Travels in the PNW

[Stillraining]

So who went out today...A lot colder and a lot windeyer...Soccer balls were hard to control on the field today.

[GeoPowers]

We went out this weekend, what a blast! We headed to Eagle Harbor Saturday, one of our must-do-in-the-offseason trips. Sailing down was good, but the winds were a little lighter than expected and we had to motor for about an hour and a half after winds died to 2-3 kts for a few hours... Eagle Harbor was fun- we tied up to the city dock, took the kids to the playground, ate at the pizza joint, and had fru-fru ice cream. We usually anchor and don't see the point in paying for moorage (especially at .50 a foot with no services), but there was no room to anchor even this time of the year.

The way back was crazy fun!!!! Winds started at 15-18 this morning, and went up to 20 kts by 9:30-10 am, and finally 25 kts steady around noon. We were headed downwind back to Everett, and it was fun sailing. Nothing like 3 reefs in and still doing 9 kts through the water (7 over ground!). Average speed was 6.5 kts measured over ground origin to destination- fast transit! The waves were a little unruly from Edmonds to Shipwreck, but we got back before the gale warning went up. Man, that was fun! Not a lot of people out though- only saw 2 other sailboats actually under sail...

[delmarrey]

Sounds fun! The winds do change fast in the sound. Looks like we have one coming in but is turning towards lower AK.

[GeoPowers]

It helps having a professional meteorologist/oceanographer as the admiral...Nothing like personalized forecasts!

BTW- it actually is supposed to get a little nasty tonight and tomorrow...

[delmarrey]

Yep! The lights are already blinking here in the house.

[hummingway]

It was blowing 110 kph off the west coast of Vancouver Island yesterday they say.

[delmarrey]

Anyone up for a little day sail today???

[hummingway]

A spritely day. A little choppy too.

[GeoPowers]

Hey guys, the America's Cup is gonna be in Anacortes next Saturday- pretty cool! I didn't realize that the trimaran was built here.

Pacific Northwest Boating News: Anacortes to bask in glow of sailing’s biggest prize, the America’s Cup | Three Sheets Northwest

[GeoPowers]

So, where is everyone going this weekend? We have from tomorrow afternoon through Monday off, so we're thinking of heading up to Cypress/Guemes/Lummi Island, then maybe over to the San Juans as time/currents permit.

Last weekend we went to Port Townsend, which believe it or not was our first time there by boat! It was awesome, and always is a special place for us as that is where my wife and I "got serious" (sorta). The tall ships "Lady Washington" and "Hawaiian Chieftain" were there, and we went on a Battle Cruise where we fired cannons at each other- awesome fun! If I had to do it all over, I would probably do the sailing cruise where you get to help crew the tall ship, but the battle cruise was great fun, too. For those interested, I think the tall ships will be in Everett this weekend. Sailing was pretty good on the way there, but winds were a little light. On the way back, we had winds on the nose until Possession Head. Still great fun, though.

[GeoPowers]

We had a nice 5 day/4 night trip over the weekend. We went to Elgar Bay Thurs.(anchor), La Conner Fri. (city dock), Eagle harbor, Cypress Island Sat.(mooring buoy), and Cornet Bay near Deception Pass on Sun. (pier). If you haven't checked out Eagle Harbor at Cypress Island, those mooring buoys look nice and new, are perfectly spaced, and best of all are free, just register at one of two placards (DNR maintains). It is a beautiful place there, lots of bald eagles and fun trails & beaches for exploring. My only regret was not spending more time there. It is on a short list of places to go back to visit when time allows.

[robwrongshoes]

We ended up staying Friday evening off Hope Island. Saturday we went to Jones Island. Sunday we stayed @ Inati Bay on Lummi Island.

[eyschulman]

Geo I am out there on weekends and mid week-If you see a blue J/100 or a red lobster boat not too far from shilshole that would be BJ or DRACO VOLANS- Yes there has been some nice boating weather between the rain

[GeoPowers]

@ RWS- Yeah, Hope Island is one of my favorites, fun kayaking, great crabbing, and a nice island to explore. Never been to Jones Island, did you stay on a mooring buoy?

@eyschulman- Do you mean the Eagle Harbor across from Shilshole Marina? We did Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Is. back in March, and it was nice without being too crowded on the linear moorage or city dock (it helped that it wasn't the best weather yet). Last weekend, though, we went to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island, which is about as opposite as you can get from the former! There are no facilities, just some mooring buoys, and lots of trails. I'm glad to say my kids liked Cypress Is' EH more!

It does seem like whenever I head up there, though, I inevitably get snuffed by the power of the Rosario current! I was pretty envious of a sail much like ours going against the current while we were losing ground in spite of the ~20 kts of wind we had! He was really booking, and I suspect he was riding a nice back-current near Guemes Is.

[robwrongshoes]

Hey Geo. We dropped the hook off Jones. While there were a good number of mooring buoys, they were all taken when we got there, so we just got between shore and the closest in boat, and showed folks the advantages of drawing only 18" with boards up.