Our First Overnight Guests

In spite of busy schedules, we were finally able to coordinate a time to take Robyn, Gavin and Cohen out for an overnighter on July 9-10. We suggested Port Townsend as our destination because of the great time we had there for the casual cruise and they thought that sounded perfect. Our cruise was going along pretty much as we predicted until we heard the Coast Guard on the radio asking what our intentions were. As it turned out, four Coast Guard cutters, two patrol boats and four high speed inflatables were escorting a nuclear sub directly across our path.  It was also flanked on both sides by Navy boats for added security. We were asked to pass behind the sub so we stayed where we were and had the unique opportunity of watching the sub pass by. I would love to have taken pictures but because of the very large guns on the fronts of the Coast Guard boats I decided it would be wise not to do so!

When we arrived at the Hudson Bay Marina we spent the afternoon  learning about crabbing from our neighbors. We were able to borrow some necessary equipment that we hadn't known to purchase and Bob and Gavin went out to set out pot. In the end we did catch several crabs but all but one were either too small or females. The one rock crab we could have kept was barely large enough and not really worth the effort so we returned him to his home. One surprise that Bob and Gavin had was when they raised the crabpot one of the times, there was a huge starfish that had to have weighed 10 pounds. It took them both by surprise when it came up out of the water but unfortunately they did not have a camera with them. 

We spent a relaxed evening playing dominoes and Cohen slept wonderfully on the boat. Stargazer worked beautifully for two couples - even with a little one. The next day we had a lazy morning breakfast at the Hudson Bay Cafe and then returned to Everett around 3:00pm.

Time With Friends

On June 30th we took Mike and Janice Craig out for their first time on Stargazer. The weather began a little "iffy" but steadily improved and we had good weather for cruising and for walking around the quaint little town of Poulsbo. I even managed to find some cute little boutiques and had to make a couple of "grandma" purchases! After returning to Everett, we finished up our day with dinner at Anthony's Woodfire Grill . We had a great time with lots of time to visit. That's one of the things we enjoy about our cruising time - we may not be fast but we have time to enjoy our friends and family. After all, it's all about the journey - not the destination!

EYC Casual Cruise to Port Townsend

We had a great time this weekend in Port Townsend with the Edmonds Yacht Club. We had only been to Port Townsend one other time and that happened to be when we were looking at Nordic Tugs to buy. We loved the little marina at Point Hudson and commented at that time that we would like to spend some time there looking around the town. We cruised over on Friday with another boat and kept it at 1400 rpms. Normally, this would have been about 7 knots for us but the current was in our favor that day and we cruised at 12 knots. We made great time and arrived much earlier than anticipated. Our cruising partners, Cheryl and Tom, also got some great pictures of our boat so we will now have one that can be hung in the yacht club with the other members' boats.

After docking, we had lunch with some other EYC people who had arrived early. We can now highly recommend Sirens as a great place to eat.  Their website says they are "A pub of distinction"  and I would say this is a very accurate description of a fun place on the waterfront with fantastic food.

Because this was a casual cruise there were no organized activities so we spent a lot of time wandering around town, visiting the farmers market, geocaching, and walking our dog. We did share dinner together on Saturday night with a potluck and, as always, had a great time getting to know people better.

We departed Port Townsend around noon on Sunday and as we rounded the point going 1400 rpms we found ourselves cruising at 3 knots! What a difference from Friday. Fortunately, things improved and we had a smooth ride back to Everett.

PaNNTOA Bremerton Cruise

The Pacific Northwest Nordic Tug Owners Association (PaNNTOA) held their annual rendezvous in Bremerton, WA this past weekend. We decided it was time to see how good of a boater our golden retriever, Barkley, is so we took him with us for the weekend.  I'm pleased to say he was even better than we had hoped for! He settled right into the cruising life and especially enjoyed the attention he got from other boaters as well as the many walks that he took us on!

We had a wonderful time at the Rendezvous with nearly 40 other Nordic Tugs. The entire weekend was well-planned and the food was fantastic! The weekend's schedule included several very good seminars that were well attended. They included information about cruising up into Canadian waters, couples cruising, Coast Guard procedures and safety, etc. While there we had a Coast Guard Auxiliary safety inspection done on our boat and passed with flying colors.

We also enjoyed a great slide show by photographer Neil Rabinowitz whose work has graced the cover of 2500 boating magazines and whose library contains more than 4 million stock photos! As you can imagine he had some beautiful shots of boats ranging from small classics up to some incredible mega-yachts.

Getting together with other owners was a real treat. It was so much fun to see what great ideas others have added to their boats to make things work easier and to facilitate storage and guests.  Of course, touring each others boat is always a delight and everyone was so gracious. The boats were a huge hit with other marina guests, also, and many people wandered the docks asking questions and admiring the line-up of Nordic Tugs.

We left our first Rendezvous with much more knowledge and many new friends!

EYC Bremerton Cruise

Over Memorial Day weekend (May 27-30) we joined the Edmonds Yacht Club in Bremerton for the annual Harbor Days Festival. There were 42 boats in attendance and we had a wonderful time. The cruise had a pirate theme so Bob hung our flag as soon as we arrived in the marina. We won 3rd place and won a free night's moorage in Bremerton for a return visit!

The weekend was full of making new friends, touring each other's boats, and just relaxing. One of the highlights was having dinner on the USS Turner Joy destroyer. We toured the boat and had a great barbecue dinner catered by Famous Dave's.

One of the highlights was the christening of Stargazer. Because we are new at the cruising business and being yacht club members, we did not know that we would be christening our boat at our first cruise. We were one of 5 and it was a lot of fun. Since the first mate on the boat before us accidentally dropped the champagne while trying to break the bottle, I was a little nervous that I would do the same. It went smoothly and Stargazer is now officially named!

Fortunately the weather held for us and even though it was not warm weather, it was very comfortable. We were even treated to a beautiful rainbow that we were able to capture.

We had a great weekend and are looking forward to our next EYC cruise. More friends to make and places to go!  How fun!

Opening Day - Day 4

All good things must come to an end so Sunday morning we left at 7:00am to try to beat the rush to the locks. As it turned out, we were right at the front of the next group waiting to go through so we ended up in the front where we could watch the water level change and the gates open. Part of the fun of going through the locks is talking with the people on each side of us. We met some very nice people who had also just enjoyed their first Opening Day.

Opening Day - Day 3

What a fun day we had! The festivities began around 10:00am with the 25th Annual Windermere Cup crew races. I must add that the U of W Husky men's and women's squads took first place beating out talented teams from Cambridge, Oklahoma and Stanford.

After the crew races, the Seattle Yacht Club's Opening Day Boat Parade began with the traditional cannon firing to signal the opening of the Montlake Cut Bridge. The parade route was filled with all sizes of boats, classics, motor and sail, decorated and commercial, yacht clubs, and youth.  The following picture is of our Edmonds Yacht Club officers, the Husky marching band, and then the EYC decorated boat.

Just as the parade was ending Robyn, Gavin and Cohen arrived to spend the afternoon with us.

The day ended with a potluck barbecue with the eight boats from Edmonds Yacht Club. We had a wonderful time getting to know other club members better and watching the activity on the water. It was truly an outstanding day!