Anthem
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2007
Julie and
Aaron’s Summer Cruising 2007
Part 2 Log &
Photos
Our
second trip North was planned to start on Thursday, August 16 (just one day
after our bimini was completed). I had the boat stocked and ready to go and all
we needed was Aaron. He was able to quit work a little early so we could make it
to Kingston by dark. We like making Kingston our first stop to make our long day
not quite as long. At 4:00 PM, we untied from the dock and were on our way!
About a half hour out of the marina, our engine was slowing
in very slight wake and we realized that we didn’t change the fuel filter when
we recently changed the oil. Just out of curiosity, Aaron wanted to do a quick
engine check to make sure everything was functioning as it should since we just
finished putting it back together after replacing the gear casing (for the
second time). He opened the engine hatch and saw oil everywhere. It was spraying
all over the engine and filling the bilge. We knew we needed to head back to the
marina to fix the problem but first wanted to top off the oil since we had lost
a lot in that half hour. We discovered a minor problem. The oil we bought to
have on the boat was still sitting on the shelf in our garage at home and we had
nothing on the boat. We crossed our fingers, turned the boat around and beat
into the chop back to the marina. By the time we made it to our slip and shut
down the engine, the dipstick was dry. The problem was easy to fix (it was a
seal that we re-used instead of replacing with our last engine repair), but it
was a messy job. I ran to West Marine for fuel filters and more oil and Aaron
made the fix. Back at the boat, I cleaned the bilge (my normal job) and by the
time we cleaned up our mess, had showers and then dinner, it was well passed
dark and opted to stay at the dock for the night. That’s the first time we’ve
ever spent the night at our own dock but it was nice to have a relaxing rest of
the evening and get a good night’s rest.
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Having to wear raingear this time of year bites! |
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The next
morning, we were up early and off the dock, headed for Anacortes. We made very
good time (over 6 knots most of the way) until we reached Skagit Bay. We topped
off our diesel tanks in La Conner and then went into the marina at Cap Sante for
the night. We made our usual run to West Marine and Safeway for those last
minute items then were off to Spencer Spit the following morning. It was nice to
have a short run since yesterday was quite long and the day before a little
trying on the nerves. At the spit, we read, napped and tried to fly our newly
purchased pirate kite (from the last trip) but there wasn’t enough wind and we
couldn’t make it work. We were anchored on the South side of the spit and it was
a nice calm visit.
Mid-morning we left Spencer Spit and went up to Garrison Bay and anchored. There
were a lot of boats but still plenty of room and unfortunately it wasn’t a
crabbing day. We hiked around, for the first time, at the English Camp and then
relaxed the rest of the day.
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At anchor in Garrison Bay |
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We left
around 9:00 the next morning to cross Haro for Oak Bay, Victoria. It was dead
calm (like a pond) and we were the only thing on the water. It’s sometimes an
eerie feeling when there isn’t anyone else around. Did the world blow up and we
don’t know about it? Haro is a large body of water and to not see anyone for a
couple of hours is a bit creepy. We had read about Oak Bay in the gunkholing
book and it seemed like a good place to go, with it being so close to downtown
Victoria. After we were in the marina and looked around, we realized that we
were the only Yankees in the entire place. We asked and were told that it used
to be a cruising destination but had died down in the last couple of years. Not
sure why since it was a nice marina, and within walking distance to a great
grocery store, produce market, deli, Italian bakery, Starbucks, Rogers
Chocolates and a hardware store. It’s also only a 15 min. bus ride to downtown.
We stayed here for 3 days and that was plenty. After being in the crowds of
Victoria and at a marina, we were ready for some peace and quiet and so was the
cat.
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Crossing Haro Strait to Victoria |
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On Aug. 23, we
left Oak Bay and expected to do a spinny run from there to Sydney since the
entire time we were in Victoria the wind was out of the south. But, of course,
when we left, the wind had died and Haro was once again a pond. So, we motored
all the way to Sydney Spit where we grabbed a buoy. We watched our tides, since
we know how shallow it can get there but we entered at a +4.5 tide and were
planning on leaving tomorrow at about the same. We walked on the spit for a
while and it was sunny and fairly warm. Aaron had a great idea that we should
try out our new shorty wetsuits, masks and fins. The water was cold! It was the
kind of cold that really hurts. Aaron actually got in and swam but I wasn’t that
excited about it so stayed on the boat. Afterwards, we took cockpit showers and
warmed up! Summer feels like it might actually be here but the nights are still
pretty cold.
Friday,
we left the spit mid-morning on about a +4 tide. The water was deep enough but
we were getting readings of 7 ft so it still wasn’t all that deep. We headed
down Saanich to Tod Inlet where we found a great place to anchor. We didn’t get
the anchor set exactly where we wanted and felt we were being a bit
un-neighborly to the next boat so we pulled anchor and moved. Of course, shortly
after we did this, a Bayliner came and anchored so they were very close to our
swing zone. Go figure. We spent the rest of the day being bums and did more of
the same the next day.
Sunday, Aug. 26, we pulled anchor and went into Sydney for
supplies. It really is a nice marina and their facilities are nice too. We did a
load of laundry, got groceries, changed the bed and did some boat chores.
Sometime we should check out the town. All we did this trip was take care of
chores and then we left.
We left Sydney at 10:00 am, crossed Haro (dead calm) and
anchored in Reid Harbor. No buoys were available but there were plenty of giant
boats (too big for the buoys) taking them up. We noticed that a lot this trip,
that people seem to think they can get giant boats and not have the rules apply
to them. We heard a couple of big sailboats (55’) panicking about what they were
going to do because they were going to raft to each other while tied to a buoy.
When they noticed the size restriction on the buoy, they had no idea what they
were going to do. Good grief….ever hear of anchoring? They finally tied up to
one of the floats but obviously checked their tide charts later in the day and
then moved to the linear moorage. Wouldn’t it have just been a little easier to
anchor and be done with it? Stupid people!
A sailboat anchored behind us and it was one we’d seen at
Sydney Spit and again at Tod. They came over to see if they were too close (it
was funny because they were quite far from us), but we ended up chatting and
having drinks with them until after dark. They were on their way down the coast,
home to Portland after spending a month in the islands.
We love Reid so much that we stayed another day (seems to
happen to us a lot here). We hiked to the school house and got some ice cream
from the ice cream boat. We dinghied over to Gossip Island and then around the
bay but spent most of the day reading/napping.
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Peeking thru the trees at Anthem |
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The Adventuress achored in Reid Harbor |
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This was a neat cobweb we found while hiking on Stuart Island |
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It was very calm
when we left Reid. Out through John’s Pass we were having some issues with our
oil pressure gauge sounding the alarm again, but once again, oil seemed fine. We
were going against the current and had an extremely slow trip to Sucia. It was a
beautiful day and we saw very few boats on the water but it was a long trip at 3
knots. We poked our nose into Snoring Bay but the one buoy was taken so we went
into Fossil Bay and got one there. It was a pretty warm day and after our short
hike, we headed back to the boat for fresh lemonade and showers. We stayed at
Fossil Bay another day, slept in and then took a short hike over to Snoring Bay.
The following day, we headed out of the bay just after 9 am.
It was calm and we were about the only boat on the water. Our destination today
is somewhere on Cypress Island. On the way, we were able to try out our new
Feline Retrieval Unit (net) but not on the cat. Aaron accidentally threw Mac’s
favorite red mouse overboard and Mac saw it go and was running up and down the
length of the boat screaming for it. Since it was calm, we could see it bobbing
in the water and Aaron insisted that we go back for it. So while he was at the
helm, I lay down on my stomach mid ship and in one swoop rescued the mangled red
mouse. I rinsed the salt water out of it and that night we hung it by the diesel
heater to dry and then our monster kitty had his favorite toy back. He was so
happy!
After that ordeal, we began looking for a place to spend the
night. We passed Pelican Beach with free buoys, Eagle Harbor with a whole lot of
buoys that are new, and then to Cypress Head where there are now 4 instead of 5
buoys. We picked one up and then shortly moved to another since the currents
were incredibly strong there. Just as we shut off the engine, the rain started.
Later on, a larger Tollycraft dropped anchor near us but Aaron noticed that he
didn’t put much scope out and seeing how strong the currents were, we knew that
they would probably drag. They spent several hours taking loads of kids and
camping gear to shore via a small fishing boat but seemed oblivious that they
were quickly dragging and would be in Bellingham soon. He came by on his dink
and said that he couldn’t believe that his anchor just wouldn’t grab on and that
he could hear it skipping across the bottom. He didn’t seem concerned and spent
a lot of time on shore while had moved about 60 yards in 10 minutes. (I really
love our range finder….comes in handy for times like this). He finally pulled
anchor and re-set it close to us, but made us a little nervous since he didn’t
seem to know anything about anchoring. Fortunately, the current moved him away
from us but he almost took out the little sailboat at a neighboring buoy.
Cypress Head is a pretty location but there’s a lot of wake and strong currents.
Saturday, Sept. 1 is the day we chose to start our trip home.
What were we thinking? It was Labor Day weekend and every crazy fool was out on
the water, not knowing what they were doing. We had a pretty short trip planned
today and that’s just to La Conner. It was a stressful day with so many people
cutting us off, making wake in the channel that put our rails in the water and
plenty of people that were so incredibly rude and inconsiderate. We had issues
finding a place to tie up at guest moorage since they just (within the last 3
weeks) started taking reservations. But, since it’s all side-tie moorage, it’s
sort of a mess and there was one place left for us. If it had been full, we
weren’t sure what we would have done. To go on to Langley would have been
another 5 hours.
Fortunately, the trip south was pretty uneventful. The water
wasn’t all that crowded, since people were probably already at their destination
for the weekend. We stopped in at Kingston since we were tired and had an extra
day. We took the last free slip at the dock and we were glad since we’re not a
fan of anchoring here with the ferry wake. People around us were friendly and
Mac had fun running up and down the dock on his leash. One lady accused him of
being a skunk. It was dark and all she saw was this black creature sitting on
the dock. I gave her a scolding for calling my monster kitty a skunk!
Monday, Labor Day, was a nice short trip home to Port Orchard
from Kingston. The weather was good and we made good time. We even took time
this trip and scrubbed the boat before going home. I like getting home before 10
PM!!
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2007
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