SJI Summer Day 24 - Back to Lopez!

I’ve no doubt mentioned that Lopez Island is a very special place for us…years upon years of memories with family and friends, tons of crab (the year we trapped 73!), all kinds of weather (the year we packed up camp and split early because of rain), and a myriad of fun activities (the year Melissa brought 8 [eight!] ukuleles).

So, Europa returned to Fisherman Bay for a few days so we can visit some of our favorite places. We quickly stopped at the dock before anchoring, unloaded the bikes, set them up, and locked them to a rack at the resort so we will have access over the next couple of days.

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But first, it’s hard for me to believe I forgot to mention one of the highlights of the Neil Bay week – fresh seafood! Nick’s co-workers gave him a gift card for Taylor Shellfish as a retirement present so we decided to use that last week. We ordered 3 pounds each of clams and mussels, and 40 oysters (Shigoku!). This bounty was Fed Ex’d to our door just in time for dinner. Nicked shucked about half the oysters for immediate consumption, and the rest were grilled in the shell. We sautéed the clams in garlic, butter, olive oil, and white wine, and the mussels in a cream-based brew. A delicious feast!

After we anchored, we dinghied to the dock, retrieved our bikes, and headed to the farmers market. And then to Bucky’s for fish tacos…of course.

Not long after we returned from our foray into town, I saw a small sailboat approaching, with what looked like a guy in a dinghy hanging on to the side. I didn’t pay too much attention, just thought to myself that it looked like a stupid stunt. Just as they passed us, the dinghy started to go down and the guy went in the water. (We think there was an outboard on the dinghy.) The skipper of the sailboat immediately through his anchor over, and they got the overturned and partially submerged dinghy tied to the boat. Nick got in our dinghy and helped get the first guy out of the water and on to the sailboat. Nick came back, until the skipper called over and asked for a ride to the dock. Nick obliged, while the guy who went in the water stayed with the sailboat. The skipper returned with a larger power boat and towed the dinghy to the marina. The sailboat was left at anchor, an unsafe distance to Europa. Fortunately, the winds died down and all is well this morning. Hopefully, the skipper will return today and deal with his sailboat. And, importantly, no one was hurt.

I get it…shit happens, and I don’t want to poke fun at these people. But…don’t do dingy things with your dinghy!

We were enjoying our first cup of coffee this morning when I decided to look behind me onto the swim step. We were left a gift! Some critter found a nice surface to eat, and then leave their fish remains.
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As I finish up this post, the skipper is returning in some dinghy to retrieve his sailboat.

Connectivity issues, so photos will come later...