The Start of Another Great Weekend in the PNW

[Stella Maris]

Yes, I know it is only Wednesday but, what better day to start your weekend! I departed Port Orchard at 2:00 pm this afternoon under brilliant sunshine and a light breeze that created just a light ripple across the surface of the water. The sky was that unbelievable blue that you get on a crisp fall afternoon after a day of cleansing rain.

The cruise down to Des Moines was uneventful with just two tugs with their tows as well as two car carriers. The views though, were incredible. Coming through Rich Passage I spotted two Bald Eagles soaring overhead in search of an easy meal. After circling round and round, the lead Eagle plunged to earth and plucked itself a nice fish right out of the water!

Coming around the bend in Rich Passage, off in the distance was Mount Rainer, covered in a fresh coat of snow from yesterday’s storm. The mountain was all aglow in orange from the setting sun. While the top of the mountain glowed, its base was surrounded by low gray clouds. What a sight! I now had Mount Rainer visible to the south, the snow capped Olympics to the west and Mount Baker to the north! And then when you don’t think it can get any better, off to the east you have Seattle, glistening on the eastern shore of Puget Sound, as the setting sun cast its orange glow upon the high rises.

The destination for today is Des Moines. It is here that Maureen will join me tomorrow evening for our cruise up to Bell Harbor. First though, we will spend the Thursday night in Des Moines awaiting the arrival of our daughter Meghan, who will fly in on Friday morning from Newport Beach. Once she is on board, we will depart for Bell Harbor.

We will spend Friday and Saturday night at Bell Harbor enjoying the company of the crew from Zuma. Maureen and Meghan have the goal of kick starting the economy of Seattle on Saturday by spending the day shopping. I am sure this will mean we are now going to be a year further from retirement….. Once the girls return from shopping we will be off for a nice dinner downtown to celebrate 30 years! (Hopefully we will still have enough money to pay for dinner……)

 

[Rebel]

Congratulations on your 30 years. It seems to be hard for many couples as busy as you and your wife are to keep things together. From my experience, 46 years married to my wife Marie, those who play together stay together. Keep on playing. Also, your posts about your wonderful trips on your R-29 make us all envious. I know I am.
John

 

[Bruce Moore]

We'll be back on the mainland tomorrow. If we don't make it down to Bell to say hello, congratulations on your anniversary/boat birthday. Have a great dinner.


Cheers,

Bruce & Vicki

 

[Stella Maris]

Currently, Karma and her crew are securely tied to the dock in Bell Harbor. You never tire of the view out of your windshield while tied in Bell. The Seattle skyline from your own floating home is incredible!

Our journey from up from Des Moines yesterday afternoon was uneventful. We did get a later start than what we anticipated as Meghan’s plane arrived late. We finally got out of Des Moines at 3:30 which guaranteed us for an after dark arrival in Bell. No need to worry. We love being on the water after dark. The entire experience changes.

Shipping traffic was non-existent until we came into Elliot Bay. Then we had a water taxi wiz by at 30 knots. A sailboat fell in behind us to follow us into Bell. The ferries from Bainbridge and Bremerton were both headed in. A tug with his tow crossed our bow and then a Nordhavn 52 was coming at us from behind the tow! We dodge it all and made it safely in!

We had no sooner gotten secured and Lyman and his son Jesse showed up. We wander up to Pikes and then up and down the streets looking for a “dive” to dine in. I cannot believe how all of the restaurants close at 6:00 on a Friday night. Finally we found a little hole in the wall and went inside. The food was great! The atmosphere was good, and the company was outstanding.

It is one year ago today that we took delivery of Karma. What a year it has been! We have seen things we would have never dreamed that we would see. Met incredible people. And just had a great year!

Overall, we have been very pleased with Karma and the support that you receive from the factory when there is an issue. We thought we had all of the bugs worked out though. And then yesterday, the VHF decided to take a crap……. Oh well! What are you to do? Guess it’s time to trade Karma in and get a new one……… Oh wait, the VHF is still under warranty, probably cheaper to get it fixed!

Tonight we will dine with Lyman, Janeane, Jesse, Taylor, and Rachel at Morton’s celebrating all of the special dates that just happen to fall into this week.

Tomorrow, it’s back off to Port Orchard and then home to Vegas for the night. I will return to Karma at the end of the week while Maureen will have to forgo the weekend as she has commitments at work. However, this will be a good time to prep Karma for her Thanksgiving cruise to Victoria and the San Juan’s.

We will cast off at six on Thanksgiving morning and head for Victoria. There we will meet up with Gail and Patrick as well as Tim and Kim. Anyone else that would like to join us is more than welcome! We will spend Thursday and Friday night in Victoria. On Saturday the plan is to head over to Friday Harbor. Sunday we will depart for our trip back to Port Orchard. Then it is off to Alaska for the week (only work….. no playing……)

We would like to say thank you to all of those that have traveled along with us on this amazing adventure! Just to name a few:
John and Laurie, Bruce and Vickie, Bob and Nita, Gary and Rosalie, Ken and Sandy, Tim and Kim, Barry and Gil, Gail and Patrick, Dave and Lynn, Dennis and Darlene, June and Herb, Mac and Lynda, Sonny and Fernando, John and Rosa, John and Daisy……, Bill and Abbey, and last but not least, the Boyd Family, Lyman, Janeane, Jesse, and Taylor.

It has been one incredible year with one heck of a group of incredible people!!!

See you all on the water!

 

[patrick]

Have a wonderful time celebrating all the special dates that occur this month. Wish we could be there to celebrate with you but we will see you when come to Victoria in a few days.... Hi to the Zuma crew too! Maybe you can talk them into coming North with you!

We echo your feelings about all the marvelous people we have met through the Tugnuts. It is one of the best things about having a Ranger Tug!!

See you soon!

Gail and Patrick

 

[Zuma]

We raised a glass in celebration of Dave and Maureen's 30th anniversary and the 1 year birthday of Karma. As the 8 of us were sitting around a large dining table at Morton's Steak House it didn't take long to turn the conversation to boating... talking of the good times this summer and making plans for the next year. Once again; good food, good wine and good friends... a winning combination.

Happy Anniversary Baker crew... here's to many more!!!! and Zuma sends her love and birthday wishes to Karma...

 

[j&lgray]

The crew of the Laurie Ann thought of you on Friday evening when we were in Seattle visiting our daughter who lives on Queen Ann hill. What an amazing day to celebrate Karma's birthday and the joy of 30 years of marriage! Congratulations to you and a thank you to both of you for making boating so much fun. A toast to Karma and her amazing crew!

Laurie

 

[Stella Maris]

Dinner Saturday night was incredible. Steak that would melt in your mouth and great company! Now it was time to head back to Port Orchard and off to work once again!

Our departure from Bell Harbor at 10:00 am was met with fog and ¼ mile visibility. No worries, we had the handheld VHF scanning channel 14 to alert us to where the shipping/ferry traffic was. The radar was up and running acting as our eyes in these conditions.

Just as we exited the breakwaters of Bell Harbor, we heard the Seattle to Bremerton Ferry call Seattle Traffic to alert them of their imminent departure from Seattle to Bremerton. Since we were ½ mile north of the ferry dock (which was out of our sight), we choose to motor slowly ahead at a NW heading. This we knew would allow the ferry to pass safely south of us. We watched the radar as the ferry departed. Within minutes we had a visual on it. At that point we kicked in the “Guide To” function of the auto helm and sat back keeping a close watch ahead of us as well as on the radar. We also notified Seattle Traffic of our location, heading, speed, and destination. They advised us that there was no traffic that we would have to contend with other than the Bremerton/Seattle Ferry.

We motored along at five knots headed for Port Orchard. My main concern was crossing the traffic lanes which lie ahead. Once we were within a ½ mile of the lanes though, the visibility improved. We now had a visual on both ferries running between Bremerton and Seattle. One was west bound while the other was east bound. I made a sharp turn to the south so there was no mistaking my intentions of a Starboard to Starboard pass with the ferry. We passed safely south of the ferry.

As we approached Rich Passage, we could see breaks in the clouds and blue sky beyond. We had a nice smooth ride as the winds were dead calm. As we rounded the bend and came into Sinclair inlet, we once again had a ferry approaching. This would be the return Bremerton to Seattle. Again I made a sharp turn this time indicating a port to port pass.

We no sooner passed the ferry and the sun came out! Was a glorious sight! Blue sky and the snow capped Olympic Mountain Range off in the distance! This is truly living! While I really do enjoying boating in the desert, the stark landscape also offers its beauty in the form of stunning peaks and a bounty of wildlife. But, the PNW is absolutely incredible! Mountains all around. Whales, seals, eagles, and dolphins abound. Incredible!

Upon reaching Port Orchard we were in full, bright sunshine. Now it was time to clean Karma up. Put her away for a couple of days, and head off to work for the week. Another great PNW adventure has come to a close yet, there is another just around the corner. In just over a week, we will be making our sixth crossing of the Straits of Juan de Fuca on our way to Victoria. We are hoping for no more than moderate seas. Anything more will force us to take the inside route increasing the distance we will have to travel as well as the time it will take to get there. Oh well, that’s why they call it boating!

See you on the water!
Karma and her crew!