PIKE PLACE MARKET CROWD

BELL HARBOR MARINA AND SEATTLE SKYLINE

PIKE PLACE MARKET CRABS

Sunday, May 31st

We left LaConner on Wednesday leaving at 6am! The tidal flow through the slough was slack at that hour so we got up early and ran about 45 miles to a marina just north of Seattle called Shilshole. We just relaxed there and did quite a bit of walking. On Friday we left there and went all of 9 miles to a marina called Elliott Bay where we stayed one night. We were able to meet up with our friends Steve and Elaine who own a 42 Grand Banks. We had a very enjoyable time sitting on the patio of the marina pub enjoying the warm weather and a fabulous view of Mt. Rainier. Really quite spectacular! Then Saturday we moved to our current location, Bell Harbor Marina right in the heart of downtown Seattle. We are on the waterfront, a huge cruise ship here next to us, and just a short walk to Pike Place Market. For those of you who aren't familiar, this is a very famous, open air type market, where you can find all kinds of things for sale from flowers to many fresh vegetables, fruits, meats and seafood. It is quite a spectacle, especially the one seafood vendor where they literally throw huge salmon from the icy table back to the counter where they pack it up if someone makes a purchase. Of course there are all kinds musicians along the street, coffee shops, and you name it. We are heading up there today to buy a fresh piece of salmon for our dinner tonight. This is a great place with lots of excitement, crowds, noise, and all the things you see in a big city. While we enjoy the isolation of quiet anchorages up north, this is a fun thing to do and is quite a change for us.

Chuck and Margaret

La Conner, Washington

La Connor Slough looking south from our boat at the dock

Entering the Slough, passing by railroad and highway bridges

Greetings:
Here we are in La Conner, Wa. We left Roche Harbor and the San Juan Islands on Wednesday the 20th and will be staying here until after Memorial Day. We are slowly working our way down to Seattle and Puget Sound where we have never been with the boat in the 5 years in the Northwest. Our trip here was uneventful, a voyage of about 35 miles. When we crossed Rosario Strait, a major shipping channel, we had a Washington State ferry behind us coming up fast, a very large tug boat and long tow crossing in front of us, and a fast pleasure boat beside us plus the wind and current of the strait. Caution was the better part of valor, so we pulled off to the side and let all the particpants clear out. We approached the city of Anacortes where they have a large oil refinery with very large tankers approaching in and out. To get to La Conner you enter a very narrow channel with mud flats on both sides and just enough width for two opposing boats to pass each other. The "slough" as it is called runs north and south and has very fast tidal currents and this makes docking extremely difficult. A few years ago we damaged our boat trying to dock here so we were a bit nervous (maybe a lot nervous) as we approached the dock. But, we did it perfect! :)

La Conner is a delightful little town, population less than 1,000. The town is surrounded by farm fields so you feel like you're in the country. In the spring this area is famous for acre after acre of tulip fields that are absolutely beautiful. The city has numerous restaurants, and lots of small shops to browse around inside. We walk a lot here as we are 1/2 from the town, but we enjoy the exercise.

Be sure to follow our spot tracking device at the following web address:

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0q3hrl6FsvZd8zsBqqKChqTlV0YOen7I8

Chuck and Margaret

May 17th

We have been in Roche Harbor since Wednesday. The weather here has just been glorious. Sunny, warm, almost hot. The main reason we are here is that Friday and Saturday was a gathering of over 90+ Grand Banks boats like ours. There were seminars, food, visiting and lots of fun. Today most everyone left to go home. We are lucky we get to keep going. Tomorrow we travel all of about 4 miles to a favorite anchorage of ours called Reid Harbor. Margaret and I enjoy being on the anchor more so than being at a dock. We will probably be there two nights. We have an inflatable rubber boat and will use that to go ashore on this island. There are some gravel roads and a long walk out to a lighthouse. We will enjoy the exercise. It is supposed to be a bit windy Tuesday and during the night, so we will tuck in close to the shore to avoid the SW winds of about 20 knots. This is a nice muddy bottom so the anchor sticks real well there. Above is a picture of the Grand Banks boats all lined up.

Chuck and Margaret

Roche Harbor


Fishing Fleet Bellingham

Stabilizers on bottom of boat

Mairead on a trailer ready for launching

Hello from Roche Harbor, Washington. If you go to the following address you can learn about Roche Harbor Resort, a favorite location for traveling to by our boat. (www.rocheharbor.com). We spent from May 4 to May 12 in Bellingham Washington where we had engine maintenance performed on our boat. We have diesel engines made by Caterpillar and it was time to pull the fuel injectors and make sure they were operating properly. During that process we also had new fuel filters, belts, alternators, and salt water impellers installed. It took a full 5 days of work to accomplish all this with a qualified technician. During our time there the weather was generally bad! Windy, rainy and cold compared to our home in So. Ca. Just buying supplies for our journey is a large project. From paper towels, extra engine oil, to food including many canned items. We have refrigeration for fresh foods, if we are in a location to buy it. Thus, we have canned goods including soups, vegetables, fruit, tuna, etc. The trip from Bellingham to Roche Harbor was 35 miles and because there was a weather system the waters were rather choppy. We have hydraulic stabilizers on the boat to take the "roll" out, and they were on most of the way. We found one of our new alternators was not charging properly so we need to change that out by putting one of the old ones back in service. Also, our autopilot failed, but I believe I fixed that by tightning a loose wire. We shall see, as it is the second time it has failed. This is life on a boat, constantly chasing little problems. We will be at Roche Harbor until Monday May 18th and then we will be moving around the San Juan Islands.
Chuck and Margaret

http://www.rocheharbor.com/

End of April and First week of May

Chuck flew to Oak Harbor Wa on April 28th. M/V Mairead is stored out of the water at Mariners Haven boatyard in Oak Harbor. On the 29th Mairead was launched into the water. The engines, after sitting all winter without running, fired off right away. The following three days were spent activating all the systems of the boat and making sure all things were working properly. Time was also spent buying supplies such as groceries and mechanical parts. On Sunday May 3rd Chuck left Oak Harbor and traveled to Bellingham, Wa. a trip of about 40 miles. In Bellingham we are having the Caterpillar diesel engines serviced with normal maintenance items. Margaret flies into Bellingham on Saturday, May 9th. In our next posting we'll tell you what our cruising plans are for 2009. Take care.