West Coasters are pretty lucky

[Irish Mist]

Just in Victoria visiting ...Having left my boat high and dry on a trailer surrounded by piles of snow in Ontario.. I feel pretty envious seeing all the boats in the water here .. Although I do visit my boat every weekend and crank up the diesel heater and the boat does get very comfortable.... It's still on a trailer surrounded by snow..Then I started looking at all the coves and inlets all around Victoria and Vancouver and beyond.. I realized I might be boating on the wrong side of the world 🙂 Hopefully Irish Mist will make an appearance on the west coast in the near future🙂 Don't get me wrong there is great boating over my way but even leaving my boat in until the day before my slip froze .. There is that snow and ice and staring out the window waiting for spring.. Which seems far away at this point..

 

[Dog Islander]

It looks like its IS going to be a great few days here in the PNW. We are just about to cast off our lines for Victoria ourselves. Hope to be there in time for tea. If you see us on one of the docks please stop by for a chat.

Ray

 

[Irish Mist]

Just leaving Salt Spring Island saw a ranger at Ganges Marina 🙂 good to see we are representing !! Sure is pretty here.. And no snow !

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Like Irish Mist from Ontario,our family spent the Christmas Holiday in the PNW. In a rental house on Budd Inlet on Christmas Day we saw a Ranger Tug cruising past enjoying the day that we never could do in the Great Lakes at this time of the year...the PNW is a special place for cruising boaters.

 

[Scottfree]

We are north of Victoria up by the ferry terminal. Our boat is at Canoe Cove marina. We fly out from Edmonton as often as we can and it's always like time travel to paradise! I was out a couple of weekends ago, cool but extremely quiet and peaceful this time of year.

 

[Nellie Too]

We are in Friday Harbor where the seas are so calm, no wind, and we are cozy inside our tug. We are surrounded by other tugs, different manufacturers, but not as cute. If anybody is around, come visit us at G33. 🙂

Happy New Year everybody.

Bob and Nita

 

[walldog]

If you were up early enough, this was your view before the sun came up. http://www.fridayharbornow.com/ has a great shot of the Moon and Mount Baker just before daylight. Hope you got to see it, have fun out there.

 

[Spinner]

Just got back from a short jaunt from Seattle, across the sound to Blake Island and back. Cool day, just very slightly windy, but still it was good to get out on the water! Looking forward to a day trip on New Year's Day (as I anxiously check the marine forecast) 🙂

I do like the cozy cabin and the efficient diesel furnace !

 

[Irish Mist]

Flying back tomorrow morning . Has been a great visit hope everyone has a great New Years and those of you that are afloat .. enjoy and think of us stuck ashore in the cold as you cruise about 🙂 As for the diesel heater , it is the best investment I have made for the boat..
Best
Mark

 

[Boont Boater]

Certainly in December we are lucky boaters. We cruised across Rosario Strait from Anacortes to James Island said hi to a Bald Eagle, ate a sandwich, then went back. It was so calm that you could have crossed it with a row boat.

This is the first time that the CFO got to be on our new boat. She seems very happy. Thanks to our Guardian Angels on Nellie Too we had a very comfortable bed and I got the correct anti-freeze for Aurora.

Any time I can be on the water I consider myself pretty darn lucky. We will be back, perhaps when it is a bit warmer, soon.

Jeff

 

[Hydraulicjump]

Best wishes to all from the "other" west coast cruising ground: the more than 1600 square miles of waterways in the San Francisco Bay/Delta. Yesterday I moved the tug from Alameda, where it got new bottom paint and zincs, to its new home in Pier 39 marina (my official San Francisco "office"). Warm (mid-60's), glassy calm weather with hardly anyone on the Bay. I could not pass up a route that went under the new span of the Bay Bridge, around Angel Island, past Sausalito, in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, out to Alcatraz, along the waterfront and into the new slip. The boat needed the exercise, you see, after sitting on a trailer for so long. That's it. Exercise as an excuse. I think it will be my New Year's resolution: EXERCISE (the boat) MORE.

Happy New Year to all you tug-huggers out there. Really glad I got this boat.

Jeff

 

[JamesTXSD]

Mark (on Irish Mist) - if it makes you feel any better, Orillia was one of our favorite stops on the Trent-Severn Waterway... beautiful area!

Hard to beat the PNW, especially during their two months of summer. 😎

Best wishes and Happy New Year,
Jim B.

 

[Irish Mist]

Orillia is a great spot Anyone going there Try to make it to Big Chief Island Is in the middle of the lake and has two popular bays with sand bottoms .. We spend many nights there in 3 ft of water.. Walking our stern anchor towards shore and lodging it into the sand.. Is a bit busy on the weekends but pleasant during the week or early or late in the season... Please look me up if you are in the area.. The port is located close to a great park and all necessary shopping .. The liquor store being the closest 🙂.. I hope to catch up to a lot of you in the next few years in my travels
Mark

 

[Knot Tide]

Greetings folks
just had to jump in with this subject since we are avid winter boaters and use our R-29, every opportunity possible in the winter.....however occasionally it reminds us of Ontario.

We just spent a xmas/new years week up north Quadra island in small inlet. Even though It snowed xmas day and dropped to -12C in the evening with gale force winds, the 7 lb turkey in the oven all day combined with the diesel heater and a secure anchorage kept us comfortable. We always bring extra food and supplies just in case and rarely have any boater company.

Although west coaster are blessed with round boating I think next time out i will be more prepared and swap out my prawn puller for a tip-up for fishing off the swim ladder.

Sheri & Charles