Anchorage: Tumbo & Cabbage Islands

At the Southeast corner of Canada's Gulf Island lies the dual islets of Tumbo & Cabbage Islands, and they do feel remote. Although we've only been there in dead calm water, we're a little intimidated to stare into 90 miles of open water on the Straight of Georgia directly off our bow.

However, one 10-minute walk around the entire Cabbage Island and we were hooked for life. We recommend visiting on a Sunday afternoon, when everyone else is gone. However, the weather kept most boaters away and we shared the anchorage channel with only three other boats.

Plus, we had the sunset you see above. Do you see the same sailboat in the clouds that I do?

Marina: Port Browning

A few miles North of popular Poet's Cove resort is Port Browning Marina, which is the antithesis of Poet's Cove. While Poet's Cove has its posh resort & spa and guaranteed fancy yachts at the dock, Port Browning has a very large and well kept lawn, small but fantastic pub, and short walk to the commerce center of the Pender Islands.

(c) Port Browning Marina

A key reason for us to return to a marina is food, which usually means a high-quality, nearby restaurant. However, in this case, both of the onsite options are outstanding. By coincidence, both of our stays were on Sunday nights, where the roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding special is absolutely fantastic in the main pub. At the cafe on the side of the building, we recommend any of the eggs benedict for breakfast. And remember, in Canada, Canadian bacon is called "bacon." Just like in France, where French food is called "food."

Life: Arm-Powered Adventure

Now that greater Seattle is finally digging out of its cold and rainy streak, I am doing some serious sun-seeking whenever it's out. But, as regular readers know, each spring and fall, I deliver the m/v Jenny G from Seattle to the San Juan Islands so that we can be in the San Juan's as often as we'd like via a 90 minute drive rather than a 5-hour, not-weather-guaranteed passage.

So, I've had some regrets about delivering the boat to Anacortes in April, since I have more time on my hands than usual this spring and would have enjoyed taking out the boat for a few hours on these sunny afternoons. But, not to be thwarted, I inflated the Jenny G's tender at the Sunnyside Boat Ramp and rowed to the Washington Park Arboretum. I think this was about 4 miles round trip and, with stops along the way, I burned about 4 hours making the trip. Next time, I'll stop at either Agua Verde or Ivar's for a beer ;)

Anchorage: Sucia Island

Sucia Island is next door to Matia Island....literally a few minutes, even at displacement speeds. Sucia is the grand jewel of Washington State Park islands and, thanks to phenomenal support from the boating community, is extremely accessible to a large number of boaters without being overcrowded or destroyed.

We prefer Shallow Bay, since m/v Jenny G's flat bottom allows us to anchor in a few feet of water. I prefer about five feet under the transom at low tide, to minimize the risk of swinging against any large rocks. The State generally doesn't set its mooring buoys in less than 15 feet, so we are always anchored between the buoy field and shore.

Since Sucia has so many trails, we try to complete a new one each time we're there, and this trip was no exception. The Ev Henry Point trail was wonderful because all of the wildflowers were in bloom, including ones we'd never seen before. The flowers below were particularly interesting, since the rim of the flower will eventually split into two leaves. The actual orange cones must drop off after blooming, since only the leaves remain from previous seasons.

At any rate, Sucia Island is never a disappointment. If you have a boat, go to this island and stay for the weekend!

Blogging: m/v Jenny G now available on Your Smartphone

As The Admiral will tell you, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. While I want it to be there, it just simply isn't.

However, occasionally something new comes along that actually works the first time. In this case, courtesy of Google, it's a mobile-enabled template for Blogger sites like this one.

So, if you've got a Smartphone, you are invited to access the blog from it at any time and I hope you'll like the new presentation format!

Anchorage: Matia Island

Now that Puget Sound has broken its 100-day streak of rain & clouds and even had an over-70-degree-day, The Admiral and I finally had a chance to start our boating season  over Memorial Day weekend.

Our first stop was a new anchorage for us: Matia Island. Apparently no one agrees on how to pronounce it, so we don't know if it's (May-sha) or (Ma-Tea-a). Regardless, it is part of the San Juan National Wildlife Refuge and is packed with birds, particularly the old forest in the center of the island. Speaking of old forest, here's the Admiral standing inside a particularly old cedar.

We anchored Southwest of Rolfe Cove in a smaller cove that we had all to ourselves. Our entertainment for the evening was a young seal that was clearly playing - rather than fishing - by corkscrewing through the water and jumping out of the water like a dolphin.

Overall we highly recommend this island, though beware that Rolfe and the smaller cove are exposed to North winds, which we had a-plenty overnight. Perhaps a really long shore tie would have put our bow into the wind?

Life: Seattle Christmas Ships

Each year, leading up to Christmas, a flotilla of private and commercial ships bedeck themselves in Christmas lights and cruise the waters around Seattle, both in Puget Sound and on Lake Washington.

Since the Jenny G is on the ship canal for winter, The Admiral and I took the opportunity to view the ships one evening from our boat. Taking photos and videos in the dark on a moving craft is pretty tricky, but check out the YouTube video below for a brief glimpse into the scenery.

Remember that you will need to view the video from the m/v Jenny G Website because it won't show up in the Cap'n Will email.

Marina: Poulsbo

This post is a little bit about boating and a little bit about technology because...well...the weather is so bad that the Cap'n is wasting time on the computer instead of wasting time on the boat.

First, let's talk about the really fun part: boating. The town of Poulsbo, on the Kitsap Peninsula, is our absolute favorite fall boating destination. Like Gig Harbor, Langley, Port Ludlow, and others, Poulsbo offers a great marina, the Port of Poulsbo, which has immediate walking access to shops, restaurants, and strolls down neighborhood side streets that make accessing land by water so much better than accessing land from land. Our routine is fairly evolved at this point

• Saturday: Arrive mid-afternoon on a Saturday, check out the shops, eat dinner at Mor Mor, then watch a DVD on the boat.
• Sunday: Make a leisurely bacon-'n-eggs breakfast, then head to Sluys Bakery for pastries that we'll eat at Hot Shots Java. The Admiral will go to the bead shop and I'll go to Cargo Hold, then we'll rendezvous back at the boat and begrudgingly leave around 2 or 3 pm.

Second, let's talk technology. Again, out of boredom, I recently joined Facebook and am only lukewarm toward its purpose, which seems to be spewing your stream of conscious thoughts onto a Web page for your poor friends to endure. I suppose a select few humans are so interesting that what they're thinking is worth you consuming real-time, but I don't have the DNA for that so I don't expect it from my friends.



However, this started to get interesting when I realized that you can link accounts like, say, YouTube. So I created a YouTube account and, if all was successful - which means you clicked the play button (little triangle) in the middle of the picture above, you just viewed a short clip of the Jenny G crossing the bow of a very large China Shipping Lines container carrier ship. Viva la Web!

Life: Leaving Edmonds

Dear Boaters,

Well, the end of an era has come: We are leaving the Edmonds marina after three years. The combination of missing fall boating due to maintenance logistics and a seasonal forecast for a "wet and cold" winter in the Pacific Northwest has caused us to choose a new home for the Jenny G. This was not about the Port and we highly recommend it to everyone!

She will now be on the ship canal, where we hope to do more day cruising on the protected waters between Shilshole and Lake Washington. We are hoping to get out this weekend; hopefully I will have a new post for you next week.

Cap'n Will

Maintenance: Hydraulic Steering Woes

We loved keeping the boat at the Port of Anacortes this year, but unfortunately the slip next to ours was often occupied by transients. We think that one of those transients hit our outboard when docking, which damaged the Jenny G's hydraulic steering.

(c) Teleflex Marine

Having found a seal that was out of place, I ordered a replacement part and had it installed by a trusted mechanic. However, on our return voyage "down South" for the winter, I realized that this wasn't the sole problem and we still have a leak.

So, the Jenny G is at another repair yard on the Lake Washington Ship Canal awaiting diagnosis. Stay tuned for more info.

Anchorage: De Courcy Island, BC

Ever hear of a stern-tie? You use this when the depth requires a scope that creates more swing room than is possible. In Gulf Island anchorages, which are often deep coves between underwater rock ridges, stern ties are a way to allow more boats into a small cove than would otherwise be possible. They do it by sinking eye bolts into the rock walls of the cove so that boaters can run a line from their stern to the eye, which stabilizes the boat in one position, reducing the need for a large scope. We were able to try several stern-ties this year but Pirate's Cove was the first.

And of course first tries are always ugly. Conveniently for me, I've chosen a photo that makes me look as close to a C. C. Filson model as I'm ever going to get and prevents you from figuring out exactly which profanity I'm spewing at the moment.

Nevertheless, on a warm, lazy boating afternoon, all things eventually get done and we were tucked into a pocket in the cliffs for the evening. Except for the sweat beads leaping upward and outward from me like a sprinkler. So, for the third time in my life, I went swimming in Canada.

There is a phenomenon in mountaineering called altitude memory, where spending time at a given altitude creates a physical "memory" that supposedly makes the climber more able to return to that altitude in the future. I have no idea if that's true, but my only real-life experience was in having an easier time climbing Mount Shasta (14,179') about a year after reaching the summit of Mount Rainier (14,411'). I wonder if the same phenomenon exists for cold-water swimming. I actually enjoyed swimming the 64 degree water in Pirate's Cove this year, without a flotation vest. Last year's Montague Bay swim was about the achievement of swimming in Canada, but not the fun of 62 degree water.

And finally, my mother would agree that Lastly, no vacation is complete without a tacky photograph of someone standing in front of the sign that says where you are. This one is for you, Mom.

Life: At Portland Island, BC

Perhaps it's human nature to find security in confinement. But with the sunset at my back, baby seals surfacing to check out our dinghy, and a bottle of Bordeaux wine waiting for us on the dinette, why am I not a full time boat bum?

In her obscure, but interesting book, Voyaging on a Modest Income, Annie Hill espouses the same philosophy as many wealthy entrepreneurs: the best income comes from assets, not wages. As she set out to become a boat bum 30+ years ago, she reflected on her disinterest in being what she called a "wage slave," i.e., someone working a job they don't like in order to purchase things to distract themselves.

Over the past few years, The Admiral and I have dramatically curtailed our need for stuff so that we can pay off the mortgage early and contribute to our savings so that we have asset-based income. If this blog suddenly stops in about ten years, we did it. Until then, stay tuned for more posts...

Anchorage: Prevost Island

We've been to Prevost Island once before. Last year, on the day that Seattle had its record high of 106 degrees, we tried to escape the heat in Montague Bay by taking a swim in very cold 64 degree water. That worked for a little while until our 88 degree pilothouse started roasting us again and we had nowhere to hide. So, we made a run for anywhere-but-Montague at sunset (and witnessed a beautiful sunset to boot). After a quick read in the cruising guide, we picked a very small cove on Prevost's Southern end despite a warning about exposure to ferry wakes. With our shallow draft, though, I can nudge way back into a small cove, which makes up for our small size making us very susceptible to movement. When morning came, we hadn't been disturbed by a single wake, so we made a mental note to come back some day. And so we did. Parks Canada describes Prevost Island:

National park reserve lands are located on both the north and south shores of Prevost Island. The majority of the island, however, remains in the hands of the descendants of Digby de Burgh—the man who bought the island in the 1920s. They continue to farm and raise sheep on the island. The island is largely unchanged from what would have existed a century ago, and contains large cedar and arbutus groves.

We anchored in Annette Bay for the evening, then motored to James Bay the next morning. The little National Park beach has a clean composting toilet and some pleasant trails to walk, which we've come to think of as the centerpiece of a good anchorage. So we've made another mental note to come back again...

Anchorage: Telegraph Harbour, Thetis Island, BC

Copyright © 2005 Telegraph Harbour Marina

Though we think of "defection" as something that is to the US, we had a desire to defect to Canada when we visited Telegraph Harbour on Thetis Island! As you can see above, the harbor is in a beautiful nook between Thetis and Kuper Island, and the facilities and grounds of the Telegraph Harbour Marina are outstanding and very casual-resort-like in their feel.

Which brings me to a digression: The Admiral knows that my real motivation for anchoring out is cheapness - yes, I know that boating is inherently un-cheap - and I found a new way to extend that for this trip. In bays like Telegraph Harbour, the magic combination of extremely well-protected harbor with a marina that doesn't span the entire harbor (as it usually does when the marina exists only because of an artificial breakwater) is a sure-fire way to skip transient moorage charges. Plus, we don't feel bad, since we're likely to spend an equivalent amount at the marina on coffees, ice creams, or anything else that allows us the chance to get off the boat and wander the grounds.

Anyway, back to the main story: In addition to the wonderful Telegraph Harbour marina, the Thetis Island Marina is also reachable by rowed dinghy and has a pub with great Canadian beer. We found the two marinas coexisted perfected since Thetis Island Marina served beer in the evenings and Telegraph Harbour Marina served fresh scones in the morning. No destructive competition! From either marina's dinghy docks, you can enjoy beautiful walks with stunning views in all directions. Our favorite view, as seen at right, was looking Westward toward Vancouver Island with its dramatic mountain peaks indicating that these waterways are about as fjord-like as can be found in this part of the world. In short, this is a destination highly recommended by Cap'n Will and the Admiral.

Marina: Port of Nanaimo

The Jenny G set a new Northern-most port reached this year: Nanaimo, BC. Although we'd been there once before, by BC Ferry from Horseshoe Bay, nothing compares to approaching a new port in your own vessel.

Reaching Nanaimo from the South means transiting Dodd Narrows, which is certainly built up as a dangerous passage, but we didn't have too much trouble since the Jenny G is an outboard-powered planing hull. Look carefully in the lower left hand corner of the photo at left and you can see a standing wave that's just broken against the Jenny G's port bow. Fortunately for us, the current was with us, so we were making about 9 knots at 1200rpm when this photo was taken (1200 rpm usually gets me 3-4 knots with no current). I can see how the yacht crowd with sailboat-style displacement hulls would fear these currents, but the passage is still a few hundred feet wide, so make your own evaluation of the danger.

The port itself is nice, although plan on waiting a long time for a slip assignment if you don't already have reservations. This aspect of their operation definitely needs improvement. However, the fuel dock is great and we found the bathroom/shower facilities to be in excellent condition. The port is protected by an artificial breakwater that extends beyond the natural land protection, so views from the boardwalk back to the marina and town really made the Jenny G seem like she'd arrived in a fashionable place (though she looked a bit unfashionable with the raft looking like a big blue hamburger patty sitting on the pilothouse roof!).

Copyright © 2009 Gina’s Mexican Cafe

Our favorite part was wandering around town and finding a little Mexican place that served great food called Gina's Mexican Cafe. They have a review posted outside the door and we took a chance that was well worth it. Highly recommended if you want to wander a few blocks past the tourist area densely concentrated around the port.

Overall, Nanaimo isn't a destination in and of itself, but it's a great halfway point for a Gulf Islands tour or the jump point to more exotic portions of the Inside Passage like Princess Louisa Inlet. Ahh, there's always next year.....

Maintenance: Adding a Shoe Bungee

Admittedly, this was a little project, but the Admiral and I have always been puzzled as to why we need so many pairs of shoes for boating. Doesn't matter if we're out for the day or a week, we apparently need to compete with Eva Peron.

So, after a quick primer on YouTube on how to make your own netting, I produced this handy little bungee net to go against the hull between the dinette seats. Now, all our shoes are tidy and out of the way!

Maintenance: Adding Cabinetry

Before our annual week-on-the-boat this year, I finally motivated myself to execute on an old idea: Convert two of Jenny G's storage spaces to wooden cabinetry.

The first idea was to convert the passive ice box below the helm seat to two drawers. One large drawer for a powered cooler and a small drawer for cutlery. After carefully taking measures several times and spending the weekend ahead making the cabinets, they were finally ready for installation.

Wow, I couldn't believe how many compound curves exist in a boat hull. Of course, as an amateur woodworker, I knew it would take me longer to fit them than a professional, but I didn't anticipate using the first two days of our vacation to get it done.

The main culprit for all the work was a brace, installed at the factory, to support the old icebox. Turns out that the brace wasn't level, but visually I couldn't tell that its slope increased from front to back, so I ended up sanding the drawers more than they needed to be but not enough to ruin the look. The most complicated trimming I did was to round the forward corner of the back edge on the cutlery drawer because I measured the depth at the aft side of the box, not realizing how quickly the hull is curving in toward the bow at the helm.

However, they are installed and finished now and we really enjoy having our forks and knives in a real drawer instead of a pouch inside the galley.

The second idea was to replace the inside face of the forward dinette cabinet with a door and create a divider for the compartment itself. Since I had the factory panel as home as a model, I was able to cut the compound curves with my table saw and jig saw and, to spoil the plot, the frame installed in five minutes...a full one day, seven hours, and fifty-five minutes faster than the drawers.

Now, The Admiral and I can store a few articles of clothing on the boat, so that we will no longer have to move luggage around each night for bed.

Were these upgrades worth the time? Only more time will tell as we get used to having them. I'd like to think I would be faster the next time, but we have upgraded the one of one boats that we own.

There is one last idea: Replace the rear dinette inside face with a small drawer and face to cover the water tank. If I get really bored this fall.....

Anchorage: Cypress Island

Even after four years of boating in Puget Sound, we still discover new places from time to time and this past weekend, we found one that we can't wait to go back and explore: Cypress Island. The state's department of natural resources has a great description of the island:

Cypress Island is the last largely undeveloped island in the San Juan group. Cypress Island provides a scenic reminder to passers-by of a rustic, pre-settlement western Washington. On the 5,500 acre island, DNR manages 4,800 acres, with 3,933 acres of forests, wetlands, grassy balds and marine areas currently protected under NRCA designation. 
The southern two-thirds of the island is the only protected low-elevation forest growing on serpentine soils in Washington, and supports unusual plant communities. The island's steep topography offers vistas of the San Juan Islands, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, mainland Washington and the Olympic and Cascade mountains. Cypress is a popular site for boaters offering primitive camping, lakes and miles of trails and abandoned roads

http://www.dnr.wa.gov/AboutDNR/ManagedLands/Pages/amp_na_cypress_island.aspx

Because we had plans with friends on Sunday, we drove to Anacortes on Friday for the free concert at the marina, followed by drinks with our boating friend Bruce and a comfortable night's sleep at our slip. Bruce gave us a great recommendation for breakfast on Saturday and, after a hearty breakfast, we were underway for Cypress Head, which is a comfortable 45 minutes from Cap Sante Boat Haven at 6 knots.

Once we anchored, I launched the dinghy and we landed on a beach full of kayaks. I even got a chance to fly my new kite from King's Market in Friday Harbor. It it 3 oval-shaped sections with a ventilation hole in the lower third; I'm not quite sure why the design can fly but it works well. If you look carefully in the upper right-hand corner of the photo, you can see my little kite aloft.

However, the best part of the day was our steak dinner for lunch (!!!) We never eat that well midday, but since me met Bruce after I bought the steak, we decided to live well at anchor. The Admiral sauteed the best Walla Walla sweet onion I've ever had and even made lemonade. After lunch and a walk around Cypress Head, we returned to Cap Sante. What a great day. Stay tuned for more adventures from Cypress.

Maintenance: A Low-Cost Dinghy Rack

One of the many ways that C-Dory owners can play "yacht" is to keep an inflatable tender onboard.We started with a two-person kayak that was really fun for touring, but difficult to get into from the swim step and required dunking our feet in Puget Sound ice water when beaching. So, after a couple of years, we upgraded to a small raft with oars and have been very pleased. Its rowing position is comfortable, we can step into it (carefully) from the swim step, and going over the bow on the beach means dry feet.

But, as with all things boating, the trade-off was that the raft is kind of heavy (about 45 pounds) and all the top side protrusions could scratch the pilot house roof when the raft is stowed upside down. I bought an inexpensive mooring cover so that I could stow it right-side-up, but then there was the problem of passing tie-down straps under the raft.

Thus the rack idea was born. I considered two options before a really low-cost third idea came to me:

• Idea #1: Automobile style rack. Pro's - looks good. Con's - costs hundreds of dollars and would probably rust.
• Idea #2: Home-made PVC pipe rack. Pro's - an inexpensive DIY project with exact fit. Con's - looks bad. Requires me to mount antlers on the bow, a gun rack in the pilothouse, and wear flannel and a baseball cap year-round.
• Idea #3: Pool "Noodles." These are the little foam cylinders, usually with a hole in the middle, that people use as a flotation aid for a casual day in the pool. Pro's - cheap & comes in blue to match the Jenny G color scheme. Con's - none.

So, this weekend, I "built" the pool noodle dinghy rack in four easy steps. Step one is to cut the ~5' noodles to the 35" width of the center section of the pilothouse roof. Utility scissors will do it in just a few cuts. Step two is to feed rope through the hole of the noodles. Step 3 is to tie both ends of the rope to the pilot house roof rails. My 6' rope lengths were a little long, so I tied a fishing lure style knot to use up the excess line. Looks good to boot. Step 4 is to load the raft, put on the mooring cover, and pass the tie-downs under the new gap. Voila! Total cost: ten bucks, consisting of $6 for two pool noodles from Fred Meyer in Ballard and $4 for 12' of utility rope from Ace Hardware in Anacortes.

Anchorage: Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island, WA

For the fourth of July weekend, we chose one of our favorite destinations in the San Juan Islands: Prevost Harbor. This protected harbor lies between Stuart Island and the much smaller Satellite Island off Stewart's Northeast coast. Getting to Prevost Harbor is possible from both ends of Satellite Island, though the Southern entrance is possible only for shallow draft boats like Jenny G.

Stuart Island began its modern history when it received its name from Charles Wilkes during his expedition between 1838 and 1842. The island was named for Frederick D. Stuart, Wilkes' clerk of the expedition. Later, in 1871, after Kaiser Wilhelm settled the “Pig War” between the British and the Americans, the island was surveyed in 1874 and the land that would later become Turn Point Lighthouse was identified and reserved by the U. S. Government. The rest of the island was made available for homesteading.

Things to see and do on Stewart Island include, of course, the beautiful Turn Point Lighthouse walk from the State Park dock between Reid Harbor and Prevost Harbor (6 miles round trip). For this visit, our highlight was the new Louis Borcher museum that has recently opened by the Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society. Along the walk, you'll see the island's schoolhouse, which has been closed and reopened over the years as students needed teaching. We understand that this is a K-8 school and that high schoolers must go to neighboring San Juan Island high school to complete their education. While at the school, please check out the honor-system “shop” where great t-shirts, hats, and other items are available for purchase. But don't leave cash....mail it when you get home!

As for the anchorage itself, Prevost Harbor never disappoints. Although the weekend was fairly cloudy, we rowed around the shore of tiny Satellite Island several times. The YMCA's Camp Orkila is on Satellite Island and we wished we were kids again so that we could go to camp there. 

Back on the boat, we enjoyed yet another great barbecue dinner and listened to the Prairie Home Companion 4^th of July special on the radio. Speaking of radio, Stuart Island is a great place to tune in. Pacific Lutheran University NPR station repeater in Port Angeles (90.3 FM, I think) and Canadian Broadcasting Company station (91.3 FM, I think) out of Victoria come in flawlessly. The reason why I don't know the exact frequencies is our radio has a good-old-fashioned dial, so none of that digital precision for us!

And finally, the bird life in Prevost Harbor was great. Not only did we see a Great Blue Heron in a tree, we experienced the high drama of the evening when a Bald Eagle made several attempts to pluck a baby Canada Goose from the water. He didn't succeed and, if you think those geese are loud in your favorite park, wait until you hear about thirty of them ward off an eagle attack.