Alaska Trip Day 104

9/25/11

HOME!!!

Miles travelled:  12

Our night wasn’t as restful as it could have been.  At 3:30 this morning the wind came up from an unexpected direction and one of the anchors dragged and the whole raft rotated which twisted all of the anchor chains together.  It was not pretty and having to wake every one up to have non-anchored boats pull out of the raft and then have to deal with twisted anchor chains was not fun.  Once the non-anchored boats pulled out of the raft, significant strain was removed and the wind decided to calm down.  As a group it was decided to try and deal with the twisted anchor chains once it was daylight.  Fortunately the winds died down instead of increasing as Tor and I feared, and we were able to get our anchor chains all sorted out without any damage or significant work.  Not the way we wanted to break up the raft, but it all worked out in the end.

We got an earlier start than anticipated due to the breakup of the raft so we just headed home.  Goodness was it windy!  Tor did get some sailing in, but I don’t think it was exactly what he had in mind.  We made excellent time with just a reefed main against the tide flooding in.  We tucked into the locks and were welcomed home by Auntie Laurie and Andre…what a welcome sight!

The winds continued to be really strong, probably 30 kts as we motored through Lake Union to our dock.  We got under all of the bridges and made it to the dock in time for the boys to go down for their nap.

After nap we gathered the essentials and headed HOME!  How wonderful it is to be here.  To snuggle with our cats and see the boys exploring this “new” place is awesome.  We had dinner with Grandma Jean and Grandpa Lee and got the boys to bed with minimal fuss.

It was an amazing trip and we are so grateful to have been able to do it.  We plan to put together some sort of summary post, but for now we’ve got some settling in to do and some cat loving to catch up on…oh, and some serious child proofing to do!

A rainbow welcomed us back to Ballard (see it over the black boat?)

Alaska Trip Day 103

9/24/11

Blakely Harbor, Bainbridge Island, WA

Miles travelled:  10

Another day of warm, high winds from the South.  Another day of not sailing.  I think it’s killing Tor, but the timing just isn’t working out with naps right now.  We will have to figure out how to get more sailing in on future trips (um, hello, don’t do 2500+ mile trips and then you can take your time getting a few miles), but this isn’t the time.

We anchored in Blakely Harbor in time to put the boys down for their nap.  The rest of the PSCC raft up participants were out sailing a non-race to determine who would win the big bottle of tequila that they would pour for everyone else.  The winner is determined less from actual sailing time and more from a complicated equation that takes things into account like boat color…actually the equation changes from year to year depending on the whim of the commodores.  It makes for a really fun time.

Boats trickled in and tied up to the growing raft or put their anchors out and then tied to the raft.  It’s always a bit of a trick to get the raft set up, but it is really nice to be able to walk from boat to boat and socialize or do a big potluck meal.  We were really fortunate for this raft up because a big catamaran (50’ long with a beam of 24’) tied up next to us so we had some serious space for the potluck.  It was good to have the space since there are a bunch of people since there are I think about 12 boats rafted up together.

We got the boys to bed and then were able to participate in the potluck with the help of the baby monitor.  The boys fell asleep and stayed asleep even though the party was right next door, whew!  It was a fun night and it was great to be back at a raft up…we haven’t been at one for probably about 2 years because I was really pregnant and then we had the boys.  It’s good to be involved again, see old friends, and to meet new members.

Alaska Trip Day 102

9/23/11

Port Madison, Bainbridge Island, WA

Miles Travelled:  27

We had a nice and relaxed morning in Langley.  We walked into town for coffee and pastries and to let the boys roam at the park.  The sun was shining and it was glorious!  We loafed around in town just long enough to let the tide come up to a sufficient level so we could pump out the holding tank…we only had about 6 feet of water and we draw 4.5 feet.  We didn’t plan it, but it certainly worked out well!

The trip south was windy, with wind right on our nose so we just powered into it instead of sailing.  At least the wind was amazingly warm so it wasn’t too unpleasant to be on deck even though we were heading into ~20 kt winds.  We were also fighting a contrary current so we didn’t make great time, but fortunately we weren’t going far. 

Tor and I love Port Madison.  It’s a really well protected anchorage with a nice sticky mud bottom with pretty shallow depths for anchoring.  There are lots of neat boats to look at and it is really close to Seattle, so it certainly felt like we were home after being away for 4 ½ months.  In fact we even started this trip by anchoring in Port Madison for 2 nights!

We had chicken and red pepper kebabs with potatoes for supper and we were able to eat in the cockpit.  The boys have been rubbing their food covered hands in their hair at several recent meals so their hair was disgusting and we decided to take advantage of the warm evening and give them a shower in the cockpit.  It’s certainly the first time it’s been warm enough to do that on this trip!  We rigged up the sun shower and I heated water on the stove since we didn’t have enough time to let the sun do its job.  We put the boys in their high chairs in the cockpit to help keep them contained and they got clean.  Yay!

Odin showering while Lars waits his turn

I'm not totally sure I like this Mama

Why do you put such value on being clean Mama?

Scrub a dub dub for Lars

Clean boys!  Odin needed something to play with while he waited for Lars...good thing he likes beer bottles!

Alaska Trip Day 101

Langley Small Boat Harbor, Whidbey Island Washington
9/22/2011
Miles Travelled: 29

(Tor reporting)

All of our wind down here in Washington is trying very hard to get up to Georgia Strait!  Listening to the VHF weather today told of 40+ knot southerlies in the Georgia Strait area and it is sucking Puget Sound's air North.  We had 20-25 knot southerly winds last night at Hope Island, and the blustery southerlies continued all day today with a steady 15 knots on the nose as we motored south.

We all woke up at the normal time (7:00), had our oatmeal and commenced a relaxing morning of toys, cleaning up from the oatmeal mess and slowly getting ready for a 0930 departure.

As soon as we slipped our mooring line and motored out from behind the lee of Hope Island, the wind and rain really picked up.  Nothing scary but 15 knots on the nose with rain showers isn't fun.  One nice thing is that the wind felt quite warm all day, keeping the experience from being truly uncomfortable.  We motored south, hugging the Camano Island side as the currents were northward and we were trying to gain some benefit by being near the edge of the main flow (edge effect).

Odin had a really rough day.  He didn't sleep all that well last night and we were up for 1.5 hours trying to get him settled and back to sleep.  We realized why this morning, poor little guy is sick.  He is congested with a runny nose, and he even vomited a couple of times today.  Hopefully it was due to swallowing mucous and not a stomach bug, which seems likely because he sure bounced back once we got to Langley this afternoon. Lars' nose started running this afternoon too, ugh.

We pulled into a slip at the South Whidbey Boat Basin at Langley.  It is a very small marina sheltered from the North by a substantial fort-like breakwater that is over 15 feet tall and built in a large C shape from logs on their end...think stockade.  The entrance is quite shallow, but it is a great little spot and within walking distance of the town of Langley.  We walked around town with the boys, climbed a big hill to find the laundromat and even stayed and had British pub fare and IPAs at Mo's pub while our laundry dried.

Lars at Mo's

Odin at Mo's

Alaska Trip Day 100!

9/21/11

Hope Island State Park, Hope Island, WA

Miles Travelled: 29

It's amazing to us that we've been on the boat for 100 days.  We really have figured out how to make it work and how to have fun.

Karla and Soren came by to see us off this morning and brought us doughnuts from Rocket Doughnuts.  Yum!  I was a little scared about the bacon maple bar, but it was great!  I don’t think it quite makes up for not having a maple doughnut of any sort at Tim Horton’s like FarmingMama suggested in an earlier comment, but we’ll just have to try another time when we are up in Canada.

Our trip through the Swinomish Slough was uneventful and a bit slow since we had the current against us.  Once we got to Hope Island, we tied up at a mooring buoy at the state park.  This was the first time we have used a mooring buoy the entire trip.

We had pineapple peanut stew for supper and Odin in particular LOVED it tonight.  It is certainly gratifying to see my kids gobble down bite after bite of kale! 

We are slowly working our way down Puget Sound in thirty mile jumps.  This allows us to work around naps and weather (forecast for strong SE winds over the next couple of days).  It also allows for getting to a social gathering in Blakely Harbor on the 24^th of September.  We've been involved with the Puget Sound Cruising Club (PSCC) since we launched the boat 5 years ago and Tor and I were even commodores a few years ago.  The club has monthly raft ups in Puget Sound and this coming weekend is one of them in Blakely Harbor on Bainbridge Island.  We hope to make it, it would be a fun way to end our summer cruise.  

Alaska Trip Day 99

9/20/11

Bellingham, WA

Miles Travelled: 0

Another day in Bellingham that ended up being so much fun!  Lee and Jean (Tor’s parents) came up from Seattle and we sure had an action packed day!  In the morning before Grandma and Grandpa arrived, Tor, Odin, Lars and I walked up to Karla and Jared’s to spend the morning with them.  Then it was back to the boat for lunch and naps and while the boys napped, I went grocery shopping.  Once the boys were up from their naps, Grandma and Grandpa were already in town.  Grandpa Lee gave the boys baths…something he has been itching to do for a while (that has turned out to be his official Grandpa duty with the other two grandsons).  All 10 of us went out for Lunner at a great Mexican place downtown…I think it was a very romantic dinner for Lee and Jean to celebrate their 44^th wedding anniversary.  After Lunner we all went to Einar’s soccer practice and had a blast.  Then everyone met us back at the boat before it was time to get the little boys to bed.  Busy and lots of fun.

It’s always hectic and always fun to hang out with this crowd.  Einar and Soren really love their cousins and play really well with them and share their toys so well.  We always eat well and the boys get lots of hugs.  We’re glad we are back in town to be able to experience it.

We also got the French Press coffee maker returned at REI today, whew!  We could stay out for another month or so with the coffee we have on board now that we have a way to make it.  Did I just make the Grandparents cringe?  J

First ever art project for the boys, making birthday and anniversary cards for their Auntie and Grandparents

Playing the piano with cousin Soren

Lars giving Auntie Karla a high five at soccer practice

Hanging out on the sidelines

Odin and Grandma rooting for Einar

Grass eating Odin

All of the cousins together

Uncle Jared and Lars

Auntie Karla and Uncle Jared with the boys

Einar and Soren checking out our boat.  For the first time in the history of the boat we heard "Wow, this boat is HUGE!"

Alaska Trip Day 98

9/19/11

Bellingham, WA

Miles Travelled: 27

We awoke to a beautiful morning in the San Juans.  It’s pretty neat to come south and still find a little bit of summer left.  While the weather was pretty nice for us in SE Alaska and N B.C., it still wouldn’t qualify as feeling all that summery since a normal high would be about 60 degrees.  It’s definitely getting to be fall, you can see it in trees turning and feel it in the crispness of the air, but after a summer up North…it feels like summer!

I weighed anchor this morning and motored us out of Parks Bay and through the busy San Juans.  It’s been a long time since we’ve seen this much boat traffic!  I swear these islands are infested with Washington State ferries like a dog infested with fleas.  It seemed like everywhere I looked I saw a ferry.  I’m sure that feeling was magnified by the fact that we haven’t seen boat traffic like that all summer, but it sure seemed there were a lot of them.

We had a nice motor to Bellingham even though we were hoping for wind to sail that just never came.

Once we arrived in Bellingham we had a greeting party meet us at the dock.  Tor’s sister Karla, brother-in-law Jared and nephew Soren came by to greet quickly before they needed to run and get our other nephew Einar at school.

Tor and I got the boys a snack and we put them in the carriers and walked the 1.5 miles to Karla and Jared’s house.  We had a nice evening of visiting and we all enjoyed yummy veggie curry that Jared made for dinner.