Veteran's Day get away

 Taking the opportunity for a three day weekend to board Aeolus and escape to wilderness was just what we needed. We went up Friday morning and knew the forecast was for gale force winds sometime Friday evening. This was perhaps the fastest turn around we had ever had from arriving at Aeolus in Friday Harbor and leaving the slip. It must have been 10 minutes or so, releasing emptying the dinghy of rainwater and moving it to the stern, getting the chartplotter out and ready to go, turning off the fans and boat heater and removing the AC shore power chord, getting the food and stuff put away enough to be voyaging, and letting loose the lines to syphilization. 

Oh blessed be. 

Our journey north to Stuart was aided by the growing SE winds. We raised the genoa and motor sailed at 7+ knots all the way up to Spieden. Spieden channel was as gorgeous and rich with wildlife as always. More on that later. 

Upon arrival we dropped anchor and did not want to be on the dock with high winds forecasted. Banging against a dock is no fun at all. We went to shore in a freshening breeze and walked the State Parks loop on the peninsula. We got back to Aeolus around dusk and settled in for the night. The Cubic Mini was soon ablaze and what a delight that wood stove is for our winter trips. 

During the night the wind indeed came up and was as strong as any we've experienced in Reid Harbor. It is a hurricane hole for sure, but the steep ridges on each side can create it's own small version of williwaws. The wind twists and gusts and shifts and roars. We tossed around pretty well but there is not enough fetch for any real trouble. I wish I had put out our anchor riding sail to dampen the motion. 

On Saturday morning all was calm. We did the Stuart Island Grand Tour, to the lighthouse and another favorite spot. We had mostly sunny skies and it was a beautiful day. At the lighthouse the first of the around the County boats were starting to approach. Big 60 foot plus beasts with 10 crew as rail meat and just flying along. They were tacking right at the point, and we had court side seats! 

At our other location we had a birds eye view of the race, now the slower boats of more modest sizes. I counted over 40 boats along the Stuart shoreline heading toward Roche Harbor and the end of the first day race. There is no more beautiful site in all of Washington State or the PNW than that from this spot. 

Another quiet evening with a 78 degree cozy warm boat due to our Cubic Mini. 

On Sunday we headed back and Spieden Channel was in fine form. The deer and goats were on Stuart, eating the green grass of winter. The sea lions were in the water and more than 20 were on the point. There were harbor seals, and porpoises. There were Harlequin Ducks. It's the most fecund and biologically rich marine area in the Salish Sea, and we go all over. The joy and peace and resonance of these wildlife encounters up there fill us with feelings of completion. 

A small fraction of those in my view

Those are sea lions

Only a few days and a few hours north of Friday Harbor, and yet a time warp aboard our Space Ship. The Good Ship Aeolus. 

Adjusted valves and new chartplotter

 It had been a while and was time to adjust the valves on the 5432. An easy and straightforward job. I found three of the four exhaust valves tighter than .005 and put them all back to .008 or so. The tolerance is .007 to .009. After doing this, I don't know how it can be that related, the engine runs a good 10 degrees cooler. Really obvious difference. Having tight valves will heat up the valves and head a bit as the exhaust gases will get up around there more, but 10 degrees? I've been running about 175 with my 175 thermostat, and now after doing nothing else to the engine it is sitting at 165. 

Anyway, I also went to an Axiom + charplotter to replace our trust old Raymarine hybrid touch. I made this change in order to get the latest Navionics maps and operating speed of the faster unit. I've come to love the Navionics app on my phone, and having the chartplotter be the same map is great. The only drawback that is a head scratcher is why they don't make the Axiom + with any knobs. No knobs. Wet cold screens will not be easy to control. My plan when this is trouble is to rely on my phone mounted inside the pilothouse. 

Went to Jones Island this past weekend to do boat maintenance in an exotic location. Will be back aboard next weekend for the long weekend and probably go to Stuart, which we love in winter and have to ourselves. Will be loving our Cubic Mini heater and just got the water heater attachment for it to enable dual purpose use and more tea! 

Oh Jones, your moods and smells and sights are divine

An ode to stainless welding wire on boats

 For many years I've kept a bundle of stainless welding wire on Aeolus to use as locking mechanisms for the turnbuckles instead of rings or other contrivances. But honestly, I find them just as useful as long stiff bits of steel to do other things. I've installed a new chartplotter on Aeolus, an Axiom +, and this required snaking new wires down the binnacle to the power connection. Because of the obstructions and holes and many obstacles, it is impossible to just let gravity do the trick. 

Stainless welding wire

This is where the welding wire does the job perfectly. I can just tape the wiring harness to the welding wire, and then pull it down the route I need it to go. On this job, I actually had to tape two of the wires together since it was a longer distance than one of them. The job would be either impossible or a serious pain in the ass without this welding wire. With it, it's easy and fast. 

Takes up no space, and is there when needed. Love the stuff. 

Desolation Sound 2023

 We've returned from our first trip to Desolation Sound since pre-COVID and the wait only made it more fantastic. We had both our boys with us, grown men now, and their choice to join us and be all together made it extra special. We traveled about 450 miles all told, from Friday Harbor as far north as Quadra Island and all around West Redonda and environs. 

This summer had little smoke, we are glad to say. Temps were generally warm and plenty of sunshine. And most noticeably, we had the most benign winds of any trip we've ever been on up there. Both crossings of the Straits of Georgia were in calm winds or less than 15 knots with us. 

To travel the immensity of the Straits of Georgia, so much larger and expansive and more wondrous than tiny Puget Sound, is to feel enormously small. And once up to the northern reaches of it, the maze of islands that tower out of the sea overwhelms your senses. 

We swam every day, in ocean and lakes, jumped off cliffs of all sizes. A highlight of this trip was that all of us mustered the courage to do backflips off the rail of Aeolus! Only the boys could execute a full rotation, but we all threw our heads backwards and did our best. 

Highlights: 

• A huge pod of white sided dolphins came all the way into Tenedos Bay and were jumping like popcorn. Sometimes they would jump together. Just amazing to see so up close. 
• Humpback whales all over the place
• Newton Lake, Hague Lake, Lake Unwin, Cassel Lake-how we love you all. 
• Walsh Cove and her many delights and jumps. 
• Laura Cove and the rope swing. 
• Family time and togetherness! 

Our world in my hand

Blown out of Tumbo and West to more paradise

 For the long 4th weekend we like to celebrate our freedoms and independence by traveling! We got away to Canada for only the second time since COVID prohibitions and it felt truly magical. We had intended to spend the entire time at Tumbo/Cabbage since it is our favorite spot, and all started off well. 

We left Friday Harbor with the flood and made good time all the way to the tip of Saturna and through Boundary Pass. Calm seas and blue skies. Just sublime. All the textures of the Salish Sea delight those who choose to focus. Sky, water and islands all conspire to inspire. 

We grabbed a ball in Reef Harbor as there were many boats, and little Cabbage was full of campers. We noted it wasn't too full, but since we are normally here virtually alone, and this was Canada Day on July 1st, it was remarkably busy. We went to Cabbage and enjoyed our walk around, marveling at the many sights and textures. I keep coming back to the word textures because that was what occupied my attention so much on this trip. I kept being enthralled by the textures of everything, and no I wasn't on ecstasy or shrooms. Just so many incredible textures. 

Approaching the tip of Saturna

That night the forecast said NW 20-30 South of Nanaimo. For those familiar with the local weather patterns, it if often the case that what happens up near Nanaimo does not make it down as far south as Tumbo. This forecast area is in my opinion too large. It encompasses the entire Gulf Islands, and anyone who knows anything knows the weather of the Gulf Islands is nothing like what happens out in the Straits. So we went to bed a bit concerned but not too alarmed, as Reef is open to the full fetch of NW winds. 

On July 1 before the night and wind on Cabbage

Amy woke me up at 12:20am saying "Brian, are we OK?" Any day that begins at midnight with that question is certain to be dramatic. I woke to the sound of crashing waves and our own boat galloping up and down at the buoy. Oh crap. I got dressed enough to go out and add a second back up line to the line we had on the buoy, and this required some creative use of our grabber tool to thread the second line through the buoy ring in the surging and bouncing seas that were 3-4 feet in the Harbor. I managed this, and then went inside and laid there unsleeping past 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am and upon dawn near 5am, I got up and looked around. I was met with the most remarkable sight in Reef Harbor. We've spent countless nights and weeks in that anchorage at all times of year, but this time was unique. The entire anchorage was a lee shore to these giant waves coming down the Straits and waves were breaking on all sides. 

It took no time at all to realize we couldn't stay, but had few good options. We could have fought our way out and turned south with the seas and tried to shelter at the bottom of Tumbo, but then you are stuck. We decided instead to fight our way all the way north to Georgeson Passage to get to Winter Cove. 

Those who follow this blog know we go out in all seasons and conditions. Aeolus is a truly stout vessel. But what greeted us at the mouth of Reef Harbor was as ugly as you'd ever like to see. Small sets of 3-4 foot waves and larger sets of 6-9 feet. We would never go more than 3 knots and at times, slowed to less than 1 knot. Those kind of conditions. At the helm, it's one hand on the wheel and one hand gripped on the steering pedestal. We were headed more or less 15 degrees of so off the main NW direction of the seas, and this usually helped. A few of the bigger monsters had us rise up into the sky and plunge down into the trough so deeply that the next close wave buried the bow of Aeolus in green water. That's very rare but happens. But we chugged along. 

Somehow Amy and Owen didn't feed the fishes. We made our way in the agonizing slowness of such voyages, slowly gaining ground and getting toward shelter. After more than an hour of alarming conditions and some really nasty moments of being tossed around like rag dolls, we ever so slowly got into the lee of the islets near Boat Passage and gained some protection. 

Nothing is as sweet in this life as having such adventures of living to tell the tale with no harm done. We enjoyed a very fast 8-9 knot ride down Georgeson with the ebbing current, and found Winter Cove still packed from all the July 1 boats. We grabbed a great spot in the dead calm anchorage, and were quick to give each other warm hugs of love and glee. 

We enjoyed Saturna and Winter Cove immensely, such a lovely spot. The Boat Passage area and frisbee in the field. Good times. 

Boat Passage/Winter Cove

We left the next day and went to Portland Island and Princess Bay and had a fantastic hike around wonderful Portland Island. Princess Bay is quite shallow and thick with kelp, so you may have trouble getting your anchor to set. We had to set ours twice and never ever have to do that with our Mantus. Portland has no deer and the flora is quite lush for this reason. Lots of birds. Amy swam quite a bit, and I jumped in too. Owen too. He also paddle boarded our inflatable to the nearby islets and reported they were thick with oystercatchers. 

Coming back today we timed it perfectly. The ebb is huge right now and was 6+ knots in Spieden Channel, so we waited as long as we could to head to Friday Harbor knowing the ebb would sometimes help, and hurt. The main slowing is as you approach Spieden from Haro Strait and along Stuart. Spent a long time here doing 3 knots. Once to Spieden you hug the shore like a kayaker and the eddy moves you along at +2 your boat speed. We did 8 knots along the whole length. Then you ferry angle your little buns off to cross between Spieden and Limestone point, making no progress but moving laterally. Once south and clear of Limestone you eventually get helped by the ebb again and go back to 8 knots down San Juan Channel. I'm proud to say we left Portland at 9:30 am as intended, and were tied to our slip in Friday Harbor at 1:11 pm just 11 minutes off my 1pm plan. We caught the 1:55 ferry back to Anacortes. 

Princess Cove/Portland Island

Northern tip of Portland

Trips like this are the most inspirational, refreshing, invigorating and calibrating things. They remind you of all you are, and what matters to you. My family is the best, and we are so fortunate to share in these travels. 

A stormy jaunt

 It is wisely said that the most dangerous thing on a boat...is a calendar. The truth being that if you can travel based on the forecast and not on the calendar you can avoid a very large percentage of troubles at sea. Being weekend warriors, more or less, until we retire, we still boat too much by the calendar. 

This weekend we got aboard Aeolus despite the SE 25-35 forecast and headed to Jones and the north cove. Leaving Friday Harbor around 1:30 pm was in the midst of the ebb, flowing against that SE wind, so the seas were quite choppy. About as choppy as they get in San Juan Channel. Winds were 35-40 at Smith Island. But once you turn out of Friday Harbor it's on your stern and we rolled our way easily north to Jones. Seas were maybe 3-4 feet at most. We went ashore and walked over to the south side to stretch our legs, and by the time we returned to Aeolus, the sun was trying to break through. We ended up having some nice time in the cockpit with the sun streaming nicely. 

This rock formation in the north cove is so spectacular. 

Instead of staying the night, like always, we actually headed back to Friday Harbor a few hours later since we were eager to see one of our sons back home, who had just returned from a backpacking trip, and the forecast was for more storms and rain Sunday morning again against the ebb. By leaving that evening, we had flood going with the ebb. 

What a difference those few hours made! Seas were practically calm, despite the wind remaining stiff. Never ceases to amaze the difference current has on wave behavior. 

An out and back. You might think this would be too short to be satisfying, yet it isn't. Just being out is such a washing clean of the civilized life. We got to see an old friend that night in Friday Harbor, a town so greatly reduced in options compared to a few years ago. 

Aeolus is in fine shape and we had a great little voyage. Anxious for our return to Desolation Sound this summer! 

President's Day weekend escape

 Forecast high winds kept us from hopping over to Victoria so we stayed close to home and our sheltered waters in San Juan Channel and returned to Jones. It was a lovely and benign weekend. Didn't get to the anchorage on the north side until darkness. It was about nautical twilight when we pulled in and it was a strange experience to anchor there without light. No problem. 

Just a sunset scene looking north from Jones

Sunday we enjoyed hiking all around, playing frisbee and climbing trees. Being feral. 

The Cubic Mini stove continues to delight us. It keeps the cabin 70-75F when it is 35-40 outside. Using highly compressed sawdust logs without wax is our approach. You can get them here in the Salish Sea from a local company. Incredible energy density. 

Where's Waldo?

East side

Played some cribbage, remembering how. Reading books. Sleep from 9-8. Boat time. 

Aeolus is in fine shape. Clean prop and bottom. Just changed the oil. Filled up with Renewable diesel I go down to PDX to acquire in 5 gallon buckets. She's in good shape and getting ready for a return to Desolation Sound this summer. Can't wait! 

Lovely MLK adventures-Unbelievable Orca/Sea Lion experience

 Went out with the boys this weekend and first visited Stuart, going to the Prevost side to make for a quicker trip to Sucia the next day. All was easy and normal and stunning and breathtaking on the way there. Once there, we went out to the lighthouse. Before even reaching the lighthouse, Elliott exclaimed "Orcas!!!". We ran down, and what we witnessed next was the most incredible display I've ever seen in the Salish Sea in all my years. 

For over an hour, a pod of Biggs Orcas were keeping two and then six big male sea lions hemmed in close to shore. The Orcas were busily spyhopping, tail slapping, calling out in both a squeek and a groan, rolling over one another, and generally doing everything their bodies are capable of doing, while tracking the sea lions and not letting them escape. This went on forever, as we sat right above them watching the whole drama play out beneath us. 

There are no words...and this is but the smallest, poorest little video of the experience: 

The next day we went to Sucia and explored the lovely sandstone coastline and caves. Lovely in winter. A nightmare in summer. 

On Monday the forecast had changed from SE 10 knots to SE 20-30. Leaving Sucia going back anywhere exposes you to SE winds. We had a good SE 20-25 on Monday morning, but the fetch was limited enough that we saw no more than 2-3 foot waves. Then we got into the lee of Orcas and had a smooth trip back to FH. 

A lovely adventurous weekend, filled with all the good food, games and fun of playing in wild places. We will never forget the drama of the Orcas and sea lions on this trip.