This weekend, Nordhavn is throwing an event at their corporate office in Dana Point to celebrate their 40 year anniversary. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to attend. Its extra-sad because Saturday, April 28 is the 11 year anniversary of when we left on our circumnavigation. It would have been so fitting to celebrate our anniversary … Continue reading April 2018 Update on Us
Alaska 2018 Post 1 – Anacortes to Roche Harbor
April 24, 2018
This year we are moving north slowly, taking several days enroute to Vancouver to attend the NW Selene Owner’s Rendezvous in Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. The slow start is actually good for the trip north through the tidal rapids since high slack water, our preferred transit time for the rapids north of Desolation Sound, will be in the middle of the daylight hours, allowing a smooth passage north, weather dependent.
After last minute shopping for perishables in Anacortes, parking the car for the next three months and filling the water tanks with fresh water, we cast off the lines from Anacortes Marina at 1120. The skies were hazy and there was a brisk NW wind which covered Spirit in salt spray. Once into Harney Channel the wind subsided, and the water was glassy.
Spirit took advantage of the ebb tide down Spieden Channel, showing 10.7 knots over the bottom. Entering Roche Harbor west of Pearl Island, we docked at the Roche Harbor Yacht Club Outstation at slip G-15 at 1450 under now sunny and warm skies, joining several other early arrival Selenes. Our log shows 27.2 nautical miles since leaving Anacortes Marina.
After washing the salt off Spirit and launching the tender, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in the sun, watching 2 more Selene Trawlers arrive, with 2 more anchored in the harbor.
Roche Harbor has upgraded the AC shore power on G dock to GFCI breakers, and owners are finding that AC wiring on board must be ABYC compliant to avoid tripping the GFCI breakers. Marina staff is here to help, but often the only solution is to move to a non-GFCI slip elsewhere in the marina, until the wiring issues are resolved.
The Selene Rendezvous is a gathering of Selene owners and prospective owners, along with several vendors who support the fleet. The owners gather annually and partake of both social activities and a variety of learning seminars. The rendezvous is organized by owner volunteers, with additional financial support provided by the vendor community.
Greenwich
The famed Royal Observatory in Greenwich is the location of the Prime Meridian and the origin of “Greenwich Mean Time”. The observatory has an excellent museum detailing the search for an accurate means of calculating longitude at sea, plus sweeping views from its hilltop perch. Other Greenwich attractions include the old Royal Naval College grounds,…
Happy Birthday, Dee Dee!
Our little Miss Dee Dee is five years old today. She spent her day with Dylan and Dora. It was pretty much a typical day – morning walk, breakfast, dog park. But Dad made a stop on the way home from the dog park. After all, we needed to celebrate our l…
Palafox Marina Pensacola to Bluewater Bay Marina near Niceville, Fl. 53 Miles
Sunday March 8, 2018We left our slip at Palafox Marina at 9:20 it was breezy and the temp. had gotten down to 47 early this morning. About an hour later we were passing under the Pensacola Beach Bridge, the ICW here runs between the beach islands and t…
Palafox Marina Pensacola to Bluewater Bay Marina near Niceville, Fl. 53 Miles
Sunday March 8, 2018We left our slip at Palafox Marina at 9:20 it was breezy and the temp. had gotten down to 47 early this morning. About an hour later we were passing under the Pensacola Beach Bridge, the ICW here runs between the beach islands and t…
Tower of London
We’d always thought the Tower of London was just that, a tower. But it’s actually a castle, with 22 towers in total, that was the royal residence for England’s medieval monarchs and also is where the Crown Jewels are currently kept. The complex is right next to St. Katharine Docks where we are moored, so…
FPB 97 Video: Iceberg Put Through Paces off North Carolina
FPB 97 Iceberg has been up in North Carolina, where Cory McMahon and his Triton Marine team have been fine-tuning the Wicked …Read More
Getting ready for another year of cruising:spring 2018
We are happy to be writing this blog back aboard Idyll Time. It was a good three week 3200 mile trip across the U.S. in the RV. A few days were spent in Colorado near Grand Junction exploring some of the smaller towns and wineries. The only snow we saw was atop Monarch Pass in […]
London Past and Present
London is a world-class city with modern architecture, a world financial center, and easy-to-see history going back more than two thousand years. We got a taste of it all on a clear day shortly after arriving into St. Katharine Docks. We started with the fabulous views from The Shard, completed in 2012, and stepped back…
