A Quick Getaway with Larry & Ann

We have been wanting to take Larry and Ann out on the boat since the summer we got our Nordic Tug but the timing just never worked out. This year, we got it on the calendar nice and early and we actually did it!

We left Everett on Thursday to head up to Anacortes for the night. When we arrived we contacted friends Terry and Jeanine to meet us for dinner at Anthony's. We had a wonderful dinner and then we went to see the new house that they are building. They were working on it last year when we were here so it is taking a long time. They are expecting to get the occupancy okay in about a month so they are almost there. It is a very nice community and the view is beautiful. The house is lovely and many changes were made to the layout thanks to Jeanine's eye for the details. I guess we all like blue! I just noticed we are all dressed in the same color!

That evening Larry and Ann arrived at the marina around 10:30. We got a good night of sleep in preparation of our San Juan adventure.

In the morning we had a nice breakfast and then headed over to Roche Harbor. It was a beautiful day for a cruise and it was fun to introduce Larry and Ann to boating. I gave them each some jobs to do so they could experience the role of first mate. They did a great job! I think Barkley made sure that he was part of their responsibility, too, although no one seems to be able to resist him when he wants a little attention.

I have said it before and I will say it again here - I love Roche Harbor! There is so much activity, a lot of history, lots of things to do, and a daily wedding destination for young couples. There is always a lot to see whether you are relaxing on the boat, walking the grounds or taking part in one of the activities. We started out with lunch overlooking the marina. Thank you, Larry and Ann, for treating us to a great meal!

After lunch we took a walk up to the mausoleum which is always a fascinating site for our guests. We walked past the old cemetery and to where McMillan built the mausoleum for his family when they passed away. The lime quarry and family history flavor everything about Roche Harbor. You can almost imagine what it might have been like years ago.

That evening we had a steak dinner on the boat and then Larry gave me a few tips for using my camera. I didn't know I had a special sunset setting that helps make the colors more true to what my eyes see. It seems most of my blog posts end with a sunset so it will be fun to use this special setting to get more accurate shots.

On Sunday morning we took a walk up the hill to the lime quarry. It's a beautiful walk and gives you a beautiful view of the marina and the overgrown quarry. It's amazing to see how much work was done to mine the quarry and to know they did not have access to the same kinds of equipment we have these days.

 

Barkley is a hit everywhere he goes. This is probably a big part of why he loves to go with us on the boat so much! He also gets lots of walks and special attention from us so he has a pretty good thing going!

After our walk we departed Roche Harbor and headed to Blakely Island. We dropped off two crab pots before we went on to the marina. We love it here because it is mostly boats that are moored there year round. There were only three visiting boats while we were there. It's a private island so there isn't a lot to do but we did have fun relaxing, getting ice creams cones from the store, and eating our one crab for dinner! We had to throw back many females and small dungeness crabs plus 3 rock crabs but at least there was one that was big enough to keep.

We had a wonderful time with Larry and Ann. We have never gotten away with just the four of us and it was a lot of fun to really catch up on everything that is going on with our kids, jobs, etc. Thanks for joining us! After we dropped Larry and Ann off in Anacortes they got a picture of us leaving the marina.

NWIS Sunset Dinner Cruise

Tonight was the Sunset Dinner Cruise that we donated to the Northwest Incident Support (NWIS) fundraiser. We have done this the last three years and we have met some wonderful people. This year it was won by one of our own! Dave Hyatt is a member of our support team for Camano Island and responds when the support rig is needed at a fire or other long term event. Dave brought his girlfriend Melanie, her parents Edie and Willard, and Melanie's daughter Mikayla  (and her friend Abby).

We had a great time getting to know Dave better as well as his friends. The girls were a delight and it was fun to have some young people on board this time. Melanie's parents are in town for Melanie's older daughter's wedding on September 1st so it worked out well for them to join us.

The weather was beautiful but the wind picked up so we had a lot of rough water. We took our usual route for guests - south along the shoreline to Mukilteo, across to Whidbey Island, north along that shoreline before cutting back across to Everett.  It calmed down a little when we got around the point at Mukilteo (and while we ate dinner) but then it got rough again. It was still fun, no one got sick, and they had a nice time. That is what we hoped for! Thank you for joining us. You made it a fun time for us, too!

A Day With The Family

Robyn, Gavin and the kids are in town for a week so we set aside today for a day of boating. Our plan was to go to Kingston, tie up for the afternoon and then go to McDonalds and maybe a movie. We had a wonderful time crossing the sound and Cohen, Avery and Austin had a great time on the boat. Cohen was allowed to help me with the lines and drop the stern fenders.

We arrived in Kingston about noon and decided to fill up the fuel tanks. While Bob did that I went to the office to see about our moorage and discovered that there was no guest dock space available, no reciprocal and not even an available slip if we wanted to pay for a full night. We decided that while Bob and Gavin filled the tanks Robyn and I would take Cohen and Avery with us and make a quick trip to McDonalds at the other end of town. We made it back before Bob finished. I have to admit he didn't exactly rush as he filled the tanks and it gave us extra time to make it back.

We headed back to Everett while everyone had a "picnic" on the boat. For the kids, it really didn't make much difference sine they seem to have fun no matter what they do!  Austin took a great nap all the way back.

It was fun to be out on the water with them and see how comfortable they are becoming. They know the rules and are strict with themselves about the life jackets. They are really becoming a great "crew"!

Broughtons Summer Cruise - Day 30 Homeward Bound!

We were up at 4:45 am to leave Vancouver and head home. We were concerned about the wind conditions out in the Strait of Georgia but they sounded like they might not be bad enough to keep us here for another day.

We started across and the waves were only 2-3' and the wind was about 10 knots. As we got half way across the waves increased to about 3-4'. Mostly they were coming at our bow at an angle so we did some bouncing but not much rocking sideways.  Further across they did start coming at us from the side but overall it wasn't too bad. We went across to Porlier Pass and hit it at slack tide then headed south. That kept us on the inside where it was calmer. A lot of the way the current, winds and waves were against us and even though Bob had the rpms up to where we should have been going 10 knots, there were times he wasn't able to get much above 7 or 8 knots. We noticed a tug pulling a barge and when Bob checked the AIS to see how fast he was going it said .2 knots!  That is NOT two knots, it's 2/10 of a knot! Once he turned his angle to the current he upped it to a whopping 2.4 knots.

One of the times Bob zoomed in on his charts he noticed the message in the following photo. In his words, "and what am I supposed to do with that?"

Earlier we heard the Coast Guard broadcast that Whiskey Golf in the Strait of Georgia (the area where the military practices shooting their torpedoes and such) was "extremely hazardous to under the sea, on the sea and airborne operations"!  No question what you do with that - stay away!

According to the Three Sheets Northwest blog: 

"Area Whiskey Golf (WG) is the name for a section of the Strait of Georgia covered by the Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges, a maritime test facility located on the east side of Vancouver Island at Nanoose Bay.

It is reported that approximately 300 to 400 torpedo tests are done at the facility each year. The Canadian government allows foreign governments, mostly the U.S., to test torpedo firings. An estimated 31,000-plus torpedo tests have been conducted since the range opened in 1965. The U.S. Navy routinely sends naval warships — submarines and surface ships  to area WG (more than 400 since 1999).

The Canadian Forces also actively use this area. Why? Area WG is perfect for testing torpedo firings because it is isolated from the open ocean, the depths are good for testing and the bottom is relatively flat for easily retrieving a torpedo.

When Area WG is active, no vessels — pleasure craft or commercial — are allowed to enter. The area is heavily monitored by Canadian Forces with fast patrol ships and aircraft. If you stray into area WG when it is active, you will first get a call on your VHF radio and next a visit by either a helicopter or a patrol craft. I’ve heard that if authorities need to visit you, they are not too friendly. You will be stopped, boarded and promptly escorted to the Canadian Forces facility in Nanoose Bay, where the RCMP will be waiting for you.

Our progress was very slow today with the wind, waves and currents working against us. At this point we just wanted to get home so decided to keep going and not stop off anywhere for the night. It will be nice to have a full day to get caught up on everything before busy schedules hit us again.

We arrived home to the Everett Marina after 16 hours of cruising. It was a long day but it is good to be home and we were greeted along the way with this beautiful sunset.

Broughtons Summer Cruise - Day 29 Vancouver, BC

This morning we had a lazy morning and then took Synnova over to the fuel dock to get our 100 gallons of fuel. While we were there we were talking to the employee about the yacht that was there yesterday that kept us from getting fuel. He said it took 2-1/2 hours to fill the fuel tank and the guy bought 20,000 liters of fuel!  That is approximately 5,3200 gallons at $25,000!  We will take our fuel bill any day!

When we got back to the marina we stayed on the boat long enough to watch After Eight depart for Victoria. They had a lot of new guests onboard and were headed for Victoria's annual Splash event. We went a couple of years ago and the symphony performs on a barge out in the harbor then fireworks finish off the evening. It was a lot of fun but the marina was packed full of boats, dinghies, kayaks, etc.

We got our bikes out and rode over to Granville Public Market. We wanted to get cinnamon rolls to have for our early departure tomorrow morning. The market is much like Pike Place Market. There were lots of artisans displaying their wares as well as wonderful fruit, vegetables, delis and any kind of food you can think of. It is a fun place to go. Sue did some bicycling, too, but she went the other direction around False Creek.

Part way around the creek we noticed a sign showing the bike trails. We bicycled around the False Creek inlet in the middle but as you can see there are many places designated for bicycles. 

One really cool thing we discovered is the free bike valet service! We just checked our bikes when we arrived and picked them up when we were done shopping. The volunteers who checked our bikes said that the local merchants help underwrite it and then it depends on donations to supplement it. They said it has been a huge hit for tourists but also for locals who check their bicycles while they are at work.

Tonight we had our farewell dinner at a restaurant as Bob and I prepare to head back home. Jack and Moon's family joined us and it was fun to hear about Kate and Thomas's adventures at the aquarium today,

We had planned to go see the fireworks tonight like we did last year but we need to leave about 5:00am in the morning to get across the Georgia Strait. It is our last leg of open water and the forecast is not real good. We will be fine but it could be rough. Fortunately, we have several different routes we can take to  avoid the roughest water and the angle that we will be to the wind. We will decide in the morning which route to take depending on what we find.

Farewell cruising friends! We wish you all safe travels on the remainder of your vacation. We had a wonderful time with you all and look forward to next summer's cruising together.