Boating Blogs and the adventure of Boating Journey

September 21, 2019October 1, 2019

Afternoon Cruise around Blake Island

Scott and I took his sister & her family out for an afternoon cruise and we decided to go around Blake Island to check it out.

Now that we have practiced anchoring, we wanted to see what the bays look like around the island. Blake Island is just six nautical miles southwest of Seattle, so it’s a quick trip from Elliott Bay Marina. It took us about 30 minutes going 9 knots.

Blake Island is managed by the Washington State Parks & Recreation Commission and is accessible only by boat. When Scott and I bought our previous boat, we took a quick trip to Blake Island to check it out. Turns out it was a horrible day and we struggled to get into the marina! The marina has either 30 minute slips or overnight slips. They don’t take reservations, so it’s first come first serve. You do need a Discover Pass to visit. There’s plenty to do on Blake Island, including visiting Tilicum Village, hiking and beach combing.

Where do they anchor at Blake Island?

There are four mooring fields with anchorages and one dock. Though we didn’t see anyone moored outside the marina.

On The anchorages are actually pretty shallow. Our charts were showing as shallow as 2′. Scott reminded me over and over, that I would have to get used to entering shallow waters. (LOL). Remember, I have freaked out a few times entering Port Madison!

We cruised around the island, counter clockwise, heading to the west side first. What I am curious about, is what the weather (specifically winds) are like on the west and south side? Our old house had a southwest exposure, we we got beat up by the weather all the time.

Quaint mooring fields

As soon as we saw the boats, I actually got excited. How fun this would be, to come out for even just one night. You can take the dinghy to the beach and then go explore the island!

We counted about seven balls on the west side. The question for us newbies is, how do you know what the ball is rated for in weight? Are they all the same?

On the south end, there were only two mooring balls, with one available. I’m guessing the south end is not very comfortable based on the winds that come from the south. Then as we rounded back to the east side of the island, there were more boats anchored. There might be mooring balls, but we didn’t get close enough to check.

The Blake Island marina is located at the north east corner of the island. There’s plenty of beach right next to the marina, which is just a few steps away from Tillicum Village. Since we’re new to anchoring, I don’t think we’ll try that yet this Fall, but we are hoping to make a trip over and stay at the marina this Fall. By then, there should be more slips available and less tourists.

salmon bake indian reservation — Blake Island

One thing to note, is do not overstay your 30 minute visit. The park ranger will come out and ask you to leave. Before we start staying overnight at anchor or anywhere else, we have to figure out if our holding tanks are leaking. Stay tuned for that blog post. Next week, we’ll share with you some of the remodel ideas we came upon at the Boats Afloat Show.

As always, thank you for following our boating blog! Scott and I have a lot of things coming up, including our big haul out in a few weeks. Please be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. #boatingjourney

September 15, 2019October 6, 2019

We Anchored for the First Time!

Scott and I finally anchored for the first time last weekend! When we had Kokomo, we went through the process of pulling out our anchor and marking it in feet. So we did the same thing with this boat a few weeks ago. It’s important to check your anchor for a few things: is it in good shape, is it all chain and how much chain do you have? Plus, once the chain locker is empty, you can inspect it too.

Our anchor is tied to a cleat on the bow, which helps keep it secured. But as you can see, we need to replace the rope – it’s seen better days.

On this boat, we have foot pedals on the bow for the electric windlass. The anchor you see in the photo below, is actually our spare anchor.

Laying the anchor chain out on the dock.

Turns out we have all chain and no rope. That’s a good thing. However, we noticed the first five rungs were really rusty, so we decided to remove those. Easier said than done, but Scott managed to do it with a set of bolt cutters.

Next we knew that the dock was built in 10′ segments, so we laid out the tarp and then I slowly released the anchor chain and Scott lined up the chain every ten feet on the dock.

How much anchor chain do we have?

Our previous boat had over 250′ of chain and we never once anchored with that boat. Since this boat has a generator, we hope to spend the night on the hook next summer. Once Scott laid out all of the chain on the dock, he spray painted the ends, indicating “every ten feet”. The previous owner had also tied ribbons on the chain, every 25′, so now we have two methods of measurements we can use.

Notice the end of the chain, we double painted it yellow and orange, so we would know we were at the end when anchoring.

Turns out we have about 240′ of chain. The chain locker looked good and we were very careful when we brought it back up. We checked the locker a few times to make sure it was laying flat.

One word of caution – don’t pull the chain / anchor too tight. As you can see in the photo below, I did just that and it got stuck on the anchor plate below the bow. Scott was finally able to loosen it, by attaching a line to it from the dock and pushing the boat back and forth. But if you’re on the water, you’re stuck.

Let’s practice in Port Madison

Last weekend, we headed over to Port Madison to practice anchoring. Kurt came along to give us some tips and advice. It was a beautiful day and perfect to practice anchoring for the first time.

The original plan was to enter into Port Madison and anchor inside.

However, it was also a very low tide that afternoon and once we got inside where Treasure Island is, we were in only 7′ of water and I got uncomfortable. Not only was I worried about our draft (yes, our draft is 4′, so we were fine), but there were a lot of boats inside and the last thing they needed was a newbie practicing around them. When anchoring, make sure to practice proper etiquette.

So we decided to turn around and head back out. We would practice anchoring in the outside bay. (smart decision). If you are looking to practice anchoring, Port Madison is perfect – it’s only 40 min from Seattle (at 9 knots) and a fun trip.

We’re finally ready to anchor for the first time!

Right outside the bay, we picked a spot that was about 20′ deep and there were no boats around. We untied the anchor and slowly started to lower it into the water. Since there were no boats around, we decided to let out 100′ of chain (5 -1) versus 140 (7-1). If I noticed that the boat was moving forward over the chain, I had Scott slowly back up. We did this a few times, until 100′ was let out. Then we waited about 3 minutes to see if the chain was holding. It wasn’t vibrating, which can be an indicator that it’s dragging.

Success on the first try! We’re not going anywhere. Time for lunch!

The four of us enjoyed lunch in the cockpit while at anchor. It was a bit weird and you do move a lot. This is not a bay I would stay over night in, so I’m assuming it would be calmer somewhere else.

Now we have to pull up the anchor

You’ll love the pictures here, as I was wearing our GoPro camera while pulling up the anchor! LOL. Scott and I followed the same procedure of backing up the boat, if it started to move over the top of the anchor. I would give him arm signals, indicating which direction the anchor chain was as we were pulling it up.

The wet chain made a bit of a mess on the bow, with some rusty water. We took a bucket of water and rinsed it off right away. We only brought up a little bit of kelp, so nothing too bad. The anchor had a lot of mud on it, so I carefully lowered it a few times to rinse it off. In all, it was a successful first time anchoring. I’m really glad Kurt was there to show us the ropes and help with the process. Be sure to check out our next blog as we take a trip around Blake Island to look for a spot to anchor!

Here’s the full footage on our YouTube channel below.

As always, thank you for following our blog. We’re booking our bareboat charter in the British Virgin Islands this week. Our friends Ben & Maria are chartering a Power Catamaran with us next April. I will be sure to share all of my research and am looking for tips and advise too in upcoming blogs.

Please follow us on our social channels: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter!

Cheers, Scott and Ally
#boatingjourney

September 7, 2019December 8, 2019

Visiting Bremerton

A few weeks ago, we joined the Union Marine getaway in Bremerton and we brought along my college friend Jen. The Bremerton Marina is just across the bay from Port Orchard, where we were earlier in the month, so it was nice to know where we were going. The three of us left Friday around 3pm, so that I could get a dock party set up for our event. Going at 10 knots, it would take us about 90 minutes to get there.

The weather was a bit grey, but the water was almost calm the entire way! We even saw a few porpoises, but I never got a chance to get their photo.

Entering the Bremerton Marina!

Most of our crew & guests were already at the marina, so I called our broker Steve and said we were coming in. He warned me that the current was swift and to be ready. We entered the Bremerton Marina on the west end, as we were on the guest dock in the center. That all was very smooth, as the water was so calm. But once we turned down our fairway, Scott said the current was fast!

The fairways and slips are very wide (thank God!) and we were grateful for that, as we were sharing a slip with one of our customers who has a beautiful 48′ Sea Ray yacht. As we started to back in, the current over took us and we had to try again. This time we went to the end of our fairway, turned around and backed in again. Let’s just say, we were grateful for all of the extra hands on the dock!

The docks are nice and wide and well appointed. The marina doesn’t have a breakwater wall, but instead an outside dock.

Happy Hour on the Dock

Union Marine was hosting the wine & beer hour on the dock. Each boat then brought an appetizer and there were some amazing bites that everyone made (being so busy, I brought store bought chips & salsa – boo!) One boat brought Caesar salad in a cup! Genius idea!

One of the best things about this getaway, was hanging out with the three fur babies! I mean, we had a Corgi, Bernese AND a Golden! Heaven!

After our happy hour, Jen, Scott and I decided to explore DT Bremerton and find a bite to eat. The Port is very nice and has a lot of culture built in. The US Navy is based out of Bremerton, so much of the Port is dedicated to our service men and women.

Our First Night in Bremerton

The three of us headed into Bremerton and stumbled upon the South Pacific Sports Bar, which is walking distance from the marina (just past the bus terminal). The food was fantastic and they had plenty of seating! I highly recommend a stop here during your next visit.

It wouldn’t be a boating getaway, if there wasn’t a night cap party on the dock. Luckily the weather never got bad and it was a really great night to sit and mingle with good friends on the dock.

Touring the USS Turner Joy

I wanted to check out the USS Turner Joy Navy ship, for a possible future event. The ship is located at the Port, right next to the marina. They gave us a quick tour of the upper deck, where parties would be held. This is a very cool venue! You can even stay the night on it as a group!

USS Turner Joy was one of 18 Forrest Sherman-class destroyers of the United States Navy. It was named for Admiral Charles Turner Joy USN. Commissioned in 1959, it spent its entire career in the Pacific. It launched in 1958 and was decommissioned in 1982.

Apparently this is the party deck! Better hold on tight!

A Quick Trip to Port Orchard

Say, weren’t we just in Port Orchard two weeks ago? Yep, but there is so much to see there, that we wanted to show Jen the cute town and farmer’s market. Port Orchard is located directly across Sinclair Inlet from Bremerton – yes, we could take our dingy there, but that would be too much work. Instead, we hopped on a vintage ferry boat – the Carlisle II.

Carlisle II is the oldest of only two operational Mosquito Fleet vessels in Puget Sound. (The other is the 1922 Steamship Virginia V. which is located on Lake Union) They were once part of a large fleet of small passenger and freight carrying ships that linked the islands and ports of Puget Sound in Washington State in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The ferry runs every 30 minutes and it’s best to have your ORCA card. Otherwise you’ll need cash (I think $2) for each way.

We talked to the Captain and found out that the ferry will be decommissioned in a few months and replaced with an hybrid catamaran foot ferry.

There was a tall ship “festival” in Port Orchard, but we only saw one ship at the marina. Jen, Scott and I decided to walk around town a bit and check out a few things we didn’t see before. Including the must have belly rub on a sweet golden.

One of the funniest things we encountered was at the Candy Shoppe in downtown. They not only sold these cute “turtles”, but they also sold “turdles”. LOL!!

After a quick one hour tour, we headed back to Bremerton on the ferry for the Union Marine Party at Anthony’s.

Union Marine Getaway Party at Anthony’s in Bremerton

Union Marine hosted the Bremerton Getaway cocktail party at Anthony’s Homeport, located right at the marina. We rented a private room and it was perfect for our group. The staff did a fantastic job and the food was amazing! Thank you to everyone who made this a great event.

Prism Graphics sponsored the event and talked with them for quite awhile. Scott and I would love to change the name of our boat, as it’s not one we would pick (“Our Happy Day”). To do that properly, you need to have a proper ceremony to avoid bad luck. Turns out that Prism offers that too!

Walking around the Bremerton Marina and the Port

Our group told us to go check out the fountains, just walking distance from Anthony’s. I was skeptical, wondering what the big deal was. Well, were we in for a surprise! These things were so cool and the photos don’t do them justice. We think they are meant to simulate a submarine.

With everyone content with good food and cocktails, we returned to the dock to relax. Somehow, that’s where all the stories are told (or begin for the next time). This is a great group of boating friends and I’m glad I’m part of their family.

A Beautiful Trip Home from Bremerton

We couldn’t have asked for a better travel day. The weather was calm and warm. In fact, I wish we could have stayed out on the water a bit longer.

Since we had a lot of chores to do, we decided to kick it into gear and let the boat burn off some carbon across Puget Sound. We made it home in 45 minutes!

Scott and I are thrilled about how well our Bayliner 4087 has done this summer. We’ve taken her out to Kingston, Tacoma, Port Orchard, Port Madison and now Bremerton. For our first year, we couldn’t be happier. We’re looking forward to the next getaway, wherever that may lead us.

As always, thank you for following and subscribing to our blog! Stay tuned for our YouTube episode and tour of Bremerton. If you want to get notifications of our next episode, be sure to subscribe to our channel – click here!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too at @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

August 24, 2019September 21, 2019

Fresh Water on the Boat

While Scott and I might not be out at sea, I still want to make sure the fresh water on the boat is good and drinkable. Let’s just say, I’m a bit of a water snob and I have always been that way. Perhaps it’s because the tap water I grew up with tasted horrible. At home, I always drink filtered water – whether it be through a pitcher or a portable (Brita) water bottle. Our goal is to help eliminate plastic bottles and find other solutions. That’s where this blog post comes into play! We’re all guilty of buying bottled water because it’s cheap and readily available.

Let’s go back a couple of years, when we owned our first boat. I shared a post about potable water and how I wondered if the water on that boat was safe to drink. Keep in mind, that boat sat on the hard for two years, so the tank had to have gotten nasty. I refused to brush my teeth with the water on that boat. Yes, there were things we could have done to clean up the tank, but we didn’t. But I did say, that the next boat would have to have some type of filtration system on it.

Water at the Dock

At Elliott Bay Marina, we have city water, which is actually pretty good. Some marinas you visit, especially up north might not have the greatest quality and they don’t recommend you add it to your tanks. However, if you have no choice, then make sure you take the steps necessary to purify the water you are putting in your tanks.

The first thing I always recommend, is use an Teknor Zero-G Rv/Marine Hose for safe drinking water when you fill up your tank. We only use this hose for drinking water and a different hose to wash the boat.

This year, we took it a step farther and we use a Camco TastePURE Water Filter which filters the water from the faucet to the hose. This filter runs about $26 and we keep it in the locker with the antibacterial hose.

Drinking Water

Just because the water in our fresh water tank has been filtered, it doesn’t mean it’s good enough to drink (for me at least). That’s because you don’t know how well your tanks has been maintained. Typically, the smell of the water is a good indicator and on this boat, the water smells fine. So I have no issue brushing my teeth with this water, but will I drink it? Not so fast! Luckily for us, we also have a drinking water faucet! How cool is that? To be honest, I didn’t know what it was for the first few months!

Under the sink, there’s another filter that is hooked up to this faucet, acting like a super Brita filter. However, make sure before you buy a replacement filter, that it’s the right part. These are not cheap. This 3M filter was about $80 from a specialty filter company. I was skeptical, but the water tastes great!

Making Water On-Board

Scott and I were shocked to learn this boat came with a water maker! Our broker had told us to make sure we run it regularly to keep the membranes wet. Since it had been on the market for at least 6 months, I wondered if it needed to be serviced. We have run it on low pressure a few times and then I was convinced that the water tasted like salt. LOL!! Time to have it checked out.

I called Emerald Harbor Marine located right here at Elliott Bay Marina. Turns out they know this boat and unit well. The previous owner had upgraded the water maker and turned it into a “science project”. Not sure that that means, but I was happy to hear it was regularly maintained.

Dan came down and ran the machine to pressure and let the onboard TDS meter stabilize at 148 PPM. A TDS meter is a device used to indicate the Total Dissolved Solids in a solution. Since dissolved ionized solids, such as salts and minerals, increase the conductivity of a solution, a TDS meter measures the conductivity of the solution and estimates the TDS from that reading. He then disconnected it and sampled the water with his hand held unit and it showed 135PPM. Anything below 500 PPM is good. In Puget Sound, our water maker should make water from 100-350PPM.

Water Maker Maintenance

Moving forward, we need to make sure we flush the system with fresh water each week. I asked how we will know to change the filters? He said that there is a vacuum pressure gauge and when the system is running and the filters are clean, the gauge should read 20-30 PSI. As the filters clog, the pressure will drop. He recommends replacing the filters when the feed reaches 5-10 PSI. Dan also mentioned that the membranes should have a 6-8 year life with proper care. If we are not going to be on the boat during the winter, he recommends that we have them “pickle the system”, basically preserving the system and locking it down until Spring.

So now you know more about water makers than you ever wanted. You might be asking why we are doing all of this? Do we use the water maker? Not really, but water makers are great to have when you are out cruising. Scott and I are maintaining the unit, so that it stays in tip top shape. Water makers are very expensive and our model is about $4000 new.

To summarize, we’ll keep the water maker membranes wet and use the drinking faucet for all consumable water and to make ice! As always, thanks for following our blog! Please be sure to subscribe to our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube channels. Check out our full review on our YouTube channel below.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

#BoatingJourney

August 7, 2019September 5, 2019

So Much to Do in Port Orchard!

At the end of July, we took a quick over night trip to Port Orchard with Kurt, his brother Cal and girlfriend Tracey. This has been a very busy boating month for us, as we were just in Kingston the weekend before.

Port Orchard is about 14 nautical miles due west from Seattle.

We estimated it would take us about an hour and a half going 10 knots, and we were right on the mark. The weather was a bit cloudy, but dry and warm when we left. There were a lot of logs along the way that we had to watch out for. Plus we either had a ferry coming up on us or at us. Other than that, it was a non eventful trip (a good thing!).

Going through Rich Passage into Sinclair Inlet, cruisers suggest you enter at slack tide as the current can be almost 2 knots. We entered just before slack tide, and didn’t have any troubles. But you could see how a smaller vessel would struggle a bit.

The Naval Ship Yard is on your starboard side has you enter the channel adjacent to the Bremerton Marina.

Entering the Port Orchard Marina

Reserving dock space at Port Orchard was similar to La Conner. They simply put you on the (east) breakwater dock, with the name of your boat in the spot you are reserved for. I knew by looking at the aerial shot, that the fairways would be wide. That was great, because we would need to turn around to dock starboard. What I didn’t realize, is how narrow the entering fairway is.

Once we got in, we weren’t sure where to go. All of the reserved signs were for other boats and it turns out, we were the closest to land. It’s hard to tell by this photo, but our anchor was inches apart from the guy in front of us. The only negative or “con” I would say about our spot, was we had a tall water spigot right where you get on and off the boat. Definitely not the obstacle you want after a few cocktails!

You also would not want to be in the first slip next to land – it seemed to attract algae and make it look like a rug! LOL

We checked in at the marina office right away (which is located up the hill to your right). They gave us all kinds of cool stuff, including a huge bag for the Farmer’s Market! The market was on the main street and was from 10am – 3pm, so we had plenty of time to check things out!

Since Scott and I have never been to Port Orchard, we didn’t know what to expect. Friends of ours kept teasing us and saying we’ll be bored senseless and that there’s nothing to do in Port Orchard. (That happened to us in Oak Harbor, so I was a little worried before we left.) Turns out they were wrong…..

The Farmer’s Market

We’ve been to the Kingston and Poulsbo Farmer’s Markets. They are small with just a few vendors, so we were not expecting much in Port Orchard. Boy were we surprised! First of all, when we got our goodie bag, we also found out that there is a night time market with music!

The daytime market had lots of vendors, including food, crafts, gifts, olive oil, spirits, homemade ice cream AND wine tasting! Imagine that! Seabeck Cellars opened in 2016 and produce about 300 cases a year. I loved their Rose’ and Cab, so I bought one of each.

Downtown Port Orchard

After we toured the market, we headed to the main drag to check things out. Port Orchard has lots of quaint shops and pubs to check out. Josephine’s Mercantile is a great shop with all kinds of souvenirs, seasonal gifts and nautical items.

Eventually, we made our way to The Brick House Bar and Grill, where we sat outside, enjoyed live music and met a new furry friend!

Just down the street was the Nauti Mermaid bar and we couldn’t resist. It’s pretty much a dive bar and it was a bit empty when we went in. But our group can have fun anywhere we go!

There was also a band playing on the main street! These guys were awesome! Who knew so much was happening in this small town!

Off to Check Out the Night Market

After exploring downtown Port Orchard, we headed to the Night Market to check things out.

This wasn’t as big as the day event, but they did have a wine and beer garden. Hmmm, I see a theme here. Since we were hungry, we all headed back to The Brick House, which was now packed full for dinner. The food and music were great and you must make a stop here next time you are in Port Orchard!

What a fun day we had exploring this fun little town. Everyone had a great time and Our Happy Day got us there without a hitch!

But Wait! There’s More!

What more could be happening in the town on Port Orchard? Well, the next day they had the largest Ford Mustang Car Show in the region. There were over 300 cars and everywhere you turned, there was a Mustang! We couldn’t leave without checking it out.

It was also one of the lowest tides of the season. The ramp was steep and the mussels were out!

The Mustang car show took up all of the parking along the waterfront! If you like car shows, you could spend all day here! This is an annual event, so mark your calendars for next year!

What a Fun & Quick Trip!

All of us were surprised as to how much we did in just 24 hours in this sleepy little town. If anyone tells you (Ben – LOL), that you will be bored, don’t listen to them. The boat trip to Port Orchard is beautiful and we had perfect weather for the way home!

Aside from watching out for logs and ferries, you also need to be on the look out for kayakers!

When we got back to Elliott Bay, we got a great surprise when Sea Wolf an expedition yacht passed right by us! The yacht is currently for sale for $9,900,000 but not for US residents in US waters.

As always, thank you so much for following our blog and journey! We’d love to grow our audience and any shares are really appreciated. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney. We now have 40 episodes on YouTube, so please subscribe to our channel, share and like our upcoming episodes.

In our next blog, we’re back to boat projects, so stay tuned! Cheers, Scott & Ally

July 30, 2019August 6, 2019

Back to the Port of Kingston Again!

Every year we head over to the Port of Kingston with the same group of friends, but this year we mixed things up a bit. Normally we leave on Saturday morning, but our group decided to make it a two night visit. Kingston is about 12 nautical miles from Elliott Bay Marina and in our previous boat (Bayliner Ciera 3055) the trip would take us about 35 minutes going 20-23 knots. In Our Happy Day the trip required a little more than hour at 9-10 knots.

Our crew left on Friday afternoon, July 19th, around 4:15pm with calm winds and warm sunshine. The one catch about our departure was that this is also the time that the three cruise ships leave the port in Seattle. We had to navigate (not only tons of crab pots), but we were stuck between two cruise ships. The wake from this cruise ship would sink a kayaker!

There was a lot of activity in the bay as we arrived to Kingston. The Coast Guard was out when we arrived and when we left. Again, be sure to watch out for crap pots – they were everywhere in the bay. I had hoped to see some whales, as they were spotted all over Puget Sound the past few days, but no luck. We did see a few harbor seals, who swam by to say hello.

The marina is easy to get in and out of – especially when your friends are already there. Our boat was in slip 19, Cory & his wife Stacy were next to us in 20 and Ben & Maria were in 22. The catch here was, all of the slips were the same size! Ben’s Sea Ray is 28′ and our boat LOA is 49′. Yep, you guessed it…we barely fit. In fact, the harbormaster made us move the boat back as the anchor platform was sticking over the dock. By doing that, our swim platform didn’t really line up with the dock, but we managed. Even more remarkable was how well Scott docked it in a tight spot!

I should have taken a picture, but as you can see by this photo of the Coast Guard, our neighbor’s dinghy is inches from ours. (Our dinghy has the tower, his is the other one)

The Point Casino in Kingston

On the trip with us, was Scott’s brother Jeff, his wife Michele and Randy who comes every year. Jeff and Michele were celebrating their anniversary, so they were staying at The Point Resort and Casino.

After checking in and enjoying a cocktail, it was time to head to the casino. Here’s a tip! If you are staying at the resort, they recommend making reservations for the shuttle,;however, I also called a local cab company days prior and he said it would be much faster if we called them. (No, they don’t have Uber or Lyft). So I called the cab company and not only did they not answer the phone, they texted back saying they were extremely busy. When I said I had 9 people to go to the casino, he replied “no way, you should have made reservations”. ?? Hmmmm, I just talked to you two days ago, why didn’t you tell me that then? Now what?

Good news is that there happened to be a shuttle already there from the casino, so we hopped on and off we went. The last shuttle back to the marina is at 9:30pm, so you want to make sure you don’t miss it!

The First Night in Kingston

Since we were back early from the casino, we all headed to our boat where we shared funny stories and had some great laughs. One thing about traveling with Ben and Maria – there’s never a dull moment. I think every time Maria and I get together, we laugh so hard it hurts the next day!

We recently bought a new SLR camera. I tried to capture some shots in manual mode of the rising moon, but you really need a tri-pod to keep it steady.

What to do in the Port of Kingston?

Okay, so this is our third time there and there’s not much to do at all. But, what we do love about it, is we can all just hang out on the dock, soak up some sun, have a cocktail and then go to the concert in the park.

We started the day at the farmer’s market right at the marina. Unfortunately, it’s not a very big one and they don’t have a lot going on – but it’s fun none the less.

Of course we did try to mix things up a bit and so we headed into “town”. Town is basically a two block stretch.

The Kingston Pub Crawl

We decided to do a mini pub crawl, but with only a few restaurants/bars, that was hard to do. First stop was Kafe’ Neo, where we sat outside and enjoyed Mango Sangrias. Yum, is all I have to say about that!

Next we stopped at the Kingston Ale House and sat outside soaking up the sun! They had fantastic huckleberry mules that were to die for! We also tried their smoked salmon chowder, which was amazing. The clams were great, but they come with A LOT of garlic!

By now it was only 1pm and nothing else really jumped out at us. So we headed back to the boat, to enjoy some sunshine.

Concerts in the Park

Every Saturday during the summer, the Port of Kingston has a free concert in the park. They do have a wine & beer garden (nothing too fancy) and a few few trucks. We always bring our own dinner and beverages. it’s a very casual event, so bring your blankets, chairs and coolers. The concert ran just a few hours, then we headed back to the boat for a few more cocktails.

What Boating Life is All About

Scott and I love the boating life and the friendships we have created as a part of it. There’s something unique about boaters that brings us all together – we always have a great time. Even if we run out of gas on our way to the Port of Kingston – right Ben? LOL (no we did not!)

Squidding at Night – is that a word?

Last year, Ben and Maria were catching squid with their blue lights on their Sea Ray. So now that they are pros, they did it again! This time, they had a better plan to keep the ink out of the boat. Maria unhooked the jig on the dock, to keep the boat clean. Afterwards, Ben, Maria and Randy cleaned the squid (in the dark) on the dock. I wish I had better pictures!

Too bad this photo is blurry, but you can see how black their hands are!!!!

Another Gorgeous Trip Home

Winds were light and variable for our trip home from the Port of Kingston. Mount Rainier was out, sail boats were everywhere and it truly was one of the best days of the year!

As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter @BoatingJourney. We’ll have a new YouTube episode coming soon with our trip! Next week we are headed to Port Orchard for the first time! #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott & Ally

July 18, 2019July 30, 2019

Planning a Caribbean Bareboat Charter

Now that we have taken a sailing cruise in the Caribbean, Scott and I are ready to plan our Caribbean bareboat charter for next Spring. We’ve talked to lots of friends who want to join us and now it’s time to start planning! We are not planning on chartering a sail boat, but instead we want a power catamaran.

Budget

First we have to determine the budget. In talking to numerous companies across boat shows, the cost can vary drastically depending on the size of the boat, location and season. Typically when we have vacationed at Sandals in the Caribbean, we have spent about $5500 per week or $2250/person (all inclusive, but not including airfare).

Using that budget, a four cabin catamaran comes out to over $20,000. I think we can rent one for much less – that’s the goal at least! The one catch about bareboat chartering is the cost doesn’t include fuel or provisions. Most quotes I’ve seen start at about $10,000 for a four cabin catamaran.

Question for our friends – What is your budget? Are you willing to sleep in the salon?

Location

There are a few key places to charter in the Caribbean. The Bahama Islands are beautiful and on my bucket list – BUT, unless you know the islands well, they can be dangerous. The coral-based archipelago is full of reefs and shallow ones at that.

The most popular location is BVI, British Virgin Islands. There are many charter companies and there is plenty to see and do. On top of that, Scott and I have never been to the BVIs. Unless some other place comes to us, we’re planning on the BVI’s for this trip.

The BVIs are east of Puerto Rico and north of the lesser Antilles Islands (which we have been to many times). The weather is fairly constant and stays about 87 degrees on average.

Activities

Our goal would be to explore the marine life and island life on this trip. Top activities for the BVIs are snorkling, visit beaches, check out the baths, great restaurants & bars and island hikes. Scott and I are open to ideas!

Most people anchor when they charter, as you have more freedom and plus it’s cheaper. Guess we’ll need to learn how to anchor before we go. Based on our preliminary research, most charter companies will give you an itinerary and show you where you can anchor and explore.

Charter Companies & Type of Boat

Since Scott and I don’t know how to sail, we plan on chartering a power catamaran. Why a catamaran? Well, they tend to be roomier and have better water accessibility than a regular 50′ power boat. There are quite a few charter companies in the BVIs and now it’s time to do our research on them. Here’s the list:

The purpose of this blog is two fold.

The first, is to find out who is seriously interested in joining us. We’re looking at dates in April, but not during Spring Break. Comment below or text us (for those who have our numbers) and let us know if you seriously want to join us.

Secondly, we want feedback from other boaters on their experiences (good or bad) with any of these companies (or other companies), types of boats, itineraries, etc. This is all new to us, so the more information we can get, the better!

After we gather some more information, we’ll share that in another blog. Thanks for all of your input and for following us! Be sure to check out our YouTube Channel and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Next we head to Kingston for our annual weekend with friends.

Cheers, Scott & Ally

July 3, 2019July 17, 2019

Dock Street Getaway in Tacoma

Earlier this month, we joined Union Marine at their Dock Street Getaway in Tacoma, WA. After being stuck at our dock doing projects the past few weeks, it was nice to finally get away.

Scott and I have not been to Tacoma by boat before, so this was all new to us. The two trips south we have made were to Gig Harbor and we took the Colvos Passage. This trip, we decided to stay in the sound and stay on the east side of Vashon Island. Tacoma is about 27 nautical miles from Elliott Bay Marina, so we estimated it would take us about 2.5 hours going at about 10 knots. We invited Kurt along for the trip and we set off around 3:30pm on Friday, June 7th.

Leaving Seattle

When we had our old boat, we wouldn’t travel in bad weather as it wasn’t that kind of boat. But it could out run it at 25 knots. I had been looking forward to the trip all week, as it was our first big trip in our new boat, so bad weather wasn’t going to stop us.

As soon as we got out of the marina, Kurt and I started bringing in the fenders. We were immediately tossed around by the rough waters. Scott put the boat in gear and headed south. I stayed in the salon and was immediately freaked out! Waves were crashing over the windshield, we were barely moving and I was slightly terrified (okay, a lot terrified). But here’s why.

I don’t know this boat at all and we don’t know how it will do in rough weather. The way we were tossing around in the bay, it would be a rough rescue if we broke down. All I could do is pray for a safe passage – oh, and text my boss and co-workers the entire time!

The weather was so strange this day. On the eastside, it was sunny. On the southwest & northwest side it was black and stormy. In fact, the northern storm chased us all the way to Tacoma. Winds were coming from the south at about 26mph.

Are we there yet?

We were about 15 minutes underway, when I asked “how much longer” and Kurt said about 2 or more hours. Dear God, help us! Then I went upstairs to the bridge and while it was much smoother, no water on the windshield, we were tossing back and forth a bit. I decided I better take a Bonine motion sickness pill, just to be safe!

The seas calmed down once we reached Vashon Island and we had a fairly enjoyable ride. Then we reached Maury Island and suddenly, huge white caps showed up out of no where. Here we go again! That’s when I looked to my left and saw a Sea Ray 330 Sundancer , flying south. He must be with our group and is in a hurry to get there! Turns out this guy took his boat to Alaska last summer! Can you imagine?

No, that’s not a huge wave. It’s a wrinkle in the Eisenglass. LOL

Hello Tacoma!

We arrived at Commencement Bay around 5:30pm and headed into the Foss Waterway. Dock Street Marina is the last marina on the right side.

The Foss Waterway is pretty easy to navigate. Once we arrived at the dock, I went to check the engine compartment to make sure everything looked ok. That’s when I noticed a pink liquid in the bilge. Yep, we had diesel in it and Kurt jumped in to figure out the source.

The fuel came from the fuel filters, shown above. We think that either the knob got loosened on the way down in rough weather or that it was tightened when it was replaced. We couldn’t clean it up that night, but we cleaned everything when we got home.

Scott, Kurt and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing with the group on the dock swapping funny boating stories. Did someone say they fell asleep with a grilled flank steak on their bed?

The calm after the storm

After unwinding with a few cocktails to calm my nerves, the three of us headed to the Social Bar and Grill for a bite to eat. We sat at the bar and the service was great. It was a great way to end the day, after battling the storm on our way down.

Exploring Tacoma

Since the weather had been so blustery the night before, I waited to put up our Union Marine banners on the railings until the next morning. On my way, I passed two guys and dog and one of them (Mark) stops me and asks “Hey, are you Ally?” I reply, yes. Turns out they follow our YouTube channel and love it! It was so humbling and cool at the same time! (Thank you guys!!) I had hoped to get a photo with them later, but we got too caught up in the day’s activities.

I was very impressed with the hospitality from Dock Street Marina! Not only did they provide our group with cold beers the night before, they had mimosas waiting for us on Saturday! In fact, Nick walked from boat to boat with mimosas. Thank you again! (I’m loving this place!) The facilities & restrooms are very nice – they are in the laundry room next to the marina office. On top of that, they offered dock side pump out, water and garbage removal! Wow.

A bunch of us decided to head into Tacoma for breakfast. From the marina, go towards the Museum of Glass (take the steps), which lead you to the Chihuly Bridge across the railroad tracks to Pacific Avenue.

We stumbled up a restaurant called Savor, which specializes in crepes. I’ve never had a “savory” crepe and these were amazing and very filling! Scott ordered the blue berry & ricotta stuffed French toast, which was fantastic.

Museums everywhere!

Tacoma has a vibrant arts culture and there are museums everywhere. At the waterfront, you have the Museum of Glass and the Washington State History Museum. I had been to both and wanted to see something new. So we took the trolly (which is free by the way) up to the Tacoma Dome station and we walked up to the LeMay Car Museum.

You have no idea how big this place is, until you get inside. There are five stories underground, lined with cars! In fact, there are so many cars that after a couple of hours, we called it a day. If you haven’t been there before, I highly recommend it.

It’s an easy 15 minute walk back to Dock Street Marina from the museum.

A beautiful warm night at dock

When we got back from our exploration trip, we hung out with folks on the dock and soaked up some much needed sun. Union Marine hosted a cocktail party at the Social Bar and Grill that evening. It was a great night mingling with other boaters and enjoying great food.

Dock Street Marina made sure our beer cooler was stocked and set up corn hole for us to play. One thing about boaters is we always have a great time hanging out on the dock. With good company and cocktails, how can you not have fun?

The trip home

Our trip back to Seattle was much different than our way down. The sun was out, it was about 75 degrees and calm. We decided to take the Colvos Passage on our way home and take in the scenery. The winds were at about 4 mph from the north and the ride was smooth all the way home.

Considering it was our first trip in the boat, all went great. She handled the rough seas well and was very comfortable. Before we left, we put some Dawn dish soap in the bilge and then when we got back, we cleaned up the diesel with zorbs and it cleaned right up.

I would highly recommend a weekend trip to Dock Street. The marina is fantastic, the staff is friendly and there’s plenty to see and do in Tacoma. Thanks to Union Marine for hosting such a great weekend!

Stay tuned for our next blog – we’ll tackle more boat projects & Scott’s parents join us for the first time! As always, thank you so much for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

We’ve also updated our Patreon page and published new memberships! check it out! Become a member for only $2. https://www.patreon.com/BoatingJourney

June 19, 2019July 23, 2019

Boat Projects & Sous Vide Home Aged Steak!

Okay, I admit that Sous Vide home aged steak is a weird title! But there’s more to the story! Don’t skip ahead. As I mentioned in our last blog, Scott and I have made a commitment to stay every weekend (if possible) on the boat, so we get used to it.

Keep in mind, it’s still not the same as living aboard. Yes, we have our supplies, toiletries, etc. But we still pack clothes, food and beverages every weekend. That does become a chore. I digress. What does that have to do with sous vide steak?! For me, I don’t like to just hang out on the boat by ourselves. In our old house, we entertained every weekend, so why should the boat be any different?

Weekend Plans

So we reached out to a few friends and the next thing you know, we had plans for both nights! Friday night we invited our friend Meghann and her boyfriend Josh over for dinner. Meghann is currently fighting a huge battle with breast cancer, so this was a big pick-me-up for her. She needed it. (Say a prayer for her if you can). She just shaved her head and in honor of her dew rag, Scott wore his that our friend Cory gave him (who’s also battling cancer – cancer sucks by the way!)

I did take a really cute pic of Meghann and Josh, but my camera didn’t actually take it. Boo!

We had a fantastic night catching up and they even enjoyed my simple pasta (yes, again).

The next night, our friend Randy was coming down to go out boating with us. Then I remembered he started aging his own beef, so I hinted that maybe he might want to share one of his prized possessions with us for dinner? He jumped at the chance and suggested that he also bring his Anova Culinary Sous Vide Cooker. Interesting , but hell, I’m game. More about that later.

Boat Chores First

As with any boat, Scott and I had a list of chores to tackle on Saturday before Randy came over. First on the list was a new foam topper. We have been talking to companies at every boat show, now was the time to make the move! Off to the Friendly Foam Shop in north Seattle we went.

They were awesome too! They let us sample about four different types of foam and then we finally selected our favorite. They do offer to put it in a cover, but we already had one. For a couple hundred bucks, we now would have a great night’s sleep on the boat. And it is awesome! Keep in mind, unlike on Kokomo, we actually have a very nice mattress, but it still needed something!

Scott ended up trimming it himself with a bread knife – it’s not the prettiest around the edges, but it sure is comfy! One thing to note is it does STINK the first 24 hours, so be prepared. We ended up going with an open cell polyurethane foam.

Next Stop – Find a Canvas Shop

Since we borrowed the canvas snap tool from work when we installed the new cockpit carpet, we decided to make a few repairs to the canvas while we were at it. So we headed off to Seattle Fabrics near Ballard. Not only did they have snaps, but they had canvas fabric tape AND they sell our canvas. (If we ever feel like experimenting, I guess we can buy a sewing machine!)

There are corners on our canvas wear the snaps have completely pulled through. The repair tape is only temporary to get us through, until we buy new canvas. Scott and I headed back to the marina and he went to work!

A new grill and propane!

The method of sous vide cooking is actually not new to us. Years ago, we went camping at the Pot Holes and I made omelets using this method. It was super easy, no clean-up and no sand. Simply add your omelet ingredients into a freezer ziplock bag and boil until the egg is cooked.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

To use a sous vide cooker, you set the water temperature to the desired temp, place the meat in a sealed bag and then the meat will cook only up to that temp. But when cooking a steak, you don’t want just “boil” in a bag, you want the sear. So our plan was to grill them on the bbq or the stove after we took them out.

Oh yeah, not only do we not have a bbq, but if we cook them on the stove top – we might need propane there too. Off we go again right before Randy headed down.

We bought a new Magma grill at West Marine and they matched Fisheries Supply’s price! We saved almost $30! Then we removed our LPG propane tank and headed to U-Haul. I didn’t know the age of the tank and they only service tanks that are 10 years and newer. Turns out, we not only had a new tank, but it was virtually full. LOL!

Right now, we don’t have a “home” for the grill. The old grill was mounted inside the cockpit (I would rather not die from carbon monoxide poisoning). So we use it on the dock for now. Here’s a photo from our survey – yuck!

First, a sunset cruise before dinner!

Randy has taken a few boat trips with us, but not on our new boat. So we headed out for a quick tour of Elliott Bay to help us gain some hours on the water too. The weather was gorgeous and a perfect night.

Time for sous vide steak!

Randy was pretty excited to show us his project! He dry aged the steaks in his fridge using an aging kit that he bought for roughly 40 days. To cook the steaks to 130 degrees takes about two hours, so we got everything rolling right when we returned to the dock. Randy seasoned the steaks will a little bit of garlic pepper and salt. That was it.

I made a grilled corn & asparagus salad and we waited for the steaks to come up to temp. Let’s just say it was one of the best meals we have ever had. If we were at a steakhouse we would have paid over $125 a steak! Thank you Randy!

It was the perfect ending to a great and productive day! The sunset was amazing and it was great catching up with our long time friend. True friendships are so valuable in life, so never take them for granted.

As always, thank you for following our blog. Please follow us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

We recently updated our Patreon page and set new benefits for our supporters. If you are looking to go boating here in Seattle, become a member!

Stay tuned for our next blog, where we take you to our weekend getaway at Dock Street Marina in Tacoma! Cheers, Scott & Ally

Watch the full episode here.

June 17, 2019June 17, 2019

The Oven & a Drone on Memorial Day Weekend

What does an oven and drone have to do with Memorial day weekend? That comes later. LOL

It is hard to believe that it was just two years ago, that we spent our first Memorial Day weekend on a boat. Scott and I barely knew our old boat Kokomo, yet we invited an entire crew for a full weekend. That particular weekend was HOT in Seattle and a great start to summer.

Not the case for this year.

The weather forecast was dreary for Saturday & part of Sunday. On Saturday morning, Scott headed to the boat to re-wire the stereo system, which took him most of the day. I stayed home to clean the condo and get organized. I was looking forward to having a relaxing night at home with a movie. But when he got back from the boat, he said to me “Okay, are you ready?”

Ready for what I wondered? That’s when he reminded me that we made a commitment to stay on the boat every weekend, no matter the weather. Crap. Change of plans. Then I tell him that I was planning on baking pasta for dinner and his reply was “we have an oven.” Oh yeah.

The Oven……

Everyone who knows me well, knows that I am very cautious when it comes to boating safety! You can’t be too safe. I’m already a bit uncomfortable cooking with propane on the stove top and it turns out our oven is also propane. While some ovens simply have an ignition switch, ours does not. You have to light the pilot light , then hold the heat control knob to light the burner and hold for 15 seconds. Blech!

One thing I will say is that our boat (and most I assume) has great built in safety features in regards to our LPG system (liquid propane gas). In order to use it, you have to turn on the LPG switch at the panel, open up the propane tank and then turn on the switch in the galley.

Prepping Dinner

Okay, back to making dinner! Since it was cold and dreary, I decided to bake some pasta. Keep it simple (and yes, I will share the recipe in another blog). First thing I needed to do was boil up some pasta. That’s when I realized I only have two skillets! When we sold Kokomo, we gave a way a lot of the galley items, including the pasta pot. So I ended up boiling the water in a skillet!

I then baked the pasta at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes and it came out perfect!

When we are done using the stove/oven each time, I turn off not only the switches, but I also close the valve on the tank. About every few uses, we also spray the valve down with soapy water to check for leaks. You just can’t be too safe.

Just as with our old boat, prepping dinner on a boat is not the same as in your home. Space is tight and counter tops are limited. Since my brother-in-law Kurt makes cutting boards, I asked him to create something that would cover the sink. This would allow for more usable space and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.

A Drone Visitor

The next day we invited Scott’s brother Jeff, his nephew Justin and our friends Nick & Michelle out for a cruise on Elliott Bay. Luckily the weather broke up and the sun started shining. Justin also owns a DJI Mavic Pro drone, so he brought it along to get us some footage of the boat. Justin has never flown it out on the water, so this was going to be an adventure.

While drone footage is always so cool, it’s also a bit creepy and weird to have some weird flying thing videotaping you!

The footage turned out great – the funny thing about this is, we cleaned the bimini the next day!

Scott and I plan on getting a new larger drone soon. We have two smaller ones, but nothing that would have the distance or technology like the DJI Mavic. But we just invested in some new camera equipment, so that will have to wait for now.

A Great Send-Off to Great Friends

Our friends Nick and Michelle are moving to Scottsdale, AZ next week and we wanted to invite them for one more trip. They have been on this journey with us for over seven years, so it was great they could join us for the weekend. They just happened to be on the boat two years ago over Memorial Day weekend too! We have traveled to the Anacortes Boat Show with them numerous times and we will miss them terribly! Hopefully they will join us on our charter cruise next Spring in the BVI’s.

The Bimini

You might recall our last “cleaning the bimini” post – what a mess. The top was nearly white from all of the heron poop, so we decided to remove it to clean it. But when we got started, we realized we had to take apart the entire rack structure in order to remove the canvas. That didn’t happen! Luckily for us, our new bimini is zippered into the rods, so it was easy to remove.

Always use a tarp on the dock to protect the canvas. We used 303 Cleaner to clean it. After rinsing it thoroughly, we hung them over the bow railing to dry completely. Once they were dry, we sprayed them with 303 Marine Fabric Guard to protect and repel liquids on the canvas. Scott and I were a bit worried about getting the bimini back on easily, but we had no problems at all.

Since we were busy doing boat chores, I decided to tackle our lines. Not only do I not like the set-up (our bow line is also used as a spring line), but the lines are as stiff as a board. I cleaned each one in Dawn and rinsed them thoroughly. They look and feel great now!

Overall, it was a great weekend on the boat. I’m glad we headed down on Saturday after all. The more time we spend on it, the better we will know it.

Stay tuned for our next blog – we’re entertaining all weekend and doing more chores! Boats are never boring, that’s for sure!

As always, thank you for following & subscribing to our blog. Please follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

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Cheers, Scott and Ally