What a wonderful trip this was for Gill and me.
We started off from our Edmonds marina around 2pm Thursday to stay overnight at the La Conner marina. WE reached La Conner after some 3-4 hrs and had a very nice pricey evening meal at Kerstin's on South First Street which we've always wanted to eat at as we have frequently visited La Conner by land over the years and always found ourselves peeking into the Kerstin's restaurant window.
On Friday morning after having breakfast at the La Conner Station House on Morris Street (very reasonable price) Karma (David & Maureen) and Shared Dream (Ken & Sandi) arrive spot on time at 10:30am in their R29s. Ken & Sandi's was but 3 month old and it was obvious they were enjoying it. We teamed up and made are way up to Anacortes and then through the San Juan Islands and onto Bedwell Harbor - Poet's Cove, with Laxey hard on the heels of Karma & Shared Dream -- reaching Bedwell late afternoon. We checked into Canadian customs without any issues at Poet's Cove. Here we met up with a bunch of other Ranger Tugs. Jeff Messmer and friend turned up a Poet's Cove later in the day with their factory R29 and R27 tugs. That R27 is a beauty....
The next morning we wound through some lovely terrain and narrow channels to get out onto the Strait of Georgia and then heading almost due north to Gibsons Harbor which was some distance north of Vancouver.
We stayed at Gibsons an extra night as the weather turned kind of nasty and this meant the Tug pod could not move north as planned to Desolation Sound.
The following day the weather calmed down some and most of the Tug pod decided to make a run north to Desolation. Nellie Too (Bob & Nita) and Laxey (Gill & Barry -- us) decided to head back west across Strait of Georgia to make sure we could return home on time for following Wednesday as Gill had Dr/Hospital visit setup. The weather was reasonable but there was a strong southerly wind blowing on our port side and with 3' to 4' foot waves we were really rock'n & rolling as we headed almost due west. Bob (Nellie Too) radioed and said to turn more southerly and into the wind some to make the ride more comfortable. This did the trick and we were now only rock'n
😉. However, this change in course meant adding 60 to 90 more minutes getting across the Strait of Georgia and into the calm waters of the Gulf Islands. We passed into the calmer waters by going through Galiano Pass.
At this point Nellie Too and Laxey parted company after a brief radio exchange. Laxey head due south to Friday Harbor and stayed the night there. Next day we took a leisurely voyage back to Edmonds marina via Anacortes and La Conner. We stopped at La Conner again and had a hearty meal at the La Conner Brewing Company -- I couldn't resist a glass of their beer.
Leaving La Conner and getting out onto the Skagit Bay proved rather treacherous as the tide was low and the sun was blinding me. I briefly ran aground but with my quick reaction was able to steer the tug into deeper waters without any lasting issues. That was a nasty situation that I don't want to repeat.
The remaining voyage was peaceful and allowed Gill to finish up her book in the forward berth cabin. She really likes that position as we cruise along if she has a book to read.
We managed to get back into our Edmonds marina slip around 8pm which was my plan as I did not want to be running at nighttime. The Edmonds-Kingston Ferry was just about to pull out of Edmonds when I arrived but I was unaware of this. The Ferry Capt gave a huge blow on his horn as I passed his bow and I just about jumped out of my skin. Maybe he was just giving me a welcome back salute. :roll:
This was a great trip and I extend Gill and my thanks to David for doing all the fine arrangements. David gives attention to all the details and leaves no stone unturned and we felt very safe boating with him. Thanks David.
😀
I put together a short photo gallery that does contain 5 movies (some short and one quite long -- so be patient for them downloading). Enjoy....
http://gallery.me.com/barrysharp#100446
