Rough Seas!

But first…

Last week we took Europa back to Des Moines so the factory could work on our ongoing leak problem. Don and Tim spent quite a bit of time spraying the boat with the hose to determine the source of the leak. Water was definitely coming in some place on the top of the boat and then running through the wall (along some wires as it turned out) to exit at the galley porthole. After some trial and error, Don resealed some areas around the front skylight window…and the leaking stopped. So, after a week with some heavy rain, we see no sign of any more water coming in. Let that be the end of this…please.

torn apart boat

We stayed in Des Moines that night and then headed to Gig Harbor for a second night out before heading home.

Ranger dock at Des Moines with Kingfisher

And then…

We had been making tentative plans to meet the Z’s on their Coorie Doon sometime before the turkey holiday and finally decided Tuesday (Nov. 19) was the day. They put their boat in the water at Point Defiance (a first for them) and met us at the Des Moines Marina, as they needed to fuel up. We hadn’t made any definite plans so after some conversation we decided to head north to Blake Island. The weather wasn’t great and there was some wind...but it didn’t seem too bad.

Well…wrong again! It began to get swelly and choppy the further north we headed. Still not all that bad, and certainly not anything we hadn’t experienced before. And then it got worse…way worse. I was at the helm and soon switched with Nick, and he decided to power up a bit and get closer to shore. As we approached the northern tip of Vashon, some swells were easily 6 feet, and water was continually washing over the top of the entire boat, making it impossible to see for many seconds at a time.

At that point I panicked, started hyperventilating, and had to make my way to the v-berth to lie down. The large drawer under the bed was out and the screens had fallen out of the hatches…plus I was trying to carry my phone and hold on for dear life. I managed to get a text out to Jeanie saying just, “Bad!” as they were still a bit behind us.

I was absolutely no help to Nick whatsoever…and I don’t feel great about that. (As he mentioned - not much I could have done anyway!) After five or ten minutes, he called out to me that the worst was over and we were arriving at the entrance to the Blake Island docks. There were no other pleasure boats there, so we had room to maneuver…which was a good thing because it was still blowing and we had to turn around in a fairway so we could use the wind to our advantage. We got docked – actually not that badly, given the conditions and lack of any one around to help. The Coorie Doon pulled in right after us. We’ve been in some bad weather, even together before, but we agree…this was the worst.

Happy hour began a little earlier that afternoon.

Beautiful at Blake!

Boats at Blake - all to ourselves

Blake sunrise

Icy docks at Pouslbo

We woke to a gorgeous and clear day – with the island pretty much to ourselves. Took a lovely walk, and headed to Poulsbo under much nicer conditions. (Photos courtesy of Jeanie!)

When we were at Blake, the four of us ate an excellent meal of the Z’s BBQ/smoked tri-tip, with yummy beans. Delish!

In Poulsbo we shared another meal – a one pot pasta concoction that I have been wanting to try for a long time. It was good…but needs some improvement. Certainly, a convenient method for boating.

Our last meal was at the Harbour Public House in the City of Bainbridge – never disappointing.

All in all, a great trip. Europa and Corrie Doone play well together. Other than that harrowing bit of time that first day – and the fact that Nick came down with a nasty cold – it was a glorious fall outing.

Bremerton and City of Bainbridge

We’ve said before that we don’t find the city of Bremerton very appealing…but we really enjoy the marina area. Well, we’re saying that again. Granted, we’re usually here on weekend when the downtown area is pretty much closed, and we don’t know very much about what Bremerton might have to offer.

On the way to Bremerton from Poulsbo on Sunday, we decided to have lunch at the Boat Shed restaurant, just across the Manette Bridge. We really like this place. It has a dock, so we thought maybe we’d pull in there before moving on to the marina. Well, the current into Dyes Inlet was really moving, and after one attempt, we decided maybe not!

View of Boat Shed from Manette bridge - current was much stronger when we were there!

View of Manette bridge from Boat Shed deck

So, we continued on into the marina, then headed across the bridge on foot to Manette. After a nice lunch, we walked along the water to Bachmann Park. This is the small waterfront park with the beach overlook that you see in Sinclair Inlet on the way into Bremerton. We also stopped at a store we like, the Manette Trading Company (Used/Vintage/Consignment). There just happened to be an Orca whale windsock…for $5! As ours has seen better days, we snagged this one – it’s a bit bigger, and a little faded, but will do the trick!

View of Sinclair Inlet from Bachmann Park

old raggedy orca windsock

new bigger orca windsock

We took a couple more walks before and after our dinner of grilled lamb and sautéed zucchini. The fountains are still on (I think they turn them off in the winter) at Harborside Fountain Park and it looked very nice on a bright and sunny fall day.

Harborside Fountain Park

We enjoyed a gorgeous and rosy sunset during dinner – the sky turned all kinds of blue, pink, and lavender, and the reflection on the water was quite lovely. Before walking to the end of the marina breakwater after dinner, we turned on our underwater lights. After getting cleaned, they are definitely brighter. It’s always fun to see how they light up the fish and creatures living on the docks.

sunset

sunset

underwater lights

sea anemones under the dock

Bremerton Marina guest dock, looking into town

We had options on Sunday…foot ferry to Port Orchard…big ferry to Seattle…Fast Ferry to Seattle…boat somewhere else? Tour the USS Turner Joy? (Nick is not interested…but I am.)

You can see my outline in blue of the Turner Joy - she's right there at the marina.

USS Turner Joy - behind marina boats

Things to like about a boat visit to Bremerton: nice marina; seals and sea lions; Manette; Boat Shed Restaurant;  Naval Musem; Turner Joy Museam; bird watching; ferry traffic (lovely as they come and go at night); ferry travel options; Bachmann Park; Harborside Fountain Park; naval yard – if you’re lucky enough to see something like the Nimitz go by! I’m sure there is more…

Western Grebes hanging around in the marina

We decided to boat somewhere else…Eagle Harbor, and the City of Bainbridge. The city park dock was crowded because they were doing some work on the park buoys in the harbor and moved a bunch of boats to the dock. We got a spot, but what a mess! Five or six old boats were in various stages of being worked on, with stuff piled on the docks, power tools going, and, well, just a mess. No harm, no foul.

Ferries passing in front of a cloud-capped Mt. Rainier

The wind picked up a little during the night but not enough to blow us around much. We shoved off Tuesday morning and headed home.

Hello, Nimitz!

It’s not every day I get to see an aircraft carrier go by. USS Nimitz came home yesterday afternoon to her home-port at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton. She is the oldest carrier still in service.

I walked to the closest vantage point I could find, just in front of Tillicum Village on Blake Island, to watch all the maneuvering. There were several tugs, some kind of small pilot boat, and a Coast Guard cutter. Not to mention a container chip and a ferry. Fascinating. It was fun to watch…but I would have rather been out on the water for an even closer look!

container ship with Nimitz passing behind

We took off early this morning and made it to Poulsbo just as the wind kicked in hard. We had a less-than-graceful docking experience, and are now sitting here in the boat watching all kinds of havoc. No one is having an easy time. At least it is sunny and clear.

Blake Island Doesn't Disappoint

After we finished watching Malcolm yesterday (lucky us – two days in a row!) we departed the Foss Waterway, headed for Blake Island. The weather was supposed to be fairly clear for the next few days. We pulled in around 4:30pm, after a calm cruise up Colvos Pass. There were quite a few boats, more than we expected, but there were a few spaces left on the docks. (Turns out some Day Island Yacht Club boats were here prior to their weekend gathering over in Bell Harbor. They all cleared out this morning, leaving us one of just a few boats.)

Nick grilled a steak to share for dinner – this trip may be our last grilling opportunity of the season.

We woke up to mostly clear skies and mild temps. We set off for our usual round-the-island hike after breakfast. A bit muddy, but not too bad. The north perimeter section of the trail system is closed for construction so for the first time we cut off onto the interior trails. A bit more primitive but still easy to follow. Quiet, beautiful, and picturesque. One of our favorite spots is along the east side, where the trees thin and there are acres of sword ferns.

Lots of ferns 

Sunlight, looking past Southworth ferry terminal and into Colvos

tree across trail

I noticed the ends of a few of the sword fern fronds were curled into balls about the size of a ping pong ball. Weird. They looked like something out of an Alien movie. Nick uncurled one a little and we could see some wad of something...a bug, spider, a moth? Don't know but didn't want to examine any more closely. Yuk!

You can be assured of seeing wildlife here on the island – although some are not so “wild.” Raccoons, as usual, prowl the shoreline at low tide, eating whatever they can dig out from under rocks…and the docks, looking for the careless boat owner who hasn’t shut all the doors/windows/hatches! There were 11 deer grazing on the park lawn when we arrived – they barely moved as we walked by.

We felt a few drops during our hike, and the woods were a bit dark, but otherwise it was very nice. Our timing was perfect, as it began to rain as soon as we got back to the boat. And then the wind picked up.

Some weather definitely blew through – we are hunkered down and will stay another night. We can see blue sky now…but we’re in no hurry!

Home berth docking - I did it!

After checking the weather, we decided to head home from Penrose – rain and wind in the forecast. We had a lovely couple of days out.

A bit more about Penrose Point State Park…it really is a nice spot. We hiked the loop out to the point yesterday morning. The trails are well-maintained, and there are good resources around the park, including a nature walk, signage about local wildlife, and maps. Depending on tide, you can walk the beach or the trails. As we walked the trail near the beach, loons were making very cool noises across the water.

local clams (but I think they forgot Purple Varnish Clam)

Mt. Rainier 

beach art

Someone before us got creative

On our way across Carr Inlet, and all through Hale Passage, we saw lots of porpoise again…dozens at a time. We also saw a few sea lions in The Narrows.

For some reason, I decided yesterday was the day for me to ease Europa into her home berth at the Foss Harbor Marina. I always take her out but had yet to return her to F2B. The fairway is fairly narrow, and we are the second boat from the end, so it’s pretty close quarters. And I was determined to do this without thrusters!

I think it went well. It took me a while, but I didn’t use thrusters until the very end. I got the boat turned without them, then used them just to nudge her to the dock.

Boating While Retired

We decided the weather was cooperating and it was time to head back out on the water. What was weird about this was…it was Sunday when we made that decision. We’re still getting used to having the freedom to take advantage of good weather…and boat when we want to.

After the get-together for my dad’s 90^th birthday – yes, 90! – we left the Foss for Gig Harbor. It was later in the afternoon, so we needed a close destination. We noticed as we entered that the harbor was almost empty of anchored boats. Oh ya…it’s Sunday! It’s also fall, but still…

We left Gig Harbor after lunch when the currents were going our way through The Narrows. At one point we were at 980 rpms, 7.5 knots, and 18 miles per gallon – that’s the way we like to cruise! It’s a beautiful, clear day and we’re now the only boat at the dock at Penrose Point State Park.

On the way here we saw lots of porpoise – more than we generally see. I have given up trying to take photos of these, but they are fun to watch.

We are always struck by the beauty of this place.

Two eagles

Penrose Point looking at Mayo Cove

I read this summer that the Lakebay Marina and Resort had reopened after the owner was forced to make some changes. Even for off season though, it looks pretty bare over there. Google says it’s open today but there certainly isn’t any activity. Too bad - such a nice spot.

Lakebay Marina & Resort from Penrose Point

Four generations!

Caleb, Herb with Malcolm, Janine

Ready for Cruising!

We received word from CSR Marine yesterday morning that the bottom paint was finished and they could put Europa back in the water – earlier than we expected.

We finished up a couple of things – Nick installed the zincs, while I got to work on a few spots that could use more work. I had less than satisfactory results and will be purchasing a different product at some point to remove barnacle residue. Note: I tried to use the power buffer. That thing nearly took me off the ladder. Maybe something smaller in the future, which would also be good for working on small areas in tight spaces.

Fresh bottom paint

Nick had given CSR the go-ahead to do further work related to cleaning and painting the running gear. They wire brushed several areas, and then were able to apply the bottom paint to more than just the bottom of the hull. (Like the thruster housing.) 

Much cleaner!

While the boat is on dry dock stands, there are small areas of the hull that can’t be painted. As soon as Europa was in the sling, Wendell rolled bottom paint onto those spots and then dried them with a heat gun. Ready to go in the water!

The boat looks really good. (Thanks again, Steve Z!) Getting a closer look at components that are out of view when the boat is in the water really helped me understand a few things, and gave us more information about how to deal with maintenance in the future.

bow thruster with new zinc

This time I was there to see Europa being moved around, and here are some shots of her going back in the water. As soon as the bow swim step was even with the pavement, Nick and I boarded for the ride down to the water. It is a little weird to be in between concrete with no fenders out. It was breezy but thankfully not enough to blow us about.

We stopped at the fuel dock to fill up, then tied her up at the Ranger dock while we had lunch at Wally’s. (Fish and Chips: I like them because they are flat pieces of fish, with thin breading, rather than a thick batter. Chowder: A little thicker than I prefer, but really good. Very tender clams.)

After lunch, I headed home with the car and Nick had a lovely boat ride back to the Foss. I met him there and we spent a bit of time tidying up and spraying her down with Salt Away. The boat is filthy again from people climbing all over her in a dirty boat yard. It never ends…

While we were waiting for Europa, we saw one of the new 41s. She was power washed and then moved to the yard to await bottom paint before she goes into the water and her new owner has orientation with Ranger Tugs. This company is known for innovation. Here is an example: the propellers are backwards!