Jan 23, 2010 - Cornet Bay (Whidbey Island)

We took a short boat ride over to Cornet Bay, which is adjacent to Deception Pass. It was a journey filled with collision avoidance maneuvers due to the amazing amount of driftwood in the water. We've had many very high tides lately, along with a few heavy rains (which tends to flush the logs from the rivers into the bay). Throw in some strong winds and certain areas look like you could walk on water.

Kevin rowing through the debris

We finally met a Shelter Bay couple who were out on their boat.  We have seen them many, many times at various location for a several years now but we have somehow never ended up meeting them. They are just a few years older than us and he works for the Swinomish Fisheries Department in La Conner. They have a nice sailboat that seems well equipped for world voyaging. They are probably out on their boat even more than we are, if you can imagine that :-)  You can see their sailboat over on the other dock; it has a solar panel on the side rail.

More debris in the water, and the sailboat from Shelter Bay

We also ran into a couple that we met perhaps 10 years ago on Sucia Island. It was very memorable 10 years ago because we were invited onboard for drinks (red wine) and unfortunately Kathy spilled her glass of wine. Without missing a beat though, Dave brought out the perfect wine glass to prevent a future mishap. As luck would have it, Dave still has that wine glass!

Dave and his "famous" spill-proof wine glass

Our cat Zappa, named after Frank Zappa the musician (due to the similar facial hair between the two), is a true boating cat. He adjusted very quickly to the boating life, but we did start him out when he was just a kitten. He likes going to shore, walking the beaches with us, and he also likes getting out on the docks and going for rides in our rowing dinghy.

Zappa the boat kitty