March 21, 2010 - Watmough Bay (Lopez Island)

We really want to head out this weekend as the forecast is calling for light winds and temps near 70 Saturday.  We have plans Friday night that will keep us home, but we decide to get the boat ready and sleep on the boat Friday night at the dock and then leave EARLY Sat morning.  We get up at 5:30AM Sat and leave the dock a little after 6:00.  It is pitch black.  It is good practice for us to do some navigation in complete darkness.  It makes sense to get comfortable running in the dark because you never know what emergency in the middle of the night will have you doing it (usually under stressful conditions).

Leaving in the morning while still dark.

We are treated to a colorful sunrise just as we pass under the bridge at Deception Pass.  What a sight, with a cup of coffee in my hand, and no other boats on the water.  Does it get any better than this???

Sunrise at Deception Pass

It is a 2 hour cruise over to Watmough Bay on Lopez Island from our slip in La Conner.  The kids are asleep though most of the ride.  We pull in and drop the anchor in charming Watmough Bay.  There is one sailboat here on a private mooring bouy.  It's a little breezy and there are waves rolling in, but they are hitting us square on the bow so it's not doing much to us.

Our friends the Dalton's are going to be joining us in a few hours.  They put their boat in the water this morning, were heading for the fuel dock, and then over to tie up to us for the weekend.  They arrive around 11:00 and tie up to us.  We make some lunches for a picnic and then dinghy to shore for a hike up 470' tall Chadwick Hill.  The trail is a bit rugged and steep in places, and proves to be a workout for us old adults, while the kids leave us in the dust.    At the top is a rope swing, and the kids just can't wait to get their to play.  They all take turn after turn on the swing and have a blast!

The BIG rope swing at the top of Chadwick Hill

Kevin climbing a tree

After a lot of playing on the rope swing, and climbing the tree that supports the swing, we continue hiking around and find a fantastic place to eat our lunch.  We are perched on the edge of a very steep cliff that overlooks the bay.  It is a shear cliff straight down to the water below, easily 250' straight down.

The view of our boats from the edge of the big cliff

We continue to hike around the top of Chadwick Hill and do some more playing at the rope swing on our way down.  That rope swing was a huge hit with the kids.  I'm glad is was still there, as we've been telling the Dalton's about the rope swing for months now.  We take some group pictures and then continue the hike back to the beach.

The two boating families

We get back down and the kids explore the beach and start climbing some of the massive boulders that have tumbled off the cliff and are laying at it's base.

Check out the size of these boulders!

Mt. Baker behind our boats

We head back to the boats and then take a dinghy ride to explore the south end of Lopez.

The boys on a dinghy ride (Steve, Kevin, Aidan)

Mark and Jen out in their dinghy

And the rest of us....

Overnight the wind kicks up and our two boats spend most of the dark hours bumping into each other, and making the boats lurch as the lines snap tight.  Not enough sleep for the adults and lots of coffee is consumed in the morning.  The kids, or course, sleep through it all....

After lunch the Dalton's untie from us and drop their anchor a few hundred feet away.  They are staying so they can go hike up to the rope swing again.  We have to get back so Kathy can do some work this afternoon.  Another fun overnighter, this time with our great friends the Dalton's!

March 13, 2010 - Cornet Bay and Hope Island

It's been a little while since our last boat trip.  Steve has been working at his marine electrical business 7 days a week for almost a month.  It was time for a break!  The weather forecast was not looking great for Friday afternoon with Gale Warnings overnight.  But the warning was over at 9:00AM Saturday with a nice forecast for Saturday, but increasing winds on Sunday.  We are going anyway!

Roxy, a good friend of Cindy's came with us.  She's been out a few times before and is a great guest.  She is very considerate, polite, and appreciative.  We walk down to the dock at about 11:00 and it is still a bit gusty.  We pull out of our slip and a neighbor that we know yells to us from his house that it's "a little windy, isn't it?"  Is this a good way to start to a boat trip????  Oh well, we've decided a while back that we are not going to shy away from boating due to a little wind.  We know the boat can take it, and we need to get more used to poor conditions, and get the kids (and cat) used to it as well.

Kevin, Cindy, and Roxy heading down to the boat from our house.

It's an easy trip over to Cornet Bay on Whidbey Island. We grab an empty mooring float; there is nobody on the other one either. The main dock is full though and it appears to be a yacht club trip as they all seem to know each other. We have lunch and then put down the rowing dinghy and the kayaks. Roxy really wants to kayak so Kathy and Roxy get in and row around Ben Ure Island and then back over to shore (Whidbey Island) where we do some beach combing.

 Roxy and Kathy kayaking

Kevin out for a turn with Kathy

We then go for a nice hike in the woods on a wonderful trail.  There are some HUGE old cedar trees in here.

After our hike and more beach explorations, Cindy and Kathy kayak back to the boat while Roxy, Kevin and Steve walk back to the dinghy which we left tied to the main dock. Once back on board we have a little snack and decide there is still time to take the big dinghy down and test out the "new" outboard. Steve found a great deal on a used Yamaha 25hp four-stroke and installed it last week. This will be the first time out with the new motor. It is great! We head through Deception Pass and go over to Bowman Bay. There are NO boats there, much to our amazement. This motor is quiet, smooth, and fuel efficient compared to the old Mercury 35hp two stroke. It even pushes the boat to about the same top speed, but gets there quicker, and there is no smelly two-stroke blue exhaust with this motor. It seems to be a perfect match for our 12' inflatable.

 

Dinghy ride under the Deception Pass bridge

After our fun dinghy ride we come back for dinner and to play games. All three kids like "Sorry" and they play it for quite a while. We have a calm night on the dock with no winds. The kids sleep until about 7:30 (now 8:30 due to daylight savings). We decide to pack up the water toys and motor over to Hope Island for the day. There are a couple of big rope swings there for the kids to play on, and the beach can be interesting too..

The two rope swings at Hope Island.

There never was ANY wind on Sunday, despite the forecasts.  We got back home and walked home nice and dry, but about 15 minutes later the rain started.  Perfect timing!  A great overnighter!