And We're Off! (But Just Barely...)

Well, an adventurous day it was! Last night, we prayed for 1) safe weather, 2) not hitting any logs or rocks, 3) that everything would work properly, 4) that we would all get along. Well, tonight, we're all safe and sound tucked into a Discovery Harbor Marina in Campbell River, BC but not without a fun-filled and adventurous 24 hours. Last night, the last thing on my punch list was to replace the fuel filters. This was a first for me. I probably should have done it earlier but I wanted to burn through the fuel that sat in the tank over the winter and then start with fresh fuel and fresh filters. I bled the engine to get rid of any air bubbles but the pump bleeder thingymabob (technical term) didn't seem to be working right. I worked on it for about a couple hours and ended up going to bed frustrated and with an engine that wouldn't run! I always wonder what would happen if I was completely in the middle of nowhere and something like this happened. I can usually get things up and running but this one baffled me. So, first thing this morning, I called the mechanic. He told me that on new engines, you've got to beat the check valve loose (kinda like getting the paint ball marble loose when you buy a new paint can.) Sure enough....3 minutes later, the diesel engine was purring like a kitten. Whew! So, did God answer our prayer...yes, we didn't get stranded. Thankfully, it happened at our dock and I could get a hold of the mechanic. So, at 10AM, we loaded the boat and set sail about an hour later. We made the 60 mile run through the gulf islands of BC and cleared customs at Nanaimo. At about 1:30 we sat down for a late lunch of clam chowder, fish, and chips! Life at sea is good. Can't wait to catch our own. We messed around in Nanaimo and didn't head out until about 3:30. We were well aware of a military practice zone called Whiskey Golf north of Nanaimo so we checked the radio to see if it was active. Both Val and I heard that it was active until 200. So, we take the shortcut through it. At the very moment Val asked why there were no other boats in sight, I commented that there was a war ship coming at us and a small boat rapidly approaching! Lights flashing, we pulled over realizing something was wrong and it was probably our fault! I think the 200 we heard on the radio was not 2 o'clock but was 2000 military time or 8PM. Yikes. The folks at Winchelsea Control guided me out of the warship's path pronto and out of the zone! What a stupid mistake on my part! I guess, I need to pray not only that we won't hit anything but that nothing would hit (or fire upon) us!! We all had a good laugh except Cody, who slept through the whole thing! (See the war ship below and it's ranger chase boat.) Yesterday, we saw our first real clouds since we got to WA. Today, at lunch, it started to rain and it's been raining ever since. The locals said they haven't seen rain in many weeks. Oh well, let's get it over with now and pray for sunshine! So, here we are in Campbell River, 137 nautical miles from Orcas Island....a good day and ahead of schedule. If anyone knows of a kind of "mapquest" picture to show you our progress, send me a link or something. I've tried taking pictures of a map but that doesn't work very well. Seymor Rapids is quite an interesting passage. We'll time our passing at slack tomorrow morning. Then, it's Johnstone Strait, a notoriously windy passage. We'll go as far as we can...the winds are supposed to kick up early in the afternoon. So, we'll see.

Thanks for all the notes back. Some of you have said that you haven't been able to comment on the blog. I'll try to get that figured out but for now, it's bed time. Send me an e-mail, though!

Blessings, friends!

Pre Cruise Emotions

Only a couple of days before we leave. I'm excited and scared! I think everything is almost ready. GPS-check. Backup GPS-check. Radio-check. Backup radio-check. A gadgillion charts-check. Flares-check. EPIRB-check. Extra parts for everything-check. What am I missing? The weather here on Orcas Island has been incredible....everyday, blue skies, sunny & warm, virtually no wind. WOW! I hope and pray we get nice weather like this on our trip! There are several big crossings that we'll absolutely need nice weather to make. I've allowed extra days for holding up to wait for weather breaks. Although weather is a concern, and a big one, I'm probably more nervous about hitting logs. At times of big tide swings (about 12-14' here and up to 20' further north) the logs are everywhere. We cruise at about 30 mph, which is pretty fast for a cruising boat, so it takes constant watching to avoid hitting all the junk in the water. Not that I worry much, but besides the threat of running into logs, I think a lot about the mechanics. Hopefully, everything will work right. The engine is all serviced and very reliable but one load of bad fuel can really wreak havoc on things. I've got a "kicker" 9.9 hp trolling motor that would keep us off the rocks but I'd FREAK out if I lost the main engine. There are a lot of systems to keep running: the engine, the kicker motor, the generator, the dinghy engine, the plumbing system and all it's pumps, the electrical systems and all it's switches, breakers, fuses, and a bunch of other stuff I have no clue about, the navigation systems. Then, there's fuel planning, which route to take, where to find safe anchorages, customs, etc. to think about and deal with. Am I ready? What am I missing? Can we do this? Will everyone get along? 4 people, two dogs, potential weeks of rain, yikes. That's what I love about life. Adventure! Let's go!

The Shakedown Cruise To Seattle

Welcome to my blog. This first entry is a test run as this is my first blog experience ever. I wanted to share with my family and friends our journey to Alaska this summer. My family, which consists of my bride, Val, 2 boys, Cody-17 & Connor-12, and our 2 labs, Lucky and Tanner, will be attempting to motor from Orcas Island, WA to Glacier Bay, AK and back in about six weeks. The six of us will be stuffed into our 33' Ocean Sport Roamer, a 370hp single diesel cruiser. If all goes as planned, we'll be cruising nearly 3,000 miles (with side trips), taking many of the same passages as the cruise ships. I hope to share our experiences and photos every couple of days as we meander along and can pick up an internet signal. This is definately a new and BIG adventure for us South Dakota kids, so PRAY FOR US! Also, send us a note and let us know how you are doing and how your summer is going. So, for a little of the past (really, an attempt to figure out how this blogging thing really works)...

We arrived on Orcas Island on May 22. One of my first goals, was to get the boat launched. It takes a while to get the boat ready and moving around a 33' 17,000# boat on land is a lot more difficult than in the water! The boat seems so big on land but so small when everyone is on board and cruising through big water!

In less than 2 weeks, we'll be setting sail for Alaska and I want to make sure that the mothballs are out of the boat! Cody needed to go to Seattle to catch a plane on Sunday for a Summit Ministries Camp in Colorado, so we decided to take him in the boat, about an 80 mile run one way. That little shakedown cruise should reveal any system glitches from the winter and it gives us a great reason to go explore that area of Puget Sound.

On Friday, May 29, we made the 3 hour run from Orcas Island to Elliott Bay Marina. The weather was perfect. We timed the currents to run through Deception Pass, no problem. Elliott Bay Marina has very nice facilities and the views are great! (Click on the picture for a higher resosultion view.)

On Saturday, we toured Pike's Market, a classic Seattle tourist spot. Val and I really enjoyed it but Cody would rather be in the wilderness. Connor is just a happy-go-lucky, go-with-the-flo kinda guy. On Sunday, Cody took a taxi from the marina to catch his flight. Connor, Val, and I went to the Seattle Acquarium and the Space Needle. It was very nice but we're ready to get out of the city.

So, on Monday, we left Elliott Bay, sailing past downtown, on our way to Blake Island Marine Park, only about 10 miles away. It felt great to get out in the woods, let the dogs run, and get some "openness" again. We don't mind being in marinas with lots of other boaters....they're very friendly, for the most part, and always helpful; however, we'd rather be on the hook (anchor) in our little slice of a cove. So, we got our fix at Blake Island.

On Tuesday, we sailed for Port Orchard to check it out, had lunch there, and then sailed over to Bremerton, a big Navy base. Connor and I were excited to see an old Navy ship that we could explore. Val wanted to shop but the boys won out! Connor really enjoyed the ship and so did I. Mom still wanted to shop!

We left late afternoon for about an hour run up to Port Townsend, a favorite spot of ours. We went downtown for some dinner and shopping. Val is happy now!

Wednesday morning, Val was taking a shower and hose coupling let go so I spent an hour or so cleaning up water in the bilge and fixing the leak. (Part of working out the bugs...and pretty typical on a boat.) We sailed back to Orcas Islaand that afternoon. Crossing the Strait of Juan DeFuca can be horrid but today it was sunny, hot, and dead calm seas! I've had some crossing attempts fail and scared the heck out of me! Glad this one went well!

So, the shakedown cruise went well. We had a great time. I have a laundry list of items that need adjusting, fixing, cleaning, and just plain attention. But, I think we're ready for Alaska. Now, if I can just get this blogging thing figured out.