July 14, 2013

July 5th:  Northwest of Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge:  Around midnight Odile navigates Carl and Walt as they begin the turn into the Straits of Juan de Fuca.  Pam knows when the turn is made because she no longer has to wedge herself in between Walt’s large duffel and the wall to stay in bed.  After many hours of bashing it is smooth sailing and rest for the weary.  The winds are coming from behind us now.  ExTerra peacefully rises and falls with the gentle swell of the Salish Sea.  We motor on.  Around 0300 we pass the entrance to Neah Bay, the first refuge for weary seafarers.  We had radioed ahead and they did not have dock space for us but they did say that we could tie our boat up to the large Foss Company Tugboat.  One thing we had agreed to on the trip was that we would not enter unknown harbors after dark unless absolutely necessary.  Given that we are still peacefully making progress we decide to continue down the strait.  Walt and Odile head below for a much needed rest and Carl snoozes in the cockpit while Pam motors on down the peaceful swells arriving in Port Angeles at the fuel dock around 4:30 PM.   We wait….and wait….and wait for the gigantic Canadian yacht that is taking up the entire fuel dock.  We think he has drained the diesel tanks to fill all of his tanks and is now going through customs so after an hour we decide to mosey on.  We make anchorage in beautiful Dungeness Spit at 7:45 PM, after 36 straight hours of motoring!!   We are treated to a nice little fireworks display from the small burgs of Old Town or James town.  We finally get to have our shis-ka-bobs on the barby and we unwind and laugh and reminisce about the adventure so far.  We have come through this skills building test rather well and are proud of our accomplishments.

 

 

 

 

July 6th Dungeness Spit at anchor:  This long narrow sand spit is one of Walt and Odile’s favorite anchorages in this area and we can see why.  It is a wonderful view out into the Strait with the mountains behind you and a light house in front of you.   We begin to get into our rhythm of cruising…greet the morning with a cup of strong coffee relaxing in the cockpit while we watch for birds and wildlife; a nice breakfast of eggs and homemade hash; a walk around the boat to check all systems…..we re-roll the head sail and make sure that our repair to the rope will hold well.  We re-do the reef line on the main then strike the anchor and its back into the Salish sea headed for the John Wayne Marina fuel dock.  Located in Sequim Bay the dock, marina and park are on land donated by John Wayne in 1975.  He enjoyed bringing his family yacht to this location thinking it ideal for a marina.  Pam successfully docks for the first time on this trip then it is off to another of Walt and Odile’s favorite spots, Aleck Bay on Lopez Island.  We make anchorage at 6:30 PM and enjoy the evening as it winds down to a beautiful sunset.  Our anchorage has a few older funky beach homes well lived in.  Kids play on the beach and the kayaks and hammocks dot the coastline.  

 

 

 

 

July 7th Aleck Bay, Lopez Island.  While having our coffee this morning we watch the eagles in their nest with a raccoon frolicking below at water’s edge.  We pull anchor and Odile guides Pam through the rocky coastline so we can get in close but not too close to enjoy the shoreline.  We go past Hughes, Macardle and Watmough bays enjoying the scenery and the short parade of sailboats that come out, each boat a different type.  By 1:00 we are nicely docked alongside Walt and Odiles boat, B Mondo in the Flounder Bay Yacht club marina.  We head to town (Anacortes) to purchase a new head seat and ropes to make our repairs more permanent.  Later we watch another great sunset (a theme for the trip I am sure) and have nice steaks from the barby.  

As Walt and Odile retire to their own boat this evening we toast to a great trip enjoyed with good friends and crew mates.  Many lessons learned and challenges faced.  There comes that moment when that “thing” that you have been working towards for so long finally comes together.  This is that moment for us.  We are here, we are actually sailing this boat that we have been shopping for and working on for these three and a half years.  Walt has had his first helmsman turn on a boat under sail at night and Odile has had her first excursion as crew aboard someone else’s boat.  A great experience all around!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 8th Carl’s Birthday   dockside in Flounder Bay
Today is Carl’s 60th birthday.  Over the years I don’t think either of us would have pictured this milestone with us sitting in our sailboat having made our first voyage but here we are.  Today is to be an easy day. We will move ExTerra to the next dock over and begin a few ‘fix-it’ projects.  Backing out, looking good…..Carl you are getting to close to that beautiful wood boat Odin….carl look out for Odin…..hmmm…Pam, take the wheel so Carl can run to the engine to see why we are not moving forward, we have no gears!  Well at least we are drifting the right direction and Walt and Odile are there to catch us and once again we are tied up pondering our current situation.  While it is not good news it is good that we were not out on the ocean when this happened.  The mechanic hands his stethoscope to Carl who can clearly hear that yes, there is a different “clunk” in the transmission where there should not be a “clunk.”  We will haul the boat and the mechanic will work his magic we hope.  Meanwhile, Walt and Odile head home and we taxi to town to the local brew pub and a movie for Mr. C’s 60th birthday.  Happy Birthday Carl, Papa, Corndog....the Griz!

 

 

 

July 9th  dockside in Flounder Bay:  Awaiting a call from the mechanic we continue with boat chores.  Richard and Gail come to look at our boat and then we go to look at their boat.  The boat’s are ‘sisters’, made by the same company but with quite a few differences.  It is always nice to see someone else’s boat to see what interesting ideas you can pick up for your own.  After a nice burger in town it is back to the boat to finish raising the spreaders.  We have two sets of spreaders and their job is to hold all of the cable rigging tight which in turn holds the mast tight.  Spreaders are supposed to tip upwards like they are smiling .  Both sets of ours are frowning  so Carl devises a way to hoist crab pot weights up, swing them into position and use the winch to pull them upward.  ExTerra is smiling again   We finally make contact with the mechanics shop, North Island Boat Works and our haul out is scheduled for 0930 tomorrow.