GIG HARBOR

After an unsuccessful attempt to view the eclipse, we left Edmunds, bound for Seattle. Our ability to see the eclipse was “eclipsed” by all of the fog, which became even thicker as we left the marina. For the first several miles south, we had less than 1/4 mile visibility and were spotting other boats by radar and listening for fog horns.

The fog finally broke by early afternoon and we cruised on into Seattle in bright sunshine. I called Bell Harbor Marina to see about getting a slip for the night when we were about 5 miles out. This marina is right in the heart of downtown Seattle, at the base of the hill below Pike Place Market. I assumed it would be difficult to get a slip, thinking that it was “high” boating season around here and who wouldn’t want to be in such a great location. Turns out the marina was half empty. We had no problem getting a slip, and it was a very nice marina. Modern, clean, well maintained, inexpensive, secure and in the perfect location.

For the afternoon, we went for a nice long walk through Pike’s Place, Pioneer Square & the International District. The Ferris Wheel was nicely lit by the time we got back to the boat to fix dinner.

Our plans being totally flexible, we decided to stay a second day and saw more of Seattle, riding the tram out to Lake Union to see the Wooden Boat Center, then an excursion on the light rail for a while, trying (unsuccessfully) to get to the Museum of Flight. We went back to the waterfront, checking out all of the touristy places, then ended the second evening at a unique restaurant (claimed to be one of the best new restaurants in Seattle) called No Anchor, a beer bistro with excellent food. Fist time i ever tried smoked, pickled mussels — very, very good!

This morning we left Seattle, heading south with Gig Harbor in mind as a destination. We had hoped to stay there when we started cruising out of Tacoma, but it was opening of sailing season and the place was packed. No problem today - we went to the free municipal dock for the day, walked around, got a few groceries, then left the dock and anchored out in the middle of the bay. We used up the last of the crab for dinner and will settle down for a nice, quiet night at anchor.

We’ll start back up north early tomorrow morning, trying to make a two-day hop back up to Anacortes so the boat can be shown this weekend. Hopefully, we will make it to Port Ludlow tomorrow night, then up to Anacortes on Friday. The route we are planning can be a bit challenging, weather and water-wise, but, right now, the forecast looks good…

BACK AT IT - AT LEAST FOR NOW

8/20

We’re back on the boat, after a 2-week break to run home & make sure everything was still OK. We flew from SFO to Bellingham, arriving 12:30 AM, walked across the parking lot to a Holiday Inn and crashed until morning. Took a shuttle from the hotel to the boatyard where our boat was already in the water (after a haul-out for bottom paint & a couple of other things) ready for us to get cruising again. We had to get almost all of the food off the boat when it was hauled, so the next step was to re-provision. The original idea was to spend one day & night in Bellingham, then start heading south, taking our time in Puget Sound, waiting for the weather to cooperate for a trip down the coast, back to California. Unfortunately, the grocery store in Bellingham is several miles away from the marina, and we had no way of getting there (or back, with all of our groceries). So we decided to take off from Bellingham, not spending the night, and go over to Anacortes, which has a store across the street from the marina.

Anacortes

There actually is a little more to the story… there was contact with a boat broker in Anacortes who specializes in Nordic Tugs, and he was very actively looking for boats to be listed for sale. I’ll save you the sales pitch, but, overall, the market seemed very much in my favor if I was willing to sell. As much as I love this boat, there are just a couple of things limiting it’s usefulness. If it is such a great “seller’s market,” it may be the right time to move over to another boat which does not have these limitations. Ultimately, we decided to list the boat for sale, since the timing was right, see if it sells, and start looking for another boat. We signed the listing agreement on Friday, the broker had 3 or 4 showings on Saturday, and today (Sunday) I got a text saying he is expecting an offer tomorrow. We’ll see…

We ended up spending a few days in Anacortes, and contacted local friends we met in Kwatsi Bay while cruising the Broughton Islands. Dinner at their house one night, and dinner at their yacht club another, then crab picante pasta last night on the boat, thanks to the fresh crab they gave us. Thanks, Kim & Bill…

We took off this morning from Anacortes, thinking we would get down to Oak Harbor, or maybe Honeymoon Bay. It was a minus tide (very low), so going through the Swinomish Channel and LaConner was pretty interesting. Even though we saw as little as 5 feet depth on the depth sounder, we never touched bottom, and got through the channel fine. We got to Oak Harbor before 11AM, so decided to make it a full day and go all the way to Edmunds. We pulled into the marina around 4 PM, got all situated, then walked in to town to check out the brewpub scene. We are very impressed with the town of Edmunds. A lively, active town center with interesting shops and restaurants. They are having a “Tall Ships” weekend, with some classic sailing ships shooting blank cannons at each other out in the Sound.

We were looking for a decent restaurant to celebrate my 25,567 days on this earth (70 years) but didn’t really trust the online reviews. Thanks to Marie & Gerry Philipsen (who live in Edmunds), we were directed to an excellent restaurant and had a fantastic birthday dinner.

Tomorrow we will keep heading south to Seattle. We haven’t decided if it will be before, during or after the eclipse, but, assuming we don't get lost in the dark, we hope to be in Bell Harbor, at the foot of Pike’s Market, tomorrow night…