Port Ludlow 50's Style

It's Labor Day weekend and time for our annual cruise to Port Ludlow. We had over 70 people join us for a weekend designed around the 50's era with burgers, root beer floats, and a sock hop. It was a great time and although we had bad weather coming over on Thursday, it did clear up and was very nice for the rest of the weekend. Al Smith, our Fleet Captain, and his wife, Sue, did a great job of organizing the weekend. There were a lot of fun activities beginning with appetizers on Friday night and plenty of time to visit.

Saturday morning some of the people went golfing and the rest of us took it easy, read books and visited with others. In the afternoon, Barkley took part in the Doggy Olympics and came home with his very own ribbon! He did okay in the "sit-stay" event but took first place in the "find it" event. Ana, who coordinated the event, put a piece of steak in a toy with holes in it and let all the dogs sniff it. She took it about 50 feet away and hid it then we turned the dogs loose. Barkley made a bee-line for the toy and made us proud! The other events - we won't talk about them!

 

 

 

 

 

This evening was our EYC Diner festivities followed by the Sock Hop. It was really fun to see how many people dressed up for the theme!



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday was Bob's craft event with the kids. We only had one young man, Canon, who came on the cruise but he was very eager to build his boat. We even found some adults who wanted to build their own. Ernie Collins had his own class on making lanyards.

 

 

 

The christening of boats is always a fun celebration for all the yacht club members. Anyone who is new to the club, has renamed their boat, or just bought the boat can have their boat christened. After a special reading and the blowing of a conche shell, a bottle of champagne is broken over the bow. One couple, Greg and Leann Bough, who are new to our club had their boat christened "See Ya".

 

 

After the christening, we loaded into our dinghies and took our dinghy tour around the bay. This was the "second annual" so now we have a tradition. It was a lot of fun and, like last year, we felt like a bunch of teenagers. John Keyes decorated his dingy to be a "Tinkle Tent" but had barely gotten underway before it blew over. It was very funny and invited a lot of entertaining remarks!

 

 

 

Our weekend ended with a wonderful dinner of barbecued ribs, salad and corn on the cob. Monday morning we all left at our leisure and we arrived home around 2:00pm

SCIS Sunset Dinner Cruise

I am a chaplain with Stanwood Camano Incident Support and we provide services to the first responders in our area as well as to the community they serve. Each year SCIS holds a golf tournament to raise the financial support necessary to operate this organization. Part of the fun is the raffle that features a variety of wonderful prizes. This year we donated a sunset dinner cruise on Stargazer complete with a home cooked meal. The winner was Bill Dryer and his wife, Karen. We invited them to bring another couple with them so Roger and Juliet Holbrook also joined us. It turned out to be a beautiful evening - warm weather, calm seas and a gorgeous sunset!

 

We departed Everett about 6:00pm and cruised south past Mukilteo. Karen had told me she grew up in the Mukilteo area and would enjoy seeing it from the water. They immediately found their places on the upper deck and settled in. After an enjoyable dinner, lots of stories, and great fellowship we returned to the marina under a lovely setting sun.

 

 

 

 

Thank you to the Dryers and Holbrooks for treating US to a very enjoyable evening. It was a pleasure getting to know you all.

Our First Sunset Cruise

For more than two years we have talked about doing a sunset cruise and just never got around to it.  This time we decided to go for it - mainly because schedules didn't allow anything else. We've been wanting to take Bob and Lisa Watkins out for a ride on Stargazer for several months now. They own a beautiful bed and breakfast in Arlington called River Rock Inn and are always busy on the weekends. Our days seem to fly by but we were able to schedule it for this evening. We also invited Al and Sharon Grieci to join us. They've known the Watkins since they attended another church together.

We left Everett around 6:00pm and cruised over to Whidbey Island, traveled south, went across to Edmonds and then cruised back to Everett past scenic Mukilteo. It was so much fun and Lisa had never been out on the sound so it was a wonderful first experience for her. We had a simple potluck dinner of sub sandwiches, salad and desserts as we cruised along.

By the time we headed back to Everett, the sun was beginning to set and it was so pretty out. I'd do it again in a minute. We've always been a little unsure about cruising at night because of deadheads and other debris in the water but by going when we did, there was still plenty of light but the sun was setting just enough to enjoy the view.

I got pictures of everyone but we were scattered around the pilot house so we were a little mixed up! The first picture is Lisa Watkins and Al Grieci. Next we have the two Bob's - Bob with Bob Watkins, then Sharon Grieci and Lisa Watkins.




Lisa Watkins and Al Grieci

Bob and Bob Watkins



Sharon Grieci and Lisa Watkins

Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 15 Headed Home

We said our goodbyes and departed for our home ports. We had a good ride back and had plenty of time to reminisce about the wonderful trip that we had. We were all in agreement that nothing could have gone better. We all got along great, had plenty of time to ourselves with no pressure to stay together, and lots of time for visiting when we wanted. It was a fantastic two weeks and we are eagerly anticipating where our voyage may take us next year. Thanks to Al and Sue, Jack and Moon, and Larry and Cheryl for helping to make this one of our best vacations ever!  Until next summer . . . smooth sailing to us all.



Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 14 at Port Angeles

It's so hard to believe that our vacation is almost over! We cruised over to Port Angeles today to spend our last night. We left around 9:00am hoping to beat the increasing winds expected this afternoon. We had a great crossing and then we all went our own ways until time for dinner. We went to Lanza's Italian restaurant that we discovered last year. It has exceptional service, the food is fantastic and even the prices are great! I highly recommend that if you are having dinner in Port Townsend, you check them out. Be sure to call ahead for reservations, though. They are packed out every night.

On our way to the restaurant we passed three deer that were in a small ravine next to a park. As I was taking pictures a woman walked by and said "You are obviously visitors!". Apparently, the deer have become quite a problem for homeowners. They were still fun to see and to capture a picture of them.

 

 

After dinner I told the group about the geocache hidden on the end of the pier that Bob and I had tried to find. It was just put there four days ago but we were unable to find it. We went back to the pier and with everyone's help we continued to look for another half hour or so. We still had no luck. I'll have to keep an eye on future logs from those who find it. Maybe I can get a tip from someone. Then it was off to bed so we can start packing up our boats in the morning. We will all be heading back home and it looks like we should have pretty good weather.



Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 13 at Roche Harbor

Today was a very relaxed day with no agenda at all. We took our time getting up and about and then Bob and I walked down to visit with Sue and Al at their boat. We discovered Jack and Al sitting in chairs relaxing (Bob was quick to join them) and there was Sue busy polishing the boat rails! Something is really wrong with this picture!

Bob and I have come to Roche Harbor twice before and I've never been able to find the geocache that is hidden by the bocce court. It is always really busy and even though we tried both times, we've never been able to find it. Sue went with me today and we got a good reading on my gps. Sue quickly found it and I was able to add it to my count. I'm now at 57 caches found but I've got a long way to go to catch up with people who have tens of thousands!

 

Bob, Sue and I took our kayaks and paddled around the marina and to a nearby bay. The wind was so strong against us that we decided to turn around and come back. Wouldn't you know it - the wind changed and was against us all the way back. It was a lot like "When I was a kid, I walked to school uphill - both ways"! We used our own kayaks but the first time Bob and I came to Roche Harbor we took a kayaking tour through the resort. They have a great assortment of kayaks and when we took our class, we were the only ones in the class. Our guide took us on a longer trip than usual and we had a lot of time for conversation. If you are at Roche Harbor, I highly recommend you either use your kayaks or take a kayak trip.

Tonight was the night to use up the food on our boats. Al and Sue's slip was right next to the party barge which was not in use while we were here (fortunately!). We gathered there for our dinner and had another fun time.

Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 12 at Roche Harbor

Today was the day for the crossing of the Strait of Georgia back over to the Gulf Islands. Since there have been up to 30 knot winds this past week, we decided to leave at 6:00am when the waters would be the calmest. We ended up with 15-20 knot winds. It was not dangerous but we really had a ride! We secured everything carefully before leaving and we still found some things that managed to roll around the boats or come loose. Not only did we have the Strait to cross but we also had some riptides to go through. I managed to get a few pictures but most of the time was spent hanging on.

On the way across the straight, we found that one of our kayaks that was strapped on the deck overhead seemed to be slipping. Bob had to step outside in the turbulent waves and secure the strap. Once we were through the rough water, Bob also had to go back to the stern and tie our dinghy in place because one of the brackets that secures it to the boat and broken lose. All in all, we did very well coming across and were thankful that it was not any rougher than it was.

Once we arrived at Roche Harbor, we went through customs and then found our slips at the marina. We did a quick inventory of our boats and made sure everything was secure. It seems that there is always something on a boat that needs to be repaired and we discovered that the latch on our door was broken. It would not stay latched and we could only lock it with a deadbolt. Bob had to spend some time taking the door apart, make a new spring out of a clip used to attach flags, and reassemble the door.

 

 



Before dinner we took a walk up to the well-known mausoleum built by John McMillin for his family. It was begun in 1930 and was built to incorporate things important to him - Republican, the Bible, Masons and Sigma Chi fraternity. Each chair was for a family member and listed their own involvements. I found it interesting that his wife's chair simply lists her identity as "wife of John McMillin" and none of her individual activities. The last picture shows Bob and Al at the broken column. It was built this way to symbolize the broken column of life - his belief that death comes before one's work is finished.



The evening ended with the ceremonial lowering of the flags and the firing of a cannon. A short time later we were treated to an incredibly beautiful sunset.







Journey to Princess Louisa - Day 11 at Granville Island

Today was a relaxed day of sleeping in, discovering Vancouver and wishing farewell to Larry and Cheryl. We all explored Granville Island and Vancouver on our own and spent time visiting the sites that interested each of us. Bob and I spent our time at Granville Island and in the area around the marina. I wanted to do some geocaching and the one that was closest to us was at a totem pole at the corner of the marina. My GPS showed it was only 350 feet away from our boat but it was outside the fenced marina. Our walk took us to a bicycle and walking path that followed along both sides of False Creek. This creek got its name because it appears to be a creek running through the city but it comes to an end, causing problems for ships who must turn around to get back out.

After finding the cache, we followed the path on around the harbor to where we came in yesterday. We passed a sign that I found very interesting - how to protect yourself from coyotes! It says to "big as big and mean as possible - shout in a loud and deep voice, throw objects at the coyote, do not run, maintain eye contact, move toward areas of activity". So now you know!

 

We went on to the maritime museum and, although we did not go in, Bob was very intrigued with a display outside. It is the Grumman Aerospace Corporation's research submarine, Ben Franklin, that slipped beneath the surface of the Atlantic in Florida and traveled up the east coast in 1969. Its mission was to learn the effects on man of a long-duration, closed-environment stressful voyage; to demonstrate the engineering-operational concepts of long-term submersible operation; and to conduct other scientific oceanographic studies.

 

 

After lunch, we walked over to Granville Island to visit the famous Public Market. We were amazed at how many people visit this area every day. When we arrived yesterday, there were so many people you could barely get down the aisles and navigate the streets. We thought that maybe it was because we arrived on a Sunday. Today had nearly as many people. The community is very eclectic and colorful and there is so much to see. There were street performers, lots of shops, galleries and artisans and the farmer's market. The market had enticing stands of fresh fruits and vegetables, pastries, candies, and so much more.

 

 

 

 

We ended our day with dinner at Bridges and send our goodbyes to Larry and Cheryl who are continuing on for another week or so in the Gulf Islands.