Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Here's to Seattle! Land of coffee and rain.

We made it to Seattle!

Joyfully stepping off in Edmonds Marina!
Pulled into Port of Edmonds, just north of Seattle yesterday afternoon around 4pm. Got a nice space on the guest moorage dock through Sunday afternoon, but will most likely stay a day or two longer depending on the time we need to prep the boat for her Neah Bay to Bodega Bay passage. The weather is also supposed to been nasty on Saturday and Sunday, as a cold front is moving through the Straight of Juan de Fuca-- so we are staying clear. Much more cozy to be at port and wait until it clears up next week.

Crossing the border...

After leaving Otter Bay Marina on Pender Island, we had an absolutely perfect sailing day. We motored out of the bay, threw up the sails and killed the engine. We sailed a nice beam reach all the way to Friday Harbor, sailing over the Canada/U.S. border at a solid 7 knots! That is faster than we motor generally. Our little diesel Westerbeke usually chugs us along at about 6 to 6.5 knots, so when we are sailing (for free!) over 7 knots, it's a victory. Our customs visit took longer than planned, but only because we had to wait on the dock at Friday Harbor for 45 minutes or so for the actually customs officer to arrive. There was quite a line up of boats by the time he came. During that waiting time, we met Jonathon from Edmonds, the owner of the s/v Moment, who had just sailing up to Juneau and back during this fabulous summer! We were surprised that in all of our stops we didn't run into him on the way down. Upon arriving in Edmonds a day later, we ran into him again, just as he arrived into port. We are hoping to see him and exchange more stories and helpful hints this week as we stay in the Edmonds area.

We anchored right in from of Port Townsend on Monday night, arriving into Port Townsend right as the sun was setting. Waking up the next morning, we pulled up the anchor and motored over to a transient day-dock at the front of town and managed to do a quick walking tour of town during hour free-hour of moorage. I got a great cappuccino at "Better Living Through Coffee" and got some creative ideas for nautical crafts I could make as gifts or art for the boat. I think my next crafty endeavor will be a galley mat made out of our first dick line that we replace (one of them is fraying a bit, and is in need of a better purpose).

Break Time...

Tonight will be our first night off the boat in a month! We are spending the night with my grandparents in Mill Creek for dinner, laundry, showers, a cozy bed and maybe if we're lucky, a movie on the couch (which I am looking forward to immensely). Our break in Edmonds was strategically placed because of the closeness to my generous and flexible grandparents.

My parents are also paying us a visit Thursday through Saturday. A special birthday celebration is in order, since Captain Clif's birthday is Friday (woo-hoo, turning 28!) and my mother's birthday is on Sunday.

However, the week won't be all fun and games (although I'd secretly like to sneak a pedicure in... if possible). We do have several large boat projects that need to get done. We are picking up a very special gift from AML today or tomorrow: a new sailing dighy! Father Thomas, who blessed our boat in Petersburg, shipped us his fully equipped 8ft Walker Bay. We are very grateful and looking forward to a more stable and fun way to get ashore from our boat as we make our way down the coast. Thank you FT!

Clif has been pouring all his thought and spare time into purchasing and the possible installation of a used Monitor wind vane. He has been in contact with one in Bellingham that would work for the boat... but I'll let him tell you more about that (and all the thought that has gone into the purchasing decision... it's quite the process). I have taken on the rub-rail project. Our rub rail is old, and has needed being replaced since the boat came up to Juneau, but was put off because it's not imperative to the sailing of the boat. However, in heavy wave chop, we have found that any hard whack! to the bow of the boat will knock the rub rail clear off the bow of the boat. Clif has to snap it back on, usually in foul weather, and I don't enjoy watching him do that while I drive.  So I'm purchasing a new rub rail and putting it on myself.... more on that project later.

For now.... don't look at our tracker, or monitor our whereabouts, we are in Edmonds, WA and happily warming up and doing laundry amidst good coffee, and a wealth of sailors.

Lots of love... Giselle

2 comments:

  1. Have fun while here in Seattle! Been enjoying reading your blog! If you ever did need a last minute place to crash in Seattle, I've got a house with LOTS of bed and couch space :)
    - Cylon

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  2. Best wishes Sound Discovery crew, we look forward to meeting you in Mexico or along the way! It is raging, raging wind now in Astoria, we're stuck here at least through Tuesday. They closed the Columbia River Bar for the first time in a while, exciting here! Michael

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