Stuart...How we love you.

A winter trip to Stuart is just a perfect part of our lives. We love the journey there, along Spieden, and are so cozy in either Prevost or Reid. No one is there. We have the place to ourselves. In summer it routinely has 100 boats in Reid alone, and on this trip like all between November and February, you will have it to yourself. Forecast was for deluges of rain and wind, and it doesn't matter. Any well found boat can make it there as there is little fetch from the SE where the storms come from. 

Voyaging north toward Spieden and Stuart

We went on Friday with our boys and a friend and came back Sunday, and in between had all manner of lovely adventures. We went up to our favorite mountain top, and walked out to the Lighthouse. It rained, yes, but winter Stuart has its own charms. Out at the Lighthouse we were not surprised to find a couple bald eagles hanging out. The waters off Turn Point are a cornucopia of food for all manner of critters. 

At Turn Point on the deck of the old home. 

Though the forecast was consistently 25-30, it never seemed to get above 10 anytime on the whole trip. Coming home down San Juan can be choppy in a true SE 20-30, but today there was hardly a wisp of wind despite that forecast. The heavy rain made the sky match the sea in color. Everything a grey. 

Aeolus was warm and cozy for the gang. Food was delicious. Games were played. Books were read. Conversations had. Just a fantastic and therapeutic get away for all.  

Forecast Gales? Time to Go!

Forecasts called for this epic low pressure system off our coast and the resulting winds. It became an all time record low for our area of something below 945 mb. But knowing Aeolus and the San Juan Islands as we do, there is really no forecast that keeps us in the marina. So I made hasty plans to head to the islands and managed to get my older son to join along. 

We left Friday Harbor at around 1:30 on Saturday and there was enough SE wind to sail right up San Juan Channel under head sail only doing hull speed. Once up near the Wasp Islands I was even able to swerve through those passages under sail. But as we popped out past Yellow Island the wind died and we motored the rest of the way to the North Cove on Jones. Home away from home. 

On the way to Jones, a lovely sail

To our surprise there was another boat there! The friendly person tried to tell us there was a storm coming and how to anchor, and I kindly let him know we knew the forecast and had been there many times before. He was on a ball and even had a stern line to the Eastern shore. On Aeolus, our Mantus doesn't drag. Period. 

Anchored in about 25 feet of water near the middle of the cove shore, we were soon on land and loving every second of being back on Jones. We walked around the West side and even got some sun. Then we played some frisbee in the field and just felt immense gratitude. 

The night was peaceful enough and as any captain knows, the sleep is light when storms are forecast. About 5am I woke to some waves entering the North Cove, which is rare. The forecasted E wind was actually a NE wind and yet was only 10-15 knots. Nothing to distress Aeolus! The morning forecast still called for E 15-25 building to SE 25-35. Anything up to 35 knots is really fine in San Juan Channel. You might have a bouncy go of it, but nothing dangerous to any well found boat. 

On Jones West Side. Just a magical place

We went for a hike on Sunday morning, this time around the East side, and then headed out. Our trip back to Friday Harbor was easy in about 15-20 knots of SE wind. On the port quarter. 

Nasty forecast? Just go. We had a wonderful time, and it never even rained on us. My motorcycle ride home was another story, with cross winds of 30-40! 

View to North Cove and toward Canada

Aeolus back home to Friday Harbor!

 We brought Aeolus down to the South Sound with us to explore the local area and for me to do some projects, and now that we have done both, it was time to take her back to her home waters up in the San Juan Islands. So this weekend I did the journey north over three days and what a journey it always is. 

It is about 110 miles from Swantown to Friday Harbor. I've done it going south in two days, with favorable winds and currents, but this time took three days going north. You traverse the entire US portion of the Salish Sea, and there is something satisfying and dramatic about this journey. 

On Day 1 I left Swantown at 5:50am to catch the slack and turn to ebb at Tacoma Narrows. It's quite a sight passing under those gigantic bridges. Going up Colvos Passage is pleasant, and then you pop out with views of Seattle. I stayed in Eagle Harbor that first night and saw family. I even ran into a former student in town that delighted me with stories of how my teaching had inspired them. 

Tacoma Narrows Bridges

On Day 2 I was joined by a friend and based on the forecasted high winds in the Eastern Straits of Juan de Fuca we went inside Whidbey. On this day we journeyed from 8am to 7pm, dropping anchor at Hope Island near Deception Pass. Hope Island is a fairly large, forested island with some nice ancient forest trees. There are trails that cross the island and might go at least part way around. Despite having a lot of boats anchored nearby, it was quiet and lovely. 

Big Doug Firs on Hope Island

On Day 3 the slack at Deception Pass was at 11am turning to ebb, but the tidal changes were from the high low to the low high and currents were only peaking at 5 knots. We timed hitting the Pass about an hour before slack, judging it would have about 3 knots of current opposing us. Sure enough, we slowed to about 2.5 knots going through and it was as dramatically beautiful as always. I've fought stronger currents near Spieden Island and of course up in BC like Dodd Narrows. When you emerge from Deception Pass the landscape just outside is ruggedly majestic. High dry bluffs and rocky headlands that are more like what you get up in BC than down south here. It's quite a sight. The area outside Deception Island was lumpy from all the passing boats and groundswell from the Straits, but there was no wind and we did hull speed anyway. We left Hope Island at 9:30am and were tied up in our new slip in Friday Harbor by 2pm. 

Bridge was cloaked for painting

Overall a smooth, easy and beautiful voyage. 

Worth the trouble to get Renewable Diesel for Aeolus

Since learning about and swapping to Renewable Diesel about a year ago, I'm fully sold. I'd been running blends of biodiesel since we got Aeolus in 2006, and liked the added lubricity and smell. But biodiesel does not do well in boats that sit, as it is highly hygroscopic (water absorbing from the atmosphere) and doesn't much like cold weather, and has slightly less power than dino diesel. Along came Renewable Diesel and it's a dream. 

Able to be made from about any carbon source, like food scrap, wood or whatever, like biodiesel the carbon and environmental benefits depend in good part on the feed stock being used. There are no current suppliers of Renewable Diesel in WA state, to my chagrin. But down in Oregon they are using it and Carson Fuels has had it at their cardlock location. For reasons that are not clear, they do not have it at their cardlock location anymore. But they have it in stock. 

So I went down with a truck and picked up a 55 gallon drum of it and can siphon that into my numerous 5 gallon fuel containers for transfer to the boat. The hassle of going to Portland and all the schlepping is worth it since the fuel is that much better. 

Renewable diesel is not hygroscopic, so it stores for a long time without absorbing water or going bad. Perfect for a sailboat. It is clear and pure, having none of the impurities of normal vehicle diesel. It does not smell. And it has a higher energy content, higher cetane, than dino diesel or biodiesel. It's just a win, win. It's a bit more expensive than dino diesel, but in the small quantities the boat uses, that's not a problem. Can't wait for it be sold in WA, perhaps even at the fuel docks for boats someday. Get on it WA Legislature. 

Renewable diesel on the left burns far cleaner than dino diesel

A Fourth of July Escapade-McMicken and Penrose

 We hopped aboard Aeolus this past weekend to enjoy the South Sound by water, and had the good fortune of great weather. Not great wind, but that's how it is here in the Salish Sea. Too much or too little. I envy my San Francisco Bay Area friends who get 20-25 every single day all summer long. Anyway, I don't envy them anything else as they have nowhere to go!

We went straight to McMicken on Saturday afternoon and once again had a lovely overnight at that little gem. The island itself is unremarkable, and unfortunately has private inholdings, but the sandy spit that runs from the park to Harstine is a wonderful place to walk and explore. We swam and paddle boarded and were generally feral. It's a cool feature of the spit that at the right tides you can walk across as the current flows across. It's surreal. Magical. I recommend it!

On the way, glass calm

The guidebooks and reviews talk about the steep shelf but we have never had any trouble with the holding at McMicken. Just have a modern anchor design and not a CQR or Bruce. 

We left there and for the first time went to Penrose Point State Park. It's only a few hours around the Peninsula from McMicken and Pitt Passage is a lovely little gap to pass through. No Dodd Narrows here! We chose to anchor on the West side of the Point, though you have easier shore access on the East side. You drop in about 40 of water and have a fairly long trip from there to the beaches. We swam and paddle boarded and dinghied our way around, enjoying all the hiking trails. It's a little gem of a park for South Sound. It made us miss our favorite places further north, but for being down South it has much to offer. It's hardly a good winter anchorage as you are exposed fully to the North. 

Our trusty dinghy and paddle board nearby

Quite surprisingly, we enjoyed an amazing night of fireworks all around the Case Inlet. The entire shoreline was lit up by people with homes along the water, and the show lasted for many hours. You could even see the bigger municipal shows from behind the hills and trees. We joined in the fun by firing off our safety flares as the other nearby boats were doing. Our pyrotechnics went much higher than those poor landlubbers! 

The trip back to Swantown from there was about 4 hours. You certainly want the current to be your friend and not your enemy here. We saw porpoises, and harbor seals, bald eagles and kingfishers. Life! 

Prophylactic maintenance-New alternator

Part of owning a boat long term is replacing things you've already replaced. One could be very systematic about this, and I can easily imagine my more OCD friends having spreadsheets with installation dates and expected life expectancy. But in my case, I have a mind that constantly monitors all the systems in my boat with such frequency that I haven't found it necessary to be more codified about it. It's like a memory palace, or a well traveled path, I mentally walk every nook and cranny of Aeolus in a casual way most every time I'm aboard. It's pleasant.

What are the systems? When did I last inspect? Does it need lubrication? Corrosion protection? Replacement? 

It was thinking like this that had me wondering about my alternator. I know they fail eventually on cars, and I've had my current one on Aeolus since about 2008. So I decided to replace it for no reason other than being proactive. Since we cruise extensively and year round, it is simply not fun to imagine losing power generation when at sea. While I always carry a back up alternator, I know it takes about 30 minutes to change it, and doing this while tossing in a sea is unpleasant. It's true the diesel doesn't need the alternator to run, but in winter we are running our electric boat heater, and navigation equipment, and lights and even with our good size house battery bank we would pretty quickly drop below the necessary voltage. All this to say, I'd rather replace mine before it fails on me. 

So I go to DB electrical and got another Mando Alternator For Delco Marine 20104, 982364, 18-5951, 18-5957 63 AMP Alternators/; ADR0106. It was $87. They are marine rated and protected from ignition. 

Took no time at all to replace, and the one I swapped out became my new backup. Lickity spit, and now my mind can gloss over the alternator for the next 10 years or so as I scan for things to do! 

Chilly Hope Island

The lines were loosed on Saturday after lunch and tied again on Sunday about the same time, and somehow those 24 hours were once again far longer than seems possible. Had a nice sail for a while up Budd Inlet and an easy night at Hope. It's a beautiful full moon now and there were cloud breaks enough to see it on the water transcendent magical. The current really pumps along that south side of Hope Island and the only problem is that the current will hold your boat in line with it and perhaps beam to the prevailing winds and waves. Not too much fetch, but enoough it would be unpleasant in winds 20+. The island is deserted of other humans and so the wilds were fairly wild. There is an enormous amount of debris down on the trails, such that if you aren't familiar with the basic course of the trails you could easily miss them. Those rangers, if they even do it, have some work to do later this spring.

Lovely sail up Budd Inlet

Winds came up a bit overnight and one of my complaints with the NWS is that the forecast area is way too large for Puget Sound. The Puget Sound and Hood Canal forecast area goes from all the way up in Everett all the way down to Olympia, and that's ridiculous. Even the large scale systems effect these places at different times and strengths. I've generally found that whatever the forecast says for Puget Sound, it might do that for Seattle, but will be much less around Olympia. Except when it's not. We had 10-15 on the nose coming home in Budd Inlet. No problem. A wonderful get away. Once again, Aeolus is our space ship and was problem free and lovely.

Upgrading AC cable

My Gulf 32, like yours, was built with what was probably the common AC cable of the day in 1988. I don't know if there was tinned cable available back then, but there sure is now. When I installed the new SmartPlug system a bit ago, I noticed and mentioned that the end that connected to the old plug looked like it had heat damage. I made a mental note to replace it ASAP. 

Original AC cable. Note heat damage and brittle covering

I did that today. 

I bought enough Ancor Flat Triplex 10/3 cable to do most of the boat, but am starting with the easiest to access and most critical part that carries the most load. From my research the 10/3 cable seemed the best size, capable of safely carrying all AC loads that well surpass the breaker I have installed. On a Gulf 32 the stretch of AC cable between the shore power and the inside power panel is relatively easy to access. 

Ancor 10/3 tinned cable 

Several years ago I installed an AC breaker between the shore power connection and the panel, to protect against various potential fire causing problems. You can read about that in an earlier post here. The old cable looks adequately sized, but is now 43 years old and was not tinned to begin with. Between the shore power connection and my breaker, the cable is held up by several mounting cable ties that hold cables together and keep them out of trouble. I keep a bag of these on Aeolus as they are often enough used. 

I used No Ox ID on the connection ends, even though they are tinned. Practical Sailor has done several studies that show it to be the among the best at preventing corrosion and oxidation. 

Sometime soon I will go back and replace the section between the breaker and the power panel. After that, I might slow down as getting new cable to each of my outlets will be tricky. I feel good about upgrading this bit of the system, as it is one less thing to worry about causing a boat fire. 

New Smartplug AC system

 On Aeolus, I inherited the standard AC charging cable and have used it since. Over time the yellow cable cover has faded, and somewhere along the line the end that connects to the boat had sparked or something and there was some carbon residue around the fixture. At one place along the cable, there was a suspicious looking discoloration that looked very much like heat damage to the cable cover. You know that look of heated plastic? 

So the time had come, and perhaps had been present for some time, for me to update and upgrade our shore power system. I went with Smartplug due to liking their use of tinned cable and the more secure boat connection system. 

Super easy to install and much more secur

I got it from Defender and installed it today. Easy peasy. You may know that the #1 cause of boat fires is the AC system sparking or shorting. I see far too many very old AC cords and it worries me for my fellow boaters.