The week beforehand was busy with boat maintenance. Mark spent a lot of time fixing small things. He bought and installed the missing lifeline behind the helm. One of the days we had someone from our sailing club graciously offer to help us learn to dock. After spending less than an hour of training entering and leaving our slip, Mark and I feel a lot more confident in our abilities. Especially me! To be fair, the winds and currents have not been strong on any of our docking attempts yet.
On Friday, the engine repair guy and the boat docking guy (Captain Scott) we hired arrived at the same time. Frank, the engine repair person, was supposed to be there earlier in the week. Mark had also called him the day before to confirm that he would be working on the engine earlier in the day as we had hired Captain Scott at 3:30pm. I guess engine repair people have their own time schedule… Anyway, Captain Scott was fine with rescheduling.
Turns out the diesel smell I had complained about since the day we had the test sail was a fuel leak. Frank worked on that the entire time and was to come back on Tuesday to do the rest of the engine maintenance.
We made three trips to the boat from the car to the boat with items for our trip. I think we brought everything but the kitchen sink. Wait, there already is a kitchen sink on board in the galley. There were still things we forgot or found we would like for next time. Mark and I started a list because we absolutely loved going on this cruise and hope to go on many more.
Our cruise this weekend to La Conner, was the first time Mark and I had taken the Jeanne Marie out of the marina without Joe.
The trip up to La Conner started out at 7:00am. We didn’t have any trouble with the weather. It was a bit overcast and the weather people predicted rain but we were fortunate. There were a few sprinkles and some grayish looking clouds but we had occasional sunbreaks too. The entire weekend’s weather was fabulous. The temperatures were just right for sitting out on the dock in deck chairs. Chairs are on our list for next time. 🙂
Sailing up Saratoga Passage was exciting. We hadn’t journeyed up there for two years and I had forgotten all the pretty scenery. We saw at least a dozen harbor seals during our 5 hour trip. They would swim along with their head bobbing about and dive under before I could get a good picture of them. I really needed a telephoto lens on my phone camera!
Mark used the radar system on the boat and we used the charts to navigate the waters of Skagit Bay. We kept a close eye out for the markers and buoys and debated where Goat Island was located. The first time we sailed to La Conner we turned too early at the island we thought was Goat Island. We didn’t want to make the same mistake. This time we knew the way. We are becoming good sailors.
We got to the Swinomish Channel right when we wanted to and proceeded through without any problems. The lowest depth was 12 feet. Our keel is 4 feet 9 inches so we had plenty of room. Mark slowed the boat way down and we took our time going through the channel enjoying the sights. Before we knew it we were in La Conner ready to dock at the marina with the rest of the Milltown Sailing Association boats. Melissa and Blain’s boat, the Aloha Mai—, was an hour behind us the entire way up from Everett and somehow sped up at the very end and passed us right as we were going into La Conner.
The Milltown sailors were waiting on the dock for the newly arriving boats to help dock. We didn’t have any issue docking since it was slack tide when we came in. It was nice there were people there though. I’d never seen a dock without cleats before. You are supposed to wind your line under the —– on the dock instead of wrapping around cleats. Who knew there were different types?
After meeting everyone we started to put the boat in order. I organized the inside and Mark cleaned and polished the dodger. It made a big difference to be able to see through the plastic window while driving the boat. After that I was hoisted up the mast to attach a line through a small pulley in the bottom of the lowest starboard side spreader. It was scary, but AWESOME!!! There were no formal plans for Saturday so everyone was on their own. We sat out and talked a while in the evening and then at dinnertime went to our sailboat and had a late dinner. After dinner we watched a movie and got ready for bed.
Menu
Champagne Chicken
Rice
Green Beans
The next day we slept late, had breakfast, and got dressed. We then spent the rest of the day visiting with the other Milltown Sailing friends. Mark and I walked over to the Marina store and looked around. It was then time to get ready for the theme night potluck. It was a progressive boat dinner and each boat was to represent a country. We chose Spain. Our cuisine consisted of a Patata Tortilla, Spanish-style “Italian” Bruschetta, and Sherry. We decorated the salon with two posters of Spain, we had printed from Costco. Mark and I were both dressed in costume. The countries represented were China, Spain, Japan, USA, “Hawaiian nation”, and Norway. The Hawaiian nation was a stretch but who cares!
Monday came along too early and it was time to leave. We waved goodbye and set off with a few of the other sailboats. We were able to put up the sails on the way home in the northern portion of Saratoga Passage for a few hours. It was glorious! Right before we turned into Port Gardner, north of Gedney (Hat) Island, we saw Harbor Porpoises!!! How cool is that?!!! A wonderful end to a wonderful weekend.
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| A sea lion was relaxing at the edge of harbor at 7:00am when we left Port Gardner in Everett |
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| Mark at the helm leaving Port Gardner and entering Saratoga Passage |
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| Heading north in Saratoga Passage |
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| Gedney (Hat Island in the distance) |
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| Mark is now saying, “Last picture!” |
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| Victoria Clipper |
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| Harbor Seal peeking his head up |
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| Another little harbor seal. We probably saw a dozen during this trip. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a close-up picture of any of them. On the way home we also saw some harbor porpoises swimming off the north side of Hat Island. What an exciting sight to view so close to home! |
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| Entering the Swinomish Channel around 12:00pm. |
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| Entering La Conner |
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| Rainbow Bridge |
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| Blain and Melissa’s Sailboat, a 43 ft Hunter |
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| Margo and Bruce, a cabin cruiser |
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| I’m wearing the boatswain’s chair. Ready to go up the mast. |
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| Flying high |
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| Putting the line through the pulley on the bottom of the spreader. |
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| Judy Dittrich and Jeff Gettmann |
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| Margo Hayden |
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| Blain Nelson |
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| Judy Gettmann – R-Toy II |
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| Rainbow Bridge |
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| Moored in La Conner |
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| Rainbow Bridge in the evening |
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| Mark putting up our Milltown Sailing burgee and other pennants |
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| Saturday evening sunset in La Conner |
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| Sunday night theme potluck – Linda and Grant Albert- Mei Li – Japanese |
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| Mark Dittrich, Linda Grant, Judy and Jeff Gettmann |
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| Grant Albert and Blain Nelson |
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| Pam Dittrich- Norway |
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| Bruce Hayden |
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| Margo Hayden, Carolyn and Rick Hunter |
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| Judy, Melissa Blankenship, Mark, Linda, Judy, Jeff, Mark, Margo |
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| Leaving La Conner at 8:30am Monday morning |
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| Rainbow Bridge in the morning |
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| Judy and Jeff’s Else |
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| Else |
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| Burgee and Pennants happily flying |
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| We put up the sails and sailed for about 3 hours |
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| Grant and Linda’s sailboat in Port Gardner |
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| Two sea lions greeting us in Port Gardner |
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| Relaxing in the sun |
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