08/17 - Gulf Islands, Part Two

Anne:

Glad you had a good time and made it home safely. Stacy and I can't take any credit for organizing the cruise. The Rock-C crew deserves credit for organizing this one!

Jan & Stacy
C-Change
 
Thanks to all, friends old and new and sorry to those that we missed.

Started in Cornet bay in the company of the Lady Washington and Hawaiin Chieftan plus a load of pirates gearing up fo battle on PennCove the next day.

Prevost was fun and thanks to whoever set up the light and music show!!

Thought we had gone astray in Sidney but along came GS Lollipop and C-Change for some delightful company.

At last we have done the "Montague" I suppose one might call it the "Full Monte" = Bus on rocks, Good food, good company and a lesson in septic tank operation.

Saturna winery was all that C-Cakes and Dreamer said it was and the other good news is that the chart lies about the depth of water at their dock.

Spent the last night on a mooring in Bedwell and then had a smooth trip all around San Juan (no whales today) and back to Cornet Bay. Isn't it amazing how Deception pass can manage 6 kts of ebb on a 4 ft minor tide change !!

Will be adding some pictures..

Merv & Kathy
 
Back in Fall City! We had a terrific time despite the weather, lack of cabin heat (will resurrect the thread on the Wallas for the gory details) and a windlass that crapped out on us on Thursday.

Monday was fun at Winter Cove, great gathering up on the beach. Tuesday at Genoa Bay was, well, a day in a marina. But the shower was nice. Wednesday we were headed to Montague to meet up for the Hummingbird Pub dealie, but the water was pretty sloppy and it was raining cats and dogs, so we ducked in for a lovely stay with Endurance and Sea Coaster at Conover Cove. We left a piece of driftwood in the summer shelter at Conover commemorating our visit (along with several thousand others) - will have to check if it is still there next year! Thursday to Annette Inlet on Prevost Island, quite a nice spot, always looking for new anchorages to try out, and this one is a winner! Friday to Rum Island, Isle de Lis Provincial Marine Park - room for two or three boats, fairly exposed to Haro Straight, but we had a calm and pleasant night. The island has a great trail and we enjoyed the walk. Saturday back to clear customs at Roche Harbor, then on to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island, where we picked up a DNR mooring buoy (there is no charge for the DNR buoys, and there are now about a dozen of them in Eagle Harbor). Then a short run back to Bellingham, lunch at Boundary Bay Brewpub, and home.

LOVED our daily cappuccinos from the Bialetti Mukka Express every morning, this little thing is a keeper!

Final note, we ran at 2000 rpms the whole trip, speed mostly around 6 knots (usual range was 5 to 7 knots, a few times slower and a few times faster). We covered 165 nautical miles and burned 31 gallons of gas, which computes to 5.3 nautical miles per gallon or 6.1 statute miles per gallon. All the stops were fairly close together, and it was actually very pleasant cruising at 6 knots.
 
R-Matey":2upuqtzs said:
The gasoline was $1.59 liter. One C-Brat who was happily filling the gas tank finally asked the attendant just how much was owed..."Oh", she says, " You're at $196.00"....Gasp!
Ruth & Joe
R-MATEY

Yep, that woulda been me!......after pumping $200 into the tank it worked out to $6.76 per gallon....certainly made me gain a hesitatingly appreciation for the $3.89 per gallon that I paid yesterday for Sea Shift!

Now on to the good stuff.....

What a delightful cruise with a great "pod" of C-Brats. It was great to enjoy the several "mini" gatherings we had, including the island gathering while at anchor at Winter Cove (thank you Terry and Jake for shuttling Carol and me to the island and back), the interesting art work on display at the Genoa Bay Marina, the Hummingbird Pub and Hippie Bus Ride.
After our departure from Montague Harbor, Carol and I cruised at "precious fuel saving trawler speed"....ala Daydream style) to the Kanaka Visitors Wharf at Ganges. Arriviing there at noon, we showered, walked the town, re-provisioned our coolers with ice and a few added food items and discovered Amarula (a Marula Fruit Cream Liquer) at the local liquor store. (I won't even attempt to compute how much money a gallon that would be!......NOW that really makes fuel costs CHEAP!.. :wink ) But, it was....(notice the key word "was") good!
Our evening at Ganges was further enhanced by a solo vocal concert by a young lady at the Tree House Restaurant located at the head of our dock.
Friday morning we cruised to Poets Cove Marina and enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi as well as another fantastic meal on the boat prepared by Carol.
Saturday morning we departed Poets Cove at 0700 HRS crossing calm glassy water to customs at Friday Harbor with breakfast at the Downrigger, topped up the fuel tanks and then cruised out to the West side of San Juan Island where we located the largest pod of Killer Whales we've ever encountered...(we were informed that there were 46 whales passing by us). We then motored up to Deer Harbor for the night.
Sunday morning we departed Deer Harbor for a rain drenching cruise with limited visibility back to Bellingham. The end of a delightful 10 day C-Dory experience with some very special C-Brat friends at the Bellingham C-Brat Gathering and the Gulf Island Cruise.

Thank you Joe and Ruth for organizing the B'Ham Gathering and thank you Terry and Ann for organizing the Gulf Island Cruise.
 
Home at last !
It is good to be home. !3 day on a small boat with three people, I think that should bring home at least a bronz metal.
Thanks to Joe & Ruth for a great CBGT at Bellingham. Thanks to Lee for getting us into the Yacht Club for the Saturday potluck.
It was a very special time cruising with good friends. Every one seemed to go there own way and we crossed pathes with each boat at one time or anouther. The bus ride to the Pub was much nicer than last year. Food was better and the service was great. The hippy bus had a new driver and I had hopes for a safer ride. Well, the first thing he did was to back into a rock wall. No harm.
Tuesday we stayed in Winter Cove while every one else ran to Genoa Bay. The wind howled and the boat rocked, but we felt safe at anchor in that protected cove.
On the way home, we stopped in at Otter Bay to check out the marina. It is very nice (see expensive) with good showers. We did not stay in the marina ($1.20 / foot ) but anchored out. There is a nice provincial park in the bay.
I just want to say thanks to every one that came along for the ride. The best times for me was at Winter Cove, Montigue, and Conover Cove when we gathered on shore for happy hour.
To next year.
Terry
 
Just want to echo the thanks to
Ruth and Joe for the Bellingham CBG, to Terry and Ann for the Gulf Island trip, and to Jake for helping with the Stern ties. The evening beach get together's were great fun. Loved surfing the inflatable kayak at Winter Cove.

After leaving Connover Cove on Saturday went to Everett - via Haro Straight and Deception pass. Lots of whales in Haro strait. Next day to Poulsbo then just couldn't go home yet so spent Monday night at Blake Island - during a major lightning,hail storm in the afternoon.

It was a great trip thanks to all who helped me figure out the stiff steering engine pivot.

Looking forward to many more days on the water and hanging out with CBrats.

Jim on Endurance
 
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