10 - 11 Aug 19; Pendrell Sound - Copelands
10 Aug 19 We were awakened at 08:00 by the sound of one of our neighbors flying a small drone around the anchorage - somewhat annoying, but the battery only lasted a few minutes. After breakfast, “Massilia” cast off and headed into Lund to deposit Matt and J2, so they could drive back to the real wo...
20 Sep 19; Huntsville - Houston
20 Sep 19 We were up just after 06:00 and away from the hotel by 06:45 to beat the rush-hour traffic into Houston. However, since HISD schools were closed and a lot of offices were closed, there was practically no traffic on the highway and we were home by 07:45. Dan brought grandson Henry over to s...
19 Sep 19; Euless - Huntsville, TX
19 Sep 19 Dawn did not come early today, after yesterday’s long drive, so we had a nice lie-in. Plus, we were waiting for the remnants of tropical storm Imelda to stop dumping lots of rain on Houston. We finally got away from Eileen’s and headed south at 11:15. The traffic headed south on I-45 was v...
18 Sep 19; Albuquerque - Euless, TX
18 Sep 19 We were up in the pre-dawn darkness, as neither one of us could sleep, in anticipation of our long drive to Dallas. We actually left the hotel at 06:15 MDT, and drove east into the rising sun. I managed to stay awake until past Tucumcari, and then, finally, had to turn the wheel over to th...
17 Sep 19; Farmington - Albuquerque, NM
17 Sep 19 The Casa Blanca is a gem in the wilderness. We had a lovely sleep followed by an excellent breakfast at the inn. Another day, another National Park. So, after our hearty breakfast, we hit the road to Chaco Cultural Center. And hit the road, we did. It is only about 50 miles from Farmington...
16 Sep 19; Torrey - Farmington, NM
16 Sep 19 Dawn comes early in the desert, so we were on the road, after a quick breakfast of a cinnamon bun and an orange, just after 08:00. We stopped at every view point along the way, took in the orientation movie at the Visitor Center, drove down the scenic drive to the Grand Wash, stopping to...
15 Sep 19; Boise - Torrey, UT
15 Sep 19 Happy Birthday to me. I won’t say how old I am, but I will say that Medicare paid for my second knee replacement nearly a year ago. We were up before 08:00 to begin the long drive (552 miles) to Torrey, UT. We checked into the Rim Rock Inn just outside Capitol Reef National Park at 17:30 a...
14 Sep 19; Baker City - Boise, ID
14 Sep 19 The Motel 6 breakfast was, to say the least, sub-standard, so we drove into town and eventually ate at the Geiser Grand Hotel’s breakfast buffet; excellent omelette. We then headed immediately east to Hell’s Canyon along a scenic byway. After heading to the end of the road along the Snake...
13 Sep 19; Anacortes - Baker City, OR
13 Sep 19 That’s it for the 2019 sailing season. We are heading home for Houston this morning. After a stop at Marine Safety Services in Seattle to drop off the life raft (for its 3-yr service; 1 year overdue) and the EPIRB (for its 3-yr service; also 1 year overdue), we hit the road toward Housto...
12 Sep 19; Cap Sante - Fidalgo Bay
12 Sep 19 Haul-out day. I slept poorly last night, most likely worrying about whether we were really ready for haul-out. Or, maybe it was the huge Mexican meal last night. Quien sabe? Anyway, we were up early and met Woody, of IceBoat Marine, at the boat at 08:00 to discuss the planned replacement o...
6 - 11 Sep 19; Friday Harbor - Cap Sante Marina
6 Sep 19 Last day of the 2019 cruising season; sigh. We languished in bed again as it was once again quite chilly first thing. After breakfast, we walked up into town with John and Laurie for 2nd breakfast of chocolate croissant and cinnamon roll. On the way, I found a good oarlock socket to fit my...
5 Sep 19; Turn I. - Friday Harbor
5 Sep 19 It was chilly again this morning, so we lingered abed until the sun was well up and the cockpit had been warmed. After breakfast, we rowed ashore and walked around Turn Island. Then, it was time to head over to Friday Harbor for our appointment with San Juan Canvas, who are going to make us...
4 Sep 19; Diver Bay - Turn Island, WA
4 Sep 19 It was a beautiful, but chilly morning and we were in the shadow of “Good Grief”, so it took a while for the cockpit to warm up. We goofed around most of the morning, although the admirals walked up to town for a bit of exercise. We got going about 12:30 and motored out into Plumper Sound i...
3 Sep 19; Diver Bay - Port Browning
3 Sep 19 Another quiet night at Diver Bay. We arose again about 08:00 and had a lovely morning lazing about reading and chatting. About 11:30, we finally got going and virtually sailed off the anchor. Outside the bay, we turned SE and beat down the Navy Channel against a SE 10 breeze and a bit of fo...
1 - 2 Sep 19; James Bay - Diver Bay
1 Sep 18 It was a nice long, quiet night at anchor. Arising at 08:00, we had a leisurely breakfast and decided to sail around to Diver Bay on the south end of Prevost Island. There was a SE 10 wind in Trincomali Channel, so we sailed off the anchor and then beat up the channel to the south side of t...
30 Aug 19; Portland I. - Long Harbour
30 Aug 19 In the end, John and Laurie did not show up in the middle of the night; they apparently, sensibly decided to sleep in the calm, quiet refuge of their Canoe Cove slip. We, on the other hand, had a rough night until about 03:00, when the wind finally calmed right down and shifted to the west...
31 Aug 19; Long Harbour - James Bay
31 Aug 19 We slept in after last night’s fun and finally got going at noon. We sailed immediately after getting the anchor up, we had a challenging, but fun, beat out of Long Harbour, crossing Captain Passage and into James Bay on the north side of Prevost Island, where we anchored at 13:30. “Massil...
29 Aug 19; Genoa Bay - Portland Island
29 Aug 19 After a beautiful, quiet night at Genoa Bay Marina, we were up before 08:00, thanks to another phone call from our daughter in Maine, who never seems to remember there is a 3 hour time zone difference. Anyway, we got up and had breakfast, including an excellent, fresh cinnamon bun from the...
28 Aug 19; Maple Bay - Genoa Bay, BC
28 Aug 19 Another glorious, clear day greeted us when we rolled out of bed at 07:20. We were up at the store at 08:00 opening time for a fresh cinnamon bun, but they do not have any today, so we settled for a giant Morning Glory muffin. We are headed south again today - just a few miles to Genoa Bay...
27 Aug 19; Chemainus - Maple Bay
27 Aug 19 Another clear, cool dawn found us in Chemainus. Having seen the town, in its entirety, yesterday, we moved on fairly early and were under way by 09:50. As soon as we got out of the bay, the wind was N13, so we killed the engine and sailed on a nice broad reach, for about 15 minutes. Then,...
26 Aug 19; Ladysmith - Chemainus
26 Aug 19 Dawn broke clear and cool again, with a fine NW wind. After breakfast, I got another coat of Le Tonkinois on the port-side cap-rail. Then, we walked over to check out the Maritime Society Museum, but it does not open until 11:00 and we did not want to hang around for an hour. With time to...
25 Aug 19; Pirates Cove - Ladysmith
25 Aug 19 As forecast, the wind got up in the night and we had to listen to the anchor snubber griping all night long; the NW wind was blowing at exactly 90 degrees to the heading of the boat, so it was less than optimal. The dawn broke clear and cool and windy. We debated simply staying at Pirate’s...
24 Aug 19; Vancouver - Pirates Cove
24 Aug 19 A quiet night in Vancouver, so we slept very well, finally dragging out about 08:10. The forecast is good for crossing the Strait of Georgia, so we got ready to go, until a phone call from the Admiral’s sister-in-law, Tessie, advised that Luke is in hospital being treated for deep vein thr...
20 - 23 Aug 19; Plumper Cove - Fishermans Wharf
20 Aug 19 We were up at the break of 08:00 and got ready to run over to False Creek. I talked to the man at Battery World in Vancouver on the phone and, after describing the house battery performance, he confirmed that it is time for new house batteries. I ordered them over the phone so he can get t...
19 Aug 19; Jedediah I. - Plumper Cove
19 Aug 19 We were up early to catch the morning forecast. Although the SOC and CE were about where expected after 20 hours, the voltage on the house batteries was down to 11.3 V, so there is definitely something wrong. It did not look too bad out in the Strait, so we got underway at 08:30. It was a...
15 - 18 Aug 19; Tribune Bay - Jedediah Island
15 Aug 19 We were up early-ish to decide how the day was going to play out. “Massilia” decided to go to French Creek so John can check on the progress on his Qualicum Beach project. We decided to go straight to Jedidiah Island; “Massilia will join us tomorrow. We sailed off the anchorage at 10:45 an...
14 Aug 19; Comox - Tribune Bay
14 Aug 19 We were up at our usual hour of 08:00 and rose to a beautiful, clear day. The forecast wind was fair (NW 10 - 15) for the run down to Hornby Island, so we got underway just after 10:00. The great Settlers of Catan mystery has been solved: just before we pulled out from the dock, John found...
13 Aug 19; Sandy I. - Comox
13 Aug 19 Another beautiful day in paradise; the dawn was clear and warm and calm. After breakfast, we all rowed ashore to walk around Sandy Island at low tide, which occurred at 11:16; we are one day before the full moon, so low tide is very low. The exposed tidal flats are huge and Sandy Island is...
12 Aug 19; Copeland Islands - Sandy Island
12 Aug 19 We were up at the crack of 08:30 to get ready for the run across the Strait of Georgia to Sandy Island. The Settlers of Catan game, that Laurie came over with last night even though we did not play, has disappeared and cannot be found on either boat. The anchor was aweigh just after 10:00...
9 Aug 19; Powell River - Copeland Islands
9 Aug 19 We slept like logs last night and awoke to a cool, overcast morning. After a leisurely breakfast, we picked up the anchor, collected the prawn trap (4 prawns), and motored over to Prideaux Haven with the intent of stopping there for lunch. However, when we got there, the anchorage was so cr...
7 -8 Aug 19; Powell River - Pendrell Sound
7 Aug 19 We were up at the crack of dawn to catch the early courtesy bus up to the laundromat, but the dang bus decided not to stop at the Government wharf, so the Admiral had to drag the laundry up the hill to the laundromat. While she was doing that, I got the coat/towel hooks hung up in the aft h...
6 Aug 19; Roscoe Bay - Powell River
6 Aug 19 Ashley’s last day aboard, so we were up relatively early to make the most of it. We had the anchor up before 10:00 and, after pulling the prawn trap (1 prawn), we motored over to Refuge Cove for a burger and an ice cream. By 12:30, we had to get moving to make it to Powell River in time for...
1 - 5 Aug 19; Copeland I. - Roscoe Bay
1 Aug 19 The weather was a bit damp this morning, so we decided to sit tight in our anchorage and enjoy some peace and quiet. Then, about 11:00, John announced that they were going into Lund for the night - they are picking up the boys and significant others tomorrow anyway. So, we decided to go on...
31 Jul 19; Powell River - Copeland Islands
31 Jul 19 Ashley, still on east coast time, was up early, so we got up, too. The Admiral headed up to the laundry, while Ashley and I went back to the grocery store. In the end, the marina laundry was full, so the Admiral walked up to the laundromat on Joyce Street. All the chores were finished and...
30 Jul 19; Copeland Islands - Powell River
30 Jul 19 The alarm woke us up at 08:00 and we crawled out to face the day. After breakfast, I rowed out to check the prawn trap we set yesterday; and, lo and behold, there were 35 prawns and 1 octopus in the trap. I freed the octopus and secured the prawns and rowed back triumphantly to share my su...
28 - 29 Jul 19; Powell River - Copeland Islands
28 Jul 19 We got Jake away in a taxi to Powell River Airport (YPW) at 08:00 for his 09:15 flight to YVR. Then, we walked into town to Safeway for a grocery shop. John sent a note that they departed Comox at 10:44, which should put them at our rendezvous point at Mystery Reef at 13:45 - 14:00. We top...
27 Jul 19; Ballet Bay - Powell River
27 Jul 19 It rained pretty heavily last night and the front obviously came through in the wee hours as the wind went round to the northwest in the night. When we got up at 08:00, it was clear as a bell outside and the wind was WNW 10 - 15. We loitered over an excellent breakfast (omelettes and blueb...
26 Jul 19; Smuggler Cove - Ballet Bay
26 Jul 19 Another quiet night in the PacNW. We were up at 08:00 to enjoy the warm weather and get ready to head north. We were underway by 09:30 and after a quick diversion to Thormanby Island to check out the sandy beaches, we headed NW into the Malaspina Strait. The wind was SE 6 - 10, so we immed...
25 Jul 19; Plumper Cove - Smuggler Cove
25 Jul 19 Jake slept in this morning, not us - Jake. Anyway, after an excellent breakfast and a nice warm morning, we dropped the mooring ball line just after 09:00 and headed south across the Gibson Shoal. After clearing the shoal, we turned right to head west and a bit north up the Strait of Georg...
24 Jul 19; Port Graves - Plumper Cove
24 Jul 19 The plan is to meet Jake at Horseshoe Bay, which is only about an hour and a quarter away, at about noon, so we took it easy for most of the morning and finally got the hook up just after 11:00. We motored slowly in the direction of Horseshoe Bay and finally heard from Jake that his ETA wa...
23 Jul 19; Fishermans Wharf - Port Graves
23 Jul 19 We rolled out of bed just before 08:00 and got on with the few remaining chores before pulling out of the marina. I made a run to the liquor store and the Admiral picked up some more groceries at Granville Public Market. The engine was running and we were away from the dock by 11:30 and mo...
21 -22 Jul 19; Indian Arm - Fishermans Wharf
21 Jul 19 The dawn was clear, warm and calm. The crew of “Pittsburgh Nelly” were up early to make sure they could get through the tide gates at 2nd and 1st Narrows before the turn to flood at 15:30; they left us just after 09:00. Being faster and having no dog to take ashore periodically, we loitere...
19 - 20 Jul 19; Plumper Cove - Indian Arm
19 Jul 19 The wind died off during the night, but the swell continued to work into Plumper Cove all night long, so it was rock and roll all night long; not quite as bad as Smuttynose Island back in 2014, but a close second. Therefore, we were up early and off the buoy for a quick stop in at Gibson’s...
18 Jun 19; Port Graves - Plumper Cove
18 Jun 19 We slept well, but it was a bit blowy in the morning when we awoke, so we decided to skip the walk at Camp Artaban and move over to Plumper Cove Marine Park. We got the hook up just before 10:00 and motor-sailed into a brisk SW 18-22 kn wind. Along the way, we thought about stopping into G...
17 Jul 19; Fishermans Wharf - Port Graves
17 Jul 19 We were a bit slow getting up again this morning, but were firing on all cylinders by 09:00. It was raining pretty hard outside, so I decided to take the boat around to First Yacht Services rather than go by bus. The engine was purring by 10:00 and we slipped the mooring lines minutes late...
13 - 16 Jul 19; Pirate Cove - Vancouver
13 Jul 19 It was a relatively early start - 08:00 - so we could hit Gabriola Passage after the turn to flood. We dropped the stern line and weighed anchor by 08:15 and were on our way out of Pirate Cove by 08:20. We were through Gabriola Passage by 08:45 and into the Strait of Georgia. By 09:45, the...
12 Jul 19; Conover Cove - Pirate Cove
12 Jul 19 We all slept in until 08:30. After breakfast, Jim and Robin, separately took out Swallow for rowing practice; both of them made it back to the boat without incident. For the rest of the morning, we all simply lazed around the boats, chatting, knitting, doing miscellaneous boat chores, look...
11 Jul 19; Ganges - Conover Cove
11 Jul 19 We all had another excellent sleep and were up and moving by 08:30 for a quick run up to Barb’s Buns for a load up of carbohydrates. Back to the boat for a real breakfast, we worried about fresh water, as Ganges Marina had a water ban on. Jim and I bought 12 liters of fresh water at the gr...
10 Jul 19; James Bay - Ganges Harbour
10 Jul 19 It rained most of last night, but we all slept very well through it all. We lazed around all morning watching eagles and seals; I played guitar for a bit. We got going about noon for the very short run to Ganges, where we tied up at the marina at 12:50. Jim, Robin, the Admiral and I walked...
9 Jul 19; Princess Bay - James Bay
9 Jul 19 Some of us were up before 08:00; a serious breach of protocol - a tribunal may be convened later. It has finally warmed up nicely; to the extent that Jim and I both put on shorts to start the day. We got going about 09:15 and motored out into the stream, up the north end of Captain Passage,...
8 Jul 19; Sidney Spit - Princess Bay
8 Jul 19 It was a perfectly quiet night and we all slept like logs, awaking to a thick fog at 08:00. The fog burned mainly off by 09:00 and we went ashore again to complete our exploration of Sidney Island. Back at the boat in time for lunch, we dropped the mooring at 13:00 and motored over to Portl...
7 Jul 19; Van Isle Marina - Sidney Spit
7 Jul 19 We all slept in until well past 08:00. After breakfast and a check of the weather forecast, we decided to move over to Sidney Spit. Although the forecast was sunny, it was low overcast and light rain when we pulled out from the dock at 11:00. We found an empty mooring ball at Sidney Spit an...
2 - 6 Jun 19; Ganges - Sidney, BC
2 Jul 19 It started raining in the morning before we got up, which sort of ruined our initiative. We finally got up before 08:00 and pulled out into the rain at 09:00. It rained all the way to Princess Cove at Portland Island. On the way, the Admiral discovered a leak in the ceiling somewhere; we pe...
1 Jul 19; Port Browning - Ganges
1 Jul 19 Oh, Canada. Happy Canada Day, y’all. Another glorious day in paradise (i.e., north of the 49th, although technically, we are not yet north of the 49th). We were up just after 07:00 to try to catch the last of the ebb (which runs funny around here) up to Ganges. After pulling out of the Port...
30 Jun 19; Prevost Harbor - Port Browning, BC
30 Jun 19 We were up early to beat the crowds headed into Canada, and were away from the mooring ball at 08:50. We checked in with Canada Customs in Poet’s Cove at 09:45 (piece of cake again, these Canadians are so welcoming and polite) and immediately left to head over to Port Browning to get a few...
29 Jun 19; Matia I. - Prevost Harbor
29 Jun 19 Another day in paradise. We slept well last night, or at least I did, although we did get waked a few times during the night; it could only be wakes from tankers and/or container ships working their way to or from Vancouver. It was clear and warm when we woke up around 08:00. The original...
28 Jun 19; Cypress Head - Matia Island
28 Jun 19 The weather is fine this morning. We waited for the flood tide to set in and dropped the mooring ball about 11:45 to head over toward Sucia I, with a close look in at Matia I along the way. The flood tide helped along the way and we even motor-sailed a bit in light southerly winds. We turn...
27 Jun 19; James I. - Cypress Head
27 Jun 19 It rained half the night and was still sprinkling when we got up. The only trouble with this mooring field is that about every 30 minutes, a wake from one of the Washington State Ferries rolls in and rolls us around; between the light wind and an apparent back-eddy current, we seem to be p...
26 Jun 19; Hunter Bay - James Island S.P.
26 Jun 19 We slept in again, as it was a bit cooler last night; we are like a couple of hibernating bears. At least the sun was out this morning, so it warmed up pretty quickly. We spent the morning reading and enjoying the views. About 10:30, we finally bestirred ourselves to weigh the anchor and m...
25 Jun 19; Blind Bay - Hunter Bay
25 Jun 19 It was gloriously quiet last night; no wind, no slap of waves against the hull, no rattling of the anchor chain across the bottom, no griping of the snubber lines against the cleats, no wind whistling through the rigging, and no squeaking of the boom swinging back and forth. So, we slept l...
24 Jun 19; Friday Harbor - Blind Bay
24 Jun 19 We slept in (again; it’s what we do) and woke to a (finally) clear sky and a light southerly wind. After breakfast, I spent the morning chasing an intermittent leak in the aft toilet and replaced the joker valve again, as the toilet has been backing up a bit after flushing; kinda gross. Ho...
23 Jun 19; American Camp - Friday Harbor
23 Jun 19 John woke us up at 07:20 when he started his engine to get going to Cadboro Bay to make a lunch date with his mom. After we got them away, the Admiral and I went back to bed and had a glorious lie-in. When we finally got out to the cockpit at 10:30, I could not see “Massilia” on the AIS so...
21 - 22 Jun 19; Friday Harbor - American Camp anchorage
21Jun 19 Summer Solstice today. As the first day of summer, it dawned clear, calm-ish and relatively warm. We lazed around all morning, made one last run to the grocery store, patched another pin-hole leak in the forward water tank (this time I tried Flex Tape, which was much quicker than using epox...
19 - 20 Jun 19; Spencer Spit - Friday Harbor
19 Jun 19 It was cold this morning, so we were slow getting up, but at least the sun was shining and the solarium was warm when we did. After a lazy breakfast, we dropped the mooring lines and sailed away, without starting the engine, just after 10:00. The wind was WSW 10 - 15 and we had a lovely sa...
18 Jun 19; Cap Sante - Spencer Spit S.P.
18 Jun 18 We struggled out at about 07:30 and got ready to go. But first, we changed the primary fuel filter element, did a major grocery shop, made a quick run to West Marine and had a final (I hope) visit from the North Island Boatworks tech, who brought out a software update for the chart plotter...
15 -17 Jun 19; Shilshole - Cap Sante Marina
15 Jun 19 We were up at 06:30 to start our run for La Conner. It was cool and overcast, but not much wind when we departed and we motored all day. About half way along, we realized that the current in the Swinomish Channel would be good this afternoon for carrying on the last 9 miles to Anacortes, s...
13 - 14 Jun 19; Eagle Harbor - Shilshole
13 Jun 19 I had a long, sleepless period of about 3 hours during the night, so I was not in the best mood upon awakening. We lazed around most of the morning and finally got underway about 11:45. It was a quick 8 mile motor across Puget Sound, and we tied up at Shilshole Bay Marina, in north Seattle...
12 Jun 19; Blake I. - Eagle Harbor
12 Jun 19 We slept 10 hours again last night; just about recovered from our whirlwind visit from Luke and Tessie. Having nothing much to do until time to head for Bainbridge Island, we did that. About 10:30, we finally bestirred ourselves to start the engine and drop the mooring ball. Eagle Harbor w...
11 Jun 19; Des Moines - Blake Island S.P.
11 Jun 19 If it ain’t one thing, it’s another. Yesterday when we got in and plugged in the shore power, I noticed the batteries were not already fully charged, which is a bit strange, as we had been motoring for nearly 2 hours. So, this morning, when we disconnected shore power and started the engin...
10 Jun 19; Vashon I. - Des Moines, WA
10 Jun 19 We slept in until 08:00. After breakfast, Luke and Tessie packed up and I got the boat ready to go. We slipped the mooring ball about 10:15 and motored out of Quartermaster Bay to Des Moines Marina, where we tied up at 12:08. On the way in we bought 15.2 gallons of diesel. After a quick lu...
9 Jun 19; Gig Harbor - Vashon Island S.P.
9 Jun 19 We had a wonderful breakfast at Netshed No. 9. After another brief walk around the main shopping district, we got under way at 11:30. Before we headed straight to our destination, we motored a couple of miles south into the Tacoma Narrows, so I could get a good photo of the current bridges...
8 Jun 19; Blake I. - Gig Harbor
8 Jun 19 We enjoyed a beautiful, quiet night at Blake Island MP, and were refreshed enough to get under way just after 09:00. The wind was light again, so we motored south through Colvos Passage, looking for back-eddies to minimize the foul tidal current, and arrived at Arabellas Landing, Gig Harbor...
7 Jun 19; Seattle - Blake Island S.P.
7 Jun 19 After a light breakfast, Luke and I had a go at the sticky water heater element. Between us and the two foot cheater bar I had after cutting the stainless steel lee bar to length, we were able to loosen the old element. Replacing it with the new element was a piece of cake; and just like th...
4 - 6 Jun 19; Edmonds - Seattle, WA
4 Jun 19 We are both suffering from boat polio this morning and were pretty slow getting moving. Another couple of hours were consumed working on tidying up the boat - will it never end? And then, we were off south for Seattle. On the way out of Port of Edmonds Marina, we saw an adolescent Osprey si...
3 Jun 19; Langley - Edmonds, WA
3 Jun 19 The wind was blustery and the boat rocked us to sleep last night as we sheltered behind the scant protection of the floating breakwater, but it calmed down in the early hours and we were not too bothered. After a lazy morning, we got going about 10:30, having decided to spend a night at the...
2 Jun 19; La Conner - Langley, WA
2 Jun 19 Quiet night at the marina and we slept like logs. After breakfast, we walked back into town for a quick look around and a light grocery shop. Back to the boat in time to get away from the dock just after 11:00. The wind was very light all day, so we motored down the remainder of the Swinomi...
1 Jun 19; Anacortes - La Conner, WA
1 Jun 19 Up again early, we did a final purge of boat trash and I changed the raw water impeller on the main engine. Unfortunately, the old one had lost a couple of teeth, so I had to back flush the cooling system to get the bits out of the heat exchanger; this was accomplished with relative ease by...
28 - 31 May 19; Fidalgo Bay - Cap Sante Marina
28 May 19 Launch day!! We were both up at the crack of dawn to clear out of the hotel, pack up the car (one last time) and head to the boat yard to get ready for the 09:30 scheduled launch. At North Island Boat, I checked the condition of the through hulls and new bottom paint and had a look at the...
25 -27 May 19; Port Townsend - Anacortes, WA
25 May 19 And so the 2019 season begins. To bring you back up to speed, after moving the boat to Anacortes, WA, during the winter of 2018, we spent the summer of 2018 cruising the Canadian Pacific NW as far north as Rivers Inlet; see the 2018 blog entries for details. We spent last night in Port T...
24 May 19; Astoria - Port Townsend, WA
24 May 19 After another excellent breakfast, we bid adieu to Astoria and headed over the bridge to Washington State, through intermittent mist and fog, stopping in at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center to top off our knowledge of this most excellent adventure. Then, we headed up the coast road...
22 - 23 May 19; Boise - Astoria, OR
22 May 19 Another long day on the road: 541 miles from Boise to Astoria, OR. We arrived in Astoria about 15:30. After checking in at the Franklin Street Station B&B, we went for a nice walk around town, finishing up with happy hour and dinner at the Silver Salmon Grille: excellent meal. 23 May 19...
21 May 19; Moab - Boise, ID
21 May 19 The good news is that today we did not hike 13 miles, or anywhere near it. The bad news is we spent 9 hours in the car driving 630 miles from Moab, UT to Boise, ID, via Cisco and Salt Lake City. The first 50 miles was a spectacular drive along through the canyon of the Colorado River - ama...
19 - 20 May 19; Chinle - Moab
19 May 19 After an early night, we were up at 06:30 and on the road before 08:00. We took the scenic route north from Chinle to Natural Bridges National Monument, where we visited all three bridges - Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo. Along the way, we made a quick stop at Monument Valley. In the proces...
17 - 18 May 19; Amarillo - Chinle, AZ
17 May 19 After a good night’s sleep, we hit the road at 07:00 and headed west, toward Chinle, AZ. At Grants, NM, we turned off I-40 and headed south on NM 53 to visit the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. The Ice Cave is a collapsed lava tube from the Bandera Volcano, that is just deep enough and orien...
16 May 19; Frisco - Amarillo, TX
16 May 19 Nursing a sore head, we finally got underway to Amarillo about 10:00. In Amarillo, we spent the evening with the Admiral’s older sister. I retired early after dinner.
12 - 15 May 18; Houston - Frisco, TX
2019 Summary We had an excellent summer cruising season this year, once again in the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, I was unwilling and/or unable to publish periodic updates, as is my normal habit, for our adoring readers. Below is the detailed, daily description of the...