On To A New Adventure

Today was the day! Stargazer's keys have been handed over to her new owners, Alan and Kathy.

We also took possession of our new 2006 42' North Pacific. To follow our cruising adventures, please go to our new blog at http://northpacificsynnova.blogspot.com/

Stargazer Is For Sale!

We have decided it is time to sell Stargazer to get a larger boat that will better accommodate our children and grandchildren. We have had so many wonderful experiences and seen so many beautiful places that it is difficult to part with her.  However, we want to be able to share those same experiences with our family and for the grandchildren to grow up with an appreciation for boating in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  For more information and to see additional pictures, please go to www.yachtworld.com/northpacific    You can also email us directly at bobandlaurie@nwlink.com

 

 

 

 

SCIS Sunset Dinner Cruise

Tonight we took two couples out for the sunset dinner cruise that one of them won in the raffle at our annual chaplain golf tournament. Ken Davis happens to work with, and was golfing in place of, Scott Peterson who won last year! Ken and his wife, Pam, brought their friends, Paul and Donna Korneliussen, with them and we had a lovely cruise over to Whidbey Island, back across to Mukilteo and then back home. We had tried to schedule it for August but even though it was an amazingly beautiful and sunny summer, the date we picked brought terrible winds and rain. We had to cancel it and then rescheduled it for tonight. A few days ago I still wasn't sure we were going to be able to go because the forecast was for hard rain and lightning. Fortunately, the weather reports were wrong and we had a wonderful cruise on water that was like glass.

As we came back to Everett, the sun was setting and the lights on the shoreline were so pretty. I got a couple of pictures of the Tokitae ferry as it was coming into Mukilteo. We also saw a tug pushing a barge in Everett. It was so dark when we arrived that we were commenting how hard it would be to see a barge if you were cruising at night.

 

 

We also saw a tug pushing a barge in Everett. It was so dark when we arrived that we were commenting how hard it would be to see a barge if you were cruising at night.

 

The evening turned out great and our guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It was a very relaxing time for everyone.

Polynesian Cruise to Port Ludlow

The Port Ludlow cruise over Labor Day is always a favorite cruise for us. This year the theme was Polynesian so we were treated to a variety of Polynesian-themed meals and activities. It's a great one to take grandkids to since they have special activities for them. Cohen came with us this time and was very excited to be joining us. He loves using the binoculars along the way. It didn't take him long after we were docked to begin swinging on the steps like a monkey. The grandkids know they are only allowed to do that while we are docked so as soon as we are, that's what they do! Oh, yes. One other thing. Bob thought it was quite funny that Cohen and I fell asleep on the way there. He couldn't pass up the chance to take a picture.

 

 

Every year one of the activities that we enjoy is the dinghy tour. All the boats tie up along one long rope and then Ron Coleman tows us for an hour back through a little cove and around a couple of small islands. It's a lot of fun everyone gets quite a kick out of it.

Each year, Bob helps the kids build boats that they can float in the little pond. He has come up with a tried and true design that works well and I sew the sails for the kids to decorate. They love building them and then enjoy sailing them all weekend long.

Since the theme was Polynesian, we had to dress the part for dinner on Saturday night. They also smoked a large pig for about 20 hours for our pulled pork dinner. It was wonderful!

We did three boat christenings on Sunday. The first one had an added dimension to it when the owners of Nelliot, Brian & Kira McLauchlan, asked member Robert Porterfield (retired Lutheran pastor) to read a scripture and bless their boat. I have never seen this done before. It was so nice and very well received. Robert read from the passage where the disciples are out in the boat during a storm and Jesus calms the water. He then prayed and anointed the boat with oil. It was very cool and I told him that when we get a new boat, I want him to do the same for ours.

Sunday afternoon was the final r/c sailboat race of the season. We had to delay the race because of lack of wind but by afternoon, the captains had all their boats out on the water. It was no surprise that Don Wills took first - again!  Bob took second and Larry Madison placed third but everyone had a great time. 

 

 

There is always work to do on a boat so Bob took a few minutes to clean the rub rail on the side of the boat he can't get to when it is docked in our slip at Everett.

 

 

After doing a little work, Bob took Cohen and they ran the dinghy hard to get the rain water out of the boat. Cohen loved going fast and had a huge smile on his face.

 

 

 

One of the highlights this weekend was getting a tour of the North Pacific "Pau Hana" that was moored on the same dock we were. We have decided to sell our beloved Nordic Tug because we need more room for the growing grandchildren and our family and friends. Our short list includes the North Pacific so after the tour, there was a lot of teasing by other EYC members about my repeated visits to peer through the window. Dick Hankinson caught this one of Sue, Cheryl and I checking out  the inside of the boat.

 

 

 

As we were getting ready to leave Port Ludlow, I remembered that I had brought a simple plastic model for Cohen to build. Bob and Cohen spent a few minutes putting it together while I readied the boat to leave.  We had a wonderful weekend and made it back to Everett at noon.

 

 



Sunset Dinner Cruise With Friends

What a fun time tonight! We took Mike & Janice, Holly & Jerry, and Dick & Evie out for "a 3 hour cruise" as Bob so aptly put it. He even had the song playing as they arrived on the boat. We started with appetizers on the deck and then enjoyed a wonderful potluck of pulled pork sandwiches, fruit salad, and veggies. The evening was topped of with a wonderful cheesecake.

It was a beautiful evening and very calm. We really spread out on the boat this time and found several great places to watch the sun set. Thank you to our special friends for making it such a great time!

 

Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 7 Headed Home

Today was very uneventful. We left Seattle about 8:30am and arrived back in Everett about noon. We spent some extra time cleaning the boat so it would be ready for our next trip out.  We are looking toward the end of our summer cruising.  We still have two sunset dinner cruises and then the big Labor Day EYC cruise that we always look forward to.

The Commodore's Cruise was so much fun. It was just the right size to be able to visit with people and still to have plenty of "alone" time. And we also discovered the South Sound. What a great place to explore. We will need to keep it in mind for the future.

Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 6 in Seattle

Today brought us to Bell Harbor in Seattle. We left the rest of the yacht club to go to Seattle for the night. We, as well as Al and Sue, need to be at work on Monday so Bell Harbor was a great place for our last night of cruising. We wandered around Pike Place market, got our frappacinos at Starbucks, and Bob got two more collectible comic books he wanted. Barkley was not real happy to get left behind but he survived.

On our walk back, we got a nice picture of our two Nordic Tugs tied up in the marina.

We ended our day with a farewell dinner at Anthony's Bell Street Diner. The other members of the yacht club were headed to DesMoines tonight and then will finish up here at Bell Harbor tomorrow.