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Turning Toward Home

In my previous post, I wrote about the journey north to Desolation Sound and beyond. This will be a continuation of that trip, although now we have turned our bows toward home, and are slowly making our way south.

Day 16: Sunday, August 25

We enjoyed a calm night at Anchor in Roscoe Bay and awoke to clearing skies and sunshine. I’m pretty certain I had my fair share of clams and Scotch and guitar playing last night, but I was up and out of bed fairly early. Wind Walker is beginning their trip toward home today. Todd wants a few extra days in a weather window for a comfortable trip home. A slower-moving sailboat, Wind Walker can’t just speed up to run ahead of weather like the power boats in the group. We saw them off, leaving us onJolly Mon, Briar Patch, and Enough Time behind. Perhaps we’ll run into them down the line. We’re hoping to spend a few more days gunkholing in Desolation Sound.

After taking care of a few things, we left Roscoe Bay and made the short run to Refuge Cove for water and ice, with plans to decide our next destination over a burger. During the run, a check of the updated weather forecast predicting big winds and rain on the way, made us re-think our plans. Winds of up to thirty knots would be coming in tomorrow, followed by rain for the next several days. Even though we have a week to get home, maybe it’s best to slowly head that direction. Wherever we decided to go today, we would probably be there for at least two days. After considering our options, we decided Westview at Powell River would be a good choice – we could tie to the dock and have power and water, and would have a town to help pass the time. We contacted Westview Marina by phone, and although they do not take reservations, they advised they had plenty of room, and didn’t anticipate filling up.

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Going North

This year will be a first for me… The first time I’ve taken my boat to Desolation Sound. While I’ve spent a lot of time in the Canadian Gulf Islands, I’ve never made the leap across the Strait of Georgia and and ventured north to add to my cruising pedigree. I’m excited, the boat is ready, and time off from work secured.

I’ll be traveling with Briar Patch, Enough Time, Little Bear, and Wind Walker; all Desolation Sound veterans. Big Sky and Jolly Mon are first-timers. We have no real itinerary, other than a date we need to return by.

I’ll do my best to keep a log of my travels and things we do and see along the way. This post will contain several days.

Day 1: Saturday, August 10

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Briar Patch, Enough Time, and Jolly Mon departed Anacortes at about 5:30 am – just before daylight. The several mornings prior, Anacortes was socked in with fog, but this morning was the exception, so we were thrilled when we had the opportunity to leave early with clear skies. Wind Walker, the lone sailboat in the group, left the day before. Our plans were to make Nanaimo by evening.

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Weekend Cruise to Bellingham

Friday, April 19

20130422-221646.jpgThis weekend’s outing began, as many do, scanning everyone’s calendars a month or so out for any work/family/etc obligations. The ruling was, this weekend would work and fingers were crossed for decent weather.

Checking the forecast as the week progressed, things didn’t look all too great. Not terrible, just not the spring sunshine and blue skies that were hoped for. Continue reading “Weekend Cruise to Bellingham”

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Early Spring Cruise

It’s finally spring. Just barely.

Friday, March 22
This weekend adventure began with finishing up a few chores at home, locking up the house and heading for the boat Friday evening.

JaCarol’sJim & Carol had just arrived at the marina- their first visit for the year. After dropping some things of on my boat, I ventured over to C Dock where I joined in sipping a cold one, already in progress. Cara (Enough Time) was there, too. It was nice to sit and catch up. JaCarol would be staying at the dock this weekend due to some commitments at home for her crew.

The consensus was we were all hungry, and after minimal deliberation, we loaded up and headed downtown for some dinner at the Rockfish Grill. Jonathan, Lori, and Thomas (Briar Patch) rolled into town and joined us at our table, as well as some other riff raff that made their way in. Overall, a nice evening, but it was nice to say goodnight and head back to the boat and find my bed.

Saturday, March 23
Up early, I readied the boat, found some breakfast, made some coffee and waited for the cue that the rest of the fleet was ready to go. After a quick stop at the fuel dock, Jolly Mon, Enough Time, and Briar Patch were under way.

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January Cruise – Eagle Harbor, Friday Harbor

January 18-20

Boating was penciled into the calendar for this weekend well in advance, hoping for some decent winter weather for a chance to get away and enjoy winter’s quiet time in the islands for the Martin Luther King Jr. long weekend. For once, luck and Mother Nature were on our side and plans were made to go!

I decided – pretty much last minute – to leave a day early on Friday, with Jon, Lori, and Thomas on Briar Patch, heading out the next morning. I ran through the grocery store, throwing some things in my cart, and got to the marina where I quickly loaded the boat and prepared to get under way. I made a quick run to Eagle Harbor, cozy with my newly installed cabin heat drawing off the starboard engine. I arrived and tied to a buoy just before dark. I shared the bay with one other boat, who’s crew was probably surprised to have company. As the darkness fell, the cabin was filled with good music playing and the pleasing smells of dinner in the oven. I watched a movie and called it a night.

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