Karma's Holiday Cruise

[Stella Maris]

Maureen and I arrived into Seatlle last night and made it to Karma at 11:00. Once we unpacked and got settled, it was after midnight. As you can guess.... that six am start did not happen.... It was more like ten am.....

We headed out to Friday Harbor with a quick stop at Brownsville for fuel. After programing our route into the auto helm, it showed we would not arrive until six pm at Port Townsend. While we have already been out after dark twice in the Seattle area, we were not comfortable with running after dark in an area we were unfamiliar with.

We ducked into Port Ludlow for the night where we ran into Herb and June on their R-25, Sea Sweeper. We spent a few minutes talking before they had to head home before it got dark.

Tomorrow we will head out to Friday Harbour. It will be our first crossing of the straits. We are hoping for calm seas and light winds. We will see what we get.

Our plan is to cruise up to Roche Harbour on Monday then start south on Tuesday this time going through Deception Pass. Our plan is to be in Elliot Bay on Thursday night to celebrate New Years Eve. Bruce and Vickie of Moondance have told us about the great fireworks show that is visible from Elliott on New Years.

Planned stops include Copeville to allow us a bit of time to visit the many antique shops. We are also hoping to get into Shilshone one night to check out the accommodations for the Half Way There cruise.

Hopefully we will run across many more of you this week!

 

[Lobo]

Merry Christmas, etc., David and Maureen.

Roche Harbor is an hour and a half from where we tie Lobo up. Family in town prevents us charging over to shake your hand.

Roche day time transient moorage is on "C" dock. The dockmasters hut is on the wharf where "C" joins (as is Customs). You can let them know you are on "C" but they really don't care. If you are coming in from Spieden Channel it means you keep the docks on port and go all around to the south end, then down almost to shore. Side ties.

Take the 10 minute walk to the outdoor sculpture garden. Admission by donation. About 7 acres of ground with a hundred or so sculptures. Very interesting. Then walk north 15 minutes to the Masoleum. Signage for all of this.

Food store in Roche, but very pricy. Stock up if necessary in Friday Harbor. Same comments on fuel.

March cruise agenda -- I like it!! Looking forward to it. Have a good cruise this week. We're cruising next week -- Pride of America around Hawaiian Islands.

Dave & Lynne
"Lobo"

 

[Bruce Moore]

Have a good cruise this week. We're cruising next week -- Pride of America around Hawaiian Islands.

Dave & Lynne
"Lobo"

Hey Dave - The Bakers are going to be our proxies for the Space Needle fireworks. We'll be on the north shore of Kauai next week, and on the south shore the following week. We'll wave if we see the Pride cruise by, maybe even swim out to meet the boat if you toss a few Loonies!

Cheers

 

[Lobo]

Hi, Bruce. This would be Ranger Tug 2010 Rendezvous version 2.0.01, sub-section 1. It's probably not going to have much factory support. We dock at Nawiliwili, Kauai on Jan 7 from 0800 to 1400. I've rented a car to drive around the island. Leave bread crumbs -- or boat parts -- as a clue.

Dave

 

[Stella Maris]

We did it! We made our first crossing of the Straits of Juan De Fuca! The weather was beautiful! Light winds and sunshine all the way! We had fairly smooth seas about two thirds of the way across and then the seas started to build. They were running between two and four feet. At times we had water flying over the top of the house! Once we got to Cattle Pass, things calmed down.

Our stay in Port Ludlow was okay. If I were them though, I would rename it “Port Dudlow”. The docks were old and very tight. The noise from the road above was load. The cost was high. Not on our list of “we should do this again” places…….
We headed out of Port Ludlow at nine arriving into Friday Harbor at one thirty.

Our total run from Port Orchard so far has been seventy five miles. We have burned approximately 60 gallons of fuel. Now, that is not all bad considering we ran at eighty five percent load all the way across the straits. That equates to about 17 knots. We did not want to “hang out” in the straits any longer than necessary. Friday Harbor is a great little town with an easy walk to the downtown area. We spent the first hour in the harbor getting all of the salt off of the boat. Then it was off to the wine store for a case of the local “grape juice”. We were here about eighteen months ago (by ferry) and sampled wine from a local winery. It was very good and we wanted to pick a case up to take back to Nevada with us.

Tomorrow we will head up to Roache Harbor for the night. Tuesday will see us making our way through Deception Pass and then down to Coupville. Wednesday will find us in Shilshone, Thursday will be the fireworks from Elliott Bay, Friday Blake Island, and Saturday will either be Poulsbo or Port Orchard. We must be back to Port Orchard by Sunday as Maureen has to go back to Vegas to earn the next payment……

Karma has run great and we love being aboard her. We actually had some folks stop by today that had never seen one of the R-29’s. They said there was an R-25 at their yacht club, the Victoria Yacht Club. We asked if they knew Dave and Lynne aboard Lobo and they said yes! It is a small “Ranger World”!

When we get back to Port Orchard next weekend we will have knocked out the two big ones here on Puget Sound! Crossing the Straits and Deception Pass! What a great place to be alive in!

See you on the water!

 

[Auklet]

David and Maureen --- A little local knowledge from an old geezer:

Every year about this time we always get two or three days of perfect weather, you hit it right on the nose. Good for you. Now we will get back to the usual grey skies with occasional showers.

Deception Pass: Within a half an hour on either side of 1220 you will wonder what all the fuss is about. Much later you will know what it is all about and wish you didn't. Your boat can handle the water near max but it isn't worth the stress. Be on time. Some boaters actually go in there at max just to practice on the rough water. I have also seen surfers in the pass playing in the waves. They're welcome to it. Be safe.

The weather looks good for Coupeville. The dock is too exposed for windy weather. Alternatives in bad weather are Langley and Oak Harbor. I prefer Langley. Nice shops and eateries, just like Coupeville. But they are calling for light wind on Tuesday, no problem.

--- Auklet ---

 

[Stella Maris]

Cary and Pat,
Thanks for the update. We are planning to be at Deception as close to slack tide as absolutely possible. We do not want the stress.

The weather has been great. A bit grey this morning but by this afternoon broken clouds and sunshine. We have discovered Roche Harbor as to be another one of those places you can say that you have been too but not really interested in returning too...... Friday Harbor was great!

Thanks for the update on Coupesville. We had looked at Oak as an alternative in the event to weather did not cooperate. I will take a look at Langley in the event the weather does not cooperate. I would rather have two backups than one...

Hope you have a great New Year! See you on the water!

David and Maureen

 

[Stella Maris]

What a week it has been! First we cross the straits, then we shoot through Deception Pass! We see a very small piece of the San Juans and catch up with some new friends and make some more new friends!

Our day started out at first light this morning. We headed out of Roche Harbor bound for Coupville via Deception Pass. The weather was magnificent with a brilliant sunrise. We arrived at Deception pass at 11:00 am just shy of the high tide by 37 minutes. The good news was it was still flooding so we would get an extra boost going through! We entered running at 8 knots and by the time it "spit" us out the other side we were running at 11.5 knots without touching the throttle!

For those of you that have heard the horror stories of running across the straits or going through Deception, all I can tell you is make a plan, check the weather and tides, if all is good, go for it!

We ended up meeting up with John and Laurie Gray on the Laurie Ann at the Langley Marina. We had a great afternoon swapping 'old" boat stories and splitting a bottle of wine. We walked up to town and had a nice dinner at Mikes. The plan for tomorrow is to run down to Shilshone. We want to check it out for the "Halfway There" cruise. However, when you are on the water, plans change. We will see where the winds and tides carry us. Still planning on being at Elliott for the big New Years Eve firework show over Seattle and then Blake Island on Friday night.

So far we have run 148 NM burning 90 gallons of fuel. We have average 9 knots with runs up to 85% throttle every couple of hours.

Our Longest run in time so far would be today with a run of seven hours. By the time we get back to Port Orchard this weekend we should have covered over 200 miles and will have over 60 hours on Karma. Not bad for only having her for six weeks! By the time I fly home on the ninth of January I will have spent 40 nights on board Karma. Not bad considering we will have only owned her for 56 days!

See you on the water!

 

[Lobo]

I was thinking -- if you aren't going to spend much time on your new boat you could always put it into the charter business!!

 

[Stella Maris]

Spend much time on Karma...... I will have spent 40 out of 56 nights on board. Maureen will have 20 out of 56 nights! I am sure you are just being sarcastic....

Well, we had one helluva a day today! We left John and Laurie at Langley at 10:30 heading south to Shilshole Marina. We had a slight breeze blowing out of the south for the first five or so miles..... then all hell broke loose. We started with 1 to 2 foot wind waves, then they went too 2 to 4 feet, and then "the weather started getting rough and the tiny ship was tossed, if were not for the courage of the fearless crew the "Karma" would be lost". The waves actually built to six foot! The waves finally stopped hitting the windshield, they now just went completely over the top of the boat. We were looking at the bottom side of the waves!

I have to compliment Dave and John Livingston! Karma never shuddered, pounded, or even hesitated! She just kept plugging along! Now, the crew..... they started thinking what the hell are they doing out here? However, when you have a well founded vessel with a "Seasoned Crew". You just have to be careful and vigilant. We kept a watch for logs, which was nearly impossible I might add.

We got into Shilshole Marina at 1:30! The boat was a small mess. While we had put everything away before we left Langley that we thought might fall or tip, we had things that we would never have thought would move, move! It took Maureen 15 minutes just to get Karma back in order once we tied up.

All and all, Karma did great. The crew did great. We hope we never get caught in that type of weather again but if we do, we know we have a vessel that will get us home safely!

Tomorrow we are off for a short run, just around the corner to Elliott Bay (that is if the wind is not blowing and the waves are less than three.....)

See you on the water!

 

[Nellie Too]

Hi Dave and Maureen,
I am happy you have had a great time. The sound does get rough during the winter as I can attest. I was born and raised just south of Alki Point and we spend many hours of my youth (ancient times) fighting the waters of Puget Sound.
I just wanted to let you know that there is an article in the latest edition of "Motor Boating" about the Ranger's Rendezvous this last summer and, rightly so, mentions that you were the organizer. I thought you might want to pick up a copy before you venture home to the boredom of home living.

Bob and Nita

 

[Zuma]

Sounds like you are having a terrific time! Glad to hear that you're enjoying time on your new 29! Can't wait to be out there with you in 2010! Happy New Year.... come on over and see us soon.

 

[Stella Maris]

You know, the great thing about boating is, there is no set agenda for where you are going and how long you are going to stay!

We changed our plans today after hearing the prediction on 30+ knot winds out of the south on Friday. We had enough fun on Wednesday pushing through those six foot seas! We ended up instead in Poulsbo for New Years Eve. I am sure it is not going to be as eventful as Seattle would have been but none the less, we are still on Karma so how bad could it be!

What a contrast today to yesterday. The seas today were flat calm and glassy! After arriving in Poulsbo at 11:30 this morning the rain began to fall. Oh well, one day of rain out of eight...... what can I say?

Tomorrow we are off for Blake Island for the night. Not sure if we will "run the outside" or take the "inside passage". It will all depend on the wind.

We are having a great time and would encourage all of you to get out on the water as much as possible. Your tugs can handle most anything that you will throw at it! Anybody looking for an evening on their tug tomorrow night, come join us at Blake. Call me (702-203-8631)to confirm that we are there before hand. As like any other time on the water, tomorrows final destination will be decided by Mother Nature!

See you on the water!

 

[Stella Maris]

Today brought high winds, 20-25 with gusts to 35! Wind waves were predicted at 4 to 6 feet..... a good day to stay in the harbour and relax. We are going to spend another night here at Poulsbo. We can see no reason to go out and get beat up when we do not have to. As you may have seen on my other post, we got to meet a very interesting couple here in Poulsbo.

If the weather gives us a break tomorrow, we will head for Blake Island. Sunday it will be back to Port Orchard as Maureen has to fly back to Vegas Sunday afternoon.

It has been a great week! The weather has been great, the water has been incredible, the people amazing!

See you on the water!

 

[Stella Maris]

What a great week! It is now Saturday afternoon and Maureen and I just got back from doing the island loop trail on Blake Island. We cannot believe the week we have had. We touched on the San Juan Islands, visited with June and Herb on Sea Sweeper, had dinner with John and Laurie Gray from the Laurie Ann, spent an incredible evening with a famous sailing couple. We "battled" six foot seas. Saw countless Bald Eagles, sea lions, harbor seals, and a couple of deer.

The weather was incredible with the exception of two very windy rainy days. However, those days added to the adventure. Tomorrow will find us once again back in our home berth in Port Orchard. Maureen will fly off to Vegas and I will stay behind to work the Seattle market this week. We are sad to see the week end but know there are many more to come.

We have covered more than 240 miles. This week we will have put an additional 22 hours on Karma. We now have 54 hours on Karma! We have taken on a total of 115 gallons of fuel. Our average speed was 8.8 knots with the maximum being 17.7.

Thank you to the people of the Pacific Northwest for sharing such a great body of water with a couple of desert dwellers!

See you on the water!