Tag: nautical route

Nautical Route

A nautical route is visual on a map, since there are no roads to follow. Sailors and captains of boats use charts provided by NOAA and other resources that identify under water hazards in bodies of water.

When planning your trip, you want to keep in mind the wind direction, speed and also current along with underwater obstacles and land masses. We looked at distance to different marinas and if those marinas offered amenities that would make our trip more pleasant. For example, our itinerary included quaint towns, scenic islands and quiet marinas.

There are many tools and apps out there that can help you plan your nautical route and I do recommend you use them.  On our first trip back from the San Juan Islands, we nearly hit a reef because we didn’t check our route in more detail.  By looking at our GPS on both our phone and dashboard, we thought we could simply identify where to go based on the map.

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Our first boating trip to the San Juan Islands – Part 3 Oak Harbor back to Seattle

Our First boating trip to the San Juan Islands – Part 3

Our first boating trip to the San Juan Islands has come to an end. We started in Seattle to La Conner (Part 1) and then La Conner to the San Juan Islands (Part 2). Not knowing originally how long it would take us to get home, we planned to stop half way at Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island on our way home on Monday, Jul 24th.  Now that we have done the trip, one regret we have is that we didn’t stay longer on each of the islands to allow time to explore them. It’s a long way up and expensive, to simply turn around and come home. But we had fun, non the less.
My brother Ron and his wife Patsy moved on to my sister’s boat, Semper Fi in the morning and we departed soon after.  We really lucked out on the weather and the conditions of the sound. We decided to go south along Lopez Island, through Cattle Pass and then towards Deception Pass.  Deception Pass is very very tricky to get through. Because of the severe currents that create whirlpools, it’s best to go in during slack tide.  Given this information, we had to go through between 10:30am and 12pm.

 

first boating trip deer harbor map

first boating trip deer harbor marina

first boating trip calm san juan waters
first boating trip san juan channel
Leaving San Juan Channel towards Lopez Island
We went back and forth if we should travel north back through Thatcher’s pass, which we knew or head south through Cattle Pass, which was unfamiliar to us. But since Cattle Pass was east of Deception Pass, it made more sense.
first boating trip san juan straits
As you come through Cattle Pass, especially at high tide, be very careful to not get too close to the end of Lopez Island. There are a number of small islands and reefs and we almost slammed straight into one.

 

first boating trip nautical chart cattle pass
We went through Deception Pass very quickly at about 18 knots, but it was definitely like driving on black ice!

first boating trip deception pass

After we got through the pass, we came upon Hope island in the channel. We weren’t sure if we should go through on the west side or east side and no other boats were around for us to see what everyone else was doing.

first boating trip map hope island
Well, we quickly found out that we should have gone on the western side of Hope Island, because we were suddenly in only 4 feet of water!! We carefully and slowly made our way towards Whidbey Island.

first boating trip scenic hope island

 first boating trip oak harbor skagit
Skagit Bay was extremely windy and choppy on our way to Oak Harbor. When we arrived to the channel, the tide was super low.  We stayed dead center, but even then we were only about 8′ of water.  Then when we got to the Oak Harbor Marina, we weren’t sure where to go in. We tried calling the office, no luck and they didn’t have a VHF channel posted for the harbor master.  But we did have our slip number, so we eventually figured it out.  Luckily when we pulled in, another boat was next to us and they had to help us dock as the current was really strong.
The slips have picnic benches and there are seals that lay around on the logs surrounding the marina.  This marina is a city marina, so it’s not super fancy, but it does offer the basic amenities, including free Wi-Fi.  I will warn you though, it is very noisy due to the fighter jets from the air base that fly day and night!

first boating trip oak harbor marina dock

first boating trip kokomo oak harbor dock

 

first boating trip seals oak harbor

 

first boating trip oak harbor marina picnic tables
We walked into town, about a 15 minute walk from the marina. There are lots of memorials throughout downtown in honor of the fallen service men who served our country.

first boating trip oak harbor memorial

first boating trip oak harbor navy memorial
Downtown is very small and there’s not a lot to see or do. They have a few small shops, a couple of taverns (which we found one….that was interesting!!) and we ended up having dinner at the Loakal Pub.

first boating trip downtown oak harbor

 

first boating trip jo jo tavern

 

first boating trip loakal pub
While at the Loakal, we ended up buying drinks for a jet engine mechanic who was headed to Japan for a two year tour. He has been in the Navy for over 20 years – we were truly thankful for his service and longtime commitment.

We ended the evening enjoying the sunset, but again it got hard to talk due to the loud jets flying over. Not super romantic. But we were so exhausted from the entire trip that we fell into bed early and slept in the next day.

first boating trip nautical magazines

 first boating trip oak harbor marina seals

first boating trip oak harbor sunset

The Journey Home

We left Oak Harbor at high tide (yea!!) around 9:30am and we had placid waters all the way home!! This is so rare for the Puget Sound.  Scott made the comment that if it was always like this, he would go up north regularly!!

first boating trip departing oak harbor

first boating trip calm puget sound

first boating trip kokomo wake
I tried taking photos of the whales we encountered, but this is what I got every time! See the tail? Oh, yea, it’s already underwater!

first boating trip whales
The sight of Seattle and our marina, Elliott Bay Marina was a very welcome sight!

first boating down town seattle

first boating elliott bay marina

first boating elliott bay marina slip
We got home around 12:30pm and gassed up (another $300).  For the next three hours, Kokomo was scrubbed & cleaned from top to bottom. We took off all of the vinyl/canvas windows and scrubbed them clean. It was so nice to have a shiny boat again.

first boating kokomo clean

first boating dock duties

first boating cleaning
Lessons learned from this trip:
  • pack light! We ended up wearing the same clothes multiple days, no need for a new outfit every day.
  • Food – pack light! Our fridge holds A LOT of food, we were amazed! But we brought enough food to feed an army and so did my sister-in-law. We used every nook and cranny to store food.
  • Stay longer and explore the islands.
  • Fuel- if you travel between 18-22 knots, you will burn through a lot of fuel. Our fuel tank is 148 gallons and when we left Seattle, we put in 75 gallons, then in Deer Harbor we put in about 90 gallons and upon our return we put in another 90 gallons.
While we don’t have any major trips like this scheduled for the rest of the summer, we are going on a quick weekend trip with friends closer to home in August. Stay tuned for our next adventure!
Scott and Ally on KokomoSeattle
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Our first trip to the San Juan Islands – Part 2 La Conner to Fisherman’s Bay, Lopez Island & then to Deer Harbor, Orcas Island

San Juan Islands Boating Trip – Part 2

San Juan Islands Boating Trip – Part 2.  On Friday, July 21st we left La Conner around 1:30pm after replacing our power steering pump on the port side engine.  We were headed to Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez Island through the Swinomish Slough and up and around Anacortes and via Thatcher Pass & Guemes Channel, about 26.6 nautical miles. If you missed Part 1, Seattle to La Conner, read here.

The slough is a no wake zone and is very shallow. It took us about 30 minutes to get through it. The weather was cloudy and quite a bit colder than the day before.

As soon as we came out of the slough into the bay, we headed into the Guemes channel around Anacortes. Going across the Guemes channel was a bit choppy and you definitely want to be on the look out for logs! Within a few minutes, we were now in rain which makes in a bit hard to see.


 

 

One other word of CAUTION when docking at Fisherman’s Bay is the current is wicked! It might look calm, but you will need help from either the harbor master or crew from another boat. We struggled and we also watched boat after boat, struggling with the current.

 

Fun on Lopez Island at Fisherman’s Bay

That evening, friends of Kurt’s were also moored at the marina and they had just gone crabbing. Looks like we’re having a crabfest on Semper Fi!

Boating on Semper Fi
Bryce, Kurt, Scott, Susan and Mike

 

Ron, Susan and Scott

 

After our fabulous crab feast we headed to the bar at the Islander Resort where they had live music and lots of beverages! Trust me, if you get to this bar you will have a ton of fun!

 

We had custom t-shirts made for Kokomo
Day 3 of our San Juan Trip

Saturday morning (Day 3), we followed Kurt’s dingy out to the bay in our dingy LilMo to put crab pots out. It was so shallow, that Scott and I stayed in the bay in about 2 feet of water and I made him pull the engine up. I didn’t want it to get caught up in all of the sea grass. It was bizarre how low the tide was.

The marina had quite a few boats anchored in the bay, including this very cool “pirate” ship! Everyone who came into the marina, took a moment to take a photo of it.

We let the crab pots sit for a few hours while we waited for high tide to leave Fisherman’s Bay and head to Deer Harbor, Orcas Island.  It was scheduled for 5p, but checkout was 12p.  Knowing that we couldn’t go anywhere, the marina was very flexible with our departure time.  We ended up leaving about 2pm, as that was half way between low and high.  I still recommend going low and slow thru the bay and channel!

As soon as you come out of the bay you enter the San Juan Channel. It was pretty windy and rough for us.  We headed due west towards Friday Harbor.

Again, you need to look for logs and it’s difficult as we had 2′ white caps going through the channel.  We got through pretty quickly, going about 20 knots and got into Deer Harbor within about an hour.

Welcome to Deer Harbor Marina
When we arrived to the Deer Harbor Marina , we first went to the fuel dock and also pumped out. My brother Ron was incredibly generous to fill up our tank. I kept asking him “are you sure??!! it won’t be what you expect!” Another $300 in fuel and we were set to go.
I will say the marina staff wasn’t the friendliest welcome committee. We had made our reservations weeks ago, along with my sister.  They gave us our slip assignment and when we got to the spot, one of the dock hands came out and said he was going to put us in the slip across from the assigned one and walk us in stern in first and put Kurt’s boat in front of us.  That made no sense, as we wouldn’t be able to leave and we couldn’t use our dingy. The kid argued a bit with us and asked why we needed to leave during the day. I replied “Well, we are here to go boating and crabbing”. Apparently they were trying to squeeze in a 52′ boat behind Kurt’s boat, but they gave up. The moorage is also quite a bit more expensive than say Fisherman’s.  We paid $34/night at Fisherman’s and for Deer Harbor, with power it was $63/night. Plus you have to buy tokens for the shower.
 


They do have a cute gift shop with lots of clothing items and souvenirs, plus a well stocked grocery store. On Saturday and Sundays they sell freshly made donuts in the morning and they have local artists selling goods too.

We were able to snag a picnic table on the dock, that we used for our meals and gatherings!

A day of crabbing & fun

The next day, Kurt went out to pick up the crab pots they dropped on their way in. Oh, are you wondering how many crabs we got in Fisherman’s Bay? None…..he forgot to cut the plastic zip ties that hold the doors together when they are shipped. LOL  This time around he got five (the limit for one person per day) beauties! We celebrated with Mimosas, pre-made that we got from The Wine Alley! Yumm!


Scott and I spent the morning zipping around in our dingy and checked out all of the cool boats that were in the harbor!


That afternoon, we all went out on Semper Fi to check the pots, since Scott and I both had crab licenses.  Unfortunately, they lost a pot either from a high tide or someone took it. It was a very fun relaxing afternoon hanging out with everyone on one boat.

 

We met a local traveler from Olympia, Ray who has been a live-aboard for a long while and his dog Rex.  Rex got all of the attention and he had “human” eyes. But I could never quite capture his look.


The day ended with a great crab feast, salad and birthday celebrations!


Including two of our favorite wines from Gamache Cellars & Five Star Cellars.


Soon after this “party” photo was taken, the guys headed up to the Island Pie, a pizza place to order a pizza and the gals chatted away.  We were parting ways the next morning as we were headed home and Ron & Patsy were staying a bit longer on Semper Fi.

Stay tuned for Part 3 – Deer Harbor to Oak Harbor! #KokomoSeattle

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Our first trip to the San Juan Islands – Part I Seattle to La Conner

Boating to San Juan Islands – Part 1

Boating to the San Juan Islands for the first time. When we bought our boat, Kokomo in May, we hadn’t planned on taking a trip this summer to the San Juan Islands, as we wanted to become more familiar with the boat, etc.  But my sister Susan thought it would be fun for us to boat up there with them and invite my brother and his wife.  So we mapped out a 6 day vacation leaving Seattle and head first to La Conner, which is 54 nautical miles.


My brother Ron and his wife Patsy, stayed with us the night before and we headed down to Elliott Bay Marina first thing in the morning. We learned right away that all of us over packed both food and clothing.  Our boat, Kokomo has lots of storage, but it’s not that easy to access and if you don’t use it, things get cramped quickly.  It took four carts to load the boat with refrigerated items, beverages and their stuff (and remember, we had already loaded our clothes and non perishables the weekend before!).

The winds normally come from the north or northwest, but on Thursday they were 8 knots from the south – which really helped us out a lot!

crane on puget sound

boating on puget sound

My sister Susan and her husband Kurt were traveling on their 34′ trawler Semper Fi at about 7 knots and they left Shilshole Marina around 8:30am on Thursday, July 20th.  We knew we could catch up to them traveling about 17 knots, so we didn’t leave until 10:15am.

trawler boating

We caught up with them around the north end of Whidbey Island, around 11:45am.  Scott thought it would be funny to circle around them, but you know the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? Well, more on that later.  After we circled around them, Kurt called me to say we had a loose line. Turns out one of the lines on our dingy had come loose and was flying all over the place, including under the engines, yikes! Soon enough Karma caught up to us and about an hour later.

We started hearing a rattling / pinging noise from one of the engines, so we stopped and decided to check it out. Since we have two engines, we can use each of them to compare what the other should look like.  We noticed right away that the power steering pulley was at an angle and there were also some metal fragments from the ball bearings.  Not sure what we should do, since the serpentine belt was still working, but noisy, I called my brother-in-law Kurt (retired Chief Engineer for the Washington Ferries) and he zipped over on his dingy for a quick assessment. Determined that the power steering pump needed to be replaced, we now had to limp into La Conner on one engine – and 8 knots, right along side Semper Fi.

boating mercruiser trouble

Luckily for us, the waters (as you can see in the photos and video) were very very calm for the sound. So calm, that Patsy and I decided to sit on the bow and enjoy the smooth ride up.
#KokomoSeattle

Ron relaxed on the stern…….

To get to La Conner, you enter a channel and then up the Swinomish Slough.
boating swinomish

swinomish canal

We had made reservations a few weeks ago and were fortunate to be on G Dock on the outside on the end, since we didn’t have much steering control. Semper Fi was right next to us.

trawler la conner

We called the local NAPA store and they had the part. The La Conner Marina staff was so helpful and drove Scott down to the store. He had taken the old pump with him and when he got the new pump, they informed him that it didn’t come with the pulley shaft and that a machine shop, La Conner Maritime Services would have to use the hydraulic press to remove it from the old one and put in it in the new one. They would be able to do that in the morning.
The La Conner Marina is very quiet and has nice facilities for restrooms and showers. That evening, we all walked into town for dinner. La Conner is super cute with  lots of quaint restaurants and shops.  We were drawn in by fresh oysters (not me!) at the Oyster and Thistle Pub and decided to eat there for dinner.  Now that I’m looking at a map, there were many other restaurants to choose from…..but we stumbled on this quaint cute place first.

Knowing we had to fix the boat, Scott woke up bright and early and headed to La Conner Maritime Services.  He picked up the part and we thought we were on the home stretch, when he realized it was not threading (connecting) to the engine. Uh ho!  Turns out it couldn’t reach and it needed an adapter piece. We called all of the parts stores, nothing.  At this point we are preparing to limp home on one engine and transfer my brother, his wife and all of their stuff over to my sister’s boat. Not a fun moment.
Kurt and Scott were not giving up and they went to La Conner Maritime that put the shaft in to try and find this piece in the back room. Still no luck. That’s when Kurt got the idea of taking the old part off of the original pump and using it! Voila!! That worked great. Scott then added power steering fluid and went to put the cap on when there was no cap.  The new pump didn’t come with one. Now what??  Wait – why don’t we go back to the machine shop and get the cap off of the old pump Voila again!  Note to self:  always keep your old parts until you are sure you are done with them!

We were finally on our way to Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez, Island! Let the vacation begin!  Stay tuned for part two!

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Prepping for the big trip!

Prepping for our first trip to the San Juan Islands!

Next week, we are leaving for the San Juan Islands for a five night trip.  My brother, Ron and his wife Patsy are joining us. We’ll tag along with my sister Susan and her husband Kurt, who will be on their trawler.  We stayed Friday night on the boat last weekend to relax and then do some prep work on Saturday.
Friday night, we decided to eat at Maggie Bluffs restaurant, as we didn’t want to bother prepping dinner on the boat.  What a great spot to relax and enjoy the views!

 

seattle outdoor dining

seattle marina dining

 

shrimp cocktail seattle dining

 

Mac was once again a trooper. For an old dog, at 14+ years old, having to walk to the boat which is a quarter mile, he does very well.  But he doesn’t really enjoy “boating”. So with that said, he will have a dog sitter next week when we go to the San Juan Islands.

 

dogs at Elliott Bay marina

people pets marina boating

 

old golden retriever boating
Got any snacks mom?

I decided to relax on the bow, enjoy the sunset while catching up with my favorite boating magazines.

relaxing on boat

We had a full moon and once again, we find that this is certainly a great retreat after a long busy week.

yachts summer pink sky

Heading out on our own!

Saturday, was our day to take the boat out by ourselves – our first time!!! We wanted to measure how long it took us to get to Shilshole Bay at 7 knots.  It ended up taking us 30 minutes, BUT our boat cannot go that slow. The engines rumbled and were not happy. We were testing that speed, as that is how fast my sister and husband will travel in their trawler.  So on the way back, we increased our speed to 14-15 knots and it hummed happily.
This means we will be far ahead of them. With that said, we plan on leaving about an hour after them and catching up in Mukilteo.  We will get to La Conner a few hours before them, barring any issues. (fingers crossed!!!).
summer seattle sound
We were planning on having me practice docking the boat along our main dock where the yachts park, but we had too many rolling waves that were making me uneasy.  I want to practice in calm waters to fully understand what I’m doing.  I will say, that Scott is doing an AMAZING job operating / docking the boat.  He was my instructor!
Our next big test was to bring it back to our slip and this time docking with another boat next to us! I wasn’t sure if I should be on the bow to push off, or on the stern to jump off. I decided to stay on the stern and Scott brought the boat in perfectly, swung the stern to port and we tied off in less than a minute! Wow!!
boat slip neighbors

 

We spent the rest of the day, taking stuff off of the boat that we wouldn’t need next week, to make room for storage (under the seats, closets, etc).  Our plan is to go down for the day this Saturday, get gas, clean, load up anything we can in advance and get things ready.
In order to feed six people and have plenty of food and beverages, we knew our little galley fridge would not be sufficient. Scott and I bought a great cooler, Coleman 120 Quart Coastal Xtreme Series Marine Cooler from Amazon and when we are at port, we leave it on the swim step. Obviously, when under way, we bring it on board.
beverages cooler boating
We are scheduled to leave Thursday, July 20th no later than 10am after we load up! We are headed to the La Conner Marina for one night, then to Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez Island for one night, then to Deer Harbor on Orcas Island for two nights, then to Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island for our last night.

Stay tuned for the stories of the big adventure!  Scott and Ally

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Getting To Know Our New Boat

Getting to know our Bayliner boat, Kokomo

bayliner ciera des moines marina

Getting to know our new boat, Kokomo

It’s been two full weeks now that we have owned the boat and we headed back to Elliott Bay Marina to spend Saturday and Saturday night on it. We wanted to utilize this time to figure out all the ins and outs of the boat and also take my brother in law out on the sound with us for tips and practice.

The first thing Scott and Kurt did, was open up the engine hatch and check everything out on our two Mercruiser 250HP 5.7ltr engines. We had just had the oil changed this week by Monkey Fist Marine in the marina and all looked great there.  They said it really needed it badly. Remember, the previous owner hadn’t ran the boat in almost two years!

Kurt wanted to look at the spark plugs and instantly that one cracked. So off I went to West Marine to get a bunch of spark plugs and some other stuff, including self-repair tape for the “just in case” incidents.  They replaced a few that they had removed and Scott will do the rest of them when in a few weeks.

 

Off to Blake Island

Then we headed out to the sound, so Kurt could listen to the engines and make sure everything sounded great. To be honest, I got freaked out last weekend when the engines would make different sounds as we moved across the sound, so I wanted Kurt (who used to be a Chief Engineer for the Ferries) to listen to them.

As we pulled out of Elliott Bay, a bizarre wave came at us – it was absolutely HUGE and we took a 6′ nose dive. There were no ferries, no freighters  and no cruise ships. It was unexplainable! Let’s say it freaked all of us out.  Kurt wanted to head to Blake Island across the sound.  It was a bit choppy with NNW at 8 mph, but he wasn’t worried at all.
satellite map elliott bay
About 1/4 of the way of the trip, we were going full throttle when we heard and felt a huge “thug”! What the hell was that?!! Yep, we hit a log and thank God, it was not a big one. We were all okay, but now I was a bit white knuckled between the white caps and the log.  The key to the trip, was we were finding out that the “sounds” we were hearing was that there was cavitation (see below) in the engines as we were going up and over the waves.
Soon, we planed the boat and found the perfect RPM and we made it to Blake Island State Park in about 40 minutes.

 

They have 30 minute docks and overnight moorage. We pulled up to the 30 minute dock and walked around a little bit. We checked out Tillicum Village and then we had lunch on the boat. Of course, I had to get my photo with my Cougar flag (I do this in every new city).

salmon bake indian reservation
Soon, the park ranger came knocking on our door – we had stayed too long.  By now the winds had shifted slightly and as we returned back, we had to close up all of the cockpit, as we were getting sprayed everywhere.

 

What is Cavitation?

The aeration (bubbling) and boiling effect of water caused by creation of a low pressure area. Generally caused by a solid shape (propeller blade) passing through the water, in such a position and speed, that a low pressure area is formed due to the inability to move through the water in nonresistant manner. An example is, a propeller blade that has a rough edge would not cut efficiently through the water, thus creating a low pressure area. If the pressure drops below the vapor pressure, a cavitation bubble will form in that region. These bubbles will collapse when they reach the higher pressure region of the blade. This causes a rapid change in pressure and can result in physical erosion. You may notice burns (erosion) at some area on the face of the blade.

We finally got back to the marina!

By the time we got back to Elliott Bay, the winds were fairly strong from the north, at about 12 mph. We headed to the fuel dock and twice, the winds pushed us off of the dock. The staff at the fuel dock was super helpful and on the third approach we nailed it. It didn’t help that a 70′ yacht was sharing the same fuel dock! LOL

I’m always a bit nervous doing the “S Turn” back to our slip between 3 yachts, especially in the wind, but Scott did an amazing job.  We still don’t have a slip mate yet on our starboard side and so we have a bit of “room” when docking. This time, the northerly winds pushed us right into our side of the dock and he did great! We wouldn’t have even hit them if they were there. LOL  Mac was happy the ride was over too. It was a bit too bumpy for him! As you can see by the photo of the cabin – things went flying! Lesson learned – secure everything!

sweet golden retriever face

 

We then spent the next two hours cleaning all of the salt water off of the boat! It was a mess! We couldn’t see a thing out of any of the windows!

 

 

Relaxing after a fun day

The best thing we love about boating, is relaxing after a fun day, in the sun with gorgeous surroundings! This weekend, we had a new yacht neighbor join us “Invader”. It is one of the largest yachts in North America at 164′ and it is owned by a media mogul.

 

Super Yacht, Invader

Scott & I ended the day grilling steaks on our new Magma Gas Grill  – it works perfect for us! We just made a simple blue cheese salad to pair with it. Mac surely was tuckered out too.
Another thing we learned about the boat this weekend, is how fast we go thru water. I was prepping dinner, when I heard the water pump – we were nearly bone dry! We have an antibacterial hose, Teknor Apex Zero-G Hose that we use to fill the water tanks directly from our dock.

After dinner, we strolled to the west end of the marina to take in the sunset – Elliott Bay Marina really is a beautiful place.
Unfortunately, for the month of June we won’t get to spend much time on the boat, as we have trips or commitments. We will try and squeeze in a night towards the end of the month – but will definitely use it a lot in July and August. Until then……..

#KokomoSeattle

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We are Finally Boat Owners!

We have bought our first boat!

We have finally bought our first boat. After my last post, we put an offer on a 31′ Bayliner Ciera 2000 cabin cruiser in the beginning of April. I owned one before and Bayliner boats are very prominent here in the northwest.  We had looked at many boats, but we kept coming back to this one.
The boat was located in the Des Moines Yacht Club on the hard and was in mint condition. The owner kept heaters in the cabin, cockpit and engine room. He didn’t accept our initial offer, but we settled half way in between.  Now the fun begins as we try to schedule the survey and mechanical inspection.  The challenge here was both the weather windows and the seller’s schedule, as he travels every week.

Survey

Finally, we scheduled the survey with Terry Larson of Northwest Marine Surveyors and sea trials for the second week of May! Yes, a whole month after our offer. This was one of the frustrating things about this process, as we were at the mercy of the owner.  Even our broker, Eddie from NW Yachts said this was one of the more difficult deals in regards to scheduling he had dealt with.  The boat was surveyed on the hard for a few hours, then the seller put it in the water so we could go to sea trials that same day.  We went out on the sound with the seller, surveyor and our broker.

 

Sea trials went great. It was a fairly windy day and I as you can see by the photo, there were lots of boats lined up on the dock. When we returned I started asking the seller what all came with the boat, so we could prepare and purchase anything needed. First I asked about the life jackets. He had them, but they were up in the shed at the house. (??!!) I was just out on the sound, are you kidding me? He had no distress kit, no first aid kit and the fire extinguishers were from 2000, the year the boat was built!
The survey only found some minor issues, that were not major nor deal breakers.  We then scheduled the mechanical inspection for a few days later.  The seller had upgraded almost everything on the boat, including the engines, the cooling systems, the electronics – in fact, he went a bit overboard our broker said. Even the electronic winch and davit system for the dingy he put in was a huge investment and a bit overkill for the boat.  But we’ll take it. Now we needed to schedule the closing….not as easy as you would think.

Boating Supplies

I wanted to be prepared for when we finally took possession. Knowing that he was leaving only the bare necessities on the boat, we went shopping. First to Fishery Supplies in Seattle to buy all of our boating items: PFD’s (we bought two inflatable ones for us), distress kit, first aid kit, boat cleaner, rags and much more.  Then we went to get stuff for the galley: dishes, glasses, utensils, etc. I also stocked our toiletries. The idea is that we want to be able go down to the boat and enjoy it without having to pack anything (besides clothes and food).
Back to the boat – the seller hardly used it in two years.  We are going to drop it in saltwater for the summer and I wanted it cleaned, buffed and waxed.  The seller refused to do that, so we paid someone to come out while it was on the hard and take care of it.  We finally went to closing on May 17th. It was a bit surreal to be finally signing the papers! When you buy a boat, it is much like buying a house. You sign at a title company and the funds go into escrow.

 

We signed with VanNess Vessel Title on Wednesday the 17th  and we wanted to take possession on Saturday, May 20th. If we didn’t, the seller was going to be out of town starting on Monday, May 22nd for two weeks!  The catch for us was, the seller wanted the funds in his account before he would hand over the keys, but he couldn’t sign until Friday the 19th. In the end, it all worked out!! Thank God.

Taking possession of the boat – finally!

Our broker Eddie moved the boat to a guest slip at the Des Moines Marina and we met him on Friday evening.

 

While we were so excited, we were also extremely anxious and nervous. Remember, I hadn’t operated a boat in 18 years and Scott has never. And this is a twin engine boat, which can be easier or harder depending on your experience.  Eddie spent about 45 minutes with us on the boat and took Scott to the fuel dock. I wish I had thought of taking video of all of this, but my phone was on the boat and I was on the dock.  During that time, he showed him how to dock it (who can learn in 5 minutes?) and then he backed it up into the slip. From there we drove both of our cars to Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle, so we could leave my car there (so we had a way to get home after we got to the marina) and also load up our dock box with some supplies. (It was a long night!!)

The trip from Des Moines to Seattle

Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to get up the next day and have the fun begin!! Our good friend Randy, drove us and Mac to the Des Moines Marina, where we loaded all of our gear and got things put away. After about an hour, the winds really picked up and we knew we had to get going.  My sister Susan and brother in law, Kurt were meeting us at our dock at Elliott Bay, so we could throw them the lines in case we needed help docking. The trip would take about an hour. I had no problem pushing the boat off the dock as the winds were coming from the north and all I had to do was untie the lines and we were off. And we were nervous as hell.
The trip was easy and fun. It was a gorgeous day, in fact, fighter jets from Whidbey Is were doing maneuvers over head. When approached downtown Seattle the views were stunning and we were glad we were mooring in Seattle, at least for the summer. Elliott Bay Marina is on the northwest side of Elliott Bay.

 

Scott and I had picked out our slip a month earlier. We had walked the docks and picked one that (at the time had no neighbors) and was close to the entrance. We picked M95.

Arriving to Elliott Bay – Uh ho!

As we entered the marina, we soon realized that we were not on the west side of M dock, which was right in front of us. We figured, we would simply pull into the marina and head down our dock lane. But not so. Turns out we were on the other side of the M dock which required Scott to turn a sharp right and then a sharp left to dock. The catch is we had to maneuver between two huge yachts and it was very windy.  The image below doesn’t do it justice, as it has two small boats inside, but when we went through, there were two 65′ yachts on both sides.

 

Luckily, we made it just fine, but our hearts were racing like mad. We wanted to dock this boat and get off (LOL). So I threw Kurt the lines from about 10′ away and told him to pull us in. We were ready to relax, have a beer and enjoy some sun!

 

 

 

Sleeping the first night on the boat

Even Mac did very well. He had troubles at first getting on and off, but soon that was a piece of cake. He wasn’t to sure of going down the stairs to the cabin, but food finally encouraged him.  We slept that night on the boat peacefully and woke up to a gorgeous morning.

 

That morning, we explored the marina. We knew it had two restaurants and then we found the fuel dock and marina store. The store is much bigger than we expected. They even have a great wine selection!
We are staying the entire Memorial Day weekend on the boat, Friday – Monday.  My sister and her husband are coming down on Saturday morning to spend a few hours with us. He will help us practice docking, entering the marina and other maneuvers so we can be comfortable using it on our own. The weather is forecasted to be warm and sunny, so it should be a fantastic weekend. This is what we have been waiting for all these years!  #KokomoSeattle
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The Dream and Where Did it Come From?

Boating in the Caribbean

Sailing the Caribbean

Sailing the Caribbean is our dream. Many might ask, what’s with the dream of exploring the world on water and why? Where did it come from?  Honestly, that dream has been with me for many many years (probably longer than Scott). First of all, I grew up on boats. While they were only fishing and water skiing boats, we spent our summers on the water. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, being on the water just brings a sense of peace and adventure.

 

America's II Sailing Boat

 

Back in the 80’s and 90’s my mom and I would vacation in Hawaii and one year we were lucky to sail on the America II Sailboat. The America II was a 1987 America’s Cup Challenger. This prestigious yacht was custom designed and built, at the cost of $10 million, for the sole purpose of competing in world-class racing. After completing her transpacific race she was retired from racing to do sailing tours out of Lahaina Harbor on Maui. Because it was a racing boat, it was bare bones….barely had a head (bathroom).

 

my mom on America II sail boat

 

 

We sailed it to Molokini and that was the trip that hooked me. The serenity of flying over blue waters with dolphins next to us and then arriving to a location where sea turtles and tropical fish surrounded you is so unreal. I wanted to turn the boat around and go back when we got home!
Later in my adult life, I owned a 27′ “weekender” and spent many weekends up at the San Juan Islands. I remember exploring the islands one day and decided to go north and out of the blue, a pod of Orca whales surrounded our boat. They literally were just feet off of our anchor platform. I took a ton of photos (but this one is not mine). It was one of the coolest experiences I have had.

 

Scott and I were married in 2003 and we spent our honeymoon in Antigua. We booked two sailing excursions on that trip and soon he was hooked too! We took a catamaran snorkeling trip and then finished it on a sunset sailing cruise. What a honeymoon to remember!

Sandals Antigua Beach
Scott Ally Sailing Caribbean

 

Back to Antigua & Jamaica

We decided after that trip, that we would always include the water on our future trips to the Caribbean. And any chance we had to be on the water, we took advantage of it. It’s the best therapy you can find! We returned to Antigua in 2010 and took those same two trips again.

Antingua sailing excursion

 

 

snorkling antigua

 

 

The following year, during our visit to Sandals Whitehouse Jamaica we had one of the most memorable trips on a Catamaran as we visited Floyd’s Pelican Bar….a bar on a sandbar!

Sandals Whitehouse Jamaica

 

 

Floy'd Pelican Bar

 

On another visit to Jamaica we took another sailing trip and just our luck, the skies turned dark and stormy. It was still a very cool experience and the S/V was huge! It had 2 Cummins engines and it had a capacity of 100ppl!

 

 

 

 

Looking for Water

No matter what the situation is, we still love being on the water and forgetting all about the rest of the world. It’s not always a bed of roses, in fact, more often than not it’s work. Scott and I are willing to take that challenge and explore. For now, it might only be a boat show or a day on a family’s boat, but we’re still on the water! We hope to buy a boat in the next few years!

 

 

 

 

I guess in the end, the water has more meaning to us than we know and everyday it’s a new experience and a new memory. The photo above of my mom, she had so much fun….it was about a year before she died.  We also chose to sprinkle Maggie’s ashes (our golden retriever) in Port Susan at Camano Island. It was one of the most spiritual and memorable experience regarding a death…..very peaceful.

 

When days get me down, I just look back on the journeys we had and remind myself that new ones on the water are just around the corner. Cheers, Ally

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Today it’s simply a dream

caribbean island beach

Boating Dream – Living on a Catamaran in the Caribbean

Our boating dream would be to retire in the Caribbean and live on a catamaran. How did this even come about? I started a personal blog back in 2009 when I was struggling to have children and was in my early 40’s. I wanted our kids to know the journey we had experienced, but we never had kids and after a few years I stopped updating it. It was a private blog, so it was really more of a diary for me.

Scott and I have always loved the sea and during every vacation to the Caribbean, we would plan at least one (usually two) catamaran excursions. I grew up with boats, had one as an adult and really missed boating. After spending time on the Caribbean Sea, we fell in love with the islands and the laid back life. We always pictured ourselves working or retiring in the Caribbean.

 

caribbean island beach

Fast forward to the January of 2011 when we attended the Seattle Boat Show, which included the floating show on Lake Union. It was a cold, wet and dreary day, but we were going to have fun anyways!

That is when we looked at our first (liveaboard) Catamaran, the Lagoon 350. The broker was trying to convince us to get into the charter business in the PNW as it was a great way to buy our dream boat. Suddenly, we were hooked and couldn’t stop thinking about that boat. There was another cat at the show and it wasn’t nearly as roomy or comfortable. From that point on, we knew we needed to do our research and read everything we could.

Magazines & Blogs

I started buying Multi-Hulls Magazine and other Sailing magazines to read up on sailing and cruising lifestyles. I also started following blogs of other catamaran sailors and their adventures. One that hooked me like a novel was the blog for Tritons At Sea. This guy was so particular and I couldn’t wait to read the next blog he posted. It was from 2005, but he had great advice, including lists and requirements that are still great today. When our journey finally starts, we’ll be referencing his blog. Then we found other blogs on sailblogs.com. This was a great site and eventually I was emailing some of the boats and congratulating them on their adventures. It was a great way to erase the dulldrums of the rainy days of the PNW, especially on a slow work day.

See, I don’t have a regular job, but instead own a local wine shop, The Wine Alley and I work here every day. During the week, we don’t get a ton of daytime shoppers, so I would pass the time following many of the sailing blogs down in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. But that can also simply be adding “salt to the wound”. Reading about their tropical adventures at sea and then looking at the 3″ of cold rain falling didn’t always make life better.

A Trip to Antigua

Every January, we close our wine shop for a week and visit the Caribbean. In 2010 we went to Antigua and during our trip we took a day trip on a catamaran, “Wadadli Cats” that sailed us all around the island. We started on the north end and traveled west into the Atlantic Ocean and then back around to the Caribbean side. What a thrill and for me, at that moment, I forgot all about our problems back home. We were in paradise!
Antingua sailing excursion
 Boating in the Caribbean

What’s Next?

When we returned home, we again attended the 2012 boat show and collected so much information ranging from toilets to electronics. This was actually a bit silly, considering we knew we wouldn’t “launch” for many years, unless we won the lottery! But it was still fun to look, touch and dream.
Caribbean sea beaches

 Books, Books & More Books!

A few months later, I noticed all kinds of “real life” books on sailing and one that caught my eye was A Sail of Two Idiots . This was a great story about another couple, our age, who sold everything, bought a catamaran and sailed the Caribbean and with no sailing experience! Well, if they can do it, so could Scott and I and we both read that book fast! The author, Renee Petrillo has been so gracious answering all of my emails and answering our questions over the past two years. It’s a great book, so this is a must buy!

The funny thing about me, is that I am not a reader. My mom would read a book in a few days, but books have always bored me. But I love all real life books about sailing the Caribbean and other tropical adventures. I soon found myself reading: The Motion of the Ocean  (a book about a local PNW couple), Sail Away: How to Escape the Rat Race and Live the Dream and A Trip to the Beach: Living on Island Time in the Caribbean. For birthdays & Christmas, we found ourselves giving each other books about Catamarans, Nautical References and Galley Recipes. Currently, I’m reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude, a story about a Toronto couple that heads down the ICW to the Caribbean. So many people have done it and so many are doing it, that we know in our hearts we’ll be there soon too.

In addition to all of the books, blogs, etc. that I started reading, local neighbors of ours, John & Kelly W. started their dream and trip in August 2012 from Seattle. They left everything and headed south on their sailboat. They made it to Mexico by the end of 2012 and have been enjoying the tropical Mexican life ever since. It’s been fun to follow their trip on Facebook and see where they are headed next. Since then, most of my Twitter & Instagram accounts follow mostly cruisers too.

So we began 2013 year, dreaming of our trip and trying to figure out how we will get there. Owning a business and having debt, doesn’t make the challenge easy. But we know with determination, we’ll get there in a few years. In the meantime, I wanted to share the little adventures, research and events with you so we can reflect on everything we went through to get to our dream. If we can do it, everyone else can too. Cheers, Scott & Ally

 

Scott Ally Caribbean Tourists