A Beautiful Day on the Water

We have had a very wet winter and spring but today it was absolutely beautiful! The sun was out and it was nice and warm for this time of year (about 70) so we decided it would be a great day to go whale watching again. We took Vickie and Willis with us and had a very successful day relaxing on the water, enjoying the sunshine and looking for whales.

 

 

The whales were just off Hat Island again so we didn't get to do much cruising before we were right where the whale tour boats hang out. Since it was a sunny day we were able to spend most of our  time up on the fly bridge and had a chance to discover just how glad we are to have that feature on this boat. It's the perfect place to see all around us in every direction and Bob is able to visit with the rest of us while still piloting the boat.

We think we saw two different whales and they were quite happy to show us their flukes. I took about 120 pictures trying to capture that one really terrific shot. I still haven't gotten that one but I did get some of the fluke and we have proof we saw them!

As we headed back to Everett, I got a nice picture of the Cascade Mountains.

The Everett Naval Base is at the entrance to the Everett Marina and we could hear the many sea lions barking as they relaxed on the submarine net surrounding the base.

It was another wonderful day of boating. Today made me very excited for the coming summer months to do a lot more boating. It's fun in any weather but sunny days are definitely a plus!

A Whale of a Day!

We have been wanting to get out and see if we can find the gray whales but our last attempt with family was very windy and too rough to stay out. Today we had calm seas and even though it rained a little it was great for cruising. We took Margaret and David, Janice and Mike, Sharon and Al, and Jerry (Holly was not feeling well) out with us. We loved discovering we could have 9 adults on the boat for an afternoon of fun and we had plenty of room. The salon is so much bigger than in our last boat. The pilothouse easily held six of us at a time and there were times we squeezed in more. I can see that getting the 42' was a great move for us. More room for friends and family!

Bob checked to see where the whale tour boats were heading and they were out by Hat Island. That worked out well because we did not have to travel far and were able to spend most of our time just watching for the whales. Everyone brought food so we had a feast for our lunch! Sharon even made a "whale" fruit bowl for us.

Before and after lunch we saw several whales. Once we saw two together and it appeared that one was a calf with its mother. There was a lot of spouting and occasionally a fluke appeared. It's difficult to get pictures because by the time I would spot one and raise my camera, it would go below the surface. My best luck came by setting the camera for continuous clicks. I did manage to get a few of the fluke and was surprised to even find one with his head out of the water.

We had a wonderful day and couldn't have been happier with the whales that we saw. Thank you to our friends who made the time to join us!

Not What We Were Expecting!

Wow! What an adventure we had! We took Alley, Preston and their girls as well as Robyn, Gavin and their kids out to look for whales today.

 

 

There was a light breeze when we left the marina but as we got out toward Hat Island the wind came up and it was so rough we decided to turn back. We try to go where the whale tour boat goes but even if we had been able to continue on, it looked like they were headed way north of Hat Island at about 14 knots so the whales must have been quite away out.

 

After we turned around we noticed a Coast Guard cutter watching us and getting ready to drop their inflatable to send a boarding party to pay us a visit. As intimidating as it was to have them board us for an inspection, they were so nice! As they left, I thanked them for their service and they said it was really nice to come aboard and have the people treat them nicely! Even though we didn't get out to the whales we had a great time and some stories to tell!

 

 

Poulsbo and a High Winds Experience

We decided to go over to Poulsbo for one night just so we could get out on Synnova again. We had a nice trip over and even tried out our fly bridge!  It was a little cold but I can see we will really enjoy it when the summer weather gets here.

When we arrived in Poulsbo we walked around town a bit, visited the Sluy Bakery (which is a must when you go to Poulsbo) and then went out to dinner at The Dockside restaurant next to the pier.

We had planned to take our time going back to Everett but a big storm was moving in so we left about 8:00am.  It was very rough and I had a lot of items falling off shelves. I should have secured things before we left Poulsbo but I did not expect the storm to hit while we were still enroute. We made it back to Everett just fine but the wind was blowing about 35mph when we arrived.

When we arrived at our slip it was so windy Bob had a very difficult time getting it into our slip. He has been boating his entire life and is very good at maneuvering a boat but this was crazy. Every time he tried to pull into our slip, the wind blew us at an angle to the dock. He had to pull back out into the fairway and try again. Two other boat owners came to our slip to assist. Bob tried going in stern first as well as bow in but nothing was working. Another boat was waiting for us to get into ours so they could go to theirs but it added to the stress knowing they were waiting. Bob motioned for them to go ahead and they were unable to dock, also, so they left and went to the guest dock. Bob tried one more time bow-in and with the help of the captains on the dock we were able to get safely docked.

A Five Minute Valentine Cruise

We have been looking forward to the February EYC cruise to Kingston for Valentine's Day but the club was not able to book it this year. Instead, it was decided the club would cruise to Everett and use the guest dock and Everett Yacht Club facilities. For us, that meant taking our boat for a five minute cruise for our slip on I Dock in the South Marina to the guest dock at the North Marina. It seemed a little silly to pay additional moorage but the weather was terrible and we were very happy to have Synnova right there with us for her warmth and comfort. The Port of Everett gave all the guests 2-for-1 nights moorage so that helped, too.

On Friday night, we went to the Bluewater Distillery for drinks and small plates of food. We had a great time visiting with friends and getting a short tour of this organic distillery and learning its history.

On Saturday, Robyn and Gavin brought the kids over so they could see the work that we had done on the boat. They were amazed by the difference. We are not done yet but we did have partially finished upholstery for the weekend. They have not been fitted perfectly or the detail work finished but they made the boat very comfortable. Paula, who is making them, will take them back next week to finish them.

We went to Scuttlebutt's for lunch and had fun with the family. On our way out, one of our club members stopped me and asked me what "Synnova" means. He and some friends had been googling the name and trying different languages to learn the meaning. It is an old Norse word meaning "a beautiful sight".  One of our requirements was that no other boat has the same name. It's perfect!

Saturday afternoon we sat on the boat and visited with a steady stream of club members who came aboard to see our new boat. We often had 8 people sitting and visiting and it was wonderful to have plenty of room for everyone. We can already see that Synnova will serve the purposes we had hoped. Plenty of room for our family, room for overnight guests, and a salon large enough for people to visit in.

Saturday night included a wonderful stroganoff dinner at the Everett Yacht Club prepared by our own club chefs. Laurel Connolly led a chocolate gift exchange for those who wanted to participate. Following dinner, the annual "Not So Newlywed Game" was held and provided lots of laughs for everyone.

Since we were still in Everett for our "cruise", we decided we could go to church today. We were actually closer to the church than we are when we are at home!

The afternoon was spent with more visiting on the boats, more guests on ours, and then Chinese food for dinner. The plan was for a "mixed up" dinner with cruisers dividing up between boats for dinner and then switching boats for dessert. Appetizers and sake were served on the dock and then people filled their plates to take to their host boat. The weather was very bad this weekend and most people had to go to work on Monday so we lost many of our boaters. We had three people join us on Synnova and it was so nice to have the room for hosting.

After dinner we packed up and moved back to our own slip. Even though the cruise was in Everett and we weren't very excited about the location, it turned out to be a great time. When you are on the boat it doesn't really matter where you are. There is still a feeling of getting away and relaxing. You can feel the stress drain away which is one of the reasons why we are enjoying it so much.

Synnova's First Voyage

We finally had an opportunity to take Synnova out for a weekend. The Edmonds Yacht Club's Junior Officer (JO) Ball was Saturday night so we left Friday morning and spent two nights aboard her. Bob and Barkley both quickly found their places and we arrived in Edmonds about 2:00.

We spent the afternoon relaxing on the boat and organizing some things we brought with us to finish outfitting her. At 5:00pm we went over to the yacht club to help them decorate for the JO ball tomorrow night. We had a great time working with about 16-20 people who came by to help and then finished off with a pizza  dinner. The yacht club looks beautiful with blue, silver and white "winter wonderland" decorations.

On Saturday my cousin, Nina, and her husband John joined us. John is "going through the chairs" at the Bremerton yacht club so is a junior officer this year and next. A JO Ball is put on by each of the Grand 14 yacht clubs in Puget Sound. Each one is a themed costume party so all the junior officers in the area attend 7 JO balls each of their two years.

We had a wonderful time catching up on each other's lives and what all the kids and grandkids are up to. That evening we donned our costumes and headed to the club. Bob went as Jack Frost from the movie The Guardian. I went as a Victorian Caroler.  John and Nina chose a winter color scheme for their formal wear and looked quite elegant. The people attending came up with some great costumes. There was a wide variety including Santa Clause, hockey players, characters from the movie Frozen, skiiers, and pretty much anything you can come up with.

The junior officers were all introduced before dinner and we were able to honor our own club's junior officers, Al & Sue Smith and Jim & Jill Whitehead, as well as John and Nina.

We enjoyed a wonderful German meal of sauerbraten and cabbage, Waldorf salad and Black Forest German Chocolate Cake.After dinner there was a time for dancing and plenty of time for more socializing. We had never attended the ball before but had a wonderful time and are looking forward to next time.

Sunday morning John and Nina joined the other junior officers at the yacht club for a special breakfast. We headed out about 9:00am to get back home in time for friends to join us for the Seahawks playoff game. We had a great weekend and it was the perfect distance for our shakedown cruise. We learned some things that we want to fix or purchase for the boat and found that the second cabin works perfectly for guests. We still didn't have our upholstery but a couple of blankets added some padding to the settee and dinette so it worked out just fine. The extra salon space was wonderful for the four of us and could easily handle two or three more couples. We were also able to give a few tours of Synnova to some friends who have been following our journey to getting the new boat.