What I Did This Summer

[2859er]

Thanks to many of you who helped make this possible, both before the trip with of the help and input to get the boat ready, and during the trip as well.

Summer Trip 2010
6/21
Slung in at La Conner, great price and service $40.00 for a round trip. Spent the night at Coronet Bay on the hook.
6/22
Crossed through Deception Pass at slack in the morning and waited for the fog to clear in Bowman Bay in order to cross Rosario Strait. It was a bit dicey entering the bay in the fog, but the Garmin chart plotter was right on the money. By 11:30 the fog was still thick, but we decided to cross, hoping that as we got away from the eastern shoreline the fog would clear. It didn’t. The chart plotter showed the way and we kept our eyes out for other boats. We crossed in calm waters at 5 knts. Just as we got to Lopez Island the fog cleared and we entered the Islands through Lopez Pass. Met Jim Larson and his family at Spencer Spit and rafted up with them for the night. They went back to Spokane the next day.
Our boats on the buoy
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6/23
Checked out Friday Harbor and West Sound on Orcas where my grand parents used to live. Tried to get a buoy at Jones Island for the night, but all were taken so we spent the night on the hook in Deer Harbor.
My Grand Parents old Place. My Grandfather built the dock.
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6/24
Checked out Roche Harbor, and the mausoleum below.
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Went to Stuart Island and got a place on the dock at Reid Harbor. We walked to the little school house on and then on to the lighthouse at the other end of the Island and back to the boat. A 6+ mile hike!!!
The lighthouse.
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6/25
Went to Fisherman’s bay and anchored up waiting for Todd and his family to arrive. They rafted on to our boat, and we got acquainted that evening. After we went to bed the wind picked up from the south and our boats were really bucking in the 30 knt blow. Then all of a sudden at about 12:30AM the bucking stopped, but the wind was still blowing. I jumped out of bed to take a look topside. The anchor had come loose and we were adrift. Uh Oh. I looked astern to where we were drifting and we were fast coming up on a 40 ft + Grand Banks who was also anchored up in the bay. I jumped to the helm, fired up the engine, put it in gear and got us away from the Grand Banks. It was very lucky I did not snag any of the many crab pots or mooring buoys, or my own anchor line with my prop as I powered out of trouble. Todd decided he had had enough rafting/anchoring for the night and untied his lines and made for the Islander Resort. I was left fumbling around in my skivvies trying to retrieve my anchor. Again I was lucky it hadn’t snagged any crab pots or mooring buoys and the anchor came up by the windless with no trouble. I decided I needed a solid float to tie up to for the night and headed for the Islander Resort. Not knowing how to get to the inside of the dock I tied up to the outside float. The boat was bucking pretty hard. Then Todd walked over and pointed the way to the inside. We found a nice calm spot on the inside of the float, Todd helped to tie us off and then returned to his boat for the night. When I got inside the cabin I was shaking pretty bad. I looked over to Todd’s boat, and the lights were out, and I assumed he was already asleep!!!! I needed a cup of tea and a good ¾ of an hour before I was ready to hit the sack. What an adventure!!!!
6/26
Spent a wonderful day at the Islander Resort with Todd and Monica and their kids. We walked up to the Lopez Village.
6/27
Crossed over to Turn Island State Park and grabbed a buoy. Caught a pic of this sail boat as it passed by.
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6/28
Picked up my mom at the Friday Harbor Ferry. She joined us for a number of days. Spent the night at the dock on Jones Island.
6/29
Went up to Sucia Island and got a spot on the dock at Fossil Bay. We hiked up to Shallow and Echo Bays, and in the afternoon Johnson Point.
6/30
Continued to explore Sucia. Hiked to EV Henry Point and Fox point. Decide to try for a buoy at Shallow bay for some sunset pics that night.
Our boat on the dock at Fossil Bay (closest to the camera).
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Other pics at Sucia
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7/1
Left Shallow Bay, and dropped my mom off at the ferry landing at Orcas as she was due to return home. Went back to Deer Harbor and hung out on the hook.
7/2
Went to Friday Harbor for the Iboatnw 4<SUP>th</SUP> of July Celebration. Met Mike and Diane, Bob and Pam, Doug and Lea, Pat and Patty and others. How fun to meet people in person that I had conversed with online.
Three in a row from left to right, Bob and Pam, Greg and Cynthia, Mike and Diane
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[2859er]

7/3
More visiting on the dock. Our youngest daughter arrived on the ferry to spend a few days with us.
7/4
Rented some scooters and toured the Island. Saw English Camp, American Camp, Roche and a whale at the Lime Kiln Point Lighthouse. Watched the fireworks that night.
My daughter said,"I can get 50 miles to the gallon on this hog."
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Roche was packed for the 4th
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7/5
Said good bye to our daughter who got on the Ferry on her way home. Began out travels with Doug and Lea. Off to Canada. First stop Victoria. Stayed on the Promenade at the inner harbor right in front of the Empress Hotel. Doug was the tour guide and showed us around Victoria. He knows every ice cream place in town!!! Other stops included Capital Iron, and some great restaurants.
Here we are on the dock.
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Other Victoria Pics
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7/6
Spent another night in Victoria.
7/7
Left for Sidney. Had trouble with my engine on the way up, it wouldn’t come up to regular cruising power. While the rest of the group toured Sidney and got groceries I tinkered with the engine. We ran over to Sidney Spit and tied up on the dock. My engine still wasn’t right so I took it over to the marina back at Sidney to get it fixed. After changing the plugs, rotor, and cap it ran as normal. Back to Sidney Spit for the night, got a spot on the dock. Hiked around part of the Island.
Sidney Spit in the morning
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7/8
Started off to Ganges. About 2 miles out the engine was back to not coming up to cruising power again. So we decided to take it back to the marina. This time they found the problem, a bad spark plug wire. Once it was replaced we were back in business for good. So off to Ganges again.
I discovered what it is like trying to follow an ex-navy pilot through narrow island channels. Can you say white knuckled? Doug really moves through those tight openings. I did my best to keep up.
The water at Ganges Harbor was very brown. We were told it was due to volcanic activity near by pumping sulfur into the water that acts as a fertilizer that facilitates a lot of algae growth. Then later in the year when the alga dies the water takes on a foul smell. Yuk. Doug led another tour into town, and we ended up at another Ice Cream place. Where else?
7/9
We got an early start and left for Thetis Island and Telegraph Harbor before the Cooks. I needed a head start on the ex-navy pilot, it is only fair. LOL. The trip up was very relaxing at 5 knots. When we arrived we wondered when Doug and Lea would get there, but we should have known they were already there waiting for us!! He must have flown by us so fast we didn’t even see them go by. 
We anchored up, while the Cooks stayed at the Marina. I had trouble setting the anchor, and the winds kept shifting so we decided to stay on the boat instead of snooping around on shore or in the Cooks dink.
7/10
Left early again this morning headed for Todd Inlet and Buchart Gardens this time we passed on the west side of Salt Spring Island, while on our way north we passed on the east side. Again cruising at a slow 5 knots, we passed Maple Bay and ended up coming out in Cowichan Bay. It was there that we decided to wait for Doug and Lea as we had plans to meet at Van Isle Marina to fuel up and then to continue on to Todd Inlet. Well, we waited, and waited, and I washed the windows, and waited. Did they get passed us again? I know he goes fast but I was sure they had to pass right by us to get to the marina. Where could they be? Just as I was about to head to the marina at speed when out they came into Cowichan Bay, and right along side of us. They had decided to stop off and see the famous murals in Chemainus. We anchored up in Todd Inlet and rafted together for the night and watched the fireworks display coming from Buchart Gardens. Top notch display!!
7/11
We came into the Gardens from the ding dock, and stayed all day, I took a lot of pics, but Lea took many more. The gardens are amazing. We stayed for the concert and were treated to The Balkan Babes. An a capella group performing music from, you guessed it the Balkans.
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[2859er]

7/12
The winds picked up considerably 30 to 40 knots in the open waters so we decided to stay another day in the protection of Todd and Buchart Inlets. We visited the Gardens again for the second day for only $3.50 per person. What a deal. That night the concert was a string quartet. The highlight of the concert for me was when the lead violin hit a particularly high series of notes and the Cook’s dog Orion decided it was time to make the quartet a quintet, and joined right in with some music of his own.
Our boats on the buoys in Buchart Cove.
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7/13
The wind had died down so it was off to North Pender Island and Otter Bay. Again we got the jump out of the gate on Doug and Lea, but it wasn’t long before I noticed their boat racing up the bay at warp speed. They overtook us, and this time I put the hammer down determined not to be left in their prop wash. We followed them all of the way to Otter Bay. There were a few rather rough spots along the way, but both boats were more than up to the task. The Otter Bay Marina is quite nice. It has two pools, one for kids and one for adults, the facilities look to have recently been upgraded, with a nice store/café, and nice shower facilities. We anchored up, while the Cooks stayed at the marina docks. The bay has a nice mud bottom, great for anchoring.
7/14
Our tour of the Gulf Islands concluded, we said good bye to our new friends, and super tour hosts and headed south for US waters. We didn’t get far though when we ran into a pod of Orcas heading north. I shut down the engine and drifted in the midst of the whales for a full hour. It was truly amazing. They were all around and under our boat. We cleared customs at Roche, and went to Deer Harbor for fuel, laundry, water etc. Then to Stuart Island and Prevost Harbor for the night. The harbor was full of boats but we found a spot to anchor.
Thar she blows!!
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7/15
The cell service was spotty so we left in the morning for Patos Island. We sat on a buoy all day in the little bay at Patos and relaxed.
Then another crisis occurred. Our cat who had never spent much time on a boat before had been getting progressively braver and braver, at times getting out on the gunnels and walking around on top of the boat. We figured it was just a matter of time before she slipped and went over the side. As we were getting ready for dinner out in the cockpit, we heard a splash. My wife said, “That was the cat.” I heard some thrashing around in the water on the port side of the boat back by the swim step. I moved out onto the swim step, and sure enough the cat was fighting for her life thrashing around under the swim step. I grabbed her tail and dragged her out from under the swim step with my right hand and then reached down again with my right hand and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and pulled her from the drink. Still on my knees in my attempt to get to my feet I moved my left hand within striking distance of the cat who was still in an absolute panic. She reached out with her front paws and claws grabbed my left arm, pulled my arm toward her mouth and bit into my left wrist sinking her fangs deep into my wrist. OUCH!!!! Somehow I got to my feet, made my way into the cockpit, and asked my wife if she could please remove the cat’s claws from my arm. This she did slowly one claw at a time. After all of the claws were removed and the cat had all four feet firmly on the deck she released my wrist with her fangs. We washed out the holes in my arm and wrist as best we could with sea water and antiseptic, wrapped the wrist and hoped there would be no infection. The cat mean while was under the dinette giving herself a bath, seeming none the worse for ware.
7/16
We decided to head to Sucia and see if we could get a spot on the dock. While we were there waiting for a spot to open up we got a call from some friends who happened to be on Orcas Island for a wedding. They had some time so we ran down to Deer Harbor to take them for a little boat ride. We toured West Sound, the Wasp Passage, Jones Island, then stopped back at Deer Harbor for lunch. We said good bye as they headed off, and all of a sudden I came down with a nasty case of the shiver shakes. Cat scratch fever was coming on strong. I got into bed and warmed up and felt better. That night however I came down with a very high fever and my wrist was swelling too.
7/17
Stayed in Deer Harbor at anchor. I continued to run a very high fever, and my wrist was on fire as well. My wife became very worried.
7/18
The very high fever broke during the night, but the wrist was still very swollen and painful. Being that it was Sunday, none of the clinics were open, so we decided to get to the doctor first thing Monday morning. In the mean time we decided to visit East Sound on Orcas and check out the pharmacy and see if they had anything that might help. While we were there we got some groceries and a poultice for my wrist. We traveled on to Spencer Spit and secured a mooring buoy.
7/19
My wrist was still on fire so we called the clinic at Friday Harbor and they got us in first thing. They gave me a shot of antibiotics in the butt as well as a mondo prescription of antibiotics in pill form, then told me to come back the next morning. We grabbed a buoy at Turn Island State Park and spent the night.
The sunset that night was awsome.
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7/20
We left Turn Island State Park and went back to the clinic in the morning. I was greeted with another shot. This time for tetanus but the good news was the swelling in my wrist had gone down a bit. I was officially on the mend. We headed back to Spencer Spit and anchored up for the night as no buoys were open.
7/21
We grabbed an open buoy and waited for Jim and his family to join us. That afternoon they showed up ready to trap some crab. They baited the pots, and over the side they went. Caught lots of crab, but only two were keepers. The wind came up that night, but the buoy held fast.
7/22
Had crab and donuts for breakfast then it was time for us to head La Conner. With the wind up from the south a bit I chose to leave the Islands via Obstruction Pass and pass to the north of Cypress and Guemes Islands. This would reduce the distance I would be in Rosario Strait from 6 miles via Thatcher Pass to 3 miles. When I got out into the strait I was pleased to find the wind and sea conditions were not a problem. We rounded Guemes Island into Padilla Bay and made for the north entrance to the Swinomish Channel, and La Conner. We slung the boat out and parked it at our friends at Arlington.

7/23
Washed all of the green scum off of the bottom of my boat with my buddy’s power washer. What a mess. And my trim tab anodes the new aluminum ones I had just put on for the trip were toast!!! The ones on the out drive still looked good.

7/24,25, 26
I boarded a plane from SeaTac to Sitka Alaska with my Dad, two brothers and cousin for a fishing trip. We spent three days fishing out of Sitka. Each of us came home with 50 lbs of fish. We caught Kings, Silvers, Halibut, and some Yellow Eye Rock Fish. Oh and we caught a lot of Pink Salmon too. But up in Sitka Pinks are trash fish, they use them for bait!!!! I couldn’t believe it. They wouldn’t let us take them home.
Here is our boat the ADA
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Here are some of the fish we caught.
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Here I am doing who knows what.
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7/27
Arrived back in Seattle via Alaska Airlines. Spent the night in Arlington.
7/28
Towed the boat to Olympia as we planned to do a little South Puget Sound Cruising as one of my brothers and mom live there, and it is where my wife and I grew up. But when we arrived and called the Marina to see what they charge for a round trip sling in and out they quoted us a price of $260.00. Are you kidding me??!! As they are the only sling in town I guess they can charge what they want. We said no thank you and headed for Vantage and the Columbia. Spent the night at the rest stop on the top of the hill just before the big grade down into Vantage.
Some pics from the top of the hill.
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7/29
Splashed the boat at the Ginko State Park near Vantage behind Wanapum Dam. Cruised up river and spent the night anchored up in a sandy cove just north of Sunland. Lots of young people on the beach with their go fast boats, a very different crowd than the one finds in the Salish Sea. Saw big horned sheep and lots of columns of basalt. Nice hot sunshine too. Rinsed lots of salt off of the boat.
7/30
Continued north on the river past Crescent Bar and on up near Rock Island Dam. As the water get shallow up that way we turned around and headed back south, and spent the night in the same spot as we had the night before. Lots more young people at that spot, and everyone of them have stereo speakers with has much horse power as do their engines, and they all have them opened up full throttle. I must be getting old.
7/31
Retrieved the boat at the launch and headed to Pasco to pick up my fish from the Alaska trip. My dad took them home with him there and kept them for me. Spent the night there, after swimming in his pool.
8/1
Made the final leg of the trip home to Newport WA with the boat in tow.
WOW, what a trip!!!!!

Again, without your help getting our boat ready to go, and your friendship and guidance on the trip it just wouldn't have happened.

Thanks to all,

Greg and Cynthia

[Webjammin]

Greg and Cynthia

It was a pleasure meeting up with you guys this summer at FH,
great pictures of a great summer trip. you guys take care and get
that boat ready for next years trip.

[Go Aweigh2452]

Greg & Cynthia, we had a blast with you both... We did miss a couple of ice cream places but will make up for those at a future date. We are very fortunate to meet up with like minded friends. Look forward to seeing you all again. Great write up with photos on the trip as well. Did you decide on the boat name for sure? Time Out sounded great...

[Play N Hookie II]

What a trip! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

[Nimh]

Excellent story, great pics - a very enjoyable post! Between dragging anchor (yeah, I would have needed some time and a cup of tea too) and the frantic swimming cat, great stuff. Thanks! I can't wait to get back up to the SJ's.

[2859er]

Greg & Cynthia, we had a blast with you both... We did miss a couple of ice cream places but will make up for those at a future date. We are very fortunate to meet up with like minded friends. Look forward to seeing you all again. Great write up with photos on the trip as well. Did you decide on the boat name for sure? Time Out sounded great...

Hey Doug,
Yes, we felt fortunate to meet and spend time with you and Lea as well. Oh yes, "Time Out" it is. I will have to add the new boat name to my signature line, and then get some lettering for the transom as well.

[wickus]

Awesome!

[Sundancer]

Time Out! What a great name! It blends coaching with the summer season! What a great name! Make the "O" in out a basketball!

[1northernstar]

Time Out! What a great name! It blends coaching with the summer season! What a great name! Make the "O" in out a basketball!

And maybe a pair of hands making a "T"

[Randygh]

Greg--Thanks for sharing the story and photos. You're right about Doug and Lea, after you meet them they become family. Next year be sure to ask your doc for an antibiotic prescription to take on your trip. I always have a good supply of several antibiotics on board in the first aid kit. You never know when a cut may get infected or a cat decides to make your arm a chew toy. Cat bite wounds can become severely infected very quickly and develop into septicemia. The bacteria in cats' mouths (Pasteurella multicida) can be very pathogenic. The bacteria that causes cat scratch fever (Bartonella) will make you sick but isn't generally as serious as Pasteurella. (I also carry instruments to sew up lacerations. I've had to sew up my brother and my niece while crusing in the islands.)

Are you a basketball coach? Which school?

[2859er]

Greg--Thanks for sharing the story and photos. You're right about Doug and Lea, after you meet them they become family. Next year be sure to ask your doc for an antibiotic prescription to take on your trip. I always have a good supply of several antibiotics on board in the first aid kit. You never know when a cut may get infected or a cat decides to make your arm a chew toy. Cat bite wounds can become severely infected very quickly and develop into septicemia. The bacteria in cats' mouths (Pasteurella multicida) can be very pathogenic. The bacteria that causes cat scratch fever (Bartonella) will make you sick but isn't generally as serious as Pasteurella. (I also carry instruments to sew up lacerations. I've had to sew up my brother and my niece while crusing in the islands.)

Are you a basketball coach? Which school?

Hi Randy,
Good advice on the antibiotics, I am sure the Admiral won't let us leave home without them, she was pretty worried. On our punch list is to upgrade our med kit. Yes, my hand swelled up and was very ugly and painful until the medicine took hold. The doc took it very seriously. :shock:

I have coached basketball for a number of years. Currently I am the assistant coach for the boys at Cusick High School. In 2005 I was the assistant for the High School girls team on which my daughter was a starter and we won the State B Championship. It is a wild ride with lots of ups and downs, but it keeps me busy and interested during the long boat-less winter months.

[SomeSailor]

Great report Greg. You'll have to share that with your students so they can understand there is life outside school. It was great meeting you guys and can't wait until next year. :)

[Papa Charlie]

Greg,
SS is right you must put this into a presentation for your students. I enjoyed reading it myself and would assume that your student would also, besides it intertains and educates at the same time.
Great report A+ with a Gold Star.