Synergy at Sea: Feb 21, 2011 - Bowman Bay (Deception Pass)

We have big news for this blog entry. We are getting a different boat! Yes, after 4.5 wonderful years of boating with Synergy we are once again moving up to a bigger boat. We are not going bigger because we need more room, or because we don't like Synergy. We are going to get a different boat because Synergy was never designed to do what we have in mind for her beginning in 2013. We are heading down the west coast of the US so we can spend a year or more boating in Mexico. It could be done on Synergy, but it's really not a boat that was designed to handle rough ocean conditions.

But first, here is my blog entry for what is likely our last trip on Synergy. With clear skies and cool temps we decided we needed one last trip out on our beloved boat before we put her up for sale. We are meeting some friends out this weekend, which is a 3-day weekend for some people, but not for us. I have a job to do on someone's boat Monday, and Kathy has to work all day Monday. So, we will just be out Saturday and Sunday while our friends are planning to be out until Monday. We spend the night on the boat Friday night at the dock so we can get up early Saturday morning and be underway in time to watch the sunrise.

Sunrise while passing La Conner Marina.

There are small craft warnings for today, but conditions were very calm in Shelter Bay so we decided to chance it and see if we could get to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island. As we near the twin bridges and head out into more exposed waters the wind kicks up, and so do the waves. We battle some rough conditions and our weather station is reporting winds in the 30-40 knot range at times. We are in email contact with our friends who are still back in Shelter Bay getting ready to leave. We make it to Eagle Harbor, but it's kind of rough there and we decide to leave and head for Deception Pass.

Rough water. 35+ knot winds. Near Anacortes.

On the way we find out that our friends the Daltons are having engine troubles and had to turn back. They have hopped on our other friends boat (the Swigert's) and are heading for Deception Pass to meet us.

"Synergy" and "Off The Chart" on the mooring float in Bowman Bay.

I get our old Boston Whaler in the water and shuttle people to shore so we can hike around Deception Pass State Park. This is a very busy park and there are a lot of people here hiking around today.

Shuttling people to the beach for a hike.

The kids goofing around at Deception Pass State Park.

Hiking around Deception Pass.

"Off The Chart" was having water pump problems (water for the sinks and toilet) so we hooked our boat up to their boat and supplied water to them for the bulk of the weekend. Since they didn't have a working water pump they had to leave Sunday after we left, since they no longer had water when we disconnected them from our boat's water. It was a nice weekend out. We had decent weather, except for Saturday morning when we tried to get to Eagle Harbor. Everyone had fun hiking around shore, and the bay was quite calm for us with virtually no wave action to disturb us.

We are going to miss our Bayliner. It has been a GREAT boat. In fact, Kathy and I were both commenting that this is the first time we are going to really miss one of our boats. It's such a great layout and we've done so many things to her that make it a great cruising boat, but it just wasn't designed to do what we intend to do in the coming years. Thank you Synergy for a wonderful 4 years. We will miss you!!!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So, what are we buying, you ask? We are getting a 1976 Hatteras 48' LRC. LRC stands for Long Range Cruiser. It is a boat that was designed from the keel up to handle rough offshore conditions. In fact, the boat we are buying has travelled up and down the east coast of the US, been to the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, and then spent the last 25 years going from San Francisco to Mexico, and San Francisco to Alaska. It is a capable boat that will take us on our big journey more safely than would have been possible with our Bayliner 45.

Our "new" boat is in the San Francisco area and I will be bringing her back to La Conner sometime this spring when the weather permits. I have quite a few people that want to crew on that trip. I don't think I'll have trouble finding people to help me move her when the time comes.

Here are a few photos of our new boat, which we are naming "Adagio". Adagio means "leisurely", or "slowly and gracefully." Our new boat is a slow boat with a top speed of around 9 knots, so Adagio seems to fit her, and our intentions of leaving for a year to leisurely and gracefully enjoy life afloat.