Boating Blogs and the adventure of Boating Journey

June 8, 2019June 17, 2019

Cocktail Hour Cruise in Port Madison

A few weeks ago, we invited Kurt, Cal and Tracey for a cocktail cruise to Port Madison. Since Scott and I have only taken the new boat out about three times, we need to get as much experience as we can driving and docking it. We have also made a decision to stay every single weekend on the boat, no matter the weather or our activities. This is so we can get used to living aboard.

We’ve been to Port Madison a few times. It’s a great day trip from Seattle. The weather was stunning and Elliott Bay was as calm as can be! Port Madison is NW of Elliott Bay Marina and takes about 30 minutes at 10 knots. We took it nice and slow, as it’s more relaxing for us.

nautical route seattle bainbridge cocktail cruise

Port Madison’s waterway goes quite a way, but it’s very narrow and shallow.

What is happening here?

When we arrived to the entrance of Port Madison, there were two things happening at the same time. First, there was some kind of sailing boat clinic going on.

Then some guy was pulling a creosote covered log. All was fine, until he headed towards the group in shallow water. Next thing you know, the log up-righted itself and got stuck in the mud. LOL

Scott wanted to take us on a tour into the inlet, but it was low tide. Our draft is 4′, but what we don’t know is if that includes the propellers. See our boat is different than most, as the propellers are below the hull.

As we approached the opening of the inlet, we were suddenly in 7′ of water. It was freaking me out and we didn’t NEED to be in there, so I had Scott turn around.

mooring balls pnw bainbridge island cocktail hour cruise — Port Madison

We ended up idling out in the bay, enjoying cocktails and some snacks. It was a gorgeous night and really the perfect setting.

Cruising back to Seattle

After about an hour, we left Port Madison and headed back to Seattle. It was dusk and I didn’t want to do our first “night docking” since we barely know this boat in the daylight. Scott put the boat in full throttle (which it needed anyways) and we cruised back at about 16 knots. What was interesting was how much our wake changed from 10 knots to 16 knots.

Diesel engines need to burn off their carbon every few trips, so this was not only a great night to be out on the water, but the engines needed it too.

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful night for a cocktail cruise! This is one of the best things about being a cruiser in the PNW – no matter where you go, you are always surrounded by the beauty of the PNW.

As we came into Elliott Bay, we passed by this freighter!

If you zoom in, you will see all of the vehicles AND BOATS on top of it!!!! Very strange and it seems a bit unsafe. LOL Certainly added some fun to our cocktail cruise.

We wrapped up the evening with wine, great stories and a beautiful view! What more could we ask for!

Stay tuned for our next blog – Memorial Day Weekend! We have drone footage of the boat, we took off the bimini – and much more!

As always, thank you for following our blog! Please subscribe for future posts. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott & Ally

June 4, 2019June 10, 2019

Opening Day of Boating Season 2019

Opening day of boating season in Seattle is a weekend full of activities, mainly in Portage Bay for UW crew events. Originally, we planned on spending the day on a wine cruise with Upsidedown Winery and our friends Ben & Maria (who we went to the Caribbean with this year).

Just a week before, we got notice that the cruise was cancelled! So instead, we invited Ben and Maria to come join us on our boat for a “maiden voyage”. At this point, we have only taken the boat out twice on our own, so this was “maiden” to us!

A gorgeous warm day!

If you know much about Opening Day of Boating season in Seattle, you know that it typically always rains! Surprisingly, this day was perfect. I made some appetizers and had wine chilling in the fridge. The four of us, set out about 2:30pm for a quick cruise around Elliott Bay.

Scott and I have traveled with Ben and Maria to Gig Harbor, Poulsbo and Kingston, but sometimes it nice to just do a simple cruise and relax back at the dock. It was fun to be able to to cruise with them on our new boat.

Entertaining on this boat

I have talked lately about how different it is to entertain on this boat. When Scott and I searched for our first boat, we decided we wanted one that was fun for day cruising and socializing in the sun. This boat is more of a destination cruiser and liveaboard. While it has three separate “gathering” areas (the fly bridge, cockpit and salon), it’s doesn’t have super great spaces for entertaining.

The fly bridge has great views at high tide, but no table. The salon is too warm and only really seats four people. So the cockpit will have to do. Over the past few weeks, we’ve configured a few different ways to entertain on it. Since it was just the four of us, we put the food on our locker and simply gathered around.

I will say one thing about this couple – we never have a dull moment! We laugh so hard every time we get together and isn’t that what boating is all about? Fun and friendship?

Our first night entertaining on the boat was a success and it ended with a perfect sunset!

Next time, we’ll take a quick trip over to Port Madison!

As always, thank you for following our journey! Be sure to subscribe for future posts and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally

June 3, 2019

New Cockpit Carpet!

One thing Scott and I invested in right away is new carpet for the cockpit after we bought the boat. The one that came with the boat, was so old, stinky and a bit green!

We were referred to Custom Marine Carpet in the Midwest by a number of people and they also have been great followers of our blog on Instagram. We reached out to find out what we needed to do, to get started. First, we ordered a template kit for about $30 and they sent us some carpet samples that we selected.

We knew we didn’t want actual “carpet” so we chose the sample on the left, which is called “Luxury Weave 2”.

Creating the template for the custom carpet

First we had to clear everything out of the cockpit! Scott and I then removed the carpet and took it home so we could create the template in the garage.

They recommend that you outline a larger template than your carpet, then cut around that cut out. From there, take the plastic back to the boat, finalize the size and trim as needed.

Custom Marine Carpet supplies you with a box and a return label. You simply fill out the form, return the plastic and then wait. It took about four weeks – unfortunately, they had a major warehouse fire during this process and lost a lot of supplies!

Installing the new carpet!

They send you the number of snaps you need and we requested fifteen. Now, we had to figure out how to install the snaps. Luckily for me, I was able to borrow two key tools from work. We not only worked on the carpet, but we did some canvas repair as well.

Our first worry was if it would fit! Shockingly, it fit perfect! Scott did a great job and so did Custom Marine Carpet!

We are really happy with how it turned out!! Thank you to Union Marine for loaning us the tools too.

We finished the evening with dinner at Maggie Bluffs and once again, our resident ducks were greeting everyone. Stay tuned for our next blog – chores & entertaining on the boat!

Thank you for following us! Please subscribe to our boating blog, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally

May 25, 2019June 3, 2019

Anacortes Boat & Yacht Show 2019

Last weekend Scott and I attended the Anacortes Boat & Yacht show, up at Cap Sante Marina. As you know, we have attended this show many times and this year was a bit different since I was also working during part of it.

My boss and I arrived on Wednesday, May 15th to set up the POP materials and I needed to decorate the yachts. Our company (Union Marine) had some trailer boats on land and eight boats on the water. Anacortes is Boston Whaler country and the Pilothouse models were a hit of the show. If you want a safe, reliable, comfortable and fast moving boat for the PNW, Boston Whaler is your boat!

We also brought up our Sea Ray Yachts (the L590, 510 Sundancer, 460 Sundancer and the 350 Coupe). What a lot of people don’t realize, is we moved these boats from Seattle. Our poor crew had really rough conditions earlier in the week getting to Anacortes. But our fleet cruised into Anacortes with no issues!

510 Sundancer

The Anacortes Boat and Yacht show has had a slight makeover from years past. This is the 2nd year that NMTA has ran the show. Prior to that it was a free boat display of used sail and trawler boats. Since we want to live aboard & travel the world some day, we are always looking to see what is out there. Scott and I toured the show as “civilians” and checked out some long range cruisers.

A Must See Yacht!

We looked at a few possible liveaboards, but nothing struck us. So we wandered down to the end of C dock and noticed a brand new 76′ yacht by Offshore Yachts. I had never heard of them before, so we jumped on board. Scott and I were immediately taken away by the details and craftsmanship of this vessel.

These are custom yachts from Taiwan and they take about 18 months to build. The story behind this particular yacht, is the owner fell in love at first sight with another Offshore Yacht and wanted to buy it. That owner said no, so he immediately called Best Day Yacht Sales and had one built!

What I love about this yacht, is the owner included so many traditional, but new maritime pieces throughout. My pictures don’t do it justice, so hopefully the video tour does better.

It has a cruising range of 1800 miles at 10 knots. Check out the bridge! I wouldn’t know what to do with all of those electronics! I took video of the electronic switches above, but failed to get a photo. This yacht also comes with an boat indicator alarm system (not sure if that’s the exact name for it, but it is a really cool feature.)

The Comforts of Home on a Yacht

When you tour larger yachts, you’ll notice a few things right away. Hallways are narrow, staircases are steep & skinny and some just are not practical. As I mentioned, this yacht is meant for long range off-shore cruising. What that means, is this is great for traveling up and down the coast line from Alaska to Mexico (not necessarily for crossing oceans). They designed this yacht with all of the comforts of home in mind. As you will see in the video, it has nice wide hallways and spacious living areas.

The upper deck was awesome too!

With joysticks on both the port and starboard side, this can easily be docked with just two people.

The engine room was big enough to do yoga or a have a cocktail party! LOL It had great crew quarters just off of the shop next to the engine room too.

If we win the lottery, this will be our dream boat of choice! Safe, durable, stylish and comfortable with long range offshore capabilities.

What Else Was Cool At The Show?

I love to find the obscure cool things at boat shows and Anacortes didn’t disappoint. First up was the inflatable amphibious boat by SeaLegs. For a mere $100k you too can have this on your private beach. Be sure to check out the footage in our next episode.

Then check out this davit system. I shared it on social media and folks are asking me who the manufacturer is. I didn’t get that info, as it was just a dinghy included with a boat for sale. Bummer. So if you happen to know who makes this, please let us know.

There was another big yacht on display (sorry, didn’t catch what kind), but if you need a foyer with a large porcelain piece and a fur blanket – I don’t think offshore cruising is for you. LOL

Where to Eat (or not to eat) in Anacortes

It seems every year we eat at the same restaurants (Union Tavern, Brown Lantern, Dad’s Diner), so I vowed to mix it up this year. Scott and I went to the north end of Anacortes and decided to have lunch at the Secret Cove Restaurant. Perhaps it was an off day for them, but let’s just say we won’t be back. While the vistas are cool, so was the food. But while we were waiting (and I mean waiting) for our lunch, a ferry boat arrived to pick up a house! We watched the crew for about 20 minutes and then we needed to head back.

Notice the golden retriever! He was helping his dad supervise the entire time!

Fantastic breakfast!

I had read that Mary Ann’s Kitchen was fantastic for breakfast, so we decided to try it out. The restaurant is actually an old house and Mary Ann is the cook. She cooks each order, one at a time. Give yourself plenty of time, but it’s worth it!! It was definitely the best breakfast Scott and I have had in a very long time. She’s not open on Sundays, so make a note.

I ended up being in Anacortes for five days. Working from my hotel room and walking back and forth to the show, I was exhausted when it was all over. The funny thing about being in the boat business now, is my life is now nothing but boats, boats and boats. I market boats during the day and come home and work on the blog. Now with a new boat, we’re busy doing boat projects. And I love every minute of it!

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and it’s dreary today (Saturday). Scott is busy running new cable for the stereo system and I’m catching up on our blogs and YouTube episodes. Tomorrow is forecasted to be warm and sunny and we’re taking the boat out with family and friends. Since we have to get used to living on a boat, we’ll head down there tonight, make dinner and stay for the weekend. So stay tuned for our next blog as we get new cockpit carpet!

As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to subscribe and also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Cheers, Scott and Ally

May 22, 2019October 5, 2020

Quick Trip to Roche Harbor Resort

Last month I (Ally) took a quick trip to Roche Harbor Resort up in the San Juan Islands for work. It was literally a 24 hour trip, but it was my first time visiting so I took plenty of photos as I toured the entire resort.

How do you get to Roche Harbor?

Great question! You have three choices: by boat, by ferry or by float plane. Guess how we went? Float plane of course. Remember my “quick trip” to Belize and the puddle jumper I took? This was exactly the same! We flew out of South Lake Union (where our apartment overlooks) on Kenmore Air. The weather wasn’t great that day, so it was a bit bumpy. Oh, and by the way, I hate to fly! LOL

We were on the larger “Orca” plane and it quickly ran across Lake Union and was up in the air in seconds! Yes, I will have all of the footage on our next YouTube episode!

The flight takes about 30 minutes once you are up in the air, assuming it doesn’t stop. We stopped at Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez and then at Friday Harbor before landing at Roche. What’s even more remarkable about this flight, is our captain is a one man show! He lands and docks all at the same time!

So much water & islands below

One thing you quickly realize flying over Puget Sound, is how many small islands and inlets we have. Some would be a hazard in the wrong conditions! If you recall, when Scott and I came through Cattle Pass from Deer Harbor a few years ago, we nearly hit a reef going 25 knots!

Check out this small reef causing the ripple!

Living in the San Juan Islands would be a dream! Beautiful homes line the coast line.

Finally, we’ve arrived at Roche Harbor Resort!

After I “white knuckled” it all the way to Roche Harbor, we arrived 50 minutes after leaving Seattle. The resort is huge and consists of: marina, hotel, condos, suites, village homes, restaurants, bar, shopping and much more!

My boss, Mark and I were doing a site inspection for our company rendezvous coming up in July. Roche Harbor Resort is very historic with some fascinating stories. Once you arrive, you walk through the docks to the Hotel de Haro to check-in.

Limestone History

Roche Harbor is rich in limestone, which is used to build roads and manufacture concrete and mortar. In 1886, Tacoma lawyer John S. McMillin and his business partners in the Tacoma Lime Company founded Roche Harbor Lime Company. The lime kilns are still present next to the hotel.

The Quarryman Hall Suites is the newest building of the resort and Mark and I were each upgraded to our own suite! Thank YOU to Roche Harbor Resort!

Trying to take pictures of the resort, doesn’t do it justice. There’s so much to see and do, which makes it such a great destination to visit by boat!

The Mausoleum

Roche Harbor Resort also has a family mausoleum. In order to get to it, you have to walk through the resort, past the oldest independently owned Catholic Chapel and into the adjacent woods. This includes passing by the cottages that the lime workers lived in (now available for rent).

John McMillin was a member of the Masonic Order and he built the mausoleum recognizing the traditions of the Masonic Order. As you walk through the forest, it reminds you a bit of the movie “Blair Witch Project“. There are some infant & toddler burial sites throughout the forest.

After you walk along the trail for about a quarter mile, you come across a gravel road. Follow that and you’ll come upon the McMillin Mausoleum. To say that it’s a bit creepy, is an understatement. I should note however, that my boss Mark has an awesome podcast, “Chasing Ghosts on Scooters in Bars“. You guessed it, he’s a ghost chaser by night!

There is significant Masonic meaning behind the entire structure, including the steps up to the table and chairs all of which represent the stages of life. Freemasons are very ritual and deliberate about everything the build and encompass. (In fact, my great uncle was a Freemason.)

The McMillin Mausoleum – Afterglow Vista

As we approached “Afterglow Vista”, the final resting place of the McMillin family, there was a stillness in the air. It was as if someone was watching our every move.

The first thing you will notice is huge marble table with six chairs. This represents the dining table that the family gathered around. There is also one chair and one pillar missing. This symbolizes the son that left the family.

Each chair is also the gravestone for key family members and they hold their ashes.

But there’s more! Remember, I’m in the middle of the forest with my boss who’s a ghost chaser. He decides to see if anyone wants to “talk” to us. He has an EMF app on his phone and he laid his phone in the middle of the table.

Immediately there was all kinds of activity. Then Mark said “speak to us”. He said this a few times and I started to get creeped out as I looked around watching for anything to jump out of the trees.

At the same time, I was leaning against one of the grave chairs and resting my hands on the top of one of them.

All of a sudden, a voice came out of Mark’s app that said “Knight”. Notice that I was leaning on the Knight Templar gravestone. Needless to say, I was out of there! LOL So we headed back to the main resort.

The Rest of the Roche Harbor Resort

Yes, there is much more than just the Mausoleum! In fact, when I head back in July, I plan to spend a lot more time exploring the island and the resort if time allows. Walking around the main part of the resort, you really get a sense of the rich history it has to offer.

Of course there are ghost sightings in the restaurant and hotel. We had a wonderful dinner in McMillian’s Restaurant – the food was amazing and you definitely have to have a Pig War Martini! Collect a pig for each martini you drink!

The resort is operated now by the members of the Tarte Family. In 1956, Tacoma and Roche Harbor Lime Company president Paul McMillin, son of John McMillin, sold Roche Harbor to the Reuben J. Tarte family of Bellevue, which developed the town into a boating resort with a marina, a restored Hotel de Haro, an airstrip (on the former site of the farm), and restaurant (in the former McMillin home).

The Tarte family sold Roche Harbor in 1988 to businessmen Verne Howard of King’s Market and Rich Komen of Restaurants Unlimited; Roche Harbor is now owned by Komen and Saltchuk Resources.

Heading Home

We flew out the next morning – so to say it was a quick trip is not exaggerating. We were there less than 24 hours! But it was enough to convince me, that this is an awesome place to visit!

As we waited at the dock for Kenmore Air, we watched a ferry boat bring in a cement truck and other commuters arrive by boat.

Our flight home, was much quicker as we headed straight for Seattle. The weather was sunny with blue skies. As we flew in, we came in over DT Seattle and made a steep dive onto Lake Union. It was definitely scenic, but for me still a bit nerve wracking.

My flight tour is below. Our rendezvous is in July, so I will be sure to share more details about the resort and things to explore on the island.

As always, thanks for following our blog! Be sure to subscribe for future posts. Next blog, we talk about our inverter and the lessons we learned about our circuit breaker on the boat.

Cheers, Ally

May 3, 2019May 22, 2019

Learning About Our New Boat

Learning all about our new boat

Scott and I got back from our Caribbean sailing cruise on March 16th and we took possession of our new boat the following day. This boat is a 2002 Bayliner 4087 Aft Cabin MY. Our broker, Steve Thoreson from Union Marine (formerly Lake Union Sea Ray), gave us a tour of the boat and reviewed the electrical panel. I was smart enough to video tape it–that would come in handy a few weeks later. Learning about our boat will take some time.

It was really windy that day with winds coming out of the north at 10 knots. Yet Steve felt Scott could practice backing out the boat and docking it. He backed out, turned around in our fairway and headed out. Then we turned around and Scott docked it perfectly!

Practice Docking

The following weekend, we took our supplies from Kokomo and went down to try to organize the boat.

My brother-in-law Kurt and his brother Cal came down to check it out too. Since it was a nice day with calm winds, we decided to take advantage of our “crew” and head to the fuel dock. Let’s just say, it was far easier having thrusters than with our old stern drives.

Quick note about fuel. In the state of Washington, you can get a refund for the road tax you pay when you fuel up a boat. EXCEPT, if it is diesel.

After we got fuel, we decided to take the boat over to N Dock so I could practice docking. I made a couple of runs and yes, it was easier. Mainly because our (handles) move smoothly. On Kokomo, they were stiff and stuck all of the time. See video from before below:

Since the new boat is much taller, it is also easier to see what you are doing.

Yes, we will have the footage of me docking on our next YouTube episode.

Once we got back to the dock, it was time to see if the dinghy ran. So Scott and Cal started it up and off they went! We were thinking about selling it, but we’ve decided to keep it for a year and have fun with it.

Taking the Boat Into Service & Back Through the Locks

Based on our survey, we decided we should address some of the recommendations:

Replace all of the batteries
Change the oil & filters
Change the transmission fluid
Replace the heat exchanger zinc
Replace the twin Raccers with compliant heat shield
Clean and inspect the starboard intake valve
Replace the belts
Replace the fuel lines

I work for Union Marine (formerly Lake Union Sea Ray) and we took the boat to our service center to have work done. We scheduled the appointment for the following week and since we had to go thru the Ballard Locks, we enlisted Kurt’s help for the trip. The entire trip took us about an hour.

We lucked out on the weather, once again! It took us about 30 minutes to get to the locks and we immediately got shuttled into the small locks. (Thank God!) we were the only boat in the locks, but we it was a bit nerve wracking tying up to the wall. I was worried Scott would crash into it and I also had troubles hooking the knob (or whatever it is called. All went smoothly and we made it through the Fremont Cut in about 20 minutes.

Our First Night on the Boat!

It took about three weeks to do all of the work. We scheduled to pick the boat up on Friday afternoon, April 12th and had more help on the return trip. Kurt, Cal and Tracey joined us for a beautiful sunny trip from Lake Union back to Elliott Bay Marina.

That evening, Scott and I stayed on the boat. We went out to dinner and when we came back we had a scary, but funny moment! Our new dock is fairly dark and just as we approached our boat, a dark huge figure appeared and stood up. Turns out it was a sleeping seal and we scared him, he stood up and barked and we screamed. Then the three of us froze – we weren’t sure if he was going to charge us, but he ended up jumping in the water. LOL

While I will say our bed is much more comfortable than the last one, it was a bit of a restless night. We sleep in the aft-cabin and the cockpit is above us, so any noise in the cockpit is annoying. That’s especially true if you forget to secure the snaps on your canvas and a blustery storm moves in around 3am in the morning!

Needless to say, we left the boat as soon as we woke up. During this entire time, we have also been packing up our current apartment as we were moving at the end of the month. Nothing like moving out of an apartment and into a new one AND onto a boat at the same time!

Now that we’re moved, we’re looking forward to getting out on the boat with friends and family. Stay tuned for my next blog, as I take you on a flight to Roche Harbor Resort and Marina!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

Check out Episode #34 Taking Possession of Our Happy Day

In our next blog, Ally takes a quick trip to Roche Harbor!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @BoatingJourney

April 9, 2019April 15, 2019

Caribbean Cruise on Star Flyer – Part 3

Wrapping up our Caribbean Cruise on the tall ship Star Flyer

Scott and I were excited to be heading to Antigua after our stop in Guadeloupe. We honeymooned there in 2003 and that’s when we decided we wanted to retire in the Caribbean. This was our fourth trip back to the island and we knew exactly where to take our friends, Ben and Maria.

Our ship anchored in Falmouth Harbor, which is just west of English Harbor. Here you will find luxury yachts anchored in the harbor.

We had signed up for the “Swim with the Sting Rays” excursion on Antigua, which wasn’t scheduled until 1:30p. Since we had time to kill, we decided to take Ben and Maria on a quick tour of the island.

Quick Tour of Antigua

A few years ago, Scott and I took an island tour by taxi and we loved it! So we knew this was the best way to quickly show Ben and Maria our favorite Caribbean island. We only had about two hours for a quick tour. Our driver was Willie and super friendly! His first stop was the Blockhouse lookout. The lookout view is spectacular and includes Eric Clapton’s compound.

We then headed to Shirley Heights for a quick look out overlooking English Harbor and Nelson’s Dockyard. Captain Nelson built the Blockhouse, Shirley Heights Fort and Nelson’s Dockyard. He wanted to have a 360 degree view of intruders. It’s amazing to think about the fact that they built these forts high up on hills without machinery.

From Shirley Heights, Willie headed north, taking us to a few beautiful beaches on the western side of the island.

365 Beaches on Antigua

Antigua has a beach for every day of the year! As Willie drove us north, we stopped at a few beaches, including Jacqui O’s – the beach of romance!

After visiting a few beaches, we had about 40 minutes to get to St. John (the capital) for a quick tour. Driving around the island, really gives you a good sense of how the residents live every day.

St. John

We literally had about 10 minutes to spare when we arrived. To really enjoy all of Antigua, you need more than 2 hours! St. John offers lots of shopping and this is where the cruise ships come into port. There is a main shopping market for tourist with hundreds of vendors in the city center.

For some reason, Scott, Ben and Maria had a hankering for donuts! LOL We’ll laugh about this photo for years! Who knew Ben loved donuts so much! 😉

After a quick two hour tour, it was time to head to Pigeon Beach for lunch (hosted by the Star Flyer) and catch our bus to Sting Ray City.

Sting Ray City

Scott and I swam with the sting rays during our last trip to Antigua. I didn’t enjoy it much, as I was neck deep in the water and I was a bit freaked out with slimy fish rubbing by my legs! This experience was completely different and we loved it! We were waist deep and the trainers were amazing. Be sure to watch our YouTube episode (#32) to see Lola kissing me!

An Antiguan Sunset

We finished our day in Falmouth Harbor watching sail boats race in the harbor, drinking rum punch and saying goodbye to our favorite sunset.

After dinner, the ship had a fantastic steel drum band perform for us. It was the perfect ending of a great day!

St. Barths – here we come!

We sailed all night from Antigua to St. Barths. As I was walking around the deck, I noticed in the distance whale spouts. Be sure to see that footage on our YouTube episode.

Our last day of the trip was in St. Barth’s (St. Bartholomew). We had been told that the town was a mini Beverly Hills and drinks were $50 each. Since we hadn’t had any time to relax and lay in the sun, we all took a day off. It was the perfect day, enjoying the Caribbean breezes and warm sunshine.

One thing you will notice about St. Barth’s harbor, is the opulence! Anchored in the distance was Eclipse. Eclipse is the second largest yacht in the world at almost 535 feet. It has two helicopter pads, a mini submarine and three tenders!

All day long we watched expensive tenders drive! It really was quite the sight to see. Be sure to check out our footage on our YouTube channel (check back here) of all of the activity in the harbor.

St. Barth’s Sundowner

We had an amazing sunset on our last night. All of us hung out on the deck, for as long as we could before we said goodbye to the sun!

Traveling with Ben and Maria was great (hopefully they feel the same- LOL). We really had such a fun week and they were a big part of that.

The Star Flyer Events – Last Night

The ship had a nice dinner planned and a mini celebration from the crew. We then finished the evening watching a movie on deck, Around Cape Horn, which was filmed in 1929. It’s amazing that they got this footage – considering how long ago this was!

After the movie, the ship raised the sails with yet, another celebration. They had sparkling wine, music and colored sails.

Returning Home

We sailed all night from St. Barth’s to Sint Maarten. The ship has you place your luggage outside your room at 4:30am and you keep just your carry-on bag. Breakfast was served from 8am – 10am and customs/immigration were on board first thing in the morning

In order to leave the ship, you check-in with Sint Maarten customs/immigration and then they return your passports to you. We left the ship around 9am, but our flight was not until 1:30pm. So Scott and I took a taxi back to Holland House and got a day pass for our luggage. There we enjoyed a few local Carib beers and squeezed in some last minute shopping. There are lots of shops at the cruise terminal, but they don’t open until after 10am.

Though the airport is small, there are quite a few tourists shops there too, for any last minute shopping needs you have. The airport doesn’t have “restaurants / bars” per se, but they do have take-out for sandwiches and beers to go.

Bye Caribbean!

Scott and I are always sad to leave the Caribbean, but we can’t wait to return. How did we like the trip? Well, tune into our YouTube Channel for a full review and feedback about the trip.

Now that the trip is over, we’re anxious to get our new boat into service and ready for boating this summer. Stay tuned for that next adventure!

As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to subscribe and check out our YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter channels @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney

Watch the full tour here on YouTube:

Cheers, Scott and Ally

March 30, 2019April 9, 2019

Caribbean Cruise on Star Flyer Part 2

On the third day of our Caribbean Cruise on the tall ship, Star Flyer, Scott and I arrived in the port of Terre-de-Haut in Iles des Saintes. The Îles des Saintes, or Les Saintes, are dependency islands of Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory in the Caribbean. The main island, Terre-de-Haut, is known for Pain de Sucre Beach’s coral-rich waters and palm-lined Les Saintes Bay.

There were no excursions for this island, so most of the passengers took the tender to town to explore. It was a quick 5 minute trip to the dock, where we arrived to a quaint French town full of shops and restaurants. They only take the Euro, so we had to find an ATM to get cash for some items at the grocery store (water, beer).

Tour of the town

Terre-de-Haut consists of only a few streets. Lots of tourists were renting scooters to explore the island. It’s a fun little beach town, but very expensive. Scott and I stopped in a shop to buy a couple of nice shirts and our total was over $150 Euro ($180 US)!

If you want to have lunch, they have beautiful cafes, but they require reservations. Who uses Open Table when you’re out in the middle of the ocean? Sadly, some the restaurants were rude about it. We did sit down in one restaurant, that was literally along the shoreline and dinghy dock. But after 20 minutes, they never came to take our order, so we headed back to the ship.

The beaches of Terre-de-Haut

We grabbed a quick bite on the ship and then changed into our swimsuits to head over to the beach. The cruise line has a partnership with Hotel Bois Jolie. Simply buy a beverage from the bar and you should be able to get a beach chair. However, they don’t have a lot of chairs, so we ended up on a beach towel. You can snorkel right off of the beach, but they have tons of sea urchins, so make sure you wear your water socks!

Sun-downer in the Caribbean

Since we were in the Caribbean, we assumed we would have amazing sunsets each night, but it really depends on where the cruise ship is anchored. Isles des Saintes did not disappoint! The weather was warm, the breeze was light and the scenery was magical.

Day 4 – Guadeloupe

We arrived in Guadeloupe in the morning. This island is also a French colony. While we were waiting for customs to allow us off the ship, guests were allowed to climb up to the mast. Ben was ready, along with Fred – an 89 year old Coast Guard Veteran!

In case I didn’t mention it earlier, when you arrive on the ship, sign up for the excursions immediately or you will miss out. There were some for Guadeloupe we wanted to do, but we were too late. So we decided to head into town and visit the De Deshaies Botanical Gardens. The tender ride is about 10 minutes, as we were anchored pretty far out. Once you arrive at the dock, there are taxi drivers waiting for tourists to drive them to the gardens (which are up a steep hill-about 1 mile)

The Gardens

Guadeloupe is known for it’s lush and tropical scenery. The Botanical Gardens tour takes about an hour and they do have a restaurant inside. However, it was very buggy and Maria and I started to get eaten alive by “no see-ums”, so take bug spray!

The views from the gardens are stunning and definitely worth the trek. Plus they had a variety of birds AND goats! They were the highlight of the tour.

Though we made arrangements for our taxi driver to come back and get us, he never showed. So we had no choice, but to walk back down to the marina. It took about 20 minutes, but you walk on the road, so be cautious of cars.

We were all so exhausted after walking all day in the heat and humidity that we turned in early after dinner.

Watch our full episode on YouTube below:

Where to next?

Next stop is Antigua! Our favorite island in the Caribbean. Stay tuned for our next blog for a full island tour and swimming with the sting rays!

As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to subscribe for future updates. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter!

Cheers, Scott and Ally

March 23, 2019June 3, 2019

Caribbean Cruise on Star Flyer Part 1

Why the Tall Ship, Star Flyer?

Everyone has been asking us, what made you go on a tall ship cruise on the Star Flyer? Well, Scott and I have always wanted to book a charter boat in the Caribbean, but we’ve hesitated for a few reasons. One, we don’t know how to bare boat & we were not sure if we would like sailing for seven days straight. The best alternative was to book a sailing trip with Star Clipper vacations, on the Star Flyer. This tall ship holds about 180 people and does not have the same luxurious amenities as a large cruise ship. My girlfriend from college cruised o this ship in the Mediterranean and loved it!

The Itinerary

This cruise was a 7 night cruise, visiting a new island every day:

Saint Maarten
Nevis
Dominica
Isle des Saints
Guadeloupe
Antigua
St. Barths

Hurricane Irma

We left on Thursday, March 7^th on a red eye flight out of Seattle and arrived in Sint Maarten, on Friday, March 8^th around 12pm. We chose to arrive a day early, in case we had any flight issues.

Scott and I knew that the island was still in recovery mode from Hurricane Irma two years ago. The airport was nearly destroyed and now the airport is almost back to normal. Customs and Immigration took us about an hour and was a bit chaotic. The drive to the hotel (Holland House) which was in Philipsburg took about an hour too. As we drove around the island, we saw numerous abandoned boats and buildings damaged by Hurricane Irma. Traffic can be bad driving around the island. So plan accordingly.

It was our wedding anniversary on March 8th and the hotel upgraded us to a suite – oh my, what a treat! Located right on the beach overlooking the bay, this is the place to stay!

Things to do

Sint Maarten is known for its airplane beach “Maho Beach”. Here jets fly directly over beach goers as they fly in. Scott and I couldn’t pass this opportunity up, so the following day we took a taxi to the beach to check it out. I will say, it was packed and loaded with people! There are two bars and they also have the flight schedules. Planes come in about every 20 minutes and we were there between 11:15am and 12pm. It is definitely a unique experience and I do not recommend standing directly behind a plane when it takes off. We were standing to the side and still got sand blasted. Be sure to watch our video on our YouTube channel for all of the footage.

Downtown Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Our friends, Ben & Maria were joining us on the cruise and they arrived about the same time we were at Maho Beach. We instructed them to go to Holland House, get a day pass for their bags and meet us for cocktails. The hotel is located on Fontstreet, which is the main shopping district. The outdoor bar is located along the beach boardwalk, which is full of restaurants, shopping and bars.

After a few cocktails, Maria and I headed to the Saturday Market for some souvenirs. One thing I will say about Sint Maarten, is that the residents are so friendly – probably one of the friendliest islands in the Caribbean.

Around 3:30pm, the hotel lobby was full of guests heading to the cruise terminal. Check-in for the cruise was between 4pm – 7pm, so we decided to hang back for an hour to avoid the crowds. This turned out to be a smart decision, as we flew through the terminal check-in.

The Star Flyer – Departure Day

Check-in on the ship was pretty fast (if you wait an hour). First you meet the purser, who takes your passports. If you know anything about traveling by boat to other countries, you know that the captain maintains your passports for check-in authorities. The same is true for large cruise ships. In return, you are given an “official ID” card from the cruise line – this allows you to enter and depart each country. Next we were given our keys and off we went (oh, with our welcome cocktail too).

Because the ship was swaying right away in port, I immediately put on my Sea-Band and took a Bonine motion sickness pill. Both worked like magic! After we dropped our bags off, we headed straight to the library to sign up for our excursions. These fill up FAST, so don’t wait too long. We missed out on a couple, but were able to get the Sting Ray Experience on Antigua.

We stayed in room 302 – which was located on the bow . Our room was nice a roomy and were told it was bigger than most. We do know that some of the top end rooms had couches and Jacuzzi tubs too.

One thing we didn’t think about though, was our room was near the top deck and it swayed not only side to side, but up and down. If you get motion sick, don’t pick this room! Every night from 5p – 6p, the cruise ship has light snacks and then dinner begins at 7:30pm. We were scheduled to leave port around 10pm after dinner and set sail. This was a pretty cool experience.

As we set off into the pitch darkness, they began raising the sails and also played the theme song, Conquest of Paradise each time. After spending about an hour on deck, it was time to head to bed.

Quick Note about Wi-Fi: The boat has it, but it’s $10/hour, so we never used it except on the last day. We waited to get on land and find bars that offered it for free.

Day one – Nevis

Since Scott and I were not used to sleeping on a moving boat (that went up and down all night long), we had a rough first night’s sleep. Scott and I headed to breakfast around 9am and we were still sailing (try going thru the buffet line while at a 15 degree heel). Finally we arrived in Nevis around 11am and dropped anchor.

The reviews said there wasn’t a lot to do or see on Nevis, so the four of us decided to relax on deck and soak up some sun. Keep in mind, they have two very small pools on deck meant to just cool you off.

To get to shore, our life boats (tenders) are dropped into the water and passengers use the gangway steps to climb down the side of the ship to the tender. It was pretty rough in the bay, so it was interesting to watch people maneuver both.

Our days on the ship consisted of the same activities each day – breakfast, lunch, cocktails, light snacks, cocktails and then dinner.

Each morning, the activities director will do a briefing of the new island and give instructions on what to do, type of currency and times of departure. Every evening, the ship has different activities at the tropical bar each night. This bar is the only bar and is the hub for all meetings.

Day two – Dominica

Each night the ship puts the next day’s itinerary in your room. Our next stop was Dominica, which is a very small rustic island. Dominica is the northernmost of the Windward Islands (though it is sometimes considered the southernmost of the Leeward Islands). They are a French colony.

The excursions for the island included river rafting, which we didn’t want to do, so we planned on checking the island out on our own. Before we arrived, we had a scheduled sail with our sister ship, The Royal Clipper from 9am – 10:30am. This was a really cool and beautiful experience. I was surprised to see so many people on the bow plank though!

What to do in Portsmouth, Dominica

There were two things to do on your own – you could go to the beach or go to the Fort. Scott and I love old Forts, so we headed in that direction. It’s located in the Cabrits National Park, about a 10 minute walk straight up hill.

We loaded up in the tender, which is scary at first. The ship is moving up and down about a foot and then you have to gracefully get on board.

The ride to the dock, was about 5 minutes and we immediately noticed the damage from Hurricane Irma. Dominica was nearly destroyed during the hurricane and they are still recovering.

Check in at Prince Rupert’s Tavern to buy your pass (I think it was US $5/pp) and this gives you access to the Fort and also the hiking trails.

I wasn’t up for any hike, so we just checked out Fort Shirley. You can explore the different buildings and the view look-outs over the bay.

After our hike, we headed back to Prince Rupert’s Tavern for a cold beer. They have free Wi-Fi when you buy food or drinks. We bought two beers and they came out of the freezer (almost slightly frozen). It was so hot that day, that these were the best beers we’ve had in a long time!

We returned to the ship a few hours later and discovered where they store all of their booze! They keep it in the belly of the ship and use a cargo net to bring it out.

Sundowner

We wound down the day with a cocktail watching the sunset. No matter the day, you can’t beat a warm Caribbean night with good friends, cocktails and an amazing sunset.

Next we head to Isle des Saintes. Stay tuned for our next update and be sure to check back for our episode on Day 1 – 3. As always, thanks for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

Watch Episode 30 on YouTube of Part 1

March 1, 2019June 14, 2019

How did our sea trial go?

Sea Trial, Survey, Mechanical Inspection & Haul Out

Last Weds, February 20th, Scott and I had the sea trial, survey and mechanical inspection scheduled for the Bayliner 4087 we made an offer on. Seattle has been experiencing record breaking snow levels and conditions this month and once again it threatened to snow on Wednesday! Based on the weather forecast, I was nervous. You know me, when it comes to weather, I’m a nut. The last thing I wanted to do was haul out in the snow! Here’s a picture that our boat yard shared the week before!

We hired Chuck Solarek, of CSW Surveyors and I highly recommend him! Chuck came in with loaded guns. Not only is he SAMS accredited (Society of Marine Surveyors Society), but he has twenty-four years experience as a naval submarine engineer. He had so much equipment with him, that I thought he had other members on his team. In the end, his survey and mechanical inspection was so detailed and thorough, we couldn’t have asked for more.

Let sea trials begin

Scott and I asked my brother-in-law Kurt to join us for the sea trial. He is a retired Washington State Ferry engineer and a life long boater himself. You will recall, he helped us out many times with Kokomo – especially during our trip to the San Juans Islands.

Also along on the trip, was our broker Steve Thoreson, from Union Marine and the captain, who was hired by Elliott Bay Yacht Sales. (certainly different than when Ed the owner of Kokomo took us out!

We all met at the marina around 9:15am and by then Chuck had been on the boat for a bit doing his inspection.

We left Elliott Bay Marina around 9:30am and headed towards Shilshole Marina and Seaview Boat Yard. Low and behold, the weather was perfect! We had calm seas and a slight mist, but that was it!

On our trip to Seaview, we motored at about 11 knots, which was a very pleasant pace. Unlike Kokomo, we could talk and hear each other. However, at this pace, it would take us eight hours to get to the San Juan Islands, versus three on Kokomo. Scott took the helm at the bridge on the way up and I sat down below in the salon. During that time, Along the way, Kurt and Chuck were checking different systems.

Arriving at Seaview Boatyard

If you remember from the last time we hauled out, I was scared to death to climb out of the boat while it was in the slings. Well, this time it was just as bad, if not worse! I still can’t believe this is how they do this!! So unsafe. Each passenger, walks out to the bow, steps over the railing (that’s great if you are tall), reaches for the WET ladder that is about a foot or two away and starts to climb out. Don’t mind that you are 15′ in the air!

I was so worried my foot was going to slip or my hand would lose a grip. My heart was racing when I landed on the pier. I then told everyone, they were picking me up on the dock when we were done! LOL

Hauling out the boat

We had one hour to have Chuck inspect the hull, drives, propellers and trim tabs. Since I won a free power wash at the Seattle Boat Show, I had them power wash the bottom, so we could get a clearer picture of what it looked like.

Remember what Kokomo looked like when we hauled out? Not only did it need to be painted, but all of the zincs were shot! (see below)

Well, shockingly this boat was in perfect shape! (still seems odd to me, since they say the last time they hauled out was in 2014!) So strange, but that’s great news!

Poor Chuck was soaked from inspecting the hull while they pressure washed it!

Time to head back for home & sea trials

An hour and $425 later, it was time to put the boat back in the water.

Remember, I wasn’t going back the same way I came! Watching the guys, they don’t look thrilled either.

We left Seaview boatyard around 11:15am and headed out to Elliott Bay. Once out in the bay, Chuck had Scott run the engines, while he checked them. Remember, these are twin Cummins diesel engines. From our cruising speed of 11 knots/1000 RPMs, Chuck had us increase the RPMs to 1500, then to 2000 and then to wide open at 2500 RPMs. You would never run a semi-displacement boat at that speed, as it’s not only not good for the engines, but you would get terrible fuel consumption. For the best fuel consumption, between 1000-1200 RPMs is ideal.

What we did learn about diesel engines is three primary things:

Never ever run out of gas (remember our story from September?)
When cruising with diesel engines, it is important to run at 80% of your max RPM during your last 20 minutes of cruising. That’s important to remember if you plan on only cruising the bay.
When docking, leave the engines running at idle for about 5 minutes to allow them to cool off. Unlike gas engines, diesel engines cool off while running versus after they shut down.

Once back at the dock, the last thing to check was the infamous tender – did it run? Steve dropped it (sort of) into the water, then Scott climbed into it haphazardly and was able to start it. The running lights work, but maybe not the CD Player. LOL

Survey results?

Well it wouldn’t be a boating journey story if there wasn’t a snag right? Remember when we trying to close on Kokomo and the owner kept going out of town, so it took a month? Let’s hope that’s not the case this time.

Long story short, the survey and inspection came back pretty good. We do have to some work, nothing too major and Lake Union Sea Ray Service Department can do all of the work. Scott and I have accepted the survey and now we wait to go to escrow next week – we hope! Our lender requires our boat be documented with the Coast Guard. We are waiting for the documentation reports to make sure it’s not a stolen boat before we can go to escrow. Guess what? The Coast Guard is a bit back logged due to the government shutdown.

Then we are scheduled to close on Weds, March 6th – but Scott will be in Miami, FL. This title company doesn’t like to use “power of attorney” signatures, so he either needs to find a notary in Miami or be present. So our hope is that we move it to Thursday, March 7th if the Coast Guard docs come back in time – the night we fly out to the Caribbean on our tall ship cruise. If that doesn’t happen, it will have to be postponed until we return, mid-March.

Then what?

Once we take possession, our broker Steve will spend time with both us teaching us how to dock it and back it out of the slip. Everyone says it will be much much easier than our old boat, so let’s hope so. Since we will be taking it to Lake Union Sea Ray for service, we’ll go thru the Ballard Locks with Steve that same day and get some time under our belts (he can dock it at the shop though) 😉

So stay tuned! Our next update will most likely be our trip to the Caribbean and not about the boat! We have some work to do on it, both mechanically and aesthetically and we’ll share all of that with you too, once we are official.

As always, thank you for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube @BoatingJourney #boatingjourney

Watch our full sea trial and survey on Episode 29 on our YouTube channel here:

Cheers, Scott and Ally