And We’re Off! | 6.1.2020 | Blake Island State Park

Europa departed Foss Harbor Marina just before 10am on Monday, June 1, the first day of our extended summer 2020 cruising plans. We are more than ready for this.

After days of cleaning, packing, and provisioning, the bikes are on board, the kayaks are stowed, and we’re packed to the gills with food and drink to last weeks.

Monday was a gorgeous day on the water! The East Passage was as glassy as it gets, with very few boats. I often see very picturesque “floating log and wildlife” scenes – this time there was an extra cute surprise.

A note here about photos: Most of these were taken with my Canon EOS. This is the first time I’ve had this camera on the boat. My goal is to take better photos, and to get those shots that I just can’t seem to grab with my phone. I’ll be experimenting with how to format these photos on my blog.

Typically, we would travel north through Colvos but we needed to stop in Des Moines for diesel, dinghy gas, and propane.

Someone needed a tow just outside of the Des Moines marina! (We have never needed a tow or been asked to provide one…yet. Makes we think about how we would accomplish this.)

These two baldies landed just as we entered the breakwater at Des Moines.

We arrived at Blake Island (much smoother water than the last time we were here!) around 1pm. There were a few other boats but no sign of a park ranger. Pandemic-related closure signage was still posted and the power was not on. Nick tried to call the State Park number…no answer. I figured that they may have limited staff, and in the best conditions it takes some time to open and staff all parks.

Sure enough, later in the afternoon, and after we hiked the perimeter of the island, a couple of rangers arrived and began to “open” the island.

Here is a shot of Europa at Blake and how we currently have the kayaks secured.

I had to take a photo of this couple in the very tiny sailing dinghy! Don’t know where they came from, but the water was not exactly smooth…much braver than I!

We opened a bottle of a very nice wine from a winery we enjoy visiting in Walla Walla, Va Piano. This bottle was a thank you gift for watching Mac (miss him!), and quite tasty!

More photos of our first day:

Io and Callisto (May 23-25, 2020)

Did we get new pets? A couple of dogs? Feline friends? Parakeets? None of the above.

Meet Io and Callisto, our new orange kayaks. (Only named, really, to tell whose is whose – foot rest adjustments, etc.)

Io and Callisto

These are some of Costco’s finest – chosen by us for length (short!) and weight (light!). At 9’6” and 37 pounds, they’re about the best we could do. Brand: Emotion; Model: Glide.

They were delivered Friday so on Saturday morning we loaded them into Europa’s cockpit and made our way to Gig Harbor for the weekend. We needed to spend some time figuring out just where they are going to be stored aboard Europa – we have a couple of ideas and need a trial run before we head north next week. (Still haven't figured out how to secure them - we'll work on that this week.)

We arrived at noon to find both of the buoys at Jerisich free, so we snagged our favorite rather than anchor this time. While not as crowded as a couple of weeks ago, there were still a lot of boats there…and a very busy public dock.

The weather didn’t exactly cooperate, but Saturday afternoon got better and better. We hung out for a while before giving Io and Callisto their first paddle.

If you are wondering about the names…well, here goes. Many are aware that our Ranger Tug is named after Nick’s favorite Carlos Santana tune…Europa. (Best guitar solo ever…according to him.) While that is the name of a Phoenician princess (Greek mythology), it is also the name of one of the moons of Jupiter. So, we stuck with a theme and named the kayaks after two of the other principle moons…Io and Callisto. (I think the unofficial name of our dinghy is Ganymede…the fourth major moon.)

Saturday afternoon we took an hour and half paddle around Gig Harbor. The kayaks are just what we expected…not fancy and very serviceable…perfect for what we need on the boat. A little tricky to get in and out of from the boat, but we’re getting better at it. I found that keeping a bungee handy to secure the side of Callisto to Europa’s swim step, or a dock, gives me just that bit of added stability to maneuver.

Sunday was a beautiful day and we took a couple more paddles, as well as a much-needed walk. (Many people along the Gig Harbor waterfront are not inclined to social distance very well!)

Sunday afternoon, we were pleasantly surprised to see a dude come by on his SUP with a keg of beer! Yep, free pours. Not sure if he bought the beer or Gig Harbor Brewing donated it…I hope the latter. Anyway, Nick got the last cupful, and it was a super fun spectacle.

Keg with a Personal Flotation Device!

My other photos include one of the Paige Marie – what I assume is one of the local fishing fleet – taking a little spin. She was back in an hour or two. This boat did the same thing when we were here a couple of weeks ago. (I'm hoping they have found a way to be entrepreneurial!) Also, our pre-Mexican dinner margaritas Saturday afternoon…our loud NutriBullet blender always makes heads turn our way if we have neighbors. 😊 (They know what they’re hearing…and they’re jealous.) Oh, and a family of geese.

Paige Marie

Yummy!

We woke to rain this morning and headed back to the Foss mid-morning. 

We are busy with our plan to head north for the first part of our summer cruising. Mac is now in daycare so the world is once again our oyster. Well, not quite, there is still a pandemic going on. Planning our itinerary has been tricky. As it stands, we will head to places that are “opening” so that we are not spending time in areas that don’t really want us. State parks will be open and we’re assuming there will be great crowds of boaters – which we’d like to avoid. So, for now, our destinations look like those in the western counties. Stay tuned, as the plans keep changing.

What a Difference!

We left the Foss on Friday (May 15) around 9am. (Mac gets to spend the day with his other grandma!) We headed south for Jarrell Cove. The day was gorgeous. Nick got to hang out on the bow in a bean bag lounger.

Relaxing on the bow while underway

The water was calm and there were very few boats on the water other than small fishing craft. Anyone who knows us understands that wildlife is a big draw...so we were disappointed there was not a better showing on the way down. We finally saw a few porpoise as we entered Case Inlet. (Some day I will get a decent photo of these elusive creatures! I am putting a better camera on the boat.)

As we rounded the corner into the cove we were a little surprised to see zero boats. We figured it would be quiet but there were absolutely no boats other than the few that are privately moored there all the time. Anchoring was easy, as we didn't have to look out for other boats or mooring buoys...we just picked a spot and dropped the hook. We eventually saw a few people walking in the park but really, what a difference from last weekend in Gig Harbor, where it was so crowded that one could almost walk on water!

Empty Jarrell Cove

We  inflated the kayak and took a spin...we were rewarded with a closeup of an otter eating a fish. CRUNCH...CRUNCH...CRUNCH!

We also watched a female Common Merganser feeding nearby. Quite a beautiful bird...large, with striking coloring.

We had a little party...not gonna lie. We needed it. The reflection of the clouds on the water was stunning...but that might have been the wine talking...or the Scotch.

Clouds...trippy

Speaking of kayaking...we recently ordered two single kayaks. After trying a couple of things (our old plastic double - too heavy and difficult to put on the boat) and the inflatable SeaEagle double (not a quality experience) we decided we needed lightweight singles. So excited for these to arrive!

It's hard to believe this will be our 4th summer with Europa. Engine hours as we left Jarrell this morning read 624!

We were prepared to spend another night out but the day was just too rainy and dreary so we headed home.

Happy Mother's Day...and Very Happy Boating!

Gig Harbor

Mexican Wine

 

Mac

Where to begin...

This was not the winter and spring of our first year of retirement that we expected...but a lot is unexpected these days. Since we last boated, in January, we made a ten-day trip to Florida (Captiva Island) and a three-week trip to the American Southwest. Both trips were wonderful experiences. The trip south began in San Diego, and included 3 days of wine tasting in the Valle de Guadelupe (highly recommend this!), Palm Springs, the Grand Canyon, and Arches National Park. This was in March, as the pandemic escalated. We had planned to drive to Las Vegas and fly home but quickly decided that getting back on a plane was not in our best interest. Instead, we drove from Moab Utah to Tacoma Washington in one day. It was brutal but we just needed to get home at that point.

After keeping our distance for a couple of weeks, we began caring for our grandson so his mom could return to work (at home). Their chosen daycare facility had closed at that time and we decided that since we couldn't do much else, we'd be the daycare for a while. One of the best decisions we've ever made.

We just completed week six of 40-hours per week with Mac. He'll be 8 months old next week...and he's a delight. Again, not what we planned but a pleasure and a privilege. 

We've been missing boating very much, so when the partial opening began and local boating appeared to be a go..and the weather cooperated...we got an early release on Friday and headed to Gig Harbor.

The weather is gorgeous. Even heat-seeking-missile (my nickname for Nick, as he can't get enough sun and heat) Nick felt a little overheated yesterday. Gig Harbor is a zoo. My photos don't really show just how crowded this harbor is. We've certainly never seen this before, and even a "permanently anchored" local said this is about as many boats as he's ever seen.

After anchoring on Friday afternoon, we cracked open a bottle of our very interesting Mexican wine from the Valle. Our friends on Stay Awhile are here as well and we've been able to spend time with them while responsibly social distancing.

Today is Sunday, Mother's Day, and we'll head back to the Foss later this afternoon. We think we'll watch Mac for another couple of weeks or so, and then our plan is to head north on Europa for some real summer boating on or about June 1.

Plans can change...especially now. 

Obstacle course through Commencement Bay!

The weather just wasn't as good as we'd hoped, so yesterday, instead of heading further north, we turned south out of Des Moines and pulled up at Jerisich dock in Gig Harbor. Getting here was interesting. There is so much debris in the water from recent heavy rain and flooding that it sometimes looked like there was a solid line of stuff in our way. After slowing down - I know, hard to imagine us going even slower, right? - we carefully found what seemed to be a break in the log jam and gently nosed our way through. We made it without any bumps. We've got to make our way back through the bay to get home at some point so hopefully most of the junk will clear.

clearing a line of debris

We are always happy to visit G.H. I contacted some friends last minute and were able to spend a bit of time catching up yesterday afternoon. Cooked another pot roast - we love to be in a warm and cozy boat while something yummy smelling is in the oven. It really does a nice job...as long as whatever you're fixing is on the small side.

Just had lunch at The Tides Tavern - never disappoints. We are going to hang around until tomorrow. We don't have any real reason to go home, so we as we often say, "If we can't decide to stay or go home...then just stay!"

Auspicious beginning to our 2020 boating season - Orcas!!!

After months of waiting for decent weather, we are out on the water again. And oh boy, has it been good so far!

We left the Foss around 10am yesterday...it was a bright and beautiful morning. As we neared the Des Moines marina entrance, all of a sudden Nick saw a big black dorsal fin! A pod of Orcas was coming right for us so he put the boat in neutral and let it happen. I grabbed my phone and got one shot and some video. Not great quality video but enough to really see them. This is the closest we've ever been to whales. Spectacular! The pod of 6 or so moved around us and continued south into Poverty Bay. We hung around for a little while, enough to see that they began to frollick a bit. They were too far away by that time to see much of anything but there were big splashes, so something was happening.

Coming straight at us!

We took a couple of short walks in the afternoon and spent some time cleaning Europa a little. She's been sitting for too long!

Steve and Tracey joined us for wine, cheese and crackers (yummy - thanks again you two!). We had a lovely time catching up with them...and talking about boating...of course.

We are headed north to Bainbridge Island later this morning, at least that is the plan. We've got until Thursday, and our hope is to visit Everett. We have not been there and have heard good things. We're going to do a little research first, though, as the marina is on the Snohomish River and with all the flooding, it might be interesting.

Side notes: We had a very, very good trip to Florida in January. Perfect weather and abundant wildlife. Manatees, dolphins, pelicans, and more osprey then we've ever seen in one place. We are heading to San Diego in a couple of weeks. Other than that, we have been spending quality time with Mac.

Good to be boating again!

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.