Day 81 - Roche Harbor, San Juan Island WA - Saturday, July 30, 2011

Day 81 - Roche Harbor, San Juan Island WA - Saturday, July 30, 2011: "

It is the second day of our gathering with the boaters who will travel together to Desolation Sound. For some it is a lazy day, a day to explore the area, a day to peruse the shops (and find the ice cream store), a day to visit with friends -- but for some it is a day to fine tune things.


I think Jeff wants his solar panel a bit away from his storage box.

Lincoln takes Grandpa Tim for a ride in the kayak.

Nita and Lisa enjoy their kayak rides, also.

Herb and I decide it is a good time to stroll with Jake to see the sculpture garden on the hill.


Along the way we see that Capt. Mac has arrived.

Max of Allotrope joins us for the walk and points out that some of the sculptures are no longer here; perhaps have been sold.

My favorite is the gyroscope.

Birds in the foreground, and the replica of a ship in the background.

I am not sure of the medium, but it appears to be tar forming a relief map of San Juan Island.


We look from west to east, with Roche Harbor at the left.

We see activities preparing for a wedding at Our Lady of Good Voyage Chapel on the hill.


The outside of the chapel is being decorated with fresh greenery garlad.

The reception will be in the tent we see below as we continue our walk back to the marina.

Max and Herb walk ahead to check out the wedding cake.

Find Willie's Tug. Docked bow in, starboard tie, near the left side of the photo. Dinghy is in the water.

The marina is quite busy today.

We meet Barb and Don of Barbara Ann.

And now we see that Linda is with Capt. Mac.

Max's boat has a gray stripe. Traveling with him are his parents, Jan and Doug.

The Ranger folks caught 51 crabs at Jeff's cabin on Center Island and share with the group for our evening meal.


Wedding guests are kind enough to donate a centerpiece for our table, and Lisa donates a Picton Bay Sauvignon Blanc to compliment it.


She tells me Leroy imports it from New Zealand.

The Terrenal shown below currently comes from Spain.

We meet Gail and Patrick of Ganges, Salt Spring Island, BC. Through a mis-communication, we missed seeing them when we visited the island last week.

They will be our guides for the Canadian portion of the trip.










Dinner is served.

Dinner looks wonderful!

Herb enjoys his share, and doesn't move far from the buffet table.

My blueberry cole slaw is consumed, as are many of the other sides that boaters prepared.

The Livingston crew and friends enjoy the feast.

Chiquita's tablecloth is, of course, yellow!

Max found dessert.

Andrew tries not to spill anything on his new clothes.

Gloria of Mvto Hokte has arrived.


Her boat name means 'Thank you, Girl' in Creek language.

After dinner, Lincoln instructs Herb on attaching his motor to the dinghy.

Lotsa Ranger Tugs here, on both sides of the guest dock.

Herb takes Jake and me in the dinghy closer to the shore by the marina office to see the Colors ceremony.


First we see the Color Guard in the center of the photo.

The Harbor flag comes down, as its music is played; the Washington State flag is next, then the Canadian and the British flags, leaving only the flag of the United States of America flying.

As each flag is lowered, the appropriate anthem is played.






Now 'My Country Tiz of Thee.'

Then the cannon sounds! Loud!

A cacophony of boat horns can be heard, but the loudest sound Herb and I hear is our own laughter as Jake reacts to the loud noise. Not sure what is going on or what is to come next, he makes himself really small, slithers under my seat in the dinghy and gets as close to Herb as he can.

Our brave guard dog.

Now back to our boats.............

Willie of Willie's Tug,

and Walldog, Willie and Jake

"

Day 75 - Anacortes WA - Sunday, July 24, 2011

Day 75 - Anacortes WA - Sunday, July 24, 2011: "

On Jake's morning walk he and Herb visited with the volunteer Park Host, Don, who has many suggestions of where to visit and things to watch out for in the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound.


He hitches a ride with his friend Jerry to come aboard Willie's Tug, and point out his ideas on our BC chart.


I take notes as fast as he talks, so that we can review later and plan our trip.


As we start toward the US boundary, we have a perfect shot to photograph Mt. Baker, which is east of Bellingham in the state of Washington. There is still a lot of snow left on this mountain, and it can be seen from miles and miles away.

Herb decides to take a break from the wheel to enjoy the scenery from the cockpit.


He leaves me at the helm, and with auto pilot on and the cabin door open, I can be free to take a few pictures.

Willie of Willie's Tug,

and Walldog, Willie and Jake

"

And Willie Said: Day 74 - Beaumont Marine Park, Bedwell Harbour, So...

And Willie Said: Day 74 - Beaumont Marine Park, Bedwell Harbour, So...: "We are called to return to Anacortes for our appointment on Monday for some scheduled maintenance on the boat, so we take advantage of one ..."

And Willie Said: Day 73 - Ladysmith Harbour, Vancouver Island BC, F...

And Willie Said: Day 73 - Ladysmith Harbour, Vancouver Island BC, F...: "This morning we decide to go just a little farther north before going back to Cap Sante in Anacortes. Ladysmith sounds like an interesting ..."

Visitor from Texas

Our friend Joe from Marble Falls Texas stopped by yesterday for a short visit before splashing his Classic Ranger Tug R21 for a few weeks in the San Juan Islands.  We met Joe over on the "TugNuts".  Joe is known as "Boatman" on the TugNuts.

At least a couple of us Texans know how to beat the heat.  Have fun Joe.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

The Salish Sea

July 4, 2011

I found this map online.  It shows the area that we are boating in this summer.  We will only see a small portion of this Salish Sea, but I wanted to let you know just how beautiful and vast are these waters and islands.  Although weather can make these waters treacherous at times, they are mostly protected from the waves and winds of the Pacific Ocean.  These protected waters form a portion of the Inland Passage used by boaters to travel to Canada and Alaska from Washington State.

This map is copyrighted by Stefan Freelan: "Map of the Salish Sea & Surrounding Basin, Stefan Freelan, WWU, 2009"


Stefan Freelan's web page tells us that the name "Salish Sea" was officially recognized in 2009 by the governments of British Columbia and the State of Washington.  It does not replace the names of any of the named straits and waters.  It is a new name given to the collective group of waters.


We have friends who own a Ranger Tug 29.  Craig and Kathy Wilson have named their boat the "Salish Rover".  Aptly named, as they are based out of Gig Harbor in Puget Sound and ply the waters of the Salish Sea.


Walldog, Willie and Jake

Cypress Island

July 1, 2011

A red letter day for sure.  Willie catches her first mooring buoy on her first try.  The procedure is for the Captain to maneuver the boat close to the buoy and for the mate (in this case the Admiral) to slip the bowline through the loop atop the buoy.  Some times this is very difficult with wind and currents, but Willie threaded the needle like a pro.

Hopefully these free mooring buoys furnished and maintained by the Washington DNR keep us far enough away from this rock shore.  They allow up to 3 days use before you need to move on to another location.  We did not have to use our Washington State Parks pass to tie up here.  You can use your dinghy (Jake's Ferry) to get to the beach.  There you will find composting toilets, camp sites and walking trails for public use.  Most of Cypress Island is public with very little private property.  There are 4 mooring buoys here at the place called Cypress Head.

After lunch and a brief nap, we continue our circumnavigation of Cypress Island.  We poke around in the various coves and bays following the shoreline closely.  There are two more sites on the East and North sides of the island, Eagle Harbor and Pelican Beach.  Both of these locations have several more buoys.

Plenty of pretty little islands scattered around the perimeter of Cypress Island.  We are cautious of the ones we do not see, those just below the surface of the water.  We have updated and hopefully accurate charts that show us these unseen surprises.  Not like the soft sands of our Gulf of Mexico, these rocks are unforgiving if you run upon them with your boat.  We have our paper charts, our Garmin 5212 main chart plotter, and up to date charts on our IPAD.

The waters are very calm today except as we return via the Guemes Channel.  The waters here are awash with the wakes of large pleasure boats rushing to get to their favorite spot in the San Juan Islands for this holiday weekend.  Interesting maneuvers as various ones crisscross in front of our direction of travel.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Anchor Rode

June 30, 2011

Today we marked our anchor rode.  Rode is the chain and rope (Line) that ties the anchor to the boat.  It is run out and pulled back in by a windlass.  That is a winch that lets the rode out and pulls the anchor back up.  We mark it with pieces of vinyl that let us know how much we have out.  With a scope of 7 to 1, we have enough rode to allow us to anchor out at about a depth of 35 feet.  We laid the anchor rode out on the dock and measured and marked it in 30 foot increments.  We have 50 foot of chain and the rest is 5/8 inch rope.  A good thing to check is to be sure the bitter (loose) end of the rode is securely tied to the boat.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

James Island

After leaving Spencer Spit, we cruised over to the West side of James Island.  We found space at the dock and decided to risk it even though we had heard about the raccoon problem.  Across the dock was a Camino Troll named "Falcon" piloted by Paul and Sharron and a Yellow Lab named Luke.  We enjoyed visiting with them and look forward to seeing them on the water again soon.

Paul told us about his combat with the raccoons that visited him the previous night.  They were very aggressive and got a couple of lamb chops from his cooler.  They even knew how to operate the zippers on his camperback.  We decided to make sure we had no trash, food, or dog food in the cockpit.  We buttoned everything up secure and retired for the evening.  We slept extremely well, and were not disturbed in our sleep by the raccoon.  However Paul tells us the next morning that they did return.  I checked and could see that they in fact had unbuttoned my canvas and looked for food in our cockpit.  Since they found none, they left without leaving much but a couple of paw prints.

James Island has quite a bit of current that flows through the dock area during tidal changes.  It seems to have carved out a very deep cove.  We had some wakes mainly from a foot ferry that services Decatur Island.  Still a very pleasant spot to visit.  We walked the trails and checked the views across the isthmus to the East.  No early sun had us turning the heat on about 6:30AM.  Sleeping a little later than normal, something about a rocking boat.

Our return to Anacortes was uneventful, except for a large tanker that was being pushed down the Guemes Channel.  We gave them plenty of room.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Spencer Spit

After lunch at Blakely Island, and a cruise through East Sound of Orcas Island, we spent the night at Spencer Spit off Lopez Island.

We rafted with Bob and Nita of "Nellie Too".




Since we were not at a dock for the night, Jake got to use his "Ferry" for the first time this trip.  I figure that I need a harness for him to pull the dinghy up on the beach.  He jumps out as we touch the shore.  Then I have step into the water and finish pulling the dinghy up.  There is no sense in both of us getting our feet wet.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Roche Harbor

We leave Friday Harbor this morning and set a course 10 miles around the North end of San Juan Island for Roche.  We dodge the Washington State Ferry again as we leave Friday Harbor.  The day is cloudy, with a small threat of sunshine.  As we travel North a few miles, we notice that Jones Island is due East of us across the San Juan Channel.  The tidal rips have smoothed out in this part of the channel, so we decide to cut across and see the new docks at Jones.

We see one boat tied up, so there is plenty of room for us to dock there.  We decide not to though as we want to continue to Roche.  We will return to Jones with empty holding tanks for a couple of days visit.  Jones has friendly deer and nice trail to walk Jake.  We look forward to our return.

Our berth in Roche is across from the little chapel.  We note that mass will be celebrated Sunday at 11 AM.  We may still be here.

Lunch was the special at the Limestone Cafe of a Shrimp Louie Wrap....delicious.  The docks here at Roche are much higher than we are used to, the better to accommodate the large yachts that surround little Willie's Tug.  We will be back here at the end of July to kick off the Desolation Sound Cruise with the Ranger Tug Factory.

Most days we travel, we turn the track feature on on our SPOT.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Friday Harbor

The sun is shining and we are in Friday Harbor.  We visited here last year a couple of times via the Washington State Ferry system.  A neat little community to visit.  We arrived here from Anacortes yesterday afternoon and found a guest slip for a couple of days.  Jake has introduced himself to all the neighbors along the docks.

We keep working on making the boat more home and livable.  We have some shelves ordered from Fisheries Supply that will make the galley more user friendly.  When they arrive, we may make a trip to pick them up as Trader Joes is near there and I am sure we will need to restock.

I preparation for Independence day, I mounted our American flag.  The normal place would be from a flag pole at the stern of the boat, but our dinghy would cover it there, so we mounted it from the flag mount on our mast.  Now we are ready for the 4th and an upcoming visit to Canada.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Travel to Anacortes

May 20, 2011

Today we leave Des Moines.  We considered going by water to Anacortes, but the logistics of getting the truck and trailer there could not be worked out.  So we prepared to have the boat loaded on the trailer.  The marina has a sling lift for that purpose.  Kenny arrives from the plant with my trailer and to assist me in loading it for the first time.

While we are working, Willie catches a great shot of a Mallard that dive bombs me.  I guess I was in his way as he wanted to  be in slip adjacent to us.  Jake does not even protect me, seems that he has lost his natural bird dog properties.

After prepping Willie's Tug for travel, we motor over to the lift.  We have to drive the tug into the slings and stay centered until the operator brings us up high enough for us to step off.

Piece of cake as this is how we have putting our previous tug into its slip at home.  Except on a smaller scale.

The operator carries us over to the trailer and gently sets us down on it. We strap her down and off we go to Anacortes, working our way through the Seattle traffic.  Since the trailer sets a little down in the front, we take it easy until we can get a higher draw bar for our hitch.  The truck pulls it effortlessly, looks like we made a good choice.

We arrive in Anacortes without incident and try to unload at the marina.  But they decline to unload it without bunk cutouts for their straps.  Andrew tells me later that they did several 27s at the trawler fest.  They sent us over to Cap Sante Marine who did a fine job of getting us off the trailer and into the water.  We motor up the small channel and into Cap Sante Boat Haven, which will be our base of operation for the next 4 months.

Now we have to do a bit of walking to move the truck and trailer over to the temporary parking until we can find home for the trailer.

We have just enough time to get home in the slip and secure everything down before happy hour.  We prepare for Capt. Mac, who will come tomorrow for a day on the water provided by the plant.  We have heard many good things about his sessions.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Des Moines Day 2

These next couple posts are out of order, but I wanted to catch up on our taking delivery of the boat.

Thursday May 19, 2011

Today is on our own as we continue to put things in their place.  After a bit this, we decide it is too pretty to sit at the dock.  So we head out into the sound to explore and get used to the larger boat.  We cruise Southeast from Des Moines following the coast line down to Tacoma.  We stay clear of the traffic lanes.  Yesterday we found how fast some of large commercial ships move.  We do the breakin routine that Andrew recommended, 5 minutes at 2000 rpms, 5 at 3000, and 5 at 4000.  After all that we find that we really like traveling about 1800 or so.  But it is nice to have the power when you want or need it.

Jake finds his place on the floor between Willie and me.

Heading back toward Des Moines, we cruise along side of Vashon and Maury Islands.  Maury Island appears to be actually attached to Vashon.  At Robinson Point, we move close enough for Willie to photograph the light house.

We thread our way back into the narrow channel into Des Moines Marina and get a little more practice backing into a slip.

Another great day on the water here in the Pacific Northwest.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Guemes Island

We have been slip bound for the past 4 days getting some service work done to correct a couple of minor problems on the new "Willie's Tug".  While down, we continued to make our nest, finding a place for the necessities of life while living abound a 27 foot boat.

This afternoon, we plotted a course around Guemes Island.  Guemes Island is across the Guemes Channel from our slip at Cap Sante in Anacortes.

There was quite a bit of traffic as we left the marina and entered the channel.  A tanker anchored and a Tug with a tow.  We never see this on the Intercoastal Waterway in Texas.  It is a bit unnerving to see a barge following a tug.  As you can see from the picture, the tug is on the left side of the picture and the barge is on the right side.  Notice the cables attaching the two.

We head West in the Guemes Channel and then turn North to follow the Bellingham Channel along the West side of Guemes.  We turn back East going around Clark's Point on the North end of the Island.  Then Southerly following the East side of Guemes going between Saddleback and Huckleberry Islands back to our starting point.  A total of about 19 NM.

We back into our slip, although it does take me two tries.  I guess I was a little cocky from the first two perfect landings.  But we slide in the second time and at least we did not hit anyone or anything.  As we used to say in my airplane driving days...any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

Walldog, Willie and Jake

Taking Delivery of Willie's Tug

May 17, 2011

We arrive in Kent, Washington about 3:30 PM and go to the factory.  We meet with Andrew and Jeff.  Horrors, our boat is not there.  Andrew tells us that it is in the water waiting for us at the Des Moines marina nearby.  It was not hard to find.

If we thought packing the truck was hard, putting everything from the truck into the boat is impossible.

We throw a few necessities into the boat and settle down for happy hour.  After 7 days and 3000 miles, we are in our new home for the summer.

Andrew will arrive in the morning for our orientation.  In the meantime, I look for power cords and water hoses to hook up our power and water.  It is a good thing we are experienced motor homers, so we know what to do.  It will get a little cool after the sun goes down, but we have brought some Texas weather with us to share with our friends here in Seattle.

After spending the morning going over all the systems on the boat, we take her out for the first time.  New boat, new waters.  Very scary and exciting.  We spend about 4 hours motoring around Puget Sound  between Seattle and Tacoma.  Then we take her back to the slip at Des Moines.  Wonder of wonders, we slide her back into the slip and did not hit anything.

I do believe Jake enjoyed the ride. He is finding his place to sleep.  He does not care where is, just that he is.  An attitude from which many of us could learn.

We get back from our shakedown cruise, and Andrew calls for Kenny to bring us a part to replace on the Air conditioner/Heat Pump.  After replacing it , we enjoy a beer together.

A great group of folks with which to do business.  They really care about putting out a quality product and their customer service is rivaled by no one.

Our first full day on the boat is good one.  New friends, great service from the plant, and all this sunshine we brought from Texas.

Walldog, Willie and Jake.

Summer 2011 Day 1

May 10, 2011 Port Isabel to Houston

Well we are finally packed and on our way.  I never believed we could get everything that was in the motor home into this Dodge truck.  But it seems like we did.

We are in Houston for a couple of days before heading West Northwest to Seattle to pick up the new "Willie's Tug".

A link to the online album of our adventures is located here.  You can check back from time to time as we will be adding pictures daily.

Jake has a comfortable spot to ride and is quite content.  He is just glad to be going.

We hope you will enjoy riding along with us.

Walldog, Willie and Jake