Marina in the south sound for a run of 431nm.

It has taken me 11 years to leisurely accomplish my goal of cruising the navigable rivers on the west coast of the United States.While I know of a couple rivers I missed, I am proud to have cruised 70 of them and only bumped Shatoosh’s bottom 4 times and ran hard aground once on the Napa river. My ole Delta buddy, Conrad departed this world this year. He planted the seed in my spirit to move Shatoosh to the Columbia River and tutored me in the exploration of the Columbia, Snake and Willamette River Systems. I think of him often as I look around Shatoosh and see his footprint everywhere on my boat and in my life. He fiberglassed my hardtop, designed and installed my folding bench seat, hand-carved a small replica of Shatoosh, which sits atop my depth sounder. He knew about my big 2011 plan to cruise up the Washington coast and whole hearted gave me his stamp of approval. I am so grateful for knowing him.

I have had soooo much support from friends, family, marina owners, boat truckers, blog readers from around the world, Albin owners, Chamber of Commerce people and all my crew. I have thanked them along the way or gave them special mention in my blog. It has been a fantastic year and I look forward to more Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina, as we explore more of the Salish Sea in 2012. Thank you all for everything you do to support me, so I can continue to turn my dream. into reality.

Tweaking Pashmina 2's Impresa

2011-11-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

I continue to play around with my impresa for Pashmina 2, to fine tune the elements. I sit quietly with a new, clean sheet of paper, close my eyes and open myself for universal assistance. There needs to be clearer lines and something is missing.

It doesn't take long to capture the missing piece to the design. and to fine tune the images. While I have scanned the image, the colors are not accurate. This can all be fixed in the professional design process when the graphic is made.

Again, the elements are:

1. The waxing crescent moon brings light onto new adventures for us.
2. The orb(circle) holds the focal point of the energy of our journey as we travel through zillions of water droplets in the magical Salish Sea. We are all part of this Circle of Life.
3. Pashmina 2 offers new freedom for me to explore and the eagle represents this.
4. I needed a boat that is tough as nails and won't destruct on rough beaches...and the eagles talons are strong as nails.
5. The rings represent the great cedars and firs that we will encounter.
6. The salmon make their way from the small creeks and rivers to the ocean and return again to create new life. Pashmina 2 will carry me back and forth from sea to rivers and I will always emerge renewed, refreshed, and ready for another adventure.
7. The beautiful sand dollars that grace my favorite Island in the Sound, represent the delicate aquatic forms of life that fascinate us and create an unbelievable underwater ecosystem.

I sit back, knowing the impresa is complete. This design truly supports our exploration of the Salish Sea and know Pashmina 2 will be happy to have this grace her hull.

What Are Orbs?

2011-11-22T13:37:00.000-08:00

orbs, during rain, Brazil.
Taken by Hira

After posting numerous photos of orbs over my blogging years, someone has finally asked ”What are orbs”? Thank you, Carol Warren on Slow Motion in Florida, for asking. This is a highly controversial issue and has come under more scrutiny since digital photography immerged. Most pro-orb believers think orbs are a form of consciousness gathering in areas and are captured digitally/film. The con people, of course, don’t believe anything of the sort, and say they are rain drops, dust particles, or artifacts.

Large groupings of orbs swirling in areas, are referred to “plasma” and can be found in highly energized areas, such as vortex areas, holy or sacred places, cemeteries or in highly isolated areas. I have seen orbs/plasma in my photos(digital and film), in day light/darkness, with or without a flash, clean or dirty lens, digital camera or 35mm Point and Shoot camera for decades. To complicate the picture, many people have seen orbs with their naked eye, and state they can communicate with them.

My g-g grandfather's grave
in central Texas on 35mm film

One single orb on galley towel
Columbia River daylight without flash

Behind Cottonwood Island, Columbia River at sunset
without flash. Note movement of plasma on left side.

Just as I am writing this and want to tell Carol, who asked the question, she makes a comment on the blog. I am about to type: Carol, since she is such a wonderful photographer that if she went back to old photos I'm sure she would see orbs. Carol, and to answer your question, "no, you don't have to believe, to see them on photos." 15 years ago when I took the photo of my gg grandfather's grave and saw the beam of light either going in or coming out of the grave, I remember saying," gosh, what is this?" It changed my life, by adding another dimension to it.

Take a look at this site for more information or Google for others.
http://www.acviews.com/kh/Orbs.htm

Sticks and Stones

2011-11-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

Reflections

1-3 November 2011
Jean joins me again and while I am taking her to McMicken Island, I am hoping I can pull myself away long enough to circumnavigate Harstene Island. Morning fog breaks for us as we set off to see my favorite island in the sound. The next day we pick up a buoy in Jarrel's Cove on the west end and for both nights and days we have the whole places to our selves. There is something to be said about fall and winter cruising; it is quiet, serene, breath taking and solitude seeps deep within our skin.

Jean picks up the buoy at McMicken

Space Between The Reflection and The Image

Stairs to Where?

Barnacles High and Dry

Clean Docking Lines

Mosaic of Stones

Big Leaf Maple

A Curve of Time

Serene Anchorage

My Lips are Sealed.

Deer Tracks

X Marks The Spot

Y Knot

Shatoosh, Jarrel's Cove, Harstene Island

Jean and P2- Getting to Know One Another

Jean, a happy boater.

Salmon-Feta-Spinach Pin Wheels

Orbs, Jarrel's Cove

More Orbs

Orbs

Morning, Jarrel's Cove

Sqauxin Island

Day 1-to McMicken

Day 2 to Jarrel's Cove

Day 3 Return to Zittel's Marina

Purple Jelly Fish Swimming Past Pashmina 2

Total Run: 26 nm

Hardtops

2011-10-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Shatoosh's hardtop was made while she was berthed in Sausalito, California by her previous owner. The company was Dolfin Details, and is still in business. If interested in inquiring, Shatoosh's previous owner, now deceased, was Ray Sarlin and the previous name was Rayanna. Many people have commented on how they like the design and some have actually made copies of it with modifications. Harmony's previous owner copied/modified Shatoosh's hardtop and built it in his side yard in CA. I got to witness some of the construction. Harmony is now berthed on Orcas Island, WA.

I recently got a request from another Albin 25 owner who is interested in making a hardtop for his Ms. Bettencourt. We have emailed numerous times about boat projects and I mailed him a copy of my swim platform template when he was converting a used teak platform. While he is one of those FBR(faceless blog readers), I feel that we are kindred spirits and I seem to know him on some level. Aren't all Albin owners connected by some etheric web?

Several emails have passed between us this month and I have been taking measurements and photos of detailed aspects. I have detailed invoices of materials used, and sequences of fabrication. My friends, Conrad and Juanita and I fiberglassed the hardtop in 2001 and I have all the receipts and materials used to accomplish that project. Yesterday and today I have spent lots of time making a packet of all the photos and measurements and adding comments to them. It has turned out to be 27 pages with answered emails from to him.

The newly created packet will go in the mail to Georgia today with best wishes to John on his winter project.

Let us know when it is finished, and send photos and I will be happy to post them on the blog. I know you will love having this enclosure. Here in the northwest, it is a real treat to have a hardtop, which helps extend our cruising window. However, in the south, you might need opening side windows and an opening hatch at the helm station.

McMicken Island and Ann

2011-10-26T12:45:00.000-07:00

25 October 2011 Tuesday
Ann joins me and the clouds, fog are lazy burning off but by the time we get to McMicken Island, it is lovely and sunny. The tide has reached its ebb and more of the sandpit is showing itself. Ann rows us to shore and likes how P2 is performing. I bring some extra line with us but we don't have anything to tie to. I tried to move one of the smaller rocks, but it was way too heavy.

Ann gathers shells for her grand kids

Today I want to walk the trail out to the point and see if we can see the eagle. From Shatoosh we heard them conversing and there are 2 of them, which we could see. We didn't see them while in the forest, but saw one return to the island once we had returned to Shatoosh.

Ann with bolders

I can always find trees to hug me.

We are welcomed by the cedar and the Douglas Fir.

The inner island trail is dark.
See orb on the right, it is blue.

All those tree rings

A wet mossy path.

A lush succulent meadow

We arrive back in time, but I will need to get an
anchoring stake.

Upon returning to P2, we row over to Harstene Island to see if we can find a County Park, but rather find a nice little babbling brook running into where the spit attaches to Harstene.

Babbling Brook

Nice fall colors

Hira rows Ann
We both agree P2 is a big improvement.

What a lovely day it has been. I have known Ann since the mid 60's and while we don't see much of each other on land, I do try to get her on board as much as I can. She is always fun and up for any challenge. Come again.

P2 riding well tied to swim platform,
McMicken in the distance.

PS.. In an article by Jo Bailey in 48 Degrees North, she describes the McMicken Island sandspit as a "Tombolo". see Wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tombolo. She also speaks about the presence of great shell deposits, which she believes is an Indian Midden, or garbage pit. This is evident along the south shore.

In the book, South Puget Sound: Afoot and Afloat, by Marge and Ted Mueller, they refer to the boulder

(noted on the chart) on the north east side as, a large, rock erratic from the Pleistocene Glacier. An erratic is defined as, a rock fragment carried by glacial ice, or floating ice, deposited at some distance from the outcrop from which it was derived. Size ranges from pebble- to house-sized block. So this answers many of my questions about the South Sound's beautiful gem of an island. I shall think of her as my Treasure Island, as she offers us so many gifts, all on such a small island (11acres).

More On McMicken Island

2011-10-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

23 October 2011 Monday
I slept on board again after doing some chores yesterday. The marina guys got my cleats on the docks and even re-tied my new dock lines for me. They are all great guys and most helpful. Yesterday I met up with the fella who straps his portabote on the swim platform. He has never named his porta bote, but said his grandaughters love the boat and he should have them name her. They have owned her 11 years. He gave me a name of a vinyl graphic person who has always made his boat names. His look really good, so I will call this guy to see what he can do for me and Pashmina's new logo.

The thick fog burnt off fast with the rapidly appearing sunshine. Sunshine is my ticket to ride, so it was no time before we threw off the new dock lines and snaked our way out the winter exit through the re-established breakwaters. This time I timed my turns without having to back up some to make the turn. Once out of the maize, it is a straight 6nm shot to McMicken Island.

I am headed there again, this time to circumnavigate the island in Pashmina 2 and to walk the beaches. There are some interesting things about the island. I have questions, but so far no one has answers for me. The first thing that strikes my eye is the unusual numbers of granite boulders that are scattered all over the beaches and even under water. How did they get there? It would have to be from an eruption of Mt Rainier or from the ice age. The strange thing is no other of the islands in the immediate area have these boulders. The next item of interest to me is that on south west side there are an unusual amount of barnacles, everything is heavily encrusted, while on the north beaches there are huge oyster shells and wind blown bluffs. The third item of interest is the abundance of sand dollars along the land spit that extends to Harstene Island. The fourth item is there is a small boarded up cabin/house with several out buildings. This is all fenced off from the State Park area. No one can tell me who owns this place. For such a small island it seems jam packed with lots to see and Pashmina 2 and I are champing at the bit to get going.

The tide is low when we arrive and and before you can blink your eye, Shatoosh is secured on the buoy, and Hira is on the aft cabin letting P2 slide off the swim platform. On my previous trips to McMicken I have had some tasty morsels to nibble on, but today I want to eat the whole enchilada, as they say in Texican.We are not going to waste any time today, as exploration is the main objective. The island has 2 composting toilets at the head of the pasture. I flush about 10 Canada Geese who are grazing in the pasture. I catch 2 taking flight, but the picture is blurred. There are so many things on the shoreline to look at. The textures, the colors, the barnacles, the configurations of branches, trees, the gravel and the looming boulders cast their shadow of uncertain origin over the beaches. I even find a geodetic survey stamp in a boulder on the northwestern point of land. It has been eroded with time and weather, however the patina is lovely. At times the clouds move in and hide the sun, but not for long. Today the sun claims control and it is a beautiful day.

In a modified Hindu tradition, http://hindudevotionalpower.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-do-we-do-pradakshina-circumambulate.html I choose to honor the island by performing pradakshina or walking around the deity in a clockwise manner. Normally you walk 3 times around, but today I will walk/row, explore and pay thanks to this beautiful gem in the Salish Sea. At first I leave P2 on shore and begin my walk, I realize that I have tarried much too long and find P2's bitter end of her bow line about a foot from the water's edge and the flooding tide has her surrounded.

Boulders

Sand Dollars, my favorite shell

Encrusted Rock on Granite Boulder

Underside of Encrusted Rock

I see you, little harbor seal.

Reaching out

Entwined

Impaled

Geodetic Stamp

Another boulder

Just in time

After I have retrieved her and advanced to the other side I have found huge oyster shells and see one with God's imprint of his hand and fingers. I pick up a piece of lava tubing with rocks solidified within its grasp. More evidence of a tumultuous beginning. The island continues to reveal itself to me and I am held captive by its quiet charisma..

Oyster Shell with Hand Print
Lava with encased stones.

I have completed my pradakshina, am most grateful for this island and its gifts. It is a peaceful and fascinating place. I row back to Shatoosh and the long sloping beaches have been gobbled up by the incoming sea. I lift my bucket of treasures onto the aft cabin and pull P2 onto the swim platform. I sit in the sun and remove my life jacket and fleece jacket. I am at peace, warmed by sun's solar energy and drift into meditation for a while. The screaming cries of an eagle brings me back into attention mode; I look for him but can not see him. He is there, hiding, but later, on departure I can see him guarding the island from his elusive outpost high in the fir trees.I think I see another one as well, which would account for all the conversations I was hearing.

Tomorrow the sun will shine again and I am bringing Ann along, since she has never been here before. I can't wait to show it to her and see what the island will reveal to us.

A New Graphic For Pashmina 2

2011-10-21T22:16:00.000-07:00

Now that I am loving Pashmina 2, I have been thinking she needs a personal logo to express her mission and contribution to Hira and Shatoosh's Adventures in the Salish Sea. She will be playing a big part in where and how we will be able to explore. I wanted a rough and tough, go any where kind of boat, one that I could drag along the rugged coastlines, and not have to worry about getting her hurt. Well, she is already filling my desires and has convinced me she is tough as nails. She is ready to take me anywhere I want to go.

The Salish Sea has nourished the Northwest Tribal communities for hundreds of years and like-wise the tribal Indians have honored the great cycle of life that it offers. I have been intrigued with native Indian artwork and their beautiful graphic designs, totems and sculptures for years, but now that my focus is to venture north next summer I have come up with my own design, after contemplating my feelings of Pashmina 2.

First, she represents freedom and what better symbol so we have but the eagle.
Second, she will take me into small inlets and tidal creeks and rivers, so we have water-waves going from large to small.
Third, we will witness the great cycle of the salmon runs, so we have salmon running from the ocean to the rivers.
Fourth, we honor the great trees, the fir and the cedar, so we have have rings to reflect their majestic lives.
Fifth, we will always be aware of the beautiful qualities of the waxing moon; a new beginning in the Salish Sea, the light increases so that we might see better, have new insight as we travel to new places-- meet new faces and create greater wisdom within. We will carry our waxing inner light to share, motivate, inspire and impact other's lives.

It is for these reasons that I have drawn this new design for Pashmina 2, as she supports Hira and Shatoosh in our mission of exploring the great Salish Sea.

Work Day and First Marina Overnighter

2011-10-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

20 October 2011 Thursday

I'm back on Shatoosh taking care of loose ends. The marina doesn't have cleats on the docks, but I was told if you bought them, they would install them. I stopped by the office to get the details on the screw length and will go later to obtain them from Home Depot over on the interstate junction which is about 15 minutes.
After washing the boats, I go through all the previous dock lines from my marina in Oregon and get them attached to the uprights, while removing my cruising dock lines. The nightly visiting pack of otters did a number on my port line, so I soaked it in a bucket of Clorox and soapy water to kill the stench.Otter stench is enough to make you loose your appetite and it also left a horrible smell on my hands, even after rinsing the line off. I also put some Clorox water on the Sand Dollars to bleach them out. I affixed some hooks for the excess electrical cord and for stowage when Shatoosh is out of her slip. As soon as the cleats go in, I will be well established and situated in my new slip. I look forward to being settled in my new home port. I have met some other dock mates and I am amazed at the numbers of boaters who have cruised not once to Alaska, but 2 and 3 times, all in small boats.

I tidy up Shatoosh and head into the junction of Hawk's Prairie to get my screws, eat dinner and spot a Super Cuts, as I was turning back to the interstate.. I am about 3 weeks overdue on a haircut, so I take advantage of this opportunity. You know it is a bad hair day when you even wear your cap at night. This is the longest my hair has been since I had all my hair buzzed off for a charity event 3 years ago. Boy, does this feel good and I even look human. As I walk out of the salon. I see my reflection in the door. Well, maybe my nautical image of baggy jeans, hiking shoes and orange fleece pullover could use a little tweaking.

Tonight I am staying on board in the slip for the first time. When I return it is dark, so it is nice to see the dock light right at my slip. I wonder if the light attracts otters, like lights attracting insects? I would think they would prefer a dark, private dock. I'll see how my night reveals itself. I'm happy to see I have enough cell coverage to make some calls, but not enough to use the Internet. Booo!

P.S. No animals tonight, no noises, no people. It was calm, dead calm. Even all those sea anemones living on the sides of the dock were silent. I would have never known I was afloat in the Salish Sea.

Bird Watching With Care

2011-10-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

!7 October 2011 Monday
My dear friend, Care, of 46 years is joining me today for a bird watching session. She is a birding expert and I am looking forward to this trip I have planned for today. The next inlet over towards the south is Henderson Inlet and is known for a great bird and seal habitat. The morning skies are blue as can be, but as we approach the marina we are hanging out in some light fog, which will soon be gone.

We depart the marina at about high tide and we see several flocks of birds before we enter Henderson Inlet. On the northern side of the inlet we are spotting loons, cormorants, grebes, surf scooters and Care is quick to note that some are sporting their winter plumage. We reach the end of the charted waters but still have a depth of 20 feet of ebbing waters. I continue further up the inlet until we are in 9 feet of water and have come across hundreds of surf scooters, which I try to capture with my little camera as they take flight.

Birds seen with Care:
Thick Billed Murre
Black and Common Surf Scooters
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe
Pacific Loon
Double Crested Cormorant
Pigeon Guillemot
Imature Bald Eagle

We turn and now follow the southern shore back out where we come across the old log booms areas which has 2 large inlets. The signs on the pilings state that this is a protected habitat for seals and we need to stay 300 feet away. It would be a great place to anchor out of the way and take P2 into the inlets at some later time. I look forward to that adventure.

Next we cross over and set a course for McMicken Island. I know Care will enjoy this place as much as I do. We close up the windows and put on the heater to warm us up a bit. Care likes the buoy line set up and in no time we are munching on the chicken sandwiches I made early this morning. With lunch done, we put P2 in the water and head to shore to see what the low tide is offering us. Gifts From The Sea, as Ann Morough Lindberg wrote decades ago. My older sister always loved the chapter on the Beach. The tidal spit that connects Harstene Island to McMicken Island is revealing herself and Hira tries hard to balance herself on land's end.

Hira and Land's End

Care on Terra Firma

A Proud Porta-bote Owner

Team Players Make Many Adventures

Mt Rainier

The ebbing tide reveals lots of shells on the beach, but the best were several sand dollars that had departed this world, so I did not feel bad about picking some up for my great nieces. Take a look at Sand Dollars on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_dollar

I certainly had a wonderful time having Care on board before she too, takes flight and becomes a snow bird, just like her fine feathered friends. Care, see you in the spring when you migrate north with all the birds.

Something went a miss on our tracking from Zittles Marina along the northern shore of Henderson Inlet.
Today's run: 21.1nm

Tolmie State Park and Pashmina 2

2011-10-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

17 October 2011 Sunday

I'm excited about more exploring in Pashmina 2, so will depart the marina and follow the shoreline east towards the Nisqually Reach., which is the shallow delta region of the Nisqually River that flows from the Nisqually Glacier on Mt Rainier. The Nisqually Wildlife Area is being revamped by the native Nisqually Indians to bring the habit back to its original state so that salmon can return.

Tolmie State Park is on the way down to the reach and has been an area for oyster farming and has a small park and several buoys offshore as it is a shallow region. I pick up one of the buoys and quickly set P2 in the water. She has ridden well on the way down, is stable and secure.

The oars fit snugly under the seats

The fenders nestle under seats

A small inlet into Tolmie

P2 rows easily in 4 inches of water and with such clear water I can see where old oyster beds remain and also can see some Sand Dollars throughout the bottom. I understand that harvesting live dollars is illegal now. I return to Shatoosh and load P2 up again. She is very easy to pull up onto the swim platform, making me wonder if having davits is really needed. I'm keeping my mind open to all possibilities.

I see on the chart that there is a deeper area farther down towards the reach and can see old pilings off in the distance.

This area is new to me so I continue and watch my depth sounder and chart position carefully. As I approach the area I can see several buoys ahead that state they are private and part of a residential area. Also I can see masts behind a breakwater which indicates there is a small marina there. The entrance inlet to is high and dry right now as the tide is out, but apparently it is deep enough at high tide for sailboats to venture in and out. Near the shore there is the remains of an old wooden vessel of rather large size that has deteriorated over many years.

Each ring is one nm in length.

With each passing P2 adventure I am more and more impressed with this boat. I am loving her and can see how she is already impacting me with her ease and versatility. Pashmina 2 has quickly resolved my doubts that I had about her since purchasing her. She is without a doubt a winner.

Days Run 8.1nm

Pashmina Departs for Her New Home

2011-10-15T13:18:00.000-07:00

Noon 15 October 2011
The deal is finalized as Brock comes to Puyallup, Wa to pick up Pashmina. I had given her a good cleaning the other day and placed her on a tarp in the garage to dry. Today she looks sparkling clean and good as new. He has lots of plans for using her in various lakes and rivers around Washington. Brock is just the perfect guy to own her and I am very happy, as I know that Pashmina will provide him with many adventures, as she has done for me. We have certainly had lots of fun.

Blogspot Reveals New Feature

2011-10-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

I opened up my blog today and noticed when I clicked on a photo, it not only enlarged it as usual, but a new feature revealed itself. All the posted photos appeared in a series and you can scroll thru them with your wheeled mouse. How nice is this? Enjoy looking at all the enlargements with a single click.

Pashmina 2 Getting To Know Her

2011-10-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

I've returned again to Shatoosh to tend to Pashmina 2 and her lines. I take lots of time to see what will be the best attachment and how I might want the lines to anchor her on the swim platform. First I tie a fender onto the platform to balance the boat in the bow section. Then measure and cut 2 stern lines and a center lifting line. After getting those attached, I release P2 and place her in the water and go for a row throughout the marina looking at all the boats and then venturing to the back inlet where a small creek flows. There are several log booms and old docks. Several Kingfishers and ducks are in the inlet.

I am surprised at how easy P 2 is to row. She glides through the water effortless. I make a few adjustments on the oars in the oar locks. A feeling of a new found fondness is emerging from my heart for this little funny looking boat. I'm going to like her, I say to myself. This is the moment I have been waiting for; a nautical bonding has taken place. I mean, it is extremely important to love your boat and dinghy. The boat takes you places that you can't go in a car, but a dinghy takes you places the boat can't take you. A dinghy is the best, it will carry you into the deeper crevices of the nautical highway. It allows you to see nature in her rawest form; the smells are different, the noises are unique, or the lack of sounds stop you in your tracks, you might get to see animal tracks, explore animal scat to see what foods the animals are eating, see Heron rookeries, or Bald Eagle nests. The lists go on and on. Yes, the dinghy is most important and worthy of great love from the owner. I can't wait, P2, lets get going and have some great adventures together. I row back to my slip and with great enthusiasm, I attach new lines to the fenders and have found 2 special nooks to place them under the seats. I see how I can stow the oars snugly and hopefully, securely. This is all coming together. I end my day with leaving 2 options open for me for lifting the dinghy onto the platform. I plan to practice some with both ways, before I decide on a final version.

I take some good shots of all the sea anemones that are in the slip areas. My slip has some beauties. Notice how clear the water is. They are growing perpendicular to the dock's edge. Let's hope they stay on the dock and don't migrate to the hull.

Yesterday I finalized my project of a sun screen for my netbook/chartplotter. I bought some vinyl black document cover sheets. It is flat black on the inside and shiny on the outside. Will see how this works.

Pashmina: A New Beginning

2011-10-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

12 October 2011 Wednesday

Today marks the new beginnings. Pashmina 2 goes to Shatoosh and Pashmina, my faithful Zodiac comes home with me to be transferred to her new owner this weekend. After a summer of garage heat, a few additions of boat hardware, Pashmina 2 is ready to be transported to Shatoosh. Linda, my friend with a van arrives, and we load P2 up in it. Boy, not an inch to spare.

An Exciting Day

I'm ready

Off we go to the slip

Just Strap Her On

Day's run: 2 docks over.

Total Run: Infinite Possibilities.

Day 3 Jean's Trip

2011-10-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

9 October 2011 Sunday

The rains came during the night and I have been sleeping in the aft cabin or Crew Quarters, so Jean could have the fore cabin. After starting the hot water and making coffee, I bring my bedroll forward and cover up again for a warm chat with Jean.

We have a wet ride home from Eagle Island. The rain stops as we dock. What a wonderful trip with Jean. It was great having her back on board. Come again, Jean.
Day's run: 5nm
Total 45nm.

Day 2 of Jean's Trip

2011-10-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

8 October Saturday
When I was cruising in the San Juan Islands, I posted several photos of the Adventuress as she cruised past Matia Island. She looked as though she was being gobbled up and spit out from the rocky outcroppings of the islands. I thought that the crew might like to see those photos so with a stack of Shatoosh cards, I ventured down the dock to say hi. They welcomed the information and then 2 separate young men stated they were twins themselves.

A Nice Reflection

The Adventuress hails from Port Townsend and offers sail training and adventure tours/charters. Today they are giving an open house and going out for public sailing. Lots of kids are gathering on the dock, but one catches our eye. Even Tigger wears a life jacket when he is on board.

We depart before The Adventuress leaves port to catch the flooding tide. The low tide reveals the large sand spit at the entrance as well as Mt Rainier appears through the morning clouds.

Our route will take us past the Narrows into Hale Passage and under the Fox Island Bridge and over to Penrose State Park on the Key Peninsula where we pick up a buoy on the outer side of the harbor, have lunch and bird watch and jig for bottom fish. We see lots of birds, but I have great fortune to spot a single male Harlequin duck, red necked grebes, murres, murrlelts, surf scooters, loons and hundreds of gulls. I showed Jean how I use my new buoy line and she was impressed.

Port and starboard views of thunder clouds

We listen to Jean's I-Touch

Next we venture through Pitt Passage where we have to be careful to keep us off the shoals and rocks around Pitt and McNeil Islands. We cruise through Filucy Bay and Longbranch Marina to show Jean some houses and boats. Then our final leg of the day is back to Eagle Island where we get a buoy on the east side so we can catch glimpses of Mt Rainier. Jean has a spot of tea while warm in the forecabin.

During the night at low tide we could hear all the seals back on shore and splashing at the water's edge. I open the hatch and there is quite the ruckus going on. The wonderful sounds of nature. It is so comforting knowing that this is a safe haven for such a large population of seals. We share the sanctuary with gratitude and feel blessed for this wonderful time on the sacred waters of the Salish Sea.

Days run 22nm
Total 41nm

Jean Joins Hira on Shatoosh

2011-10-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Zittel's Marina to Gig Harbor

7 October 2011 Friday

Hira welcomes her twin, Jean onboard to cruise for a few days. The log book states her last crew time was April 2006. This makes her 6th trip on Shatoosh. While it has been a while since she has been on board, she quickly remembers her boating skills. After all, she once had a Captain's License, was a Yacht Broker, sailed Sabra with me to the mainland from Hawaii, chartered numerous boats and owned several sailboats. Her favorite was Namaste, a Gulf 32 in which she lived aboard in Hawaii. Ah, the sweet life of years gone by.

The weather is very questionable, and when we arrive at the marina, there is fog and drizzle, but by the time we are ready to back out of the slip, the rain has stopped and the fog has lifted. With lifted spirits, we buck the tide and make our way over to Eagle Island where lots of Harbor Seals are pretending to be sun bathing. We are meeting several of our old Army PT/OT buddies in Gig Harbor. Jean was also in the Army as a PT. We will have an early dinner and have some time to show Care and Jean the Gig Harbor Museum.

We hug the shoreline to get some lift of a counter current
at the Tacoma Narrows Bridges.

The radar shows off the shores and bridges.

Jean is happy to be back on the helm

The newer section is forward and the older section is behind.

The Adventuress is in Gig Harbor

We have a wonderful time at the Museum and Mexican dinner with old friends. What a grand day. The Adventuress departed that evening for Tacoma, but returned the next morning.
Day's run 18.8nm

McMicken Island and Another Storm

2011-09-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Friday

The sunrise was gorgeous and several orbs were present in the photos.

It is 1015 hrs when I depart and I slowly travel around the edge of the island, looking at flocks of birds. I see the weather is changing and fast, so throttle up and with the ebbing tide I am a Surf Scooter myself, moving along at 7.4 kts.

My timing is perfect. I tie Shatoosh up in her slip and the rains come with numerous thunder claps. The weather clears, I meet more new neighbors and finally I get to my list of chores; check engine/batteries, connections to espar heater--I tried to start it at Skagit Island and I had no power to it. I remembered that connector wire I had to re-swag, well it seems I re attached it to the wrong terminal. She runs like a charm when hooked up correctly. Then I got to cleaning the stove, vacuuming the carpets, washing the boat, and re stowing dock lines and fenders.

The good news is that during the rain storm I had cell coverage in the slip.

Day's run: 7.1nm
Total 25.8

The Day Is Too Beautiful To Do Chores

2011-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

29 September 2011 Thursday

I have a list of things to do that is in my pocket, but I arrive back at Zittel's Marina about 1100 hrs. I run into that man who has his portaboat strapped to his Sundowner Tug. We talk for a while and he visits Shatoosh to see her swim platform and he thinks I can do what he is doing. "Just Strap Her On." OK, that is where we will begin our journey.

I decide that the weather is just too beautiful to do chores, so within minutes of coming on board, Shatoosh is heading out of her slip, the marina and on her way west; to visit some old favorites, Jarrel's Cove and McMickin Island. I am out about 30 minutes and I come across another partially submerged dinghy. The transom has eyebolts so I attach my buoy line and stern line to them and lift her up on the platform. We slowly cruise back to the marina and I hoist her up on the fuel dock. While I am there, I go ahead and top off my tank and the friendly marina help will take care of the dinghy. I'm just happy to be a tug boat again.

I'm off again and cruise west along the Harstine Island shore and pass McMickin Island. I cruise into Jarrel's cove and check her out. There are lots of buoys and dock space. I slide up to the pumpout station and get rid of my waste. It is about 1700 hrs by the time I pick up a buoy at McMickin. Another small trawler comes in behind me and takes a buoy at the west end. There are lots of birds in the area and many I do not recognize.
I do see some Loons, Red Necked Grebs and Surf Scooters.

I have a very peaceful night.
Day's run: 19.7nm

Upgrades and Downgrades

2011-09-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday before I returned to Shatoosh I stopped by the Verizon store and upgraded my netbook to G4 status. This morning I am uploading photos with lightening speeds never before seen by this blogger. Hurray, hurray. I drive down to Zittel's Marina and unload all the clean linens, clothes and paper products. I happily set up my netbook to update my blog.

No cell phone or broadband coverage in the slip. I move throughout the marina after talking with staff and live aboards. Coverage is spotty to say the least and I am told internet is possible at high tide. I move over towards the haulout lift area and a phone call comes in and disappears just as a sea gull poops all over me. My newly introduced friends ask did you get it( meaning the call) and I reply, Yes, I got it, but it was a message from a sea gull and not the phone. I stand there covered in bird shit. This is not how I thought my day would go. Instead of spending the night, I return home and undress in front of the washing machine.

A Long Night and Head Winds to Zittel's Marina

2011-09-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

25 September 2011 Sunday
The winds abated and I got 3 hours sleep, then they started back up with rain. I could see that the dock was awash with phosphorescent waves. It was a long night, but morning brought some peace and quiet. After breakfast the south wind started to blow so I moved Shatoosh out to a buoy as I wanted to try my new shackle that I had purchased in Gig Harbor. It worked perfect.

I called the marina and told them I was arriving and I was instructed to tie up to the fuel dock and come in. By the time I started to cross the wind had whipped up a sloppy mess. I throttled back and took an easy 4nm ride across the inlet to Johnson Point.

Harbor Seals on the Breakwater

After looking at my slip I headed for the fuel dock and by then the wind gusts were picking up. I had to struggle a bit with the dock lines to hold Shatoosh steady on the dock, then took a fast jump in and made my way weaving down through some of the larger side tied vessels. Even with the wind on my stern, Shatoosh slide easily into her slip. As I was tying up the lines the winds blasted through with pouring down rain. Just in time, and after several squalls I glance up to see a welcoming rainbow near the point.
day's run 4nm
Total for entire trip: 431nm

Pouring Rain

My Last Night On My San Juan Island Journey 2011

2011-09-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

24 September 2011 Saturday

Well, my journey is coming to a close at the same time a new beginning starts. I am docked at Joemma State Park in the South Sound. I have never been here before and it is just a few miles from my new marina out on Johnson Point. It is a large cove with a long wooden causeway out to the dock which has several finger piers. There are 5 buoys, but I decided to dock as I would be the Lone Ranger for the night. The cove is open to the Southerlies which wouldn't be good with the winds I had a few days ago. Tonight is calm and quiet and I can see a few fires on shore. We are on the Key peninsula which is south of Gig Harbor. As I cruised the shoreline it is high bluffed, heavily wooded and few homes. The cove has fairly large sized cobblestones at the beach. There are huge trees awash on shore, which is a reflection of the storms that come through here, especially in winter. All the south sound weather comes from the south west as it comes from the ocean and wraps around the lower end of the Olympic mountains and then storms in and up the sound to the north east.

Joemma State Park Key Pennisula

I had a lovely morning which was sunny and used the last of my fresh water from my solar shower to rinse off the boat and windows from all the salt. I had washed Shatoosh the day before in Kingston. I had lunch with Virgina, my old buddy and past Chief. Then I was on my way to catch the flood tide through the Narrows. Just in time to hit 11.1k. This has been my fastest speed on this trip. All the buoys were filled at Eagle Isl. so I decided to swing over here which puts me closer to my new marina in the morning.

This has been an incredible journey for me. I have gotten to meet so many of my faceless blog readers which has been a real treat. I have spent the majority of my travels singlehanding which has been really sweet to have all that time alone with Shatoosh and Pashmina. We really can get into a wonderful rhythm and the recent storms have challenged us all to stay balanced with the wind and waves and to continue forward finding new safe havens. I have gotten to meet so many cruising ladies on both sail and power boats which is really wonderful. Joining in on the Albineers gathering at Roche was really special and fun to meet all the owners and see how special their boats are to them. I got to see many old islands with new eyes and see many new islands and locations. It has been a marvelous summer for me, which started with my down river cruise on the Columbia River, crossing the bar and cruising up the pacific coast with Joyce as crew, then for 2 months exploring the middle sound and finalizing the summer with the San Juan trip. A grand total of 900nm

PS Just as I was signing off the west wind started to blow which put it on my beam. I went out and let Shatoosh swing around 90degrees in the docking area and readjusted her lines. Later at about 2130hrs
I was out again to put on 2 more round fenders, which now makes 7 fenders on the port side. I readjust the bow lines and move the spring lines a bit. I had checked the wind on the water site and it said Carr inlet was blowing 14 mph. That is the inlet next to us. However, this time when I went out there is little wind, just those bouncy, confused waves. Lets hope things settle down, so I can get some sleep.

Days run 20nm
Total 427nm

Kingston to Gig Harbor

2011-09-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

23 September 2011 Friday

The wind is howling through the rigging this morning. Then calms itself and then pipes back up. I go on line and visit my favorite site: http://www.windonthewater.com./ I can see the winds are calm in Tacoma, but the winds are gusting to 30mph on some of the ferry runs. I put on another line to lash Pashmina better and notice my stuffing box is dripping too much so tighten that up. Shatoosh is shipshape and ready to rock and roll. I decide to depart at 1015 hrs and will swing in behind Bainbridge Island and hopefully that will pay off with a lift from the flood currents through Agate Pass. This decision is a mother load, as I run Agate Pass at 9.7k with 1 foot waves and minimal wind out of the south west. I arrive at Blake at 1340 and am tired. I pick up a buoy on the north side and rest for 45 minutes, which rejuvenates me. I'm loving my new buoy line and can't wait to make my final version.

I'm ready to make Gig Harbor and miss my ETA 1700 hrs by 15 minutes. My favorite dock space is open so I grab it fast. I can see Mt Rainier from this spot and sunset is always nice. I fix my salmon, potatoes and squash. One more leg to my new slip. This will be a new adventure for us.
Day's run 37 nm
Total 407nm.

Finding Another Safe Haven- Kingston

2011-09-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

22 September 2011 Thursday

I hear the wind whipping in the sailboat rigging and the rain begins to pelt the cabin top. It must be about 0400hrs. This does not sound good but later the weather seems better, There is still light wind. I see my anchor hawespipe has a broken chain to the top from the pounding yesterday. Not wanting to lose the lid, I make an emergency repair with dental floss. It is durable, flexible, strong and small enough to tighten down in between the small links.

I'm not missing breakfast today as this could be another rough one. I fry up a couple of eggs in my new little skillet and my new baby-sized spatula,

The weather worsens as I reach the Clinton Ferry on Whidbey. I see a small dock at the ferry landing which I did not see on my up island leg. I could always return to it. But I choose to continue on and at 1100 hrs take a beating off the southern tip of the island. I start looking for the next place I can get into, which is Kingston Harbor and 9 miles away. The seas settle some and unlike yesterday the trough is better spaced and I can actually ride the swells. I arrive right on my ETA of 1300 hrs. After 4 hrs of standing and steering I will consider this my safe haven for the day.

I have never been in here before and it is a quaint village. The rock breakwater makes it very calm inside. There is plenty of guest moorage with easy access. The harbormaster tells me if I need to go to the grocery store which is about 3 blocks away I can take the electric car. This is the cheapest, yet the most pleasant place I have stayed. It is less that $1.00/per foot.

How Cute Is This?

I've Got My Shopping List and
Ready to Go

Day's run 19nm

Total 370nm

Hira Gets the Surprise of Her Life

2011-09-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

21 September 2011 Wednesday

I depart early at 0700 hrs from Deception Pass State Park and don't eat breakfast as I want to get under way as soon as I can. I am meeting my friend, Pene, this afternoon at Langley Marina on Whidbey Island to give her some special things I found on the beaches. I, also want to stop at Coupeville on the northern part of Whidbey to say hi to Jeff, my ex brother in law. He has purchased a home here this spring. It would be fun to see the place and he might like to see Shatoosh. I start to get hungry and see a nice cove I could anchor in and fix me some eggs, but my intuition tells me to continue on to Coupeville. I can eat there.

After docking I call my niece who lives in Denver, to get her father's number. She sounds surprised when I say I am in Coupeville. I had mentioned to her that I might stop by on my way home. I get hold of Jeff and he picks me up at the marina. I tell him that I am starving, but he seems to be set in showing me his house first. When we pull up front, my big surprise is waiting on the front porch. My 2 great nieces, Georgia and Flora are waiting to see me. Then Erin and her husband, Matt appear. So, the whole time I was talking with Erin, she was in Coupeville and not Denver. The surprise is on me. Matt hurries into the kitchen and fixes me some eggs and toast, while I get lots of hugs from the girls. They show me their new special play room which is a secret hiding place.

Later, we go down to Shatoosh and Flora falls asleep in the car, but Georgia hangs in to come aboard and see where they will sleep one day in the aft cabin. She takes her place at the helm and says the boat is bouncy. I have been waiting for the day when these girls can come aboard and never in a million years would I have dreamed that it would be today. Thank heavens, I listened to my intuition, as I would have been really disappointed to miss them.

Its 1310 when I get off and the waters are calm. Soon everything changes as I enter Saratoga Passage the wind whips up a nasty bowl of waves. They continue all afternoon and this leg is similiar to Wallula Gap on the Columbia. Pashmina sounds like a drum beating out some foreign tune on the cabin top and Shatoosh is simultaneously going up and down and rolling from port to starboard, while the ship's bell is ringing constantly. For the next 3 hours I stand and steer and recall William Least Heat Moon's commentary of "riding a bucking brahma bull", while he is unable to read his chart to find a safe haven on the river. I sigh a deep breath as I pull Shatoosh around the fortress of a breakwater and dock in my previous A-5 slip at Langley Marina.

Pene picks me up and we have a scrumptious Thai dinner that saves my life. I give her my beach gifts that I have found and she seems pleased with them. It is so special to get to be with her again.

What a wonderful day!

Day's run 35nm

Total 351 nm

Launching of Hummingbird Chris Craft

2011-09-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

20 September 2011 Tuesday

I am heading back to Cornet Bay by Deception Pass and will tie up at the Deception Pass State Park Docks. Patty, one of the blog readers with a face now, called and said her friends, Judy and husband Jip, who are also blog readers are launching Hummingbird today and they would like to meet me. Judy has an Albin 25 which is for sale at a bargin price of $14000.00. Hummingbird is a Chris Craft that has been restored over the last 3 years by Jip. After many delays, the trucker arrived with Hummingbird. He would launch her, however her engines weren't up to par, so to make a long story short, Jip wanted me to haul her over to their slip. Judy and Patty wanted the Vessel Assist to do it. We are all in a stand off when the assist boat arrives. Jip being the Captain of his ship chooses Shatoosh and me to do the job, and sends Vessel Assist back to the marina.

Jip has total confidence in my ability to handle Shatoosh. I mean, he is a blog reader, he should know, after all. I reply, yes I can handle my boat, but I have never towed a boat and put her in a covered slip before, but, "I have stayed at a Holiday Inn"( remember that commericial). So I am qualified. I say, "lets get on with it", as the day is ending soon. Judy and I go get Shatoosh and the 4 of us tie the boats together. Patty and Jip walk us back out of the boat ramp and I throw Shatoosh in reverse, turn her around and head for their marina. The boats ride well together and we are blessed with calm waters, currents, tides and zero wind.

Earlier in the day, I had made a run over there to top off my fuel tank and buy a few things. I see Judy's Albin and notice where the covered slips are. It turns out to get to their slip we will have to make 3 left turns and their slip is the last on the left. This is the best approach for Shatoosh and her engine, so I am most familiar with this maneuvering. Everyone works well together and in no time Hummingbird is her her new berth and we are all glad to have everything go well. Judy takes me aboard, her boat and she is a good buy with an upgraded Yanmar engine. It has a good dinghy to boot.

Jip stays aboard Hummingbird to keep on top of the ingress of water, while Judy, Patty and I go for Mexican food on Fidalgo Island. We get to drive over Deception Pass to look down at the waters, Shatoosh and I have traversed yesterday. Judy is about to retire from being Staff Chief Engineer on the Yakima Ferry and Jip is a retired Chief Engineer for the Ferry System. Patty and her husband have a beautiful sailboat on Orcas. It was a wonderful experience to be a part of their launching of this beautiful boat, the Hummingbird and to have met such talented and wonderful people. In the morning we will depart, but Deception Pass and these blog readers have made an impression on Shatoosh, Pashmina and Hira. Shatoosh and Hira get to be tug boaters for a change and Pashmina says, " the adventures always amaze me."

Deception Pass: Whidbey Island to Fildalgo Island

2011-09-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

19 September 2011 Monday

Yesterday evening I began to ponder where I would go today after leaving Spencer Spit.Trying to stay in the mode of going and seeing new places I decide that Deception Pass must be on the list. 30 years ago, it was on my Scary List, so I never went through it. I always crossed the Straits of Juan de Fuca. With all the Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina under my belt, I should take it on. So, I checked out the slack tides and the 1434 time looked good to me.

It was very still all night and I awoke early and quite rested. The first ferry got us rolling a bit. Some boats left early, as well. I have been thinking more about my buoy line and am going to tweak it a bit for finer use. Rather than go forward to the v-berth to take up the slack, I decided that I could extend the line back to the aft cleat, leaving the main line in the forward chock. Then I could adjust the line from the cockpit. I had some extra line so set up my new line and gave it a try. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Now, this is exactly what I needed and wanted.

At 1000 hrs I depart and hug Frost Island, as Spencer Spit really extends a far piece into the water. Several people were walking the Spit and getting their feet wet at the bitter end. I swing around and see only one buoy on the southern side. They must have taken many of them up.

Spencer Spit

Since this is so calm in here, it would be the perfect place to drop that anchor with the extension of chain and get her up again. I did it with ease, so now that is solved. I'm on an early roll as I meander south and east between Lopez, Decatur, Trump and Center islands. At 1100hrs I pass through Lopez Pass and fish a little in the small cove before heading across Rosario Straits, which are calm and no wind.

Spencer Spit to Lopez Pass

Lopez Pass to Bowman Bay

Bowman to Skagit Island

Buoyed up at Bowman Bay

I'm crossing diagonally to Bowman State Park which is just outside Deception Pass. This will be a good place to wait for slack tide. A Trawler comes in just ahead of me and then a Canadian sailboat with a single hander. Both dock at the unattached float, while I buoy up with my latest version:2.0. After lunch and a bit early there are boats gathering outside Bowman Bay and the other 2 boats start to move. I had planned on leaving at 1430 as it would only take 5 minutes to get over there. Boats are not only gathering they are moving through, so I move out as well. There are about 5 boats ahead of me. I plan to hold back and watch and about half way through the big boats are having to pick up their rpms to move through. I hang back some more and see all go through so at 1430, I move up to my cruising rpm of 2700 and drive through at 5.3k. There is still some turbulence but not much. I move down and check out the State Park in Cornet Bay, but want to see what the buoy situation is at Skagit and Hope Islands. There are 2 buoys at Skagit and in spite of them looking very close to shore I take the one in the middle of the island. If I get too close I have lots of other options.

I jig and get 2 soles one I keep and one I throw back. This will be good for dinner. There were many small fishing boats at the bridge area and lots of people fishing on shore, so the pinks must be running. Once inside I troll for a spell but nothing.

I am happy with my buoy and the slight wind has calmed itself and the sunset is gorgeous. This has been a fun and challenging day. Deception Pass is certainly beautiful and the Bowman Bay park is nice and big. I'm really happy I added this to my 2011 list as it has added an unique corner.of boating to my world. For all the people who are afraid of Deception Pass, don't be. At slack tide, it is a wonderful opportunity and gives you another option of getting the San Juan Islands; Deception Pass, The Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Swinomish Channel. Some people say, as you age you become more frightened. NOT ME, I'm braver now than when I was born. Everyone should throw away their scary lists and live a fun filled, free life.

Deception Pass

Day's Run:18nm

Total 312nm

Spencer Spit Lopez Island

2011-09-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

I have a nice morning and a good looking boat comes for a spell. The couple is nice so we end up chatting a while. The boat is an Acadia 25 built in Florida powered by a 4 cylinder Yanmar Diesel.
It has a small cabin and a large cockpit for fishing.
The first mate wants a hardtop extension.

I spend some more time adding some length of chain to my bow anchor. This way I can see how I do manually pulling up the added weight plus the anchor. I like getting the arm exercise and would try to avoid a windlass. I will have to try it out soon.

It is noon before I can blink an eye. There may be a window in the wind and it is sunny at Matia, so I depart for Clark to see what the wind is doing there. As I depart there are a couple of more sandstones that I take a picture of. One looks like a rabbit and the other a sea lion. I also see a pair of Wood Ducks. I thought I had seen the female on the first day I was here, but didn't see her again. It is so nice to see them as I think they are the most beautiful.

As I cruise by Clark it is actually do-able, but I'd rather see some other options. I troll for a little bit through a rip tide off of Point Lawarence on Orcas.
I stop in at Doe Island, but see the state dock and buoy is gone.

Obstruction Isl St Pk

My next option is questionable but I try buoying up at Obstruction Island State Park. I see the Coast Guard Cutter off in the distance and ever since I rounded Pt Lawrence the CG has been trying to track down an non responding "may-day". One person answered back that he had heard it, but no position or info was given. I had just taken off my life jacket and I see the coastees coming in their high speed rib with 4 guys aboard. They wanted to know if I had heard the may-day and from what direction had I come. They zoom, zoom away and in about 20 minutes a CG chopper is circling the area between Blakely, Lopez and Orcas islands.

I jig and get 3 hits and one cod, but throw it back.

Boy, the wakes here are terrible, so I depart and head over to Spencer Spit on Lopez island. For years as I passed this place and the buoys were always full, but today I have several choices. I eye one, but then see another Albin on a buoy. I alter course for him. We tie together and get to know each other. The Swedie berths on the hard at Dagmars near Everett, Wa. Dick has a cute little dog with him. I pick up my buoy and fix dinner. No wonder I am hungry, I missed lunch. The waters are calm here from any wind but a few wakes from the ferries sneak through. This has been another wonderful day.

Days run 18nm
total 294nm

Matia Day 2

2011-09-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

17 September 2011- Saturday

It rained for a short time during the night and Matia was mine until dark when a small sailboat came in first, to the buoy and then the dock. It was there when I went to bed about 2230hrs, but gone in the early hours. Since it was an open cockpit perhaps they left when the rain came. I did not hear a peep out of them.

The morning was beautiful and after I blogged some, I took the nice 1 mile hike through the old forest of fir and cedar and looped down to the east beach and over to 2 small coves. The south east wind was blowing about 15 k and white caps were everywhere. When I got back to Rolfe Cove, I still owned the place, but a boat soon came in to anchor, but left without setting the hook. The Sucia shuttle boat stayed about 20 minutes while 3 people went for a walk. There is one boat on the buoy and one on the dock. For 24 hours Miss Matia was mine. The silence was beautiful and only interrupted by the sound of occational waves lapping on the gravel shoreline and the crows, kingfishers and gulls speaking their piece.The sun shining pierced the deep green of the waters so I could see the bottom clearly. What a beautiful day and island.

After lunch and the walk, I took time to look at all my ground tackle and measure widths of rode and chain, as I seemed to always have notes on the lengths. I read more in the West Marine Catalog about their anchoring philosophies. Most of the chain and rode people, who cruise BC, that I have spoken with have 300ft of rode.

I'll spend another night here as it is such a safe haven and decide my next step in the morning. I'm loving Matia more and more and I have been here numerous times, but for some reason, I am seeing it with new eyes and I like what I see. It is certainly the place to be in a southeaster.

East Cove

Lummi in the distance

Jelly Fish

lightning strike

hand reaching into the gravel

small south cove
Orcas Isl in distance

falling leaves

looking south to Orcas

My favorite picture of Shatoosh this trip.
How perfect is this scene?
Me and Matia

I pull this kelp out from the dock by Shatoosh
and relocate it

kelp in water
looking from top of dock

Hira's Rock Collection

2011-09-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have taken so many pictures of the beautiful sandstone shapes that I have to devote a posting to it. I hope you appreciate God's creation and the forces of wind, waves, fire and stone.

Patos Island:

Sucia Island Fox Cove

Sucia Shallow Bay

Sucia Fossil Cove

Matia Island Rolfe's Cove

Look at Hole

Small rock nuggets inside. How did they get there?

Me and Matia

2011-09-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

16September2011-Friday

My route today

The weather report for tonight is SE winds with a storm after midnight. I'm suppose to meet my FBR from Lummi today on Clark Island, however that will not be a good place for me to spend the night. After bidding my friends farewell I take off at 1040hrs. I decide to peek into Rolfe's Cove on Matia Island, the buoys are open and only one boat at the dock. She looks so inviting. This has always been a favorite place of mine. But, aren't all the places my favorite? Yes.

There is a tuggy looking boat in the small cove next door anchored nicely. I move on to Clark and the winds and seas pick up and are now from the SE. This doesn't not look good for FBR to come over in an open boat. I call and leave a message. I turn around and return to Matia where the small cove will be protected tonight from the SE storm. Too bad we can't get together again

I pick up my buoy like a pro, even with the swirling currents as the ebb tide flowed out. Another boat has buoyed up, but doesn't stay long and the vessel on the dock leaves. Another large cruiser comes in and stays for a short time.

A couple of teenage boys come by in a dinghy. They are taking photos of the sandstone for a report and the school has given them a mega camera. I ask them to take my photo and I inturn take theirs. Then they are off looking for the best shot of sandstone. I have taken a large collection of photos which I will post later. It is really something to see.

Then I look up and a huge trimaran is drifting in under sail and spends most of the afternoon on the dock. It is interesting to watch these 3 guys turn her around at the dock and sail out with hardly any wind. At one point we all thought she might be shoved down on Shatoosh. Two of the guys were down low on the big outriggers, paddling like mad to get her to turn to starboard. I went forward anyway with my boat hook, just in case. They moved her over and out of the cove. It was fun to watch them work as a team.

Outside of the cove a gaff rigged schooner sails by: I couldn't miss this series of photos:

Its been said that these rocks will gobble you up and

then spit you out.

I say to myself, "this is your chance to take over the dock and have Matia all to yourself." I start the engine, put her in forward and release my shackle off my buoy. Drop my starboard fenders, and head for the dock. I don't know how long I can claim my island for my own, but for now she's all mine. Just me and Matia. I fix dinner and eat on the picnic table. A boat pulls in, circles and leaves. Nope, Matia is still mine, as the sun sets and I am a very happy camper.

Days run 8nm
Total 276nm

Shallow Bay to Fossil Bay Sucia Another Albin

2011-09-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

15 September 2011 Thursday

A southerly wind is kicking up, perhaps making a meeting with friends on Clark not a good thing. I pull into Fossil Bay to see how the winds are and I see an Albin tucked behind the inner dock. They are waving to me and since I do not recognize the boat from the Roche Harbor gathering, I pull in and dock behind them. It is really calm here so decide on settling for the night.

I meet Steve and Nancy on the Manatee and I discover that they are yet, another FBR. More blog readers. This is amazing to me and exciting.

They are off for a hike and I have a mug of coffee and cruise around in Pashmina, meeting and talking to other boaters. I meet a couple who live in Napa and she is a vineyard owner, Perry Vineyards, and kept her boat at Oxbow Marina after I left there. A small world.

Later I get to see Manatee and Steve has done alot of work on her, but he says he has a long list.

I like these dinghy wheels

Cockpit storage locker for Propane tanks

They have a propane stove and heater.

Soon after Brock and Bambina arrive. He has picked up his 2 high school friends and the 3 of them will cruise on a 16 ft boat. It is good that they are such long time friends. Not many people are that compatible. Brock brings them over to see Pashmina, as I have put her back on the rooftop.

This boat is from Anchorage, AK and he extends his cruising grounds by coming to BC and Wa.in the fall. Inspite of the cost of this vessel, it also has a portabote folded on top. This is my 6th one that I have seen. I talk him into going to the south sound and he gives me the pitch to go to the inside passage.

The sunset is beautiful.

Days run 3nm
'Total 268nm

Fox Cove Sucia Island to Shallow Bay Sucia Island

2011-09-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

14 September 2011 Wednesday

I'm in Pashmina early to go exploring along the shore of Little Sucia. As I came in yesterday, it looked like a white sand beach, however today I see that it is all crushed clam shells, by the millons. There are some very interesting shaped rocks and pieces of wood. I gather a few pieces for my great nieces and friends.

A Sphenoid or Pelvic Bone?

All clam shells

A baby haida bear

I stop and talk with a nice couple on a good looking Ranger sailboat and they have long distance cruising plans when they retire. We watch a small family of otters playing along the shore and rocks. I return to Shatoosh and get ready to move back around to Shallow bay. I pick up a buoy and in a few minutes a better one opens up, so I unhook and get the better location.

I notice the British Flag on the Island Packet sailboat( Songline) with the Porta bote which was anchored in Inati Bay on Lummi. I row over and talk with them. They have owned 2 and love them, but have had to replace all the parts to them. They have sailed from England to the Caribbean and the Panama Canal and then had her shipped up the coast to cruise BC and Washington. Check out their website. http://www.johnandbarbara.com/. They are a few years behind in their postings. Gee, I don't feel so bad.

I eye a beautiful Vindo made in Sweden and talk with the owners as I paddle around the shoreline. The sun emerges late in the afternoon so I get on to cleaning some black marks off and clean the water line. Then freshen up Pashmina, as we have tracked alot of sand in her. She has never looked so messy.

The evening is spent trying to catch up with blogging. I have never been so far behind. My camera is bulging with photos and stories need to be written, but the signal comes and goes and when that happens, another day go by without blogging. I am getting calls from friends about the delays. Its 1000pm and the wind is coming up, so will close and check the lines.

Today's run 1nm

Total 265nm

Prevost Harbor to Fox Cove Sucia Island

2011-09-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

13 September 2011 Tuesday

Meals afoot and afloat

After my morning coffee and light breakfast, Brock, Elizabeth were out on the dock, when the Kayak Tour guide, a young looking girl approaches us offering lots of left over blueberry pancakes, bacon and cantaloupe. She has even brought a jug of maple syrup with her. Boy, oh, boy we are hitting the jackpot on the Prevost dock for sure. We are gobbling this down like we are starving. Life just keeps getting better and better.

Elizabeth

Brock and Bambina

At noon Elizabeth heads for Orcas, I head for Sucia and later Brock and Bambina zoom past me as he heads for Patos. Greg and Francie in their Carver 26 stay and wait for friends returning from BC. What a nice time we have had.

Little Sucia Island

I tour through Shallow Bay but all the buoys are taken so I continue on to Fox Cove between Little Sucia and Sucia. The current is ripping in here and I have to throttle up to make headway. I pick up my buoy easily and am loving this new setup. This is really the answer to my problem. It is not a problem, just it is safer than going forward with the buoy line on the deck when I single hand so much. It is safer and wiser to go forward through the cabin, just as I do when anchoring.

By sunset all the buoys are taken and one boat anchored.

Day's run 14nm
Total 264nm

Prevost Harbor on the Dock

2011-09-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

12 September 2011 Monday

Elizabeth of the Barka Bella stated she might venture over. I call her on the VHF and she is in Reid Harbor looking for me. She heads for Prevost and I try my release technique on the buoy line. I go forward and open the hatch, releasing the excess line from the cleat. Upon returning to the helm I place Shatoosh in forward and slowly and gently place the buoy on my port side near my cockpit window. There she is, I reach down and unsnap my shackle and return the line to the cockpit and snap her on the boat hook, which is hanging on the grab bar. How easy and safe is all this. I move Shatoosh to the inside dock and several guys pick up my lines for me. One fella, Greg, was over in Roche and I had met him on Sunday. Another guy was cruising in a 16 ft C-Dory and had his camp stove on the dock.Shades of my buddy, Too Tall Tom and his 16 ft Arima

Brock and Bambina

Shatoosh, Barka Bella adn Bambina

Elizabeth rounds the corner and is soon docked across from Shatoosh. We have a great time talking with each other. Brock on Bambina, the C-Dory is a wonderful guy and soon he is in Pashmina taking her out and about the bay. Its not long and he decides to buy her. We will get together at the end of my trip to finalize the deal. He will be the perfect owner for this sweet little Zodiac. Pashmina is happy, as her new owner is very kind and gentle. Besides that, he will take her to fresh water which she likes.

Brock and Pashmina
Love at first sight

Greg and his wife Francie ask us all to dinner to help them eat their charcoaled pork loin. We have a big spread and enjoy talking with each other. The moon comes up and we all return to our warm boats to escape the coolness of the evening. There is a campfire on the hill with some kayakers. It looks like a nice, comfortable scene with the fire and the rising moon and the sun setting. What could be better than this? Good food, good friends and good boats.

Roche Harbor to Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island.

2011-09-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

11September2011 Sunday

Elizabeth and Rags
Barka Bella

Several of Washington boats hold out to depart Roche at noon and Elizabeth on P&K Barka Bella stays another day. I jockey Shatoosh to get in que for the fuel dock and top off my tank with 7 gallons. I decide to head to Stuart Island again and perhaps pick up a buoy in Prevost Harbor. I have made my new buoy line as instructed by Charlie on the Blue Dolphin. I am excited about using it.

There is a large inbound freighter, the Global Express, that I am watching, as he has a big bow wake. I am just about at Turn Point when I see the wakes appearing, but they all have breaking waves on them. I turn Shatoosh and slow down. As they get closer I am startled at their size and steepness. They are short stacked, as well. I say to myself, "get ready".

Watch Your Wake

Shatoosh starts climbing upwards at a steep angle and gets hit with a breaking wave over her bow. She comes through the breaker and her bow starts to fall when the second wave breaks over her bow and the third wave breaks soon after. For the first time in all our big ship's wakes we have taken, all the books on the port shelving falls off, along with the space heater. Several forks flip out of the tray. The tea kettle stays put on the galley, as does the paper cup on the head sink. They never fall off. Wow, this has been the worst wake we have taken.

I pull into Prevost Harbor and pick up my buoy with my new line. I go forward into the v-berth and open the hatch. I take up some slack on my buoy line and cleat her down. Well, that was easy and safe. NO more walking the line forward. This is going to make my life easier and safer. Thank you Charlie Brown on Blue Dolphin.

I settle down and hand wash some clothes and they are dry in no time, thanks to another sunny day. The near full moon rises and today has been wonderful.

Today's run: 9nm.
Total: 250nm

Albineers of BC Gather At Roche Harbor

2011-09-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

The Albineers come to Roche Harbor 9,10,11 September 2011

Mana Kai and a metal hardtop

15 boats attended with 8 from Washington and 7 from BC. It was wonderful to see everyone and their magical boats. So many variations, ideas and I leave thinking about things with new eyes. I really enjoyed meeting so many enthusiastic members. I finally met Jack on Harmony. We had emailed numerous times and he had generously offered me the use of his trailer when I was planning on doing the Snake. I knew Harmony when she was in the Delta of California. I got to put a face on him. I discover that many of the members had been reading my blog, so this trip has really been about meeting all those faceless blog readers. How nice it has been.

A nice stern rail

Turtle has a partial hardtop with opening hatch

Cabin hatch

Outboard stored at bow

storage container for propane canisters
polyline for stern ties

Full aft berth with hinged access to below waterline cooling of beverages. The wine was chilled.

Charlie shows his buoy line

He sides up to buoy and attachs snap shackle to it. Then he goes forward thru the cabin and takes in the slack of the line via the hatch. When wanting to disconnect from the buoy, he lets out all the slack line from the v-berth and then motors forward until the buoy is at the cockpit. He reaches down and unshackles the buoy. He clips the shackle inside the cockpit on the side wall.
Very clever and safe buoy pick up. Thanks for sharing with me, Charlie.

Stuart, Patos,Sucia, Orcas and Shaw

2011-09-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

7,8 September 2011 Wednesday and Thursday

A Vashon Tug
I owned one of these when living on Orcas in the 80's.

The Pumpout Station

A manual pump
Carol is glad I have a small holding tank.

Turn Point Light House
Stuart Island

Turn Point Bluff

Patos Island Lighthouse

Lunch at Patos
Many Sandstone sculptures.

Patos Cove

Hira Finding Comfort in the Sun

Carol Finding Freedom in the View.

Shatoosh in a quiet cove Patos

A New Hat for Hira

Mirror, Mirrow On the Wall

Linear Mooring Cables
Echo Bay Sucia

2 Sets of mooring Cables Echo Bay

Crab For Dinner

I drop Carol off at her friend's dock near the Orcas ferry landing.

What a great time we have had. Carol got to walk alot and see some of her favorite islands. I enjoyed all the special moments.

Patti, A Faceless Blog Reader , FBR.
We meet and she brings home grown veggies.

Capt Dan

Orcas Express

The Best Whale Watching Boat

Orcas Express at the Orcas Ferry Landing

Kayakers at Blind Bay

Blind Bay to Stuart Island: Carol Joins in the Fun

2011-09-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

6 September 2011 Tuesday

Fog at Blind Bay

Fog rolls in and I sit and wait until I can see Orcas before departing to pick up my friend Carol. She parks her car and I get new supplies onboard.

We change our plans due to the fog bank that is not budging from it's grip on Lopez. So instead we head to Stuart Island where they say they have a pumpout. West Sound was charging $15.00 and Deer Harbor's price was $8.00. I'm betting on the free pumpout at Stuart.

Carol, at the helm and eating snacks

Carol and I take a hike

Dock at Reid Harbor Stuart Island

Just as we pull into Reid Harbor, we see the park rangers hauling the pumpout station out. It is the day after labor day so I'm certain it is full. I figure they are taking it to Roche Harbor over on San Juan island and will bring it back. In the meantime we grab a dock space, next to 2 older couples. One has sailed around the world and the other couple has just returned from the Broughtons in British Columbia.The pumpout station returns to its position in the harbor for use. Hurray
Day's run13nm
Total 188nm

Westsound to Blind Bay

2011-09-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

5 September 2011 Monday
An easy day and evening.
Day's run 4nm
Total 175nm

Seaplane takes off next to Shatoosh

Orcas nestles to Shaw and Mt Baker watches the Ferry

Sunset glows on deck and Blind Island

Sailboat sails by us

Hanging Out on Orcas Island with Friends

2011-09-05T21:20:00.000-07:00

4 September 2011 Sunday

Yesterday I noticed my flagstaff was wobbling and upon checking it out I realized that 2 screws were loose, so my project this morning was to repair the problem. I used my swim platform to dismantle it and clean the area. I think these 2 screws need to be through bolted, but for now I replaced the screws with larger ones and recaulked the fitting. I took out the vinyl liner in the aftcabin to see what was going on with the screws and sure enough they were not through bolted. For now this is a quick fix and I can through bolt them later. At least it is secure and won't leak.

My tray doubles as a great place to sort screws. The boat is a mess within minutes, but easily restored back to order.

In the middle of my project a man flies in on his own ultralite amphibious plane. I help him dock as he doesn't have a dock line on board. Then another boat is being towed by the vessel assist boat and I help them dock. Its a busy morning.

I get an email from a gal who lives here on the island. She is a FBR and saw Shatoosh at the dock, but I wasn't around. Hopefully we can meet tomorrow morning. Wow, another blog reader.

Andy and Rae picked me up and we went to the ferry landing and bought sandwiches at the grocery and then took them over to the gift shop where our friend Dee Dee works. While we ate she would run in and out of the shop and talk with us. Dee Dee and her late husband lived on Crane for many years and owned the Argo. Dee Dee, now lives on Orcas and she is the best dressed lady on the island. After work she visited Shatoosh and I just had to take a picture of her on board. Shatoosh has never had such a fancy lady in her cockpit before. Departing she did take her high heels off to walk on the dock barefooted, so she wouldn't catch her heel in the cracks on the dock.

Island life is so varied. Rae introduced me to a very young looking man who owns his own island. Wouldn't that be nice? Being on Orcas and Crane makes me happy that these islands and people played such an important role in my life. Andy and Rae have always had such a positive influence on my life. They are both so fun loving and full of life and spirit. It has been a delight to be with them again and I am very grateful to have had them in my life for all these years.
\
The sunset was spectacular.

Picnic Island in Background

Blind Bay to West Sound Marina, Orcas Island

2011-09-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

3 September 2011 Saturday

The sunrise over Shaw Island was beautiful. I'm on a leisurely morning schedule and enjoy my morning routine, and wait until 0930 to depart. Yesterday as I was coming along the Orcas shoreline, I was filled with so many memories of living and visiting the islands during the last 25+ years.

I motored over to Bay Head Marina near the ferry dock. You can see it has a narrow entrance.

I taught sailing out of here when I lived on Orcas and used some of the boats from Sailing Foundation that were located here. Here are a few of the boats anchored off the ferry landing.

I meander down West Sound looking at homes, docks and boats and pull in to marina and tie up. It is only 3nm from Blind Bay. The Kenmore sea plane comes in right after I dock and drops off an island visitor. I've flown up here often and the view of the islands is spectacular.

Rae on the left, Andy on the right.

My friends, Andy and Rae come down to Shatoosh. I've known these folks since 1965, I was a brand new 2nd Lt in the US Army attending Physical Therapy School and Andy was one of the class instructors. Later she became Chief of the PT Section and was an incredible mentor in my life. Rae was also a PT in the Army but I never knew her until after she retired. They both lived on Crane Island for 30 years and now live high atop Mt Woolard, just down the road from West Sound and the Ferry landing. Often I have gotten to house-sit for them on both islands. They are very special people and have impacted my life as well as island life through their many charitable groups that they volunteer for.

We head for Crane Island to cruise around it.

Andy takes the helm

Rae calls Margaret who lives on Crane to tell her we will cruise by her place and wave.

Islanders would rather have you stop in for tea, so we go through narrow Pole Pass and find a spot on the small Crane island docks. I swing Shatoosh around and dock on her starboard side. Margaret meets us and then we walk along a path with nicely cut Salal on each side. She has been busy with summer projects, new windows for the cabin, newly cetoled garage door. I see many old boats that I am familiar with; The Argo, and Babette's old dock boat which I used to run back and forth while house sitting, especially for night runs. It was safer than using Andy's whaler. Margaret now owns it. As all the ladies became older, they moved to Orcas to make life easier for them. Living on Crane is not easy, everything must be hauled on and off. That includes 50 gallon drums of gas for the boats and tractors and island cars. Andy had an electric Suzuki several decades ago. When you build a house, which they did twice, everything is barged onto the island--cement mixers, supplies,etc. After building their 3rd house which is on Orcas, they are still leading very busy lives at 85 years young. I was barely able to squeeze in a visit with them.

Argo an Ed Monk Design

Babette's ole Dock boat

Hide A Bike in a Tree
40 years later
Can you see it?

Margaret's Cabin

After departing Margaret's cabin with a bag full of freshly caught and cooked crabs, we head for the west side of the island to see their old houses. The first one was built in the early 70's and is a small cabin nestled in the trees overlooking a nice cove. In the mid 80's they built another one that was larger up on the point above the cove. Both locations were wonderful and we had many a good time there.

Cabin to the right
larger house on point.

Sabra and Baten
Crane Island 1983
Original photo by Rae

Here is a photo from one of my trips there. Sabra and Baten moored in the cove. This is my favorite photo of them together. Andy had Baten designed by Jay Benford and built by Jensen Boat Yard in Friday Harbor. It was their work boat and many a trip was made through Pole Pass from Orcas to Crane island. They grew their own veggies, had chickens who laid yummy eggs, the cows gave milk and calves were born. and the donkeys were for fun. Since it would not be wise to bring bulls over for breeding, they took the services of artificial insemination which was performed by the Shaw Island Nuns. I always thought it was a bit unusual that nuns were in the breeding business, but I guess God's work comes in many forms. Summer haying of the pasture always was a group effort and I loved driving the tractor and gathering the hay. It was nice that they could see their old places. We continued around the island and motored back to the marina. We finished off the day with dinner in Eastsound. It was so much fun to have them on Shatoosh and to go to Crane. A day full of memories about island life on Crane. Wow.

Our Route Today

PS. I forgot to mention that many years ago, Andy and Rae went to Sweden and chartered an Albin 25 to cruise the canals across the country. Andy is from hearty Swedish stock and Rae descends from the

First Pilgrims on the Mayflower. NO wonder they can do all that they do and have done. My hat goes off to all the ladies who have lived on Crane and Orcas Islands. They are a special group.

Day's run 11nm

Total: 171nm

Cypress Island to Blind Island

2011-09-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

2 September 2011 Friday

The morning is beautiful with clear blue skies with a slight west wind. I have a very leisurely morning, but take the time to call West Sound Marina for guest moorage this weekend. I'll be meeting friends there and since it is Labor Day weekend I thought it might be wise. After securing that, I make my way to the cabin top to wash windows and get rid of the salt spray. I notice my Scottish flag has broken one of its electrical ties. I had planned to put my Albin Burgee up for the gathering, so replaced the flag there instead.

Last evening a salty fellow rowed over to see me. He tells me he has a friend who has an Albin. She lives on Bainbridge Island with a sailing rig. He wasn't sure she was coming to the Albin gathering, but they have attended many. He was in a small 20 + double ender sloop.

He lives on her in the summers up here and then lives aboard his 32 Cutter in Mexico in the winters. Right now his cutter is on the hard in San Carlos, north of Guyamas. That is where Storm Bay is located, while Chris and Margie are rving. I met them last year on the Columbia River while they were crossing the bar and I was coming out of Ilwaco. He did not know them. He also told me that the cutter is a new boat for him, as he lost his Cape George cutter when he failed to wake up one night while on a run. She sailed herself right up on the shore. He had lots of interesting stories. When I departed I cruised by his boat to talk some more, but his dinghy was on the shore. He certainly was an interesting fellow.

I cast off my buoy lines and pull out of the harbor at 1130. I pass Cone Islands to starboard and stay in close noting 3 small coves that are usable for anchorages, but without buoys. On Pelican Beach there are 5 buoys, but the shore is exposed to north and west winds, making today lumpy. I take the cut between Cypress and Towhead Island and a large Tolleycraft overtakes me on my starboard side and is about 80 feet away. His wake just barrels towards me. I have to say that Washington boaters are not very polite or considerate. I have to slow down and turn up to transient his huge wake. My speed, once back on my course, is 8.2k with the ebbing tide.

Pelican Beach Cypress Isl

Towhead Island off Cypress

Peavine Pass

Blind Island

I spot some jumping salmon, so throw out a lure and troll for about 30 minutes, but no action. At this point I am getting ready to enter Peavine Pass which is between Obstruction Island and Blakely Island. The currents are strong in this narrow pass and my speed kicks up to 9k. I have a nice run between Orcas Island and Shaw Island and slow Shatoosh to enter Blind Bay which is behind a small island. This is a State Park so I pick up another empty buoy. These waters are my old stomping grounds. I moored Sabra directly across the channel in Bay Head Marina next to the Orcas ferry landing and had dinghied over to Blind Island numerous times.

Cypress to Blind Bay

I'm settled on my mooring buoy at 1330hrs and have a lovely afternoon tending to chores, watching boats and reading some magazines that I picked up at the Bellingham marina. Lots of kayakers come and go to the island, as do dinghies from the boats anchored deep into the bay. It is large and can hold hundreds of boats with good holding ground. An ole Soling sails by. There was a large fleet when I lived here in the 80's. It is good to see they are still around, and with new sails. They always hung out in West Sound, so I'm certain I will see them tomorrow.

Days run 12nm
Total of 160nm.

Bellingham to Eagle Harbor, Cypress Island

2011-09-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

1 September 2011 Thursday

Yesterday, mother gull was constantly being harrassed by her 2 children. They wouldn't leave her alone, always pecking at her mouth to get a left over nibble of something. Up and down the dock they went.

The big fish buying boat that I saw on Lummi Island comes into the marina this morning. She is huge and well used.

I wanted to get a jump start on leaving before the wind piped up, but the wind started early this morning. With the wind pinning me to the dock, it was going to make it hard for me to get my bow around in such a short space. I rallied my new found friends, Shirley, on the Island Packet and Al on the Viking Star to assist and/or stand by, to keep me from being blown down on Shirley's boat. Instead of leaving with bow out, I decided to go stern out and with my good old Volvo kick to starboard I knew I could clear Shirley's boat. Al managed to keep my bow off the dock and Shirley gave my stern a shove as I threw Shatoosh in reverse. Presto, I'm out of harm's way and on my way. I wave good by and yell a loud Aloha.

I meet a large fishing vessel coming out of the other harbor, the Lady Law, hailing from Newport, Or. I fall in behind her and begin my Bellingham Bay crossing. The wind has built up quite a chop and the bay is filled with white caps. My ship's bell is ringing some 3 bell waves, as I call them. Shatoosh is riding well and I am glad that I, again, decided to stow Pashmina on the rooftop, rather than, to tow her.

After an hour the seas and winds soften their gnarly grip on the bay. Yesterday, Too Tall was telling me that I might run across a derelict porta boat and would I save it for him. At 1025hrs, I have reached the southern tip of Eliza Island near the southern tip of Lummi. I look up to see a dinghy adrift. In the distance it looks, not like a porta boat, but rather a Livingston. I alter my course to check it out. It is about 12 ft long, pretty beaten up, no lines on it, no registration numbers(they have been partially removed), no life jackets, no oars. There is growth on the bottom indicating it has been adrift for a while and it is partially submerged. I notify the Coast Guard and give them the information and the lat/long. It looks like it might be blown into Eliza Island shoreline. I told the CG that since I was single handing I did not want to try to get a line on her and tow her into land. They agreed and noted the location. I then called, Too Tall, on the phone to tell him he must be coming psychic.

I return to my course heading for Cypress Island and arrive at 1130hrs.

I pick up a buoy deep into Eagle Harbor. The tide is ebbing and I have 8-10 ft of water under me. At low tide I have 6 feet. There are 12 bouys here and the setting is stunning with a nice cove and beach in the back and steep rock cliffs to port as you face outward of the cove. The sun has been in and out all day and the wind blowing 10-15k to zero.

I am really hungry, so cut up some polish sausage and scramble some eggs. I top it off with my last kosher pickle and a mug of coffee. I figure I get my vegetable that way. After doing the dishes, I dust off my fishing pole and throw the line over. A fish grabs it just as it hits the bottom. I throw it back and that is the only catch of the day. If the weather is good tomorrow, perhaps I will troll for some pinks.

Hooking up to a buoy really takes the stress out of being in a windy cove. I will be coming back here in a few days when I bring my friend, Carol, next week. Farther up the shoreline are more buoys and trail heads, as all this land is DNR. There is a small mountain lake, as well. We will have to explore it later.

Its time to put on some warmer clothes as the wind is cold. I think I have changed clothes 3 times today. Fleece to shorts and back again. The weather changes every 5 minutes.We have had calm, rain, wind, sun, clouds but no fog. I'm headed for the galley to make me some hot chocolate.

An interesting low profile trawler came in late this afternoon, hailing from Oregon. They are flying a Waikiki Yacht Club Burgee. He buoys up across from me. Perhaps, tomorrow I shall talk with him.

My course today brought me to a place where I intersected my original course north to Lummi. As you can see, I have been exploring the north east section of the islands, which are all new to me. I haven't planned on this, but it just evolved as each day passed.

Day's run: 14nm

Total: 148nm

Bellingham Layover

2011-08-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

31 August 2011 Wednesday

I slept from 2130 hrs to 0720 this morning. Boy, so I feel rested. Its raining this morning, so I will enjoy a break, check the engine and try to get some photos put up on the blog. I have had a spotty internet connection over at Inati Bay, so that is why I am behind on posting pictures.

The other day I coined a term for all my faceless blog readers and abbreviated it FBR. It was only a few hours that I received an email from someone who said he was a FBR from Oklahoma asking a question about my use of the NOAA Charts and the free Sea Clear program. In matters of hours the term for this sub culture has taken off. Let me hear from you other FBRs. The blog stats showed new readers from Brunei and Mexico. The one in Nepal continues to read the blog. When I return I will have to count the countries, as my list is growing and may be even with the numbers of navigable river waterways I have cruised-over 70.

I'm happy to get all the pictures up. It does take lots of time, but I love doing it. It is always easier when the signal is good and I'm plugged into 110. I got the engine and batteries checked and my next 11 days programed out. My new DC cooler is running well and after one week I still have frozen ice in one of the gallon jugs. I freeze filtered water from the house and bring them. They have never lasted this long. I asked a lady on the dock where I could get block ice. She said they just put on 6 blocks so she'd give me one. I paid her for it, of course. That was the easiest block of ice I've ever taken on. She even delivered it to Shatoosh. ASK, and you shall Receive!

I'm working my way over to Orcas Island where I will be meeting up with friends. Tomorrow I will take a short leg to Cypress island and pick up a mooring buoy. The guidebook stated that Cypress is a jewel of an island. I have never been there so looking forward to going.

I heard a knock on the deck. A new set of Faceless Blog Readers(FBR's) were staring at me. They read the blog and are living aboard a 45 ft Ed Monk wooden trawler. They just happened to be docked a few boats down and have just returned from Portland by car. They wondered if they might run into me on my trip north and immediately recognized Shatoosh as they ventured down the dock. Wow, this is too much. I'm definately in cruising country and blog readers are ever so present. I walk down and see the Viking Star; a stately ole lady with lots of upgrades. They also, write a blog, http://www.mvvikingstar.blogspot.com/. Lets take a peak. I've been reading it for about 30 minutes. I love it. Before I left their boat we talked and they gave lots of good information on the buoys at Cypress Island. I can't wait to get there.Thanks Al and Kristi for stopping by. I look forward to seeing you in some special cove.

Inati Bay to Bellingham

2011-08-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

30 August 2011 Tuesday

I slept much better but was awakened often with beam waves coming into the bay. It is overcast and reporting 15-20k southerlies. I'm moving slow but get off by 0900hrs. I am going to tow Pashmina up close and give it a try, as it is a little rolly. We only have about 10 nm to go. Bellingham is the closest pumpout for the head, so that is our mission today.

I'm cruising at about 5.5k just to keep Pashmina calm. The wind and waves are on my beam and aft quarter and later on my stern. It is probably only about 5 k of wind and the seas are not more than 3 feet.
There are 2 sections of marinas, the East and the West. I take the East basin as the guest dock and pumpout are close by. After pumping out I call the harbor master and he gives me the location to dock. Another boat has come in and helps me dock in a tiny space. Another lady singlehander on an Island Packet 31 has been out cruising with another boat for 2 months up north. It is so good to see more ladies out cruising on their own boats. At the end of the dock I find another Porta boat- my 4th so far on this trip.

12 Ft Porta Boat
Dinghy Storage at East Basin Bellingham

Shatoosh and Pashmina get a really good bath and I get a long shower. I re stow Pashmina on the roof.

All Clean Again
Ready For The Next Leg

I take an early bird dinner at the restaurant at the end of the dock and have salad, Idaho trout, rice pilaf with cranberries, green beans with almonds, and cream burlee. All for $17.95. Plus I couldn't eat all of it so have another meal tomorrow.

This is a good stopover to get rested some, so I plan on another day here.
Day's Run: 8nm
Total:134nm

Inati Bay continued

2011-08-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

29 Aug 11 Monday- 0010 hrs

I'm anchored in Inati Bay, Lummi Island and on vigilant anchor watch. The southeast winds are blowing, the skies are clear and my stern anchor has dragged, necessitating my pulling it up. This means I am swinging at anchor with the wind howling. I have been sitting at the helm station watching my close position with a large trawler when I look out to the entrance and see another solid green light next to the flashing one that is far beyond the entrance. I go below and check my position looking through the forward hatch. I'm sitting in my bunk with flashlight in hand, taking a break. I am wide awake now. Another big wind gust and Shatoosh sails off in another direction however the main anchor seems to be holding. I think I hear someone yelling way off in the distance. Again it happens, I get up and go into the cockpit and there is a boat bearing down on me. The guy on the foredeck is yelling, "Scotty, slow down". I turn on my running lights and shine the light onto my hull and decks. I go forward and pop up through the hatch. I call out, "can you see me"? "Yes", the guy says. But the boat is bearing right towards me. This time, I yell, "you are bearing down on me". He yells, "Scotty, turn to port". They yell back and forth to each other and the guy wants to know how much anchor line I have out. The large low sleek sailboat's starboard green light sails past my bow with about 20 feet between us. The guy at the helm is calm, saying I see you, everything is ok. They move fast past me and into a dark corner of the bay. They must have been here many times before and seem to be headed for the shore to anchor in close. I would never have thought anyone would be coming in to anchor after midnight. But there you have it, another Lummi adventure. Now, I know what that other green light was at the head of the bay.

I am up and down all night with the wind gusts and sitting abeam of some small waves, however it is calmer than Legoe Bay. Every time I am awakened, I get up to check my position, check my depth sounder and check my anchor. I am holding my position, well. At 0800 I watch a sailboat sail in, furl the main and jib, slow to an easy speed and maneuver between the boats. The skipper is a single handed woman...she anchors quietly next to Shatoosh, checks her position after the first swing she readjusts her chain length. It is foggy and drizzly and later I complement her.

At 0900 hrs, Scotty and his big wooden ketch of 50 feet in length weighs anchor and speeds out of the bay, heading north. Too bad, I miss getting to to talk with him, as I am certain he has lots of stories to tell.

Scotty's Boat the Night Stalker

Another Bow and Stern Anchor

More boats come and go, some staying for just a few hours. This is a short cruise from Bellingham so many people use it. As more people leave, I try anchoring in different places with different stern anchor set-ups. All practice is good and when things don't go right, then I am learning patience. Often when I lift the anchor out of the water it has a watermelon sized glob of mud and in it is entangled kelp. I have to climb out of the forepeak onto the deck, lie down and grab the chain, lifting it and dropping it to get the stuff off. After about 30 times, my biceps and right SI joint are screaming. I'm sure tomorrow I will be feeling sore. At 1945, the last boat sails off in the direction of Bellingham. I'm alone at last and the winds seem to have abated. I am anchored in a nice place with only the bow anchor and with no one around I can swing without worry. Hopefully no one will be anchoring at midnight.

This has been a long day with lots of lessons for me about anchoring in new coves. Adjusting to the currents and the tides, analyzing types of anchors and lengths of rode and chain, using lines to shore are just a few things I need to consider. I will be readjusting my ground tackle. One thing is for certain I am loving my swim platform. It is making getting on and off Pashmina easy.

My Route Around Lummi

Legoe Bay to Inati Bay

2011-08-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

28 Aug 11 Sunday

I had a very rolly night on the buoy and at 0600 hrs we are shrouded in total fog. I can't see the dinghy on the next buoy. By 0830 hrs the fog has lifted enough for me to take off. I'm headed south to round Carter Point on the south side and explore 3 of the small bays that are good anchorages. I pass Lummi Rocks, while in light fog. My radar is working well and I have about a quarter of a mile of visibility. The depths along the shore are well into 40 fathoms so I move in closer to see the high cliffs. At Carter Point there is an immature eagle sitting on the rock shoreline. While still young, he looks very large and stately.

Carter Pt. South Lummi

Fish Buying Boat Returning to Legoe Bay

The first bay which is a DNR site has a small boat anchored with 2 lines to shore. There is suppose to be a buoy here but I don't see it. The second one is Reil Bay and is an exposed small bight and it doesn't look good to me, so I head farther north to Inati Bay and this one is a beauty with about 5 boats anchored. I swing by a large sailboat and they say they are leaving so I can anchor near them. I set the bow anchor easily. I get in Pashmina, which I have towed this morning, to put out a stern anchor to keep me from swinging. Several of the boats depart and at noon a lady hails me from her kayak. She is anchored here in her Columbia 26 and wanted to meet a fellow woman boater. I invite her aboard and fix some coffee for us and we have a nice chat. I get back in Pashmina and clean the waterline and reset my stern anchor as it seems to have lost its set. It is so beautiful and peaceful here. Another sailboat comes in with a portaboat, as a dinghy. This is my 3rd portaboat to see on this trip.

Anchored Inati Bay
Bow and Stern Anchors

Fog rolls in.

My Lummi blog readers show up late afternoon and we raft up together and have another delightful time, sharing stories, munching on chips and dip. I am so happy that I came up here to meet them. They are both easy to be with. As I cruise around, we might hook up again. I invite FBR to join me for an over nighter, if she would like.

More boats come and go and it seems by sunset there are 4 of us anchored. I am awakened at 1100 hours with south east winds and strong gusts. My WYC burgee is a good wind alert as she bangs on the bow pulpit and it always wakes me up. I better get up to check my position. My stern anchor has dragged and I am swinging over to the trawler which was on my port. This does not look good. I check my bow anchor and it seems to be holding well. The Albins tend to swing alot at anchor when there is the least amount of wind. Having the stern anchor really stabilizes the boat. This is important in a crowded small anchorage. I return to deal with the stern anchor and decide to pull it in and I discover there is a huge kelp tangled into the flukes along with lots of mud and rocks. I set it on the aft deck and secure it to the cleat. Then go below and wash both hands. Oh! the joys of cruising. I return to the helms seat and hang out watching my position, taking note of the wind gusts, keeping my flashlight in my hand and put some socks on, as my feet are cold. I just have to make certain that my anchor is holding. I really don't want to have to reset it in the dark.

Day's run: 10nm
Total: 126nm