SJI Summer Days 36 - 41, Time to go!

The men went fishing (no fish) and the women had a baby shower (Malcolm!). With those two things behind us, we decided to head north again sooner than planned. (We didn’t last an entire week on land!) It was good to be home for awhile though, to look at mail, check on our garden, and check in with friends and family.

Here is a photo of the blocks we painted at the shower. Everyone contributed to the ABC’s and 1 to 10, and then I painted marine life on one side of each. Fun project!

We are spending time today shopping and packing and will aim for Edmonds tomorrow.

I am also including an image – Nick’s coworkers commissioned a caricature of him for his retirement. Turned out pretty good. 😊

SJI Summer Days 33 - 35, Home...for now...

Not the calmest of crossings. We headed south from Spencer Spit toward Port Townsend. The wind came and went, and the water got downright snotty at times. We hugged the shore of Whidbey Island north of Port Townsend and almost changed our plans. Then the wind shifted and the water got calmer…until it wasn’t. We made it to Port Townsend and got a slip at Point Hudson. Lots of space there on a Monday in early August.

Woke up to heavy fog Tuesday morning. We waited around a bit and then decided to plow through. We are getting better and better at this. There weren’t many boats on the water, which makes it a lot easier. We headed south to the Port Townsend Canal. Note to others: Garmin will never take us through here. We’d never heard of it until our good boater friend Ray told us about it. It’s a nice cruise on the inside of Indian Island. We’ve never had any problems with this route.

Our destination was Port Ludlow – a place we’ve heard a lot about and never been. The marina is nice – good docks, helpful staff, and a lovely little store. We took a walk into the town center, which doesn’t amount to much. We were forewarned so we didn’t expect too much. There are a lot of trails, and this one wound around the estuary. Other than a few times the path was close to or on the road, it was a nice little hike.

We also checked out the resort and restaurant and may decide to visit again by car for a weekend getaway.

There are a few Ranger Tugs in the Port Ludlow marina, including the Pelican, our former R 25. It is now named Toot Sweet. We couldn’t get close to it, and the owner wasn’t around, but it was nice to see her and reminisce a little.

Wednesday morning…more fog. We set out again with running lights blazing and radar spinning. It began to clear a bit as we rounded the headland and continued south for our last night on this part of our journey. Eagle Harbor (Bainbridge Island) is a favorite, and a nice overnight spot on the way up or back. We threw out the anchor, hung out on the boat, ate leftovers, and had an early night. I almost always take photos of the Seattle skyline when we are in Eagle Harbor. This time it was pretty clear, and we had a different angle because of where we anchored. Although this photo isn’t that clear…it really is a spectacular view.

Almost no fog this morning. We headed out first thing – once we started toward home, I guess we didn’t feel much like dilly dallying. We arrived back in the Foss just before noon.

I am excited to host a baby shower for Leslie this weekend, and then we’ve got some chores to do and errands to run. Nick hopes to fish for pinks. It will be nice to catch up with our neighbors, tidy up our roof deck, and generally catch up with life in Tacoma where we left it on July 5.

Finally...I'm able to download the seaplane video!

SJI Summer Day 32 - Shower Sump

Jones Island Photos

Crab Sentinel

Europa through the trees

Jones Island north anchorage

Jones Island path

Jones Island view

Jones - expansive view north to Spieden Island

One of our to-do items has been to check our shower sump. We know that access is difficult – you have to remove the two screws that attach the unit to the boat, and then twist it to get to two of the four screws that attach the lid to the unit. The trick is to do this only once, and then not replace the two lid screws that get hidden under the floor board.

So, I pulled out the tool bag and got to work. It was tricky, as the space is small…the bit of V-berth floor space between the head door and the bed base. The interior space is also tiny and it would have helped to have a longer extension to the screw driver.

It was only slightly gross once I got the cover off. Mostly innocuous soap scum…but it freaked me out a bit at first. It would have helped to have a turkey baster or something to remove water. I used a large sponge and paper towels to remove the water, scum, and clean it out as best I could. The filter, which was also difficult to remove and replace, needed a rinse but wasn’t too bad. (I don’t wash my hair in the boat, which probably helps!) This whole process took me at least an hour but I got the job done!

Another peaceful night - we moved to a buoy that opened up yesterday afternoon. Spent a good part of the day yesterday hanging out on the beach under the umbrella. 

We'll be off after breakfast - hopes for a calm crossing!

SJI Summer Days 28 - 31, Jones Island

 

Windsurfer in Fisherman Bay

We’ve had little to zero coverage so have been unable to communicate much. We tied to a ball in the north cove of Jones Island State Park, where is was very calm and peaceful. But first…

We rode a good 30 miles to Watmough – lovely as usual, and not very crowded. We had to check on our favorite horizontally growing tree.

Watmough Bight

The trip to Jones Island was just 8.5 miles but at 4 to 5 knots, enough to charge our batteries for a couple more nights without dock power. (We can conserve quite a bit of power just by turning the cockpit fridge off!)

After arriving in the cove to find a couple of mooring balls available – not the case last time – we snagged one and rowed to the dock to hike. (The Waggoner Guide says there are 7 mooring buoys – we see just 4.) We took the north loop and were delighted with the condition of the trails and the scenery. There is still plenty of evidence of the 1990 storm. We also saw many “girdled” trees. These must be designated as diseased or in danger of falling.

blow down

girdled tree

On Friday, August 2, we hiked the longer trail and then finished some boat chores.

Speaking of boat chores. I contacted Top Knot to ask for suggestions in how to deal with snagged mooring lines. I received a quick response with advice about using something with a blunt point (like a knitting needle) to push the strands back into the line, and then using a hair dryer to smooth the line. Well, a crochet hook worked quite well, with the added benefit of being able to hook some of the strands under and through the line when the “pushing” didn’t quite work. I don’t have a hair dryer on the boat so was not able to see how that part works. We also removed splinters!

line snag

On Saturday morning we still had very little connection – only a couple of texts and emails have gone through.

It was very interesting watching boats come in to the north cove of Jones. Some looked around and then left after considering options. Four boats came in, anchored, and then stern tied. We have never done this, and haven’t ever seen it done before, but know that we will need to at some point. It looks like a hassle but we understand the advantages for getting more boats into a small space.

We hiked the longer loop around the east side of the island – more beautiful and very well-maintained trails.

As lovely as this island is, I am a little tired of the constant rocking. This is from wind and boat waves and never seems to stop. It’s not windy, and the rocking isn’t terrible…I’m just tired of it. See more Jones Island photos at the end of this post.

We headed to Deer Harbor, Orcas Island. They could not fit us in so we motored to Fisherman Bay’s IMC for a short-term dock stay. We charged some items, picked up some groceries…and I had a shower and washed my hair! After refilling our water tank, we continued on to Spencer Spit, where there were unsurprisingly no buoys open, on either side. We remember a rocky night on the north side once so went to the south side and dropped our anchor.

We had a nice, calm night and will stay here again tonight. Nick took a close look at weather and winds over the next couple of days and it looks like tomorrow, Monday, is a great day to head across the strait. Not sure which way we will go, but most likely heading to Port Townsend.

Photos are taking a very long time to download so I will include more later.

SJI Summer Days 26 & 27 - Marina Pros & Cons

Last time we were in Fisherman Bay, rather than anchoring (our favorite!), we docked at the Islander Resort and Marina. This time we were at Islands Marine Center (IMC). These two are right next door to each other and offer different experiences. Everyone has their own needs and preferences but our opinion at this point is that IMC is better for us.

The cost per foot is lower at IMC at $1.40 per foot; it’s $2 at Islander. However, power is $8, while power at the Islander is $6. The only pump-out service for miles around is here at IMC and costs $5 – it’s a portable unit so you don’t have to move your boat. The docks here are quite long, which means that multiple boats may be piled in – not a great situation. But it’s way less crowded so that might not be a problem.

Speaking of docks. The docks at IMC are concrete with metal cleats. The docks at the Islander, at least some of them, are wooden with wooden bull rails. I am no dock expert but I really, really dislike docks with wood! Especially older ones. They are more difficult to tie to, harder to walk on, and get splinters in everything! One item on my lazy-day-at-anchor “to do” list is to go through all of Europa’s dock lines with a pair of pliers to remove nasty wooden splinters.

The Islander is just a really busy place - we've been at anchor here in the past and heard people partying into the wee hours. Right now, there are several boats rafted. No thank you...

We watched this guy on his wind surfer thingamajig. I wish I captured him with video! It’s difficult to see in this photo but it has “wings” on each side that he practically lays on, and when he gets up to speed the whole thing raises up onto some kind of ski. And he goes fast!

[photo later]

Tuesday morning after a walk into the village and a pump-out (plus getting bike batteries and everything else all charge up), we anchored back in the bay for a couple of nights to continue our Lopez visit. Another item on our task list is giving the teak a nice coat of oil. I got the galley finished and it looks great!

Our plan today is to ride to Watmough Bight. Our bikes remain locked to a stand at the Islander.

Reception is very spotty so no photos or videos...

SJI Summer Day 25 - More Gifts!

Nick relaxing in Fisherman Bay

Somehow, I lost my photo of the swim step covered in fish remains. We hadn’t noticed there were additional remains in the dinghy. We think it must have been otters, as seals probably would have rocked the boat enough to wake us up.

The sailboat skipper returned to retrieve his boat, which he anchored a little further away. He arrived in…guess what? The dinghy, with the outboard on which he spent three hours cleaning and changing the oil eight times to get it to run again. We thought for sure that thing was toast! How do we know all of this? Because he returned to Europa bearing a nice bottle of wine for our troubles. 😊

I have a video to post here but I haven't figured it out yet. The clip doesn’t really do the situation justice. My goal was to capture just how disconcerting it is to have an incoming seaplane aiming right at us, and to show how close they get. They really don’t need very much space. It seems they have the entire bay to work with but they must want to land as close to the dock as possible and save taxiing. I'll get it posted at some point.

We rode at least twenty miles yesterday to Agate Beach, hiked out to Iceberg Point, and then ate our picnic lunch on the beach. There was very little beach – not sure we’ve ever been there at high tide. It was also about as crowded as we’ve ever seen it.

Our plan today: kayak, work on the boat, move the boat to a dock for tonight (we need to power up, and it’s supposed to get windy!), and go for another bike ride.

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.

[photo]

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.
[photo]

As I finish up this post, the skipper is returning in some dinghy to retrieve his sailboat.

Connectivity issues, so photos will come later...