As of Sunday at 3:00 PM ESTIn my last article I predicted that we would complete the 1438 nautical mile (1651 statute) trip to Hingham in 9 days if the weather cooperates. Well, it’s time to see if that will be the case.Explanatory Note 1: NOAA’s forec…
April 29 – Little River, SC
Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
“Happiness is a journey, not a destination.” —Alfred D. Souza
We’ve enjoyed two pretty days on the water. Yesterday was a little warm and it reminded us why we need to keep moving north. Most of our travel since leaving Charleston has been in the Waccamaw River. The scenery is very pretty as it runs along the lowcountry in South Carolina. As we moved closer to Myrtle Beach it changes from marshland to cypress woods. Besides a noticeable change in vegetation, I also noticed we have gotten rid of the no seeums…they’ve been driving me crazy the last couple of weeks.
FPB 78 Progress: Lifelines And Upholstery – The End Is Near
When you have lifelines, glass… …and soft goods going in, you know the end is near. Looking here at the …Read More
2016-04 Up the Salish Sea, into Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait
Wednesday, April 27th, 2016: Comox to Small InletOnce again this morning we got started early, leaving Comox in our wake by 7AM. Once across the Comox Bar, we turned towards Cape Mudge, Campbell River and Discovery Passage. We had a date wi…
The Migration North
We cast loose our lines in Eagle Harbor before 6 AM on Wednesday, April 27, for our sixth trip to SE Alaska in the last seven years. There is a familiarity to the preparation but also an edge of paranoia. You just know in your heart that complacency in preparation or operation can easily lead to calamity.
Our first night was in Garrison Bay on the northwest corner of San Juan Island just south of the Roche Harbor. It provided us quick access the next morning to the Port of Sidney on Vancouver Island where we cleared Canadian Customs. We have Nexus cards which speed our passage through customs. After a phone call and waiting 15 minutes to allow a customs officer to show up to inspect us should they want to, we were on our way.
It had been three years since our last visit to Butchart Gardens so for our second night we anchored in Tod Inlet near the Butchart Gardens. We dropped our dinghy and motored over to the dock down the hill from the Japanese Gardens. Reportedly the tulips were past prime but if they were, we didn’t notice.
As I write this, we are tied to the dock at Salt Springs Marina in Ganges Harbour. Our yacht club has leases dock space as an outstation here so it is inexpensive moorage as we do some light provisioning for those items that are prohibited from being brought in.
Our plans for this season are pretty similar to prior years. We’ll move north pretty directly to SE Alaska arriving around the middle of May. We’ll stay in Alaska for about 2-1/2 months until the end of July/first part of August when we’ll begin the slower journey south. Arrival in Puget Sound will be the middle of September.
Big Majors to Black Point
Big Majors to Black Point: The Black Point settlement on Great Guana Cay will be our home for tonight. It is only a short 12 mile trip so first we are going to try our luck at fishing out in Exuma Sound. Dothan Cut is a recommended passage from the bank side to the sound. […]
Alaska 2016 – The Voyage Begins
After a shakedown cruise attending the 2016 Selene Owner’s Rendezvous in Roche Harbor, we returned to Anacortes and put on the last few items of gear and food for the first part of our trip north. We have our friends Lisa and Ted Marx joining us for the first several weeks as we make our way to Port McNeill.
At 1145 we cast off the lines in Anacortes Marina and headed to Cap Sante Marina to top off the main fuel tank and spare fuel for the tenders. Once again we are towing the 18 foot Grady White, now making its 4thtrip to SE Alaska at the end of a towline. By 1230 we had added 370 gallons of diesel fuel, so with the Grady White in tow we set off westbound in Guemes Channel, riding the ebb tide to boost our speed.
By 1615 we had the lines attached to a nearly deserted “G” dock in Roche Harbor, our destination for the evening. The four of us had a pleasant dinner at McMillin’s Restaurant, the only choice in Roche Harbor this time of year.
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| Nearly Deserted G Dock at Roche Harbor |
Weather to go or Not!
Since we’re moving up the West side of Florida most of our travel has been in the protected waters of the ICW. Overall it’s been good traveling but our eye has always been on the conditions for crossing the Gulf from Clearwater to Carrabelle, a 170 mil…
Weather to go or Not!
Since we’re moving up the West side of Florida most of our travel has been in the protected waters of the ICW. Overall it’s been good traveling but our eye has always been on the conditions for crossing the Gulf from Clearwater to Carrabelle, a 170 mil…
April 25 – 27, 2016 Orange Beach, AL
April 25 – Yup, we had to go to Lulu’s! Around 11:00 AM we started getting our dinghy down to get ready to head to Lulu’s for “Cheeseburgers in Paradise”. Just before we were going to head out, S/V Delayed Gratification texted telling us th…
