Winter Cruising in the PNW

Distance traveled:  19.2 miles Friday, 16.7 miles Saturday

Travel time:  3 hrs 17 mins Friday; 2 hrs 45 mins Saturday

In the Pacific Northwest the boating season is generally thought of as May through September. Puget Sound and adjacent waters only vary from about 48 degrees in winter to 55 degrees in summer, and never freeze, but the days are short and the weather is cold and rainy outside that season.

One goal in buying the new “Next To Me” was to attempt to expand the cruising season by getting a boat large and warm enough to be comfortable on the water even in “off “ season. We learned on this trip, accompanied by friends Jim and Phebe, that we succeeded.

After a good night’s sleep at the Kingston Marina and a leisurely start to the day, we headed south with Bob at the helm. We drove from the fully enclosed flybridge with a “Mr. Buddy Propane Heater” keeping things comfortable despite the 15 - 20 mph wind, whitecaps at times , and temps in the high 40s. Jim again shared helm duty.

After tying up in Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, we wandered the streets of Winslow, the attractive adjacent town, peeking into nautical shops, checking out local real estate, and enjoying the prolific public art. On return to the boat,  Phebe made dinner in celebration of Cathryn’s birthday: beef curry on couscous, salad and apple crisp with almond flour crust and lots of candles on top, accompanied by singing and wine. Yum, and what fun! We’ve lost track of the dozens of birthdays the 4 of us have celebrated together by sharing dinners, attending concerts and lots more.

Saturday morning brought blinding sun and blue skies. After a leisurely start (apple crisp for breakfast anyone? You bet!) we continued south, traveling at slower speed (7 mph) and driving from inside the salon at the lower helm for the first time ever, sitting comfortably and warmly inside.

Overall a great trip: time with good friends, a chance to try out winter cruising and more time honing our single screw boat handling skills. 

One of the things we’ve always said we liked about boating is that it offers a chance to continue to learn new skills in our retirement. Well, we can report that by buying a single screw boat we’ve guaranteed the continuation of the learning curve.

We each absolutely nailed a docking using our new back-and-fill technique. We can also report that we each completely muffed another one. We like to remember that batting .500 in baseball is almost unheard of and considered terrific!

Gig Harbor to Kingston

Distance traveled:  35.3 statute miles

Travel time:  4 hours, 21 minutes

Thursday morning we pulled out of the slip at our home marina with long-time friends Jim and Phebe aboard. Some of our Looper friends will recall meeting them when they joined us for a week in the Florida Keys in February 2013. November is not considered prime “cruising season” in the Pacific Northwest for good reason, but we were cheerful and excited about the 3-day cruise, despite the temperature around 50 and gray skies with rain in the forecast.

The journey north was uneventful despite some rain for an hour, and particularly relaxing for Bob and Cathryn because Jim took the helm for almost 3 hours and Phebe for 1 hour, so we got to relax and enjoy the scenery.

We spotted seals and sea lions, a few Dall’s porpoises, a container ship or two, and several freighters, paralleling the shipping lanes for most of the journey.

Cathryn was at the helm when we left the marina and when we docked in Kingston, and both went completely smoothly, aided psychologically by there being THREE crew on deck holding “walk-around fenders” ready to save us from disaster in the event of errant maneuvers. No fenders needed. Boy, those “back-and-fill” lessons were a great investment of time. Thank you again Jim and Robin of M/V Adventures!

The Kingston Marina is an interesting stop. While the town is small without much selection of great restaurants, we thoroughly enjoyed the arrival of a Purse Seiner at the slip next to ours shortly after we tied up. They reported having a “bad day” on the water, having only caught 100 or so Chums (a type of salmon, which they also referred to as “Dogs or dog fish”).

They allowed us to come aboard to peek into the hold while a “Buy Boat” (who buys fish directly from commercial fisherman the day of the catch) tied up alongside to unload the fish from the Purse Seiner to the Buy Boat. Fascinating, as we’d never observed the process before. Both women fish handlers have worked fishing boats in Alaska for the past six years and were reported, by the men, to be outstanding “fish throwers”, and Tabitha admitted she’s also really good at catching fish with a rod.'

Three slips down from ours was a 40’ Beneteau sailboat with a woman in the canvas-enclosed cockpit playing beautifully on her 88-key electronic piano, not something we’ve seen aboard a boat before.

At 5pm Jim and Phebe’s friends Stan and Linda (who we’ve met many times, and we’re sorry we failed to take photos while they were aboard) arrived from their home to join us for dinner. A nearby Mexican restaurant over-fed us, and lively conversation ensued. We returned to the boat for wine and more conversation afterwards, then off to bed, groaning from over-full stomachs.

I, Jim, (first-ever Guest Blogger) am inserting a brief note to both thank our ever-gracious hosts and to highlight their outstanding docking abilities. Both of our co-captains have docked and undocked with remarkable precision. Neither Phebe nor I ever needed to actually deploy our ‘walk-around fenders’-----we were entirely superfluous! Since “Next to Me” is a single screw boat and one of the available slips afforded us only a foot or so on each side we were very impressed! We would enthusiastically ship out with these sailors to anywhere----say Tahiti????

Check-in/OK from Eagle Harbor WA

Latitude:47.62041
Longitude:-122.52301
GPS location Date/Time:11/15/2013 13:16:34 PST

Click the link below to see where we are located.
http://fms.ws/EcYiX/47.62041N/122.52301W

If the above link does not work, try this link:
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The “Aha!” Moment: or Back-and-Fill, Round 2

Tomorrow morning we leave for a 3-day, 2-night boat trip with long-time friends Jim and Phebe. So today we went to the boat to do preliminary provisioning, get a pump-out, fill the water tanks and '”Oh, while we’re here, why don’t we do a little back-and-fill practice ?” (see previous post  on back-and-fill if you don’t know the concept).

So off we went. As people who like rules, we began by discussing “which way do we turn the helm hard if we want the stern to go to starboard when goosing it in forward gear?” and generally reviewing, verbally, the lessons we’d been taught by Jim and Robin last week.

After spinning the boat around in the middle of the harbor a few times, suddenly, we felt like we “got it”, and all the pieces came together. So we headed to a nearby dock to practice backing the boat into a slip. Cathryn docked the boat three times, very well each time, and Bob docked the boat twice, very well both times. Cathryn needed the third time to convince herself she really had it, while Bob just asked himself, “why mess with success?”

Next we headed to another spot in the harbor and each took the boat into a face dock, bow first.  This felt a little less elegant than our stern-in practice, but it worked.

We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ll still mess up when docking. Wind, current, brain freezes, and ordinary screw-ups can catch a Skipper anytime. There’s a saying among boaters:  “Sometimes you watch The Show; sometimes you ARE the show.” Today, in Gig Harbor we were The Show, just in a funny way, not a bad way.

But we feel better about boat-handling now than we have since the day we bought this boat. Woo hoo!

Single Screw Training and Other Doings

Distance traveled:  5.3 miles going nowhere

Travel Time: 3 hours

When we bought the new '”Next To Me” in September, we knew a major challenge would be learning to maneuver and dock a single engine boat, wildly different from the same maneuvers on a twin engine boat like we had for our Great Loop journey. We may have underestimated JUST how different it is. A twin engine boat can be turned 360 degrees precisely in place by putting one engine in forward gear and the other in reverse, pivoting on its’ centerline. A single screw boat pivots, normally, from a point about 1/3 aft of the bow of the boat, so requires a much larger turning radius; a bit like the difference between turning a VW Bug compared to a 15-passenger van with a much longer wheel base . . . . unless you can master a skill called “back and fill”, a centuries old term derived from sailboats, but which operates on a similar principle with motor boats.

Yesterday we took “back and fill” lessons inside Gig Harbor, and you can see our path of travel on the recorded track below.

In October when we attended our first MTOA Rendezvous (Marine Trawler Owner’s Association) in Poulsbo, we met Jim and Robin. They’re full-time cruisers who’ve lived aboard their gorgeous 49-foot DeFever pilothouse trawler for 9 years. They cruised from Nova Scotia to the Bahamas and points in between for a number of years, then shipped their boat out here last Spring so they could cruise the waters of Puget Sound, Alaska, the Inside Passage and everything in between for 2-3 years.

Jim and Robin arrived in Gig Harbor aboard M/V Adventures on Tuesday and came to our home for dinner. Conversation flowed easily (along with the wine) and we laughed and told lots of boating and other stories. To our surprise, we found we’re all acquainted with some of the same “characters” from our respective east coast cruising, they as DeFever owners and us as Great Loopers. Cruisers really do comprise a small community in many ways.

Having a great deal of experience in all kinds of boats (including single screw canal boats in Europe), Jim and Robin offered to give us lessons in boat-handling and docking aboard “Next To Me”.  Fortunately Wednesday was dry and calm, if chilly.

So for 3 hours we drove in circles, learning how to turn and dock our 30,000 pound baby, and received instruction from Jim, with Bob and Cathryn taking turns at the helm. Jim explained the theory and physics behind the maneuvers, patiently walked us through them dozens of times and gave us feedback on what to do differently, and eventually got each of us to experience a successful docking. He was amazing in his calmness, patience and talking to us at the right level of detail, having judged our skills and knowledge accurately. And Robin does all the driving and docking of their boat!

We were tired but had increased confidence that we’ll master this thing after 3 hours of instruction. What a fun afternoon! We returned Robin and Jim to their boat, and they’ll stay in Gig Harbor a couple more days seeing the town.

October weather in the Puget Sound area was weird this year. It was unusually dry, and for a couple weeks there was dense fog every morning followed by blue skies and blinding sunshine in the afternoons.

The purse seiners came out, as they do every October,  engaging in lots of fishing directly in front of our house. Note the 133-foot wooden gaff-rigged schooner “Adventuress” sailing northbound in the background of the photo above.

Sometimes we can get a pretty good view of their catch if we use our binoculars as they pull up the nets.

Cathryn completed the Power Squadron’s “Engine Maintenance” class last night, and Bob has spent 40 hours in the engine room of “Next To Me'”, cleaning, repairing a few things, and painting the engine and bilge. He’s done lots of other projects too, some important for safety reasons (like replacing navigation lights whose lenses were faded to no longer be red and green, as they’re supposed to be) and others important for personal reasons (like replacing the stereo and speakers inside).

And we made the decision to join the Bremerton Yacht Club, so are attending meetings to be introduced and complete the membership process. We hope to get moorage there before we leave to travel for the winter so we can move “Next To Me” from Gig Harbor to Bremerton.

Good Morning From Olalla

Trawler Rendezvous, Days 2 and 3, Poulsbo

The weekend Rendezvous with other members of the Marine Trawler Owners Association (MTOA) was great fun! Boats arrived all afternoon, and people were quick to scurry to a slip to help catch the lines of incoming folks. We were the Newbies at the event, so met folks on the dock throughout the day. Everyone was incredibly friendly!

Saturday morning folks convened on “Slo-mocean” owned by Mike and Debbie, for coffee and baked goods. Afterwards we went for a jog, then at 1:30 the crowd gathered to participate in a fun Scavenger Hunt around town, followed by an outdoor barbecue meal at the local brewery. Yummy brisket, pulled pork or ribs and local beers on tap. Conversation was lively!

A Ranger Tug (attractive type of smaller boat) Rendezvous was going on at the same marina with 21 boats in attendance, ranging in size from 21-31 feet and very well designed!  Those folks were party-ing!

Sunday morning the group convened again for coffee, then we headed out as we had dinner plans with friends at home that night. The trip home was a little slower as the current ran against us most of the time, and weather remained foggy. We spent some time trying to figure out a weird thing floating in the water ahead, and finally realized it was a pair of sea lions resting in the water with their flippers up.

A mile from our marina in Gig Harbor we spotted a 50+ foot sailboat hard grounded on the beach, only 10-20 feet offshore!!! Wow, how did they end up there anyway? The crew was sitting on the rail, and we guessed they were caught in a bad spot, stuck on their keel and waiting for the rising tide to float them back to safety. We subsequently heard that guess confirmed on the VHF radio, channel 16 in a discussion with the Coast Guard. Sheesh, good thing these guys aren’t boating on the east coast where ALL the water is actually shallow!

We enjoyed our introduction to MTOA and will plan to participate in more of their events in the future.

Spot Check In Paulsbo WA

Latitude:47.73318
Longitude:-122.64862
GPS location Date/Time:10/19/2013 08:22:19 PDT

Click the link below to see where we are located.
http://fms.ws/EI2G5/47.73318N/122.64862W

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MTOA Rendezvous at Poulsbo, WA

Distance traveled:  33.8 miles

Travel time: 4 hours, 10 minutes

Last May we attended Trawlerfest in Anacortes, Washington. We drove a couple hours north, stayed in a hotel for 3 nights, each attended separate 2-day Trawlerfest University courses, and went to the Boat Show. While on our Great Loop in 2012-13, we met lots of folks back east who were members of MTOA, or Marine Trawler Owner’s Association. So while at Trawlerfest, we decided to join MTOA even though we didn’t yet own a trawler.

Fast forward: today we left home to attend our first MTOA Rendezvous, a gathering by boat of trawler owner’s from around the Pacific Northwest, though we’re told this Chapter of MTOA has members from Idaho, British Columbia, Oregon and even California. The Chapters are geographically big here in the West!

At 9:30 am in heavy fog, we pulled out of the marina in Gig Harbor and headed north. A seal on the dock bid us good-bye, and later we spotted sea lions on a floating beacon. As we passed our home an hour after departing Gig Harbor we spotted our friend and neighbor Hobie walking on the beach with 31 friends from his exercise class! We honked our horn, then called him on his cell phone to say hello.

As we pulled into Liberty Bay at Poulsbo after 1pm, the sun was finally coming out. We called ahead to the Rendezvous Coordinator to let her know we were coming in, and 4 people gathered at our slip to catch our lines. Thank goodness they did, as our first attempt (Cathryn at the helm) to back this single engine boat into a slip for the first time did not go smoothly. So different from a twin engine, so we have lots to learn!

For the next couple of hours trawlers arrived one after the other, and eventually there were a dozen in port. Ranger Tug boats were also having a Rendezvous this weekend, so about 15 of them arrived throughout the afternoon as well. One Ranger Tug owner noticed our Great Loop Gold Burgee, and he and his wife plan to begin the Great Loop in January, so he came to talk for awhile.

At 3:30 all the MTOA members walked to a nearby member’s home, with potluck side dishes and beverages in tow, for dinner. What a lively group! These folks are by and large very experienced cruisers. Many of them have been to Alaska in their boats, one brought their boat from the Caribbean through the Panama Canal to Washington, and another couple has lived on their boat full-time for 9 years cruising from Nova Scotia to the Bahamas and Florida Keys, and plans to spend this WINTER in Alaska! It was great fun having conversations with these folks, and Cathryn thinks she “maybe” has met the Female Mentor she’s been hoping for: someone who knows as much as most of the guys about boats, and is happy to teach a sometimes intimidated woman! So far, we’re having a great time.

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!

The New “Next To Me”

September 10, 2013 we closed on the purchase of our new boat, named “Next To Me”, the same as our Great Loop boat. She’s a 40-foot Ocean Alexander, and our first trip was a 3-hour cruise from her former home at Bremerton Yacht Club to the marina in Gig Harbor where we will moor her, Peninsula Yacht Basin.

Here she sits at the dock at the State Park on Blake Island.

Her dinghy is an 11.5 foot RIB (rigid inflatable bottom) with an 18 hp Tohatsu motor, and we’re told at our combined weight, this dinghy will get up on a plane!

Another shot at the dock at the Bremerton Yacht Club.

Our apologies for the darkness of the interior shots, but they were taken inside the boathouse where she lived previously. This is the lower helm, which has good enough visibility to be used, on the starboard side of the boat with a helm door.

To port is the salon settee and dining table.

The galley is aft of the lower helm on the starboard side, equipped with a propane stove/oven which will be great when we’re anchored out. The refrigerator/freezer runs on 110 volt with an inverter.

The galley is on the salon level, so has big windows with lots of natural light, and is well equipped.

Like our Loop boat, this one has an aft master stateroom with queen-size walk-around bed, and plenty of drawers, shelves and hanging locker space (closet).

The flybridge is huge, fully enclosed with canvas and strata-glass, and lots of seating for comfortable outdoor relaxing when underway or entertaining.

The boat is powered by a Ford Lehman 120 hp diesel engine. The upside of this is that fuel consumption is only 2 gallons per hour and there’s lots of room to move around in the engine room for maintenance. The down side is this boat only travels at 8 knots (about 9 mph) unless the wind or currents give her a boost!

Other than our first trip to take delivery of the boat, we’ve made two fun excursions, and those will be described in the next blog post. We’re excited to be Cruisers again, having missed many aspects of that lifestyle since we returned from our Great Loop trip 5 months ago.