A rather belated catch-me-up blog...
Where, you’ve probably been wondering, has Rikki-tikki and his crew been all winter long? Here it is officially, by the calendar, summer, and you’ve seen hide nor hair of the little mongoose on the blog since November. So here we go, trying to catch up to that curious creature from where we last left him.
It was a long winter– Rikki-tikki’s first in The Pacific Northwest. As you remember, we found a dock at Montague Harbour for Rikki to go into hibernation while we returned to a life on land for a little while. We slid easily into routine in the cozy house perched above the harbor on Galiano Island. One TV channel with nothing worth watching, and only a couple of movies on the shelf that we hadn’t seen, kept us from sinking into complete stupification during the dull, gray days that dominated the next few weeks. Instead we found other things to keep us busy. Clark attacked the repair jobs in the house that begged his attention, while Nina cleaned and organized.
I called one day from the spider-inhabited pay phone down at the marina to my son, Michael, who broke the big news that I would become a grandma. He sounded so excited! What wonderful news. He and his love, Samantha, wanted me to paint the nursery in a Winnie-the-Pooh theme. We were coming “home” for the holidays, weren’t we? Of course, we made plans to drive to California for the month of December.
The things aboard Rikki that could be damaged by the dampness and cold were moved to the house where we went through everything with our list in hand. What to take back to California? What to bring back with us that we’d left behind? Some things were obvious. Our parachute sea anchor would be useless to us in the small waters of British Columbia, so it began the pile labeled “Sacto”. It was joined by our bright orange “Gumby” survival suits. We decided to replace them with our Harvey’s drysuits, which would be useful when we cleaned the bottom and were more comfortable to wear. “Fishing gear” began the list of items to retrieve. We hoped we would be catching fish in 2006, though we feared what we had in Sacramento wouldn’t pass Dave’s keen inspection as being appropriate. Dollar signs whirled through my head at night thinking about the lures he’d want Clark to purchase.
We ordered a Honda generator to augment the power bank on RTT. We found that a week of overcast in an anchorage frustrated our need for amps when we wanted to be working on the computer or doing other power-hungry jobs. We also ordered an 80-amp Balmar alternator, which Clark installed while in Montague after Becky and Brian delivered it to us. Our lists grew.
The idea of doing some exploring and buying groceries at Vancouver Island’s supermarkets and at Costco spurred us to buy a book of ferry rides to Swartz Bay. BC Ferries has it figured out- it’s free to leave Galiano, and any of the other Gulf Islands, and go to Vancouver Island. Tolls are collected only on the return trip. Good plan! Most people want to go back home, but buying a book of ten trips saved quite a bit of money, and we already know where the Costco is, right? It’s way over past Victoria in Langford, so provisioning would consume an entire day on ferries and driving. We ended up only doing this twice and didn’t get in any exploring at all.
On Galiano, we found that the small natural food store had the very best heavy cream we’d ever tasted! Packed into thick glass bottles, it was also the least expensive we’d ever found- only $2 Canadian, plus a one-time $1 deposit on the bottle that we’d bring back in exchange. Their selection of veggies was excellent and they carried my favorite moisturizer, Kiss My Face “Filthy Rich”. It is one of my trusted remedies for seasickness, used as aromatherapy. Every time I go below to use the head while underway, I come back with another dollop to spread on my hands. It has a nice lemony verbena perk-me-up scent.
Internet access is one of our most sought-after items. The BC government provides public internet access on Galiano at the local school. There were hours available every day, mostly in the evenings. Our iBook was regularly plugged into the ethernet hub with two old iMacs and three ancient IBM machines as we kept in touch with family and friends. Our phone, a pay-as-you-go affair, doesn’t “go” in Canada. Are you getting the picture? No phone, no TV, no newspaper, no shopping, no movie theater– not much of anything but peace and quiet. All we had was email down at the school and the pay phone at the harbor to contact the “outside world”.
We had another visitor to our little abode on the island- Ira from “Small Fry” came to Galiano. You remember the fellow who spent the night aboard in Port Angeles? He sailed his Columbia 26 (actually he motored in pea-soup fog) from Tsehum Harbor to tie up at the Montague Marine Park dock. We enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner while listening to Ira’s stories. Ira is a great storyteller! He’d brought his movie camera with fantastic footage of the Tall Ship Festival in Victoria. We watched as “Small Fry” buzzed around the impressive ships as they waited to enter the harbor, punctuated by Ira's exited monologue. It was truly awesome to see the crews in full dress uniforms lined up on the yardarms. Wish we’d been there!
Back in August at French Creek, we’d missed seeing Captain Stan, so we emailed him to set up a visit. We took the BC Ferry to Vancouver Island for the long drive “up-island” to Parksville. Captain Stan and his lovely wife, Rose, treated us to dinner, bed and breakfast. Stan entertained us with stories of his adventures aboard various boats, both his own and those on which he was a delivery skipper. Rose, whose finely crafted baskets and paintings decorate their home, told us all about the active arts guild in the area. Thank you, Rose and Stan!
On the few days when the sun made an appearance, we explored Galiano, driving to its far south end and the overlook at Active Pass. We were lucky to be there when two ferries passed in the narrow channel between Galiano and Mayne Islands. But mostly it just rained. It rained for days and days. There were a couple of memorable evenings when the sky opened just enough low in the west for colorful sunset across Trincomali, making for a great view from the windows of the house. But mostly it just rained.
We started parking our car at the top of the winding, 1/4-mile long, forest duff driveway and walking down to the house from the road. It was too steep to drive up, the ground was so saturated, we just spun the wheels. Islanders started complaining about all the rain. Fantastically, Galiano is advertised as the driest of the Gulf Islands, even claiming to have a Mediterranean climate. We are skeptical that the Med grows mosses and ferns with the density and variety that we found on Galiano.
On our departure day, we awoke to snow.
As we got ready to leave for California, Clark loaded the car in the rain, making numerous strenuous treks up the hill to the car. Then it started to snow. Very pretty, but we were concerned. Would we be able to get down to the Sturdies Bay terminal to catch the first ferry to Tsawwassen? We were pretty sure that the roads are not plowed on Galiano. At our predawn departure, we gingerly drove down the hill to the marina to make one last check on Rikki out at the end of the dock. Clark found the snow on deck and in the cockpit littered with the paw prints of curious raccoons. We made it to the ferry terminal without skidding and drove onto the Queen of Nanaimo, newly refurbished and just put back into service. We were the first aboard. The renewed ferry was very snazzy with its just-stocked gift shop, new seats and carpeting, fancy restrooms.
The gift shop was overflowing with new merchandise. We bought a book on BC Marine Parks.
The decks were clear- it was cold!
It was snowing on the Mainland when we drove off the big ferry and it was very, very cold! We stopped at a Costco to return some items and found a tiny military surplus store just up the street. We garnered a spot to park between the piles of snow and went in, hoping to find some heavy wool pants. Another couple was perusing the very small selection in the far back corner. We hung back waiting for them to take their choices to the dressing closet. I went through every single pair and found one almost small enough for Clark. It had a couple of small holes in the back of one leg, but I figured I could repair it when I took in the waist to fit. The leg length was perfect. I found another pair that looked like it might fit me- scratchier wool and darker green. That pair didn’t have any holes but the waist was too big. We bought both- $30 each. They’ll wear like iron and be water resistant and warm for up north.
When we joined the queue at the US border, the Canadian Customs officials were building a snowman in front of the Peace Arch. We were welcomed back to the US and made a beeline to Seattle to find Seattle Fabrics for some polar fleece and neoprene, with a quick stop at Fisheries Supply thrown in. At rush hour, we got onto the freeway to drive to Clark’s cousin Betty’s house in Olympia by 7 PM. We dawdled, not wanting to arrive before she got home from work. Betty had been home all day not feeling well and had prepared for us a fabulous roasted turkey and vegetables dinner. We watched some really weird reality stuff on TV- something about a white British guy who goes to live with a couple of tribes of natives, one in the Amazon jungle, one on the African savannah. He trains for stick-fighting, gets pierced, gets “fitted” for an elaborate codpiece. Some parts were painful to watch, but incredibly interesting.
Next day, the amount of snow remaining on the ground was amazing. It was a true cold snap. We visited Olympia’s famous Farmers Market, sauntered through a couple of art galleries, and enjoyed a tasty meal on the wharf. Back at Betty’s cozy home, which is literally packed to the gills with the artifacts of all the places she’s traveled and lived, her art and that of artist friends, and lots of spherical rocks of all sizes arranged cleverly in every room, Betty taught us to play a rummy card game. What a great time we had.
There is a great view of Mount Shasta across I-5.
The drive to Sacramento was uneventful but we were tired. We had a long list of tasks to do; things to find online, order and buy; a computer part to order and install; people to visit; the Pooh Room to paint. There was also Christmas with its family get-togethers, gifts to assemble, food to cook. Then I got sick. I am sure it was the guy at the gas station in Grants Pass who declared with some glee, while leaning into the car window to hand back our credit card and receipt, that it was his first day back from being flat on his back in bed for three weeks with a nasty flu! I had been ill the last time I came back to California and was determined not to repeat that, but Purell and every other precaution failed. The Pooh Room was delayed. I couldn’t risk infecting my pregnant daughter-in-law.
We went through all Rikki-tikki’s photos and chose some special ones to frame for holiday gifts. Two dozen nice plain frames at a good price were waiting for us at Joanne’s Fabrics. Costco’s quality of digital prints (and low price) brought it all together for us. We ticked items off our lists slowly, enduring the California traffic as best we could. Doggedly we worked at locating some hard-to-find products like dried coconut milk and large containers of coconut oil. What would we do without the internet and UPS? If only we could have internet aboard the boat while we traveled... sigh.
Finally I felt well enough to start the Pooh Room. My son, Michael, has chronicled it all on his blog (jabbertracks.blogspot.com). Clark and I enjoyed painting the characters and they are very cute, but they ended up being the cartoon versions rather than the original A. A. Milne drawings.
Back at our little studio apartment behind Mom’s, we’d built piles of all the things we wanted to take back to the boat. Clark began loading the car for the journey back to Rikki-tikki and quickly ran out of room! The Honda EU2000i generator we’d ordered, the drysuits, this and that.... filled up the available space right away. We had to start thinning what we’d hoped to take. Reluctantly we put the case of assorted wines back into the cupboard– we had too much to bring into Canada anyway- only 40 ounces per person is allowed. When we left for Canada, the rear of the Honda dragged over the sidewalk, we were stuffed so full.
Nina with her mom at a family holiday gathering. Photo by Peter Ban-Weiss.
Christmas and the Pooh Room complete, we found the weather on the return trip considerably nastier than the pleasant conditions early in December. The rain turned to snow briefly over the mountain passes into Ashland where we stayed at The Palms, a lovely little cottage-style motel with fresh flowers in every corner, a kitchenette and wi-fi. We used our new VOIP SkypeOut on the iBook to call Mom and let her know we’d made it okay. We even talked over the computer with three family members at once. Skype is very cool.
Never having been to Ashland, we explored a bit downtown before we got back on the road. Ashland is a college town, reportedly has good restaurants, lots of art activity and plays (The Shakespeare Festival annually), it’s not too big, has lovely old neighborhoods, pleasant natural surroundings- a nice place to live, we suspect. I found a well-stocked yarn shop and it occurred to me that I could easily crochet baby things and other projects on the boat. Yarn and hooks weigh next to nothing and don’t take up much space. Though I’ve never had much luck finding good-looking crochet patterns because knitting is so much more popular, at this shop, I found two books of patterns for very creative baby clothes.
Continuing north on I-5, the torrential rains all across Oregon caused us to be late getting to my aunt and uncle’s home in Estacada. It was wonderful to spend time with them, sharing meals and conversation. Next stop, cousin Betty’s in Olympia again where Scott Lake was threatening to spread far enough to reach her home. A few weeks later, it did, and she had a nasty time of it.
As we drove up to the border entry gate at Canada Customs, we were hoping that our jam-packed car with its California plates wouldn’t get searched. It being January 1st, we wished the agent a Happy New Year. Customs always wants to know where you’re going, who you’re visiting. When we told him we were on our way to spend a few days in Vancouver with my Aunt Betty, he asked as he looked into the overflowing back seat, “Are you visiting or moving?” Of course we told him it was boat stuff and that our boat was on Galiano Island, that we would be taking it out of Canada in a couple of weeks. He waved us through, wishing us a nice visit.
We were late getting to Aunt Betty’s too. Though glad to see us, cousin Ken and his mom looked very hungry- dinner had been ready for an hour. Cousin Kelly, Bruno and the kids came for dessert and a quick visit. Next day we drove into Vancouver to see Ken’s high-rise condo, walk the promenade around False Creek and have lunch at the pub. We had a great time just ambling along, gawking and chatting. On the way back to Delta, Betty took us by the Richmond Costco where we stocked up for the next few weeks on Galiano. Where in the Honda would we put it all? Clark managed to stuff it in somewhere, along with our diesel heater that had been repaired in Vancouver. We’d surely need that!
Back on Galiano, I made a Sunbrella cover for the generator. I altered Clark’s “new” wool pants. (I still have to alter my pair, but Clark’s now fit him great!) I cleaned the tub, which was extensively stained rust-red by the water on the island. I’d brought along Barkeeper’s Friend expressly for the purpose and left the can under the sink for Aunt Betty. The right product for the job can work miracles, with no scrubbing necessary! The tub looked almost new. We also took a side trip to Van Isle to see the holiday light show at The Butchart Gardens. The last day for the display was January 6 and we took the opportunity to visit Costco one more time before arriving at The Gardens just before dusk. We wandered twice around but had to leave before the carollers and entertainment began at dark in order to catch the last ferry back to Galiano. I managed a couple of shots...
Life-size marionettes play in the courtyard.
These "Twelve Days of Christmas" maids stand ready to milk a glowing cow.
Clark donned his wetsuit and changed the zinc anodes on the boat. He was blue with cold. He reinstalled the diesel heater. We loaded all the stuff we’d removed from the boat for the winter, readying Rikki for entry into the USA and us for life afloat again. It was still raining on Galiano, so we made runs down to the boat with everything wrapped in plastic, including us! On January 15th, we moved back onto the boat. The little house up on the cliff was clean and put back together after serving as a spot for all our boat projects. Three days later, we drove our Honda back across the border to Mount Vernon, WA, where friends would store it for us. We planned to take the Washington State Ferry from Anacortes to Sidney, hop a bus to the Swartz Bay terminal and the Southern Gulf Islands BC Ferry back to Galiano, carrying all our stuff. Then we’d walk the 5+ miles to the marina. We were hoping it wouldn’t be raining. We packed our rain gear.
As soon as we arrived at Dick and Sharon’s, they informed us that the Anacortes-Sidney BC Ferry didn’t run in winter! Oh no! We were surprised and chagrined. They generously said, “Don’t worry. It’s no problem.” They would drive us all the way back into Canada to drop us off at the Tsawwassen ferry landing. Oh my. We had a great visit, though it was peppered with a multitude of apologies for the imposition. Clark cooked a terrific salmon dinner and we took a very long walk up the hill behind their home to see all the new houses.
On the way back to Canada, an unusual thing happened- the sun came out! We waved good-bye to Dick and Sharon and walked into the terminal to bask in the sun streaming through the windows while waiting for the Queen of Nanaimo to arrive. The unusually wet (isn’t it normal for ferns and moss to grow where it’s wet?) weather pattern had finally ended. It was January 20th, my birthday, and it had been raining for 28 days straight.
Waiting for the Queen of Nanaimo at the Tsawassen BC Ferry terminal on January 20.
We watch as cars drive onto the ferry. Even though it wasn't raining, we were hoping one of them would give us a ride when we got to Galiano.
We stuck out our thumbs as soon as we hit the pavement on Galiano, Sturdies Bay. It was my first time hitchhiking so I was a bit shy about it, but the sun was out and the folks on Galiano were all smiling. A little car pulled ahead of us and stopped. We joined a gal who gave us a ride to the natural foods store. Her parents own the island at Retreat Cove and built the wood schooner we saw when Becky and Brian visited. Boat people.
We started walking again, enjoying the sunshine. Soon a BMW stopped and let us in. The talkative driver turned out to be manager of Eagle’s Nest Inn, which is owned by a friendly cruising couple (more boat people) who we met on the dock next to Rikki-tikki. Their boat is in Mexico where they enjoy time in that warm climate during winter when the inn is not busy. Barbara is such a dynamo though, we bet they continue on to the South Pacific leaving her in charge. She drove us all the way to the marina. Thanks for the rides, it was great to meet you all.
This is the view from Rikki-tikki's stern window on our last evening at Montague.
What a lovely sunny day it was. We made final preparations for leaving and just relaxed, recuperating from all our running around. Next day we motored to Winter Cove at Saturna Island, just beating the arrival of some more wet, windy weather. As a celebration for my birthday and being back at home on Rikki-tikki-tavi, we opened a gift that Clark’s Aunt Mary had made given us at Christmas. She’d asked us to wait until a special time at anchor in a secluded, beautiful place to open it. It was perfect! Our evening was made festive by a string of tiny lights operated by batteries and three votive “candles”, each also on a battery, packaged with a personal note. The candles even flickered like real candles, with no flames to worry. We stayed at anchor for two nights.
The sky didn’t look like it was going to to go back to sun any time soon, so we upped the anchor and motored around Saturna into Boundary Pass, loping over the waves into the cold, stiff breeze on Rikki’s nose. We crossed into the US at 2113 UTC on January 23rd. The lady Customs officer at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island viewed us on the surveillance camera and Clark went up to the office to pay the $25 Entry Fee that is charged to US boaters when they come back to their own country. US citizens crossing the border on land don’t have to pay a fee to return, but boaters do! Welcome back to the USA. Pulling away from the customs dock, we anchored in North Cove for a quiet night.
Clark checking us into the Customs Dock at Friday Harbor using their phone as the cameras watch.
The North Cove at Friday Harbor was quiet after our boisterous crossing of Boundary Pass from Saturna Island.
The next morning, the sun greeted us and we launched the dinghy for a row into the town for provisions. We called our friends, Rod and Barbara, from the store. Turns out, their home was only two blocks away, so Rod came to pick us up. He'd made arrangements for us to move Rikki into Hong Kong Harbor, the enclave of local color shoreside of the Port of Friday Harbor marina. As the sun sank low on the horizon, we motored in to tie up alongside a "barge". And so we began our two-week visit to San Juan Island.
May your winters always be mild
Wake up! You are really in that boat anchored out in the ice-covered water in front of those cozy homes! There is no fireplace, no champagne, and you get to bundle up, go out on deck and remove the heavy load of snow that has covered the solar panels, clogged the access to the hatches- your frozen fingers aching. Your lover, however, is with you and she hasn't yet threatened to abandon ship, so it's not as bad as it could be! So get out there and shovel that snow with your little plastic dustpan while she takes QuickTime® movies of you doing it! On your way out, turn up the cabin heater so icicles stay on the outside of the boat.
The foreground reveals the true nature of the situation.
Photograph of Rikki-tikki-tavi anchored in snowy Port Ludlow Inner Harbor by Del Jacobs.
As a weak sun begins to peer over the trees, we awake to find Rikki-tikki cloaked in soft white snow.
Okay, so it wasn't a lot of snow that fell that night, just over an inch or so. And the previous week in Port Ludlow had been sunny and clear. We'd gone shopping with Dave and Marcia in their little Honda, had Polish sausages at Costco, were able to get in some computer time on the marina wi-fi, where Juniata was moored for the winter. Best of all, we delighted in some great camaraderie with our friends. We were enjoying our first week at Port Ludlow quite a bit. The Inner Harbor is lovely and very protected, with sticky mud on the bottom- all the better to hold you with, my dear. We liked the Inner Harbor.
Marcia unloading the latest goodies from the trunk. We loaded the Honda so tight we had to hold stuff on our laps!
We were soon to discover that the snow was only the beginning of our winter fun in the Inner Harbor. The VHF weather announcements gave little warning of what was to come. The electronic voice said the night temperatures would fall into the 'teens. The voice didn't say our little watery parking lot would freeze over, so we blithely hung on our anchor and watched the hail and snowflakes blow by. In the middle of the night two days after snowy Valentine's Day, we were awakened by loud sounds very much like the squelch on the VHF gone into overdrive. Immediately, we knew it was the sound of surface ice being crunched and broken up against the hulls as the breezes gently pushed the boat from side to side. No worries, it was thin ice. The low winter sun just couldn't seem to warm up the air during the day and temperatures barely reached into the 20s, then dropped again into the 'teens night after night. On the morning of the 17th, we awoke to 18 degrees. Lucky for Rikki, there was no wind because he was frozen in place- solidly. The ice was so hard that Clark couldn't punch through it with the boat hook. The entire Inner Harbor was frozen over with about 5/8" freshwater ice- and Rikki-tikki was stuck in the middle.
Darzee to the rescue! Clark got the outboard started, let it warm up, then managed to break a hole large enough to back up a little way. It was easier to go backwards because the spinning prop helped break up the crust of ice. While I attempted some video clips of the action on my Canon PowerShot, Clark ran our Porta-Bote-turned-icebreaker up on top of the ice a few feet at a time, waited for it to break, backed out, took another angle of attack, and then ran up on the ice again, repeating this action many times. It took about an hour to make a narrow cut completely around our trimaran. Then he took Darzee on a few merry-go-round turns to widen the ice-free circle.
The hard, freshwater ice laid thickly on top of the saltwater of the Inner Harbor.
Dave and Marcia were expecting us to arrive at the marina, a half-mile away, for a car trip into Silverdale for shopping or, as we call it, provisioning. We hailed them on the walkie-talkie over the racket of Darzee breaking an icy highway for us to get out of the Inner Harbor. There was no way we could move Rikki-tikki until the ice softened a bit, which we hoped the sun would do during the day. The shards of broken ice were sharp and we feared damage to the paint. So we went shopping.
Little Darzee broke a path through the ice. Wow, what a racket!
We returned from our excursion into Silverdale just as the sun was touching the tops of the trees. We rounded the tip of the island into to our bay and saw that the highway Darzee had forged remained unchanged. The ice around Rikki was as hard as ever. Clark dropped me and our goodies off at the boat, then turned to run Darzee back and forth along the edges of the path, widening it enough to drive Rikki out to the main harbor. With just enough light left to see, we anchored in liquid water to wait for warmer weather. We were determined to go back into our private bay as soon as it was possible, we liked it that much.
A few days later we found ourselves sitting in the Honda again. We were just leaving the marina parking lot for another trip to the shopping center. Marcia's cell phone rang. She missed the call as she searched inside her backpack for the phone and the call went to voicemail. Unable to retrieve the message, she merely returned the call. A friendly female voice answered but said she hadn't made the call. She asked where Marcia was calling from because the area code showed California. Marcia explained that they were aboard their boat in Port Ludlow at the marina. The woman exclaimed, "We live in Port Ludlow!" After many questions, Shirley realized that her husband, Del, had called the marina trying to find the owner of the trimaran that had been anchored in snow and ice in front of their home on the Inner Harbor. Would Marcia know these people? Yes, we know them, and they are with us right now. Would you like to talk to them?
And so we met Del and Shirley. Del had taken photos of Rikki-tikki-tavi over the last week and he wanted to make sure we received copies, so he hunted us down! He owns the only trimaran in Port Ludlow, an F-31A, and was very interested in our multihull. We invited them to dinner aboard Juniata and a tour of Rikki-tikki when we came into the fuel dock. We sure enjoyed their company! Shirley and Del treated us all to a lovely dinner at their fabulous home. Listening to Del's wonderful stories, we were fascinated by the rich and adventurous life this couple has led. We are grateful for the photos but the real pleasure resides in meeting such interesting and generous folks. Thank you, Del and Shirley.
Frozen solid. Photo by Del Jacobs.
Our enjoyable memories don't end there! Del invited us to attend a meeting of the Northwest Multihull Association in Seattle as his guests. It was a great day to ride the ferry between Eagle Harbor and Seattle- the views incredible. Del took us to Fisheries Supply, where we found a couple of terrific rain hats, and REI's flagship store, where Del bought a tent (we just browsed). The NWMA meeting was great fun. Del introduced us and passed around an 8 x 10 photo of our iced-in trimaran. We met a whole roomful of multihull enthusiasts, some cruisers and a lot of racers with "F-boats", most of the names fleeting. We were invited to write a story of our trip up the coast for their April newsletter, which we did. It is available online from the NWMA website- http://www.nwmultihull.org
Thank you again, Del and Shirley. We hope to meet you on the water, sailing your trimaran.
The rest of the story is that our heater decided to quit just as the cold weather was at its coldest. We had just spent, you may remember, about $500 to have a new fan installed in Vancouver. They did other maintenance too while it was in the shop. Clark reinstalled the overhauled unit in January before we returned to the U.S. Now it was only mid-February and the heater was belching blue smoke in attempts to fire up. We sent for more parts from Seattle. A tiny zipper sandwich bag with a little screen and a couple of gaskets arrived in the mail- $120! Clark took the unit over to the marina and, with the blessing of the staff, he disassembled the entire heater, part by part, on their worktable. After cleaning the burn chamber and installing all the new parts, he hauled the heater back to Rikki in the Inner Harbor to see if it would fire. Yes, but our confidence that we had reliable heat aboard was considerably eroded.
By now, we were making regular trips in Darzee across the 1/2-mile of harbor to the marina. Some days it was very choppy with wind-blown waves. The wind never bothered us in the landlocked anchorage behind the Twin Islands. Other days we were assailed by sleet, hail, rain– you name it. We wanted kayaks and were spending time researching online for what was available at a reasonable price. I remembered that Costco in Sacramento sold kayaks last year, but we'd been to Costco in Silverdale many times- no kayaks. Then, one day, we went to Costco with Marcia and there, stacked up high, were bright orange kayaks! The one-person sit-insides came complete with paddles, spray skirts, and a cartop carrier (smart of them to include this!). Guess what we loaded onto the car?
We went back to Costco and bought another kayak!
After a bit of practice, my kayak became less tippy.
I devised a way of safely getting into and out of the kayak from the stern steps. Two lines, one fore, one aft, tied onto the handrails, keep the kayak from scooting out from under me! We are going to enjoy having these and, Rod, we now have a way to rescue Darzee if he ever decides to go on walkabout again.
In March, Dave and Marcia took Juniata to Port Townsend for a haul-out. We visited them with Steve and Myndy from "Enchantress". Dave was lucky to have good weather for painting the bottom and removing a thru-hull. I took a walk around and shot some photos of other boats there for work. Port Townsend has a very busy boatyard, there are vessels of every size and description, commercial and otherwise, though we saw no trimarans.
Juniata on the hard in the Port Townsend boatyard.
Boatworks in the boatyard.
One of the murals in the Port Townsend boatyard.
We began getting ready to leave for our Spring Cruise of South Puget Sound. The weather was definitely showing signs of improving! Just to remind us that winter wasn't yet over, it snowed again on March 8th. March 27th, we would head south into Puget Sound to meet Juniata in Port Madison.
