The Last Day of Cruising, 2016

It was worth it waiting out the rain in Keyport, because Friday was a beautiful day on the water!

We woke up early so we could ride as much of the ebb as possible, with our probable destination being Port Ludlow.  But did you wish us 'fair winds and following seas'? That is what we had, so we kept going, hoping for Friday Harbor!

Just around lunchtime we realized we needed to time our arrival at Cattle Pass and kicked it into 'Pirate Mode', running at 2000 rpms to make it in time for the slack. We got there on the dot!

We left just before sunrise, and this was our last view of Seattle as we exited Agate Passage and headed north.
L to R, sunrise, downtown Seattle, Mt. Rainier. 

All was well. It was a smooth ride, but for swells sent out from cargo ships heading down the Sound.
As we head onto the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the seas are still following us.

Ah! Ahead, the San Juan Islands! I can identify Lummi, James, Mt. Constitution and Turtleback Mt.
 I can see the brown hills of American Camp on San Juan Island.

 The closer we get, the rougher the water. The winds are more easterly here, and the waves are more broadside -- not the most comfortable on Viking Star...

Turtleback Mt is growing!

I am paging through our chart book, and my Dad's name pops out at me. He is with us!

Mom is too. Among my small treasures is the egg I gave her for Christmas one year long ago, made from Mt. St. Helens ash.Over the past two years it has become a gauge -- if it remains upright on its stand, we HAVE to say we've had smooth sailing.  Today that's what we get!

Cattle Point Lighthouse marks our entrance into the San Juan Islands.

Approaching Friday Harbor, there are feathers in the sky.

A Big Pile of Poo

I am a farm girl. And as such, I can identify all kinds of sh*t. Cows, pigs, horses, chickens. Dogs and cats. Mice and rats.

As a liveaboard boater we see mainly the droppings from gulls and ravens, and can easily recognize otter droppings.

This summer, we learned about bear scat.

And this week, we experienced seal doodoo.

Wednesday we moved from the Port of Poulsbo Marina  just down the way to the public dock at Keyport WA. There is a fabulous museum (http://www.navalunderseamuseum.org/) that Al wanted to show to his son Michael, who is visiting us.

We pulled up to the dock and set our lines, but we had to be very careful where we stepped. There were two very LARGE piles of poo on the dock. We speculated. A dog? That would have had to have been a huge Great Dane! I thought a seal or sea lion.

I handed Al the bucket, but he handed it right back and asked for the hose. He said he'd need some pressure for this job. Whoo-eeeee! It didn't smell fishy, but it sure was unpleasant!

That night I heard a 'ker-SPLASH' in the night. When morning came, Al said he'd heard a couple of snorts. As daylight arrived we looked to the dock to see what kind of visitors we had. Yup, seals! There were 9-11 of them, as they came and went, looking nervous at any loud noise (construction noise began before 8AM). They looked curious when I opened the door to say hello and ask for photos.

They really are cute.  Good thing! Because there was a fresh deposit too.

Looks like this one has put in a good store for winter!

Itch, itch, itch!!!

Ah, satisfaction.
(I can almost convince myself this is a cat in the 'loaf' position.)

There's always one ...

Supreme relaxation!

Our 'Home' in the Mid-Sound

Blake Island is a 'must stop' when we are in the Puget Sound. The nature is wonderful, and so are the rangers! We were very pleased to learn that a ranger we met last time has earned a full-time position on the island, and is a great assistant to the head ranger.

We stopped for a night on our 'down-Sound' trip, and on our way 'up', we spent another 4 nights. Here are a few shots from this latest visit:

A seiner fishing off the shore, lit by the setting sun.

Blake Island is often in the flight path for SEATAC.

Downtown Seattle is peeking from behind Alki Point while waves lap at Blake Island.

What is this red stuff? Is it vegetation? Or an egg case from sea animal?
 All I know is it made an appealing nest for some pebbles.

The ever-present deer. This time there were 4-5 that rarely left the little grove near the campground.

 We even had a chance to do some volunteer hosting duties! There were a couple of school groups that came for lunch and the show at Tillicum Village, and we helped supervise the kids (protect the wildlife, haha) when there was free time before their boat returned to Seattle.

Pretty clouds!

And a closer look at the seiner and its tender.

Migrating South

WHAT have we been doing for the past few weeks? We've been migrating south.

I realized the other day that I have neglected the blog, so here's a bit of an update. I'll do it as a list of 'ports of call' since entering the United States, with a couple of photos to accompany.

Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island
Roche Harbor, San Juan Island
Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

Popeye gave me a splash for my birthday!

Blind Bay, Shaw Island

Fisherman's Bay, Lopez Island

A sunset

Eagle Harbor, Cypress Island

A sunrise

LaConner WA

Oak Harbor WA

This 6-year-old sailor (son of a sailor) came along for a ride,
a little wilder than expected with 2-4 ft seas, but he was fearless!

Coupeville, Whidby Island

Jetty Island (Everett WA)

Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island

We will make one more hop today to Blake Island, and then tomorrow to Des Moines WA for the furthest south point we will achieve this year. 

There is a series of storms coming through, and it will be nice to have Viking Star tied to a dock behind a breakwater! Al and son Michael will be staying with the boat while I fly to Minnesota to attend a niece's wedding. My daughter Casey will be travelling with me from SEATAC.