Jul 4th – Happy Independence Day!!!

When we up anchored this morning, the windlass was straining really hard. The windlass is the machine at the front of the boat the pulls up the chain and anchor. Our main anchor is a 70 lb CQR and we have 300 feet of 3/8inch chain attached to it. We usually put out 80-100 feet of chain in these waters so that’s a lot of weight to pull up by hand! Anyway, as the windlass pulls up the chain, she rattles away and today she was whining a lot especially the last 25 feet when the anchor was leaving the bottom of the sea bed. Low and behold when the anchor finally came up we found we had caught a prize. Part of an old net had been pulled up with the anchor and it was still attached to the bottom. We hooked it off and headed off. There is a fish farm in the same cove and when we read the guide book later on, it mentioned that anchoring was not recommended because of all the debris left by it! Oops!

Look what we caught!

We headed out for the pass where Jim so successfully caught his fish the other day and dropped the line. I went below to make blueberry scones. It was a lovely sunny day with little wind. Jim had a couple of bites but none that stayed on the line so he was very disappointed. Jacintha had a turn fishing as well.

Fishing with daddy

We saw some whales chasing fish, I’m sure they had a better day than Jim! We had our blueberry scones with fresh whipped cream, while looking at them frolicking away. There was a whale watching boat nearby as well and it made me think how lucky we didn’t have to pay $$$ to see whales playing. This area of Canada has been amazing for the number of whales and eagles we’ve seen!

Freshly baked blueberry scones!

That evening we anchored at Turtle Bay. It was windier and crowded with lots of boats. Jim and Jacintha went to the little beach for a play in the sand and a stretch of their legs. Jacintha came back a bit wet. I broiled the salmon collars and cooked the rest of the salmon up. I had to teach my American husband how to eat salmon collars! They were very tasty! We had a nice meal of it.

Jul 3rd

After apple pie for breakfast, we left Effingham Island and headed out of the Broken Group. We decided not to explore the island as it was a windy and cloudy day. The wind was blowing 10-15 knots so we decided to sail downwind and try out our wind vane.

A wind vane is a mechanical self steering system that you use to steer the boat along a particular course of wind, so you don’t have to be at the wheel all the time. It has a fin thing that acts like a sail and a rudder thing to turn the wheel. The beauty about the wind vane is that it is purely mechanical so you don’t have to juice it up with power. We have one that came with the boat that we had remounted but hadn’t used yet. It is a Fleming, from Australia and about 20 years old. Jessica Watson, an Australian girl who recently became the youngest person to sail solo around the world, used a Fleming wind vane to accomplish the feat, albeit a newer version.

Anyway we set the wind vane and hooked it up to the wheel and presto, it didn’t hold the wheel on the course. We adjusted it and tried again, and again and again. No joy! It did not want to move when the wind turned. So we got out the instruction book and found out that you need to adjust your sails just right before you can set it! No weather helm from too much sail being put up! Kudos to Jessica Watson for being able to do it as it’s not easy. We noticed that our vane was a little stiff, a product of being 20 years in storage. So we oiled it a bit and managed to loosen the fin up a little but I think it needs more grease on the rudder thing!

We had a fun afternoon sail and headed to Robbers Passage between Tzartus and Fleming Islands (how appropriate). They are in a group of islands known as the Deer group just east of the Broken Group. There is a small marina run by the Port Alberni Yacht Club that is very pleasant but we decided to be cheap and drop the anchor (free!).

Since it was early afternoon on a sunny day we hopped into the dinghy and landed at the dock. We took a walk through Fleming Island to the other side. There are nice trails through here maintained by the club. We found a nice little beach and some rocks in the setting sun to explore.
Then we headed back to the boat and Jim grilled the salmon on cedars planks. We had anchovies on one, and truffled salt on the other fillet. Jacintha has really been enjoying the salmon dinners we’ve been having! More apple pie for dessert!

Fleming Island

Robbers Passage

Jul 2nd

Had a relaxing morning, then up anchored and headed out of the park boundaries. Today was fishing day! Before we left Jim made a few trips to the bait and tackle shop to buy some more gear. He bought these special lures that look like squid, a long flashy thing that look like it came from the 80’s and a red diving thing that gets the lure down below the surface for trolling. He also borrowed a couple of rods and reels from his friend Steve. He was now excitedly getting his equipment ready, setting up the rod holder and working out where we were going to bring the fish aboard with a net so we could kill it.

Once he began trolling, I had to drive the boat as Jim was expectantly waiting for his fish to bite, while I was quite skeptical that we were going to catch one today. Jacintha was excited too! I was expecting hours and hours of waiting around!

Twenty minutes after he started trolling, the line on his reel got tangled up and we had to pull the line up! So he transferred the lures, flashy thing and diving weight onto his back up rod and reel while I tried to untangle the mess on the first reel. Fifteen minutes later the reel started clicking and Jim shouted “fish on”!!! He reeled in a salmon and I netted it although it didn’t put up much of a fight. It was a coho salmon, 27 inches long! We gutted it and I took it below to fillet. My filleting skills were very woeful and I left a lot of meat on the fish. I cut up some pieces to eat with soy sauce (no wasabi on the boat) but the fish was chewy and not so tasty as the sushi from the restaurants. Perhaps it was the way I cut it up – I need a sushi license!

The 27 incher

Yummy fish!

Fisher Jim at work

After that, there were no more fish, a couple of nibbles, enough to get Jim all excited and when he reeled in the line there wasn’t a fish to be seen! When it got dark, we headed for Effingham Island in the broken group. I baked one fillet with salt, dill and lemon and the other with a curry paste and a tomato salad. I also made an apple pie for dessert. We anchored in Effingham Island late in the evening and had a wonderful meal.

Apple pie

July 1st
Happy Canada Day!

Woke up to the smell of freshly baked bread. It was rainy and windy that morning. Had a light breakfast and then set off for The Broken Group Islands. Outside the shelter of Ucluelet inlet it was choppy with the swell of the ocean. There were a lot of fishing boats fishing in the channels that we crossed. Jim was salivating at the thought of fishing but he bought his license to start tomorrow.

The Broken Group Islands, in the middle of Barkley Sound, extends from the Pacific Ocean inwards, surrounded by the snow covered mountain peaks of Vancouver Island on three sides. They are part of the Pacific Rim National Park in Canada. There are many islands with coves and sheltered bays to anchor in.

Once we got to more open water, we put up our sails and headed down to Loudoun Channel towards the Islands. The winds were a gentle 10 knots and the rain had ceased, with the sun occasionally peeking out! We had a pleasant sail down to Peacock Channel where we had to turn on the engine (iron sail) as the wind had died down. We then wound our way through a series of narrow channels, avoiding many submerged but shallow rocks to get to Turtle Bay.

Turtle Bay is surrounded by Turtle, Willis, Dodd and Walsh islands. It’s very sheltered and pleasant. We were the only boat there so had the pick of where to anchor. There were groups of kayakers paddling around the bay and some on a little beach on Dodd Island. We hopped into the dinghy and headed for a quick walk ashore on Dodd Island. Jacintha could not get enough of the water but we finally got her to come on a short hike through the camp ground and forest, until the mossies started to buzz, then we headed back for the beach.

The rocky beach on Dodd Island

Climbing a big tree!

We had a small snack on the beach while Jacintha waded around in her dress. More kayakers came back into shore. They’d taken a boat from Port Alberni to a smaller whaling town and then hired the kayaks from there and were now exploring the many islands and camping on the camp grounds there. As the beach was now in shadows we walked to the rocks, at it’s tip where the last rays of sun were. Then we headed back for the boat for dinner of hot dogs and corn on the cob.

Resting on a log after our exploration of the rocks

Wed June 30th

I slept in this morning and Jim made bacon and eggs for breakfast! So good not to feel nauseated! Then we spent the morning doing boat chores and recovering from our big trip the night before.

After lunch we took the dinghy to the main marina, getting sprayed by a passing shower on the way. It wasn’t far, kinda like driving your car to get milk from the store a few blocks away!! It had a nicer set up with electricity and wifi access. The Canadian Princess is moored here permanently and is used as a restaurant plus they run whale watching and fishing tours off these smaller boats with various names ending with princess!

We walked up to the ice cream shop as the sun had come out and warmed the place up. Had some gelatos watching the traffic go by in this small town. It caters mainly to fishing both commercial and recreational and there were a lot of fishing boats around, some just little tinnies (aluminum dinghies) and some luxurious big boats. A Canadian told us he just bought a new Bayliner in Bellingham, they were practically giving them away! I decided to stock up on seasickness drugs – for Jacintha and us just in case the trip back is just as bad!

We then moved our boat to the main marina where we connected to mains power and had fresh water to fill up the tanks. It’s a luxury to have mains power! We can run the electric water heater, our little fan heater, watch a movie on the big television (yes we have a 36″ TV with surround sound on board), make microwave popcorn and I can run the bread machine to make fresh bread.

Since we bought new batteries for the boat last year, we don’t have to connect to mains power too often as our batteries last us more than a couple of days off the grid, especially since we also seem to motoring a lot more, due the the larger distances we’re traveling, hence charging the batteries with the alternator. Motoring also heats up our water so after a long day of motoring we can all have hot water showers on our boat.

Jim bought a 5 day fishing license while Jacintha had a nap and I had some quiet time to finish my book, “The Healer”. We had BBQ steaks with roast potatoes for dinner that night. Jim washed his boat after dinner.

Tuesday June 29th

Happy Anniversary!! It was 3 years ago on a hot sunny day that Jim and I tied the knot at our favorite sailing destination, Roche Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington (not to be confused with the other San Juan!)

What a contrast to the wet rainy morning we woke up to. We were both tired as Jacintha had crept into our bed at 2am and coughed and wiggled and kicked all night long. The weather report said winds northeast 15-20 knots increasing to 20-25 in the afternoon, seas 5-10 feet increasing to 10-15 feet. Gale warning in effect for the Straits of Juan the Fuca – where it was all glassy 2 days ago! It meant a very bumpy ride as we had strong wind coming from the front of our boat and a long distance to cover – 65 miles. If we put up the sails we would have had to sail perpendicular to the wind increasing the distance we had to travel by tacking (zig-zagging) all the way up the coast.

We up-anchored in trepidation of the unknown and motored out of the sheltered harbour. Outside the wind was blowing 15-20 knots from straight ahead and the swell was 10 feet. We hoisted the sails, with the main sail reefed in (shortened to reduce the sail area for a windy day). It’s a good thing Jim placed the jack line on the boat yesterday, as it made me feel safer knowing that we would be tethered to the boat, when we left the relative safety of the cockpit to go to forward to the main mast! We had trouble with our reefing line which had to get retied which took some time. Then I let Jim steer the boat and went down below.

In the cabin, it was bucking around like a wild horse and the boat was also heeled over around 15-20 degrees. It made preparing our hot oatmeal for breakfast tricky! Jacintha’s eyes were glued to the DVD player which kept her quiet and safe. But it was miserable down below as there is no horizon to see and help with your vestibular system (your balance center) and the boat would move up then pound down on each wave. The waves were not very regular as well and they would come from in front then to the sounds making the boat wallow in the troughs a little. I started to feel nauseated and so did Jacintha and soon we were both heaving up our breakfasts! Jacintha than lay down and fell asleep.

I went up above to see the horizon and started to feel better. The wind had died down so we were going a lot slower (3 kts) but still tacking up the coast and we’d calculated that we needed to be traveling around 6 kts to make it to Ucluelet before sunset. The last thing we wanted to be doing was entering that unfamiliar, rocky inlet after dark as there were a lot of submerged rocks around the harbor entrance. So we turned on the iron sail (motor) and took the sails down and started to motor up the coast of Vancouver Island. That made the trip faster but made it even more miserable as now we were pounding onto the 10 foot waves with speed. Not having any sails up also created more rolling motion with the swells which were about 9 seconds apart.

I took a turn at the wheel which made me feel better while Jim went below to warm up. He soon started heaving up his dinner. He scooted back up the ladder into the cockpit and didnt want to go down below again! I went below and had a refreshing nap. Then I made cup noodles for us to eat as we needed to eat to keep our warmth and energy up. I couldn’t persuade Jacintha to eat the noodles even though they’re her favorite, a sign that she was not well at all!

Jim and I took frequent turns at the wheel and we spotted a lot of whale spouts and whales, some of them were traveling in the same direction as us! They were having a much better trip than we were and I wished that I were a whale so many times that day. After we’d left the traffic zone of the Straits we didn’t see anymore boats out there on the water. Were the smart ones staying in because if the weather? Jacintha joined us up in the cockpit at one stage, with life jacket on and harnessed to the boat. She laughed at the “giant waves” and tried looking for Moby Dick. Then she went down below and was miserable again.

We reached the southern end of Barkley Sound around 5 pm and we felt elated as we were nearly there. The lighthouse at Cape Beale appeared enticingly on the horizon and that last 17 miles we travelled were the longest and ever. I was having fun steering the boat up and down the waves but poor Jacintha was absolutely miserable down below. Jim wasn’t feeling any better. At one point, Jim went down below to take a nap and lay on the settee with his life jacket, coat and boots still on, something he would have griped about if he saw anyone doing it when he was well! He heaved again and then refused to go below anymore, so was more tired than I. I would take cat naps when I wasn’t steering the boat, something I got good at by taking night call! We inched our way slowly up the coast and it took us 2 more hours, with the seas (10-15 ft) and wind (15kts) building up.

We finally turned for Felice Channel which was sheltered by reefs and small islets so the wind and waves were much more bearable. Winding our way through the rocks and islets in the fading light was stressful, so we were relieved to see the public dock, where we had to report into customs.

Jim gathered all the paperwork and made the phone call to the customs but when they asked him how much alcohol and what fruits we were carrying he was a little vague and must have sounded drunk to the border patrol, so they sent out a customs officer to inspect our boat! He was nice about it but I think we looked a little worn out. He rummaged through our boat and pulled out all the almost empty bottles of alcohol that we’d forgotten about. We’re such alcoholics, I’d forgotten about the open bottle of baileys we had stashed away from our trip last year! And the half bottle of gin that’s been sitting in a cupboard for two years! Anyway, after a reminder to take an inventory before making the phone call he left. We didn’t have the energy to move the boat to anchor so we just stayed moored to that dock that night. Jacintha didn’t want to eat anything that night as she was afraid she would throw up again so I had to explain to her that she wasn’t I’ll just had seasickness. After that she ate a whole bag of popcorn that night for dinner, her other favorite food!!

Photo of Jim post crossing!

Mon June 27th

Up-anchored early and went to the fuel dock to fill up on diesel. Had to wait for them to open up the store at 8am so we had oatmeal for brekkie. Then we headed out into Admiralty Inlet, turned to port (left for all you landlubbers) and headed up the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is the body of water between Vancouver Island, Canada and the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, USA and leads from the Puget Sound out to the Pacific Ocean. When the winds blow hard down the Straits, it can be pretty nasty to be on a little boat out there, plus there is a lot of traffic with freighters, tankers and cruise ships headed into and away from Seattle and Vancouver.

On that Sunday there was no wind and no waves so we motored. The Strait was glassy and reflective, we’ve never seen it so calm before. The sky was cloudy but it didn’t rain. We spotted dolphins fishing in the water, the beautiful and majestic Olympic mountains in the background and we looked out for traffic. We passed Victoria on our starboard (right) and Port Angeles to port then we kept motoring and motoring. Our intention was to anchor at a place called Pillar Point which was 2/3 along the northern Washington coast but by the time we got there at 7pm we had a good current taking us out so we continued onto Neah Bay.

Glassy Strait

The most interesting thing along the way was a huge fire we spotted on land. At first we thought that it was a bonfire. When we looked through our binoculars, a building was being consumed by the flames which went up a couple of stories high. There was a larger structure next to it but the flames were starting to die down. I baked a raisin and pecan loaf in my bread machine and the recipe I downloaded off the Internet made the most perfect whole wheat raisin bread I’ve ever made! Definitely a keeper! We had a lovely spaghetti dinner and it occurred to me that cruising around is like traveling in a big ole RV except we don’t get to do the road stops and stretch our legs out or stop to eat greasy truck stop food! We arrived at Neah Bay in the setting sun, after 13 hours of motoring, dropped our anchor and went to sleep exhausted! I was woken occasionally to the locals lighting up their fireworks on the beach!

The burning garage

Tue June 28th

We got up early to check the weather and decided to spend a day checking out the town. Neah Bay is an Indian Reservation. There is limited cellphone access ie, AT&T don’t go out there and it’s a small town, mainly catering to fishing boats. We had pancakes for breakfast then we hopped into the dinghy and headed for town. It kinda reminded me of a small country town in Oz where its quiet and slow moving except for the lack of a pub! Its a dry town! We walked to the grocery store, which was well stocked and got some stuff that we inevitably had forgotten! Then we walked 10 mins down the street to the Makah tribal museum where we looked at the exhibits. The museum is a tribute to the Ozette indian community that was buried in a mudslide, preserved, and eventually discovered and excavated. I must admit that I didn’t get to read much of the placards as I found myself chasing Jacintha through the museum. She wanted to see everything and touch everything, including the big whaling canoes. She did enjoy the walk-in replica of the interior of a tribal longhouse, with fake fire pits and beds. When we finished the exhibit she decided she wanted to see everything again so around she went again! This time Jim chased her!

Picking daisies outside the tribal center

We walked back towards the marina and stopped at the Warm Cafe for lunch. It was run by a couple of ladies and when we walked it was busy so it took awhile to be served. The fish and chips were real good! Light crunchy batter and fresh cod that wasn’t overcooked. I asked our waitress if it was locally caught fish and chips. Nope! The fish get caught here but they all get flash frozen and sent to Seattle to get approved by the USDA. Then they get battered and shipped out to the restaurant! She would not be able to serve me fish caught off the boat and cooked there as it needs “approval” to be served in a restaurant. Kinda sad I thought. We only get to eat flash frozen days old fish! But it was good! Maybe I should have asked her what brand they used! She also told us that the fire the night before was a garage in the town before and it was probably a large one as they asked for help from the Neah Bay fire department! News travels fast in small towns.

After lunch we headed back for the boat and we did boat chores. Jim partially deflated the dinghy and hoisted it onto our foredeck where he lashed it down for our “ocean passage”. He also prepared the wind vane (a mechanical autopilot that steers the boat to the wind) to use in the forecasted 20 knot winds and tied on a jack line (a safety line that runs from the cockpit out to the front of the boat that you can harness onto).

I made chocolate chip cookies with Jacintha – ie I made them and she licked the bowl and spoon! Then I secured everything so that nothing could fall when the boat heels (when the boat is under sail the wind pushes it sideways so it can lean up to 20 degrees). That is a job in itself when traveling with a four year old. She gets things out and forgets to put them back – I think I have to train her a little bit more!

Saw lots of bald eagles!

Neah Bay

That night Jim and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary early! He gave me a pair of leather boat shoes, which coincidently is the gift for 3rd wedding anniversaries! Thanks for my new shoes!

My New Shoes!

The weather window was perfect for a quick weekend trip on April 30th. We set out late and went through the large lock. When we got out onto the sound the wind was blowing north, so we decided to head northwest towards Poulsbo. Since there was some wind we put the sails up, but it soon died down so we had to use the iron sail!
It was wonderfully sunny but the wind was cool. It was lovely getting the boat out again after a long rainy season.
We made it to Poulsbo in 3 hours and anchored out in Liberty Bay, then took the dinghy into town. Had a walk around and bought some cookies from Slavs Bakery. The local mart had fresh herbs growing outside that you could pick to use! Cintha fell asleep so Jim and I went and chilled out in the coffee shop while she lay down on a bed made of two chairs!
Went back to the boat and we had roast chicken for dinner which I cooked in the new oven. I love it!

The next day was a lovely calm morning. We had bacon and eggs for breakfast, cooked by Jim. Then we headed into town where Jim bought a bell for the boat and we ate ice cream. Motored back to Seattle going through Agate Pass against the peak current!! Oops we hadn’t checked the tide tables! Didn’t have to wait long for the locks and it wasn’t as busy as we thought they would be.

CLOSE CALL!!

When we got back to our dock, we noticed the shore power inlet was blackened due to excessive heating as was the shore power cord – we’d nearly burnt the boat down. Thankfully we were off the grid on our trip to Poulsbo and very cozy with our diesel stove that Jim managed to coax to work! Jim quickly changed over the shore power inlet to a “smart plug” that cuts off the power when things heat up! That was a close call and money well spent!

We finally got a couple of nice sunny days after a cold and rainy start to Spring.  On Friday, I cleaned the full boat cover and let it dry on the boat, then removed it and packed it away until next November.  Gave the boat a quick wash, then finished installing the helm compass that I had taken apart to repair some wiring and re-fill with Ritchie compass fluid.  Now there is no longer a half dollar size air bubble, and the red LED lights work for night-time sailing.  I also finished mounting the GPS antenna for the AIS (automatic identification system).

Saturday was the first day this year that the temperature has gone  above 60F in Seattle.  We (Karen, Jacintha, Amanda, and the newest crew member Taffy–ruff ruff) took the boat out on Lake Union and motored around, grilled some hot dogs and enjoyed the sunshine!