Maiden Voyages

This past week we took two trips on the new Next To Me. Last Thursday was sunny and warm, so Lynn and David (Bob’s sister and her husband) met us at the marina for a leisurely afternoon cruise.

Distance traveled:  17 miles

Travel time: 2.5 hours

From our home near the red marker in the top center of the photo below, we look east to Vashon Island. The boat is kept in Gig Harbor, as shown on the left-center side of the photo. We meandered out of Gig Harbor into Puget Sound, then north into Quartermaster Harbor where we cut the engine and drifted for a couple hours of beautiful scenery and lively conversation accompanied by a beer.

Conditions couldn’t have been nicer.

Lynn enjoyed a relaxed turn at the helm before we returned to the marina late in the afternoon.

A week later we took Journey #2.

Distance traveled:  35.6 miles round trip

Travel Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes

Saturday morning our daughter and son-in-law Mackenzie and Matt who live in Seattle met us at the boat in Gig Harbor.  The weather was better than forecast, and we traveled 17 miles north to Blake Island.

Mackenzie and Matt are dedicated sun-seekers, so spent a lot of the trip on deck soaking it up.

We docked at the State Park Marina on Blake Island, which was practically empty as boating season winds down once Labor Day is past.

Tillicum Village is a small Native American facility housed on the island and served by a tour boat from downtown Seattle. Visitors are served a traditional meal of salmon accompanied by music and a show that portrays Native life in the Pacific Northwest. We’ve attended previously, but didn’t go this time.

The island, about 5 miles long, is cross-crossed with trails through dense evergreen forest, so we went for a hike.

After emerging from the woods onto the shore at the northwest corner of the island, we walked back to the marina via the beach.

Several enormous jellyfish were awaiting the incoming tide to return to the water. Anyone know what kind this is?

Matt enjoyed taking a long turn at the helm.

We had planned to spend the night on Blake Island, but the Sunday forecast called for gale force winds on Puget Sound, so we headed home late in the afternoon, had dinner on board, and spent the night at the Gig Harbor marina. We enjoyed having our first overnight guests on the boat!