The End - 2014

Aug 27^th our final day of the trip – Time to head home!  7:25am we left Seattle bound for our boathouse at Tacoma Yacht Club.  We had a great 20.80nm passage with the sun shining and calm seas.  Traveling on autopilot at about 7 knots gave us time to get everything packed up and for the family to talk about the incredible adventure we had over the last 30 days.

We have done trips like this (to varying lengths) over the last 13 years and its always amazing what it does for the family dynamic and how close we become.  That’s not to say it’s easy – there are times we all want to kill each other.  You’re all stuck on a small boat – no escape.  However it forces you to live in the moment.  Cell and Internet service is limited, and most everything you do you do together.  It’s a challenge, an adventure – on a boat its all up to you – navigating, dealing with weather, currents, tides, anchoring, repairs and most of all keeping everyone safe in an environment where a lot could go wrong.  It’s an extremely rewarding experience.

As we pull into the boathouse it feels good to be home.  Its exciting thinking about seeing all the people you missed, going back to work and school for the kids.   Getting back to real life will be fun but something pulls you back to life on a boat – Its almost hard to leave and the minute you walk away you just want to come back for more.  10:35am Wednesday August 27^th we were finally home!

Trip Summary -

Total miles traveled = 404.55 nautical miles – 465.54 regular miles

Engine hours = 65 hours 50 minutes 

TYC – Oro Bay, 13.73nm

Oro Bay – Fair Harbor, 16.69nm

Fair Harbor – Pirates Cove, 2.3nm

Pirates Cove – Wollochet, 22.69nm

Wollochet – Anacortes, 81.57nm

Anacortes – Matia, 18.57nm

Matia – Patos, 5.82nm

Patos – Stewart, 10.53nm

Stewart – Sidney, 9.36nm

Sidney – Victoria, 20.43

Victoria – Victoria Yacht Club, 10.44nm

Victoria Yacht Club – Russell, 19.07nm

Russell – Genoa Bay, 9.9nm

Genoa – Thetis, 14.42nm

Thetis – Otter Bay, 19.38nm

Otter Bay – Prevost Isl, 5.49nm

Prevost – Bennett Bay, 11.2nm

Bennett – Roche Harbor, 15.8nm

Roche – Port Ludlow, 48.66nm

Ludlow – Seattle, 27.7nm

Seattle – Home TYC, 20.8nm

Leaving Seattle

Back to TYC

Pulling back into the Boathouse

Culture Shock

Monday Aug 25^th – We left Port Ludlow at 7:50am for Seattle, Bell Harbor.  Our adventure was winding down - we talked about school shopping in Seattle and all the fun we had the past few weeks.  Our plan is to spend our last 2 nights in Seattle getting the kids ready for the first day of school just a few days away.  Its hard to believe we will have been out on the boat for 30 days, it almost feels like home now.

We tied up to the Bell Harbor docks at 11:50am traveling 27.70nm from Port Ludlow.  

We split up - Julie took Ava I took Skylar – and for the next 2 days we shopped like crazy getting the kids everything they needed to start school.  We had dinner the first night at our favorite Steelhead Diner, then the next night at Etta’s.  Both were fantastic!  Each night we sat on the upper deck of the boat as the sun went down.  The view is awesome at night with the water on one side and the lights of the city on the other.

We had some serious culture shock in the city.  After being out in nature for the last 30 days, coming to a big city was a little overwhelming.  After seeing a drug deal go down, multiple people smoking pot in public, people fighting, and a crazy guy on drugs or something getting picked up by an ambulance we were ready to get out of there!  

Orca Strait

Sunday Aug 24^th – Plan was to get up super early and make the run across the Strait of Juan de Fuca before the wind picked up.  6am – one last look at the weather report showed dense fog in the strait.  Back to bed for a while to wait out the fog burn off - an added benefit would be currents pushing us a little faster later in the day anyway.

9:45am – we cast off - no fog in sight as we made our way through Mosquito Pass then south down the west side of San Juan Island in Haro Strait.  Right where Haro Strait dumps into the Juan de Fuca Strait things started getting a little rough.  Taking some spray over the bow we plowed through it for 30 minutes or so until the fog bank arrived.  Seas calmed down at the fog line as one challenge turned into another - radar on, everyone watching close for other boats as we navigated out of the commercial traffic lanes.  30 minutes or so of dense fog then we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Right as we hit the middle of the strait - in the most open water - all the fog lifted and the sun came out to reveal the sea’s largest dolphin swimming down the strait – the Orca Whale!  A whole pod of them straight off our bow – what an awesome sight.  We followed them at a distance for a while, taking pictures and studying them through he binoculars.  We didn’t want to leave but they had a different destination in mind so we parted ways.

We decided to take a short layover at Fort Warden State Park to play on the beach before continuing on to Port Ludlow on the Olympic Peninsula.  We snagged a mooring buoy just off the beach and lowered the dinghy for the ride to shore.  This is one of the best beaches in the Puget Sound area and the kids had fun running all over – digging holes in the sand and hunting for treasures while Julie and I relaxed.

Back underway it was a couple more hours to Port Ludlow.  At 4:45pm traveling 48.66nm we tied up to the docks.  We had a light dinner at the hotel then Skylar and I had fun cleaning and cooking all 11 crabs we caught in Roche Harbor.  We had a late night crab feast!  – eating as much as we could then freezing the rest for a later date.

The Aquarium

Thursday Aug 21^st – Time to get out of the wind tunnel!  We decided to make a run for the boarder to stay 3 nights at Roach Harbor.  Once clear of the tunnel we had a smooth 15.8nm cruise crossing Haro Strait into the USA.

US customs were great (this time) and after clearing we made our way to our assigned slip just behind the customs dock where the mega yachts towered above us.  A fun place to be – watching all the boats come and go at the customs dock.  Lunch at the Madrona Grill was great - sitting out on the deck seeing the entire marina bustling with boats and people everywhere.  It was weird being back with all this commotion – a little overwhelming after so many days out in nature.  The kids had fun picking out treats at the candy shop, playing some Bocce Ball and kayaking around the harbor.

The next morning we set the crab pots then all ran the grass hill for some exercise.  Ava did and awesome Superman while running as fast as she could down the hill - no tears, just bounced down the hill a few times, and then got up stunned.

After our morning exercise we had to move the boat to a new spot within the marina.  Instead of packing up the dinghy I had Skylar drive it by himself following us to our new location.  He loved the freedom and responsibility as he navigated the harbor weaving in and out of boat traffic along the way. 

We packed up for a hike to the old lime quarry where there’s a small pond we heard was good for swimming and had a rope swing.  Ava couldn’t understand what we were talking about but she was excited about going. After getting lost looking for it we finally found this so called swimming hole.  Ava just stared at it for a few moments then started crying.  She was finally able to explain that she thought its was an indoor aquarium that you could swim in.  Instead she got a stinky, nasty pond - there was no way she was setting a toe in.  It was pretty horrible – green scum everywhere and the rope swing was a death trap.  Skylar was pretty determined – he got in and swam for about 2 minutes then quickly got out with a look on his face like why did I just do that.

We took a long cut home thinking it was the quickest route.  It was a beautiful walk along the road but took about 2 miles longer than we expected.  Skylar was a trooper - giving Ava a piggyback ride much of the way.  That night we all worked together washing the boat as the sun went down.  

After checking the crab pots the next morning we all went to the pool.  We swam for a while – Ava still freaking out about the drains in the pool – it took her a good hour before getting in.  Around noon some friends of ours coming in from Victoria, cleared customs and docked right next to us.  It was nice to be able to meet up with them and we all had a great lunch together.

No trip to Roche is complete without a hike to the Mausoleum - so Skylar, Ava, our friend’s son Zach, Julie and I made the short hike to visit the McMillins burial grounds.  We had a fun time hanging out with friends the rest of the evening

After checking the crab pots one last time we ended with 11 keepers in 2 days of crabbing – not too bad.  Tomorrow we set off south across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.