We planned a 2 week vacation in the San Juan And Gulf Islands in the first 2 weeks of July 2013 with my sister. Unfortunately, due to family circumstances we had to trim it to 1 week.
We left Monday July 8th after last minute packing of the boat as Jim had climbed to Camp Muir at Mt Rainier on the Sunday. We left at midday and had a leisurely motor from Seattle to Port Townsend. The weather was sunny and clear with a mild breeze.

At the locks

 

  

A leisurely motor up the sound

Just past point no Point the wind picked up and we put up the sails. Had a north westerly wind so the boat heeled over a fair bit and we had to re-secure our stuff down below. We arrived at Port Townsend at sunset which was around 9pm and put the anchor down. Everyone was tired and we went to sleep after dinner.

Day 2 July 9th.

The next morning, Jim was itching to get going so he up anchored while I made oats for breakfast. We had it and as we rounded out of Hudson Point. Oh boy, was that a bad idea. We had wind vs tide and it was one of my choppiest rides in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Jacintha and Sharon both lost their breakfast. I dosed them up with drugs then they went up into the cockpit to recover. Jacintha held onto the mizzen mast for dear life despite her life jacket and harness. The bumpiness settled down half way across the Straits but the damage was done. Sharon felt sick everytime we hit a wave.

It was a long ride to Roche Harbor and we were all happy to enter the calm harbor and drop our anchor. Sharon was happy to hit dry land and the shops when we dinghied to the resort. We bought Jacintha her first fishing rod and tackle and she was very pleased and wanted to go fishing right away.

The next morning Jim and Sharon took the dinghy to the resort while Jacintha and I stayed on board. As we were doing errands I noticed smoke coming from the marina which started getting thicker and thicker. I called Jim to find out what was happening over there. One of the million dollar display boats caught fire and the harbor workers had to move other boats out of the way and try to put out the fire. They closed the marina and Jim and Sharon were stuck on shore. Jacintha and I had a safe view from the boat.

 

     

To keep Jacintha from fretting and occupied we pulled out her fishing rod and she was happy to “fish”. I didn’t actually know how to load the hook or put on the weight but since she didn’t know she was very keen to catch a fish.

Speaking to Jim and Sharon, they had tied the dinghy in a location they couldn’t get to because of the boat fire. The hotel and shops were closed due to the smoke and they were hungry as it was lunch time by then. Also, Jim had been taking photos so his phone charge was running low. Meanwhile Jacintha and I had a nice lunch and a relaxing sunny day. Sharon and Jim finally got a ride from the marina staff to our boat as the dinghy was in an inaccessible area. They told us to come into the marina and they would give us moorage for the night. We got a spot right across the water from the boat which had burnt down to the waterline. The whole area smelt of char.

 

 

The coastguard helicopter buzzed overhead a couple of times before they landed and checked out the wreck.

 

And we had a beautiful sunset that night.

 

The next day, the salvage cranes came to haul out the boat. We stayed 3 nights as our dinghy was still inaccessible.

Sharon was very much happier on land so I bought her a ticket on the Friday Harbor Clipper to Seattle home as she did not want to go back through the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

 

Our next destination was a short trip to Jones Island.We enjoy walking around the island and exploring. We usually anchor in the north end but seeing as it was filled with boats we anchored in the south end this time. As it was low tide Jim secured the dinghy high up to a tree. I think he was wanting to practice his climbing skills. It was fun exploring the beach along the south end and hiking along the west side of the island. There was a wedding there that day so there were lots of people were around.

 

 

As this was a short trip, our next port of call was Kingston where we anchored for the night. We had a mandatory stop at Mora’s ice cream which is our tradition. There is another Hans Christian 43T moored in the first slip at Kingston marina. We met the owners 5-6 years back and everytime we go there we stop to look out for them. Unfortunately, their boat was in a sad state of neglect with moss and leaves collecting. I do hope nothing amis has gone wrong and it’s just early in the season.

 

We love our Keens sandals!

During a recent crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we noticed something heading towards us from about a mile away.  From that distance we could see 2 large vessels with something smaller between them.  There also was a medium size vessel in front of and behind them.  None of these 5 vessels showed up on our AIS system.  As we got closer, we realized it was a US Navy Submarine flanked by Navy ships and a coast guard vessel in front. The sub’s tower and only about 10′ of the hull were visible.  They were headed west and we passed at a distance of about 1/2 mile going east.  The picture on the left was taken as they passed us and you can see the sub tower just in front of nearest flank vessel.  The one on the right was taken about a half mile after they passed us, but still within torpedo range!

 

June 1: Due to vacation time and a planned trip to Australia later this summer, we decided to take a short 5-day trip to the San Juan Islands.  To maximize our time in the islands, we departed Lake Union late afternoon on Friday June 1.  Two drawbridges and a set of locks later, we were out in Puget Sound with a favorable tide for going north.  We were motor-sailing in light wind and about half way to Port Townsend began to smell something a bit off in the cabin (I thought it smelled like rotten eggs).  It took another hour with the smell getting worse until Karen discovered the source, which she pinpointed to something under the aft-starboard berth.  Our huge 8D starter battery was boiling hot and out-gassing hydrogen sulphide through the safety vents!  After shutting down the engine and analyzing the situation, we decided to disable the alternator so we could still run the engine without charging the battery, then motored the remaining 2 hours to Port Townsend.  We arrived after dark and anchored near the ferry terminal.  The starter batter was still hot but was no longer out-gassing and the battery monitor showed it’s voltage was 12.8V.  We decided to spend the next day in Port Townsend to fix the problem.  On the positive side of things….there probably wasn’t a better place for boat repairs than Port Townsend with all of its marine shops and knowledgeable people working there.

 

June 2:  Port Townsend–fixing the problem

We narrowed the starter battery problem to either the battery itself, the alternator, the smart regulator, or some connection in-between.  Since the battery still worked (it was able to start the engine) and the high-output alternator and smart regulator were only 2 years old, it seemed like maybe a “system” problem.  We decided to motor to the marina and get some advice from a marine technician.  West Marine provided some names and phone numbers so we were able to find an electrical tech who could meet us at the marina.  The problem was traced to an undersized wire between the high output alternator and the starter that had become highly resistive from getting so hot.  This wire carries all the current that charges the battery and was sized for the original alternator which put out only 60Amps (the new Balmar alternator put out 110Amps).  After paying the tech for his diagnosis, we were able to walk to West Marine to buy the new wire (only 1 foot) with lug connectors, and installed it in less than an hour.  It was early afternoon, so we decided to stay in Port Townsend the rest of the day and leave early on Sunday for the crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Since the cabin still smelled like rotten eggs from the battery hydrogen sulphide, we walked to a grocery store to buy some baking soda and gave the battery compartment and entire berth a washdown.

 

June 3: Onwards to Jones Island

An early morning departure with a maximum ebb tide gave us terrific speed out of Admiralty Inlet.  We motored for a few hours while keeping an eye on the starter battery to make sure it wasn’t getting hot again.  Everything was working fine, and as the wind picked up, we sailed from the middle of the strait all the way to Jones Island.  We reached Cattle Pass right near max flood with a 10knot wind  behind us.  With all sails out, we were cruising at 10knots (SOG) and reached Jones Island by mid-afternoon.  We anchored in 50′ of water and rowed the dinghy to shore for a fun hike around the island and Jacintha braved the cold water along the shore.  We returned to the boat and strung the hammock between the masts, relaxed, BBQ’d, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 4: Sailing and Roche Harbor

Woke up to cloudy skies and light winds, and enjoyed a lazy morning.  The Cap’n turned cook made bacon and eggs while Jacintha decorated the boat cabin with pictures and drawings.  Since Roche Harbor was only a few miles away, we decided to sail along the west coast of Stuart Island to see if we could spot any whales.  Although we didn’t see any whales this time, we made it up to the lighthouse before turning around and heading to Roche Harbor.  We anchored out in the bay, then took the dinghy to shore.  While Karen was enjoying a hot shower at the marina, Jacintha and the Cap’n went into the general store for a few supplies.  Somewhere between the food aisle and the fishing aisle, Jacintha spotted a water gun…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had no problem getting outside deck seating at the Madrona Grill this early in the season.  Had our usual Firecracker Bloody Mary and French Dip while sitting under the overhead heaters to keep warm.  After dinner we took a stroll to the white chapel overlooking the harbor where we got married 4 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 5:  Rough passage across the strait

The marine forecast called for gale force winds in Juan de Fuca strait.  We up-anchored early and motored away from the protected harbor.  Hoisted the jib, main, and mizzen sails in Haro Strait with an ebb tide carrying us south and 15 knot wind.  The conditions changed in the strait with a 20-30knot westerly going against the ebbing tide.  This spells LARGE chop and uncomfortable conditions down below for Jacintha and Karen.  Angle of heel was 20 deg and lots of weather helm with occasional waves breaking on deck and occasional gusts putting the side-rail in the sea.  After 3 hours of this, Cap’n bought in the jib and sailed under main and mizzen to decrease the heeling and allow and more comfortable run downwind.  With increasing winds and gusts, we had to pay close attention at the helm to not allow the boat to turn broadside into the wind.  The wind waves were building and we surfed in an eastward direction towards Admiralty Inlet.  We reached the inlet at max flood with a calmer 15 knot tailwind with a boatspeed of 12.2 knots (SOG), the fastest we’d ever seen Apropos go!  Sailed another 3 hours southward in Puget Sound and reached Kingston near dark.  Anchored near the ferry terminal and had a great sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 6: Back home

Had a relaxing morning and up-anchored around 1pm for the 15 mile sail back to Seattle.  Combined sailing and motoring in light winds, sunny skies, and smooth water.  The locks were busy and since the train trestle was also down, we decided to go into Shilshole marina and get together with a friend who lives in the condos on the south end of the marina.  Kit joined us aboard Apropos for some food and drinks, then we motored back to the locks as she took some photos from her balcony.  We were able to get right in the small locks and motored the remaining 2 miles to Lake Union.

 

With a good weather forecast for Easter weekend, we decided to sail to Poulsbo, one of our favorite Puget Sound destinations.  The sail over on Saturday was spectacular with sunny skies and a steady 15 knot northerly which meant a beam reach across the sound.  Sailed through Agate Pass with the wind on our stern and a positive 4 knot current.  Sailed all the way to Liberty Bay then docked at the Poulsbo marina.  Jacintha had fun coloring and decorating Easter eggs and Cap’n Easter Bunny hid them all over the boat after she went to sleep.  She had fun the next morning finding them all.  Walked to a church in town for Easter service, then went out for a nice brunch at Mor Mor Bistro.  Visited our favorite chandlery and our favorite ice-cream shop (Mora Creamery) before pushing off around mid-afternoon.  Motored most of the way back except towards the end when the wind picked up half way across the sound, than had about an hour wait at the locks.  Pulled into our home dock just as it was getting dark.