May at Chatterbox Falls

Rikki-tikki-tavi began his cruising season at his very favorite spot– Princess Louisa Inlet! His crew, Clark and Nina, reveled in the serenity and beauty of this most spectacular of places while Rikki-tikki rested quietly at the dock behind Seaweed. The first two weeks were typically drizzly and misty, which only accentuated the splendor of the mountains that stream with a myriad of waterfalls. Then the sun came out! The weather was deliciously warm and bright, the skies and waters pellucid. Chatterbox Falls is the glorious centerpiece of Princess Louisa. The flow of the falls constantly changes throughout each day in response to temperatures and rainfall. Fascinating. We kayaked, harvested shellfish (which is open until May 30th), visited with cruisers, and bathed in the sun.

Nina made four hats– one for granddaughter Eva, one for Clark, a special "9ah hat" for Sandy who was having a birthday, and a sunhat for herself. Rikki-tikkii also celebrated a birthday. May 10th was the fifth anniversary of his launch into the Sacramento River! Nina scrubbed the sail cover and polished windows in preparation. Sandy and Loren contributed a bottle of champagne to our meal of prawns, pickled oysters, and steamed mussels. Clark blew out five candles inserted into cashew/coconut nut balls. It was a perfect day.

The 22nd through the 28th brought some large tidal differences with one large ebb during the day. This means that the ebb currents through Malibu Rapids were delayed significantly due to the huge volume of water exiting the inlet. Most boaters depend on the Canadian Hydrographic Tables' corrections for the timing of the slack current at Malibu, which is taken off of the tide station at Point Atkinson. The corrected time is, we want to emphasize, an average of all the current slacks over time. Folks were not taking the tidal differences into account and many entered the rapids too early only to face unexpected strong currents and turbulence. Boaters came to the dock with horror stories. Two boats actually aborted halfway through and turned around! They were traumatized along with other boaters (not only small boats, mind you!) who made it through by the skin of their teeth, so to speak. Thankfully, there were no tragedies. We want to remind those who travel the distance to lovely Princess Louisa Inlet to pay attention to the tidal differences. In times of large tides, Malibu Rapids may be up to an hour-and-a-half late on the ebb. Take care.

There are no more BC Parks mooring buoys at MacDonald Island. The anchor chains had all rusted completely through and the buoys floated freely away from their stations. We learned that three large powerboats had tied to the last two that had stopped near shore on the north side of the inlet. A Nordhavn rafted to a second yacht shared one of these overnight. Yikes! Fortunately there were no strong inflow or outflow winds during their visit.

Rikki-tikki-tavi plans to make annual visits to Princess Louisa Inlet. Clark and Nina find it the perfect starting point for a season of cruising in British Columbia. Long live "The Princess"! Thank you, Mac.

Photographs copyright 2009 Nina Courtney Wagaman and Clark Wagaman. All rights reserved.

Tucked in for the Winter

We left Rikki-tikki-tavi safely moored at Roche Harbor, San Juan Island, for the winter. Headed south like Snowbirds, we stopped to spend time with friends in Mount Vernon, Washington. On our way through Oregon, we enjoyed a pleasant visit with family in Estacada. We all drove up to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood and had lunch. With car-camping in Southern Utah on our minds, we then sped on home to Sacramento.

Princess Louisa Inlet

Hello, Friends!

We spent over three weeks at Princess Louisa Inlet this spring. Here is a short description of one of the days.

Clark and I visited with Kathy and Noel aboard Integrity II. They are quite an interesting young couple. She’s a glaciologist from the UK who worked at Antarctica studying the movements of the ice shelves. He was a navigator with the British merchant marine from Ireland who was aboard the supply ship to Antarctica. They have a photo album with images of their boat in Taiwan under construction back in 1965. Their little ship is a Mason 38 ketch that was built as a private cruiser but the owners decided to sell her and make a business of building additional boats instead. They worked on the boat in Nanaimo for nearly two years, had a engine shipped over from the UK. It’s a very well-built boat and appears quite capable to taking them to Hawaii and the Marshall Islands, as is their plan.

After our visit, I showed Kathy how to identify wild cucumber, gathered some for ourselves, then we got ready to move to a bouy at MacDonald Island. Seaweed was already there. Loren and Sandy left the dock yesterday. We ran the watermaker on the way, going very, very slowly. The rain stayed away and we took the long way around the island to get back to mooring #3. Then we went ashore to gather some shellfish– oysters and Littleneck clams.

After dinner, we rowed over to Seaweed for a couple rounds of cribbage, which is new to us. Sandy and Loren are the most pleasant people. They make no demands on your energy, mentally or otherwise. Lovely. They helped Nina learn the game with great patience and made the experience pleasurable. Sandy made a chocolate dessert with the Carnation canned “thick” cream that she’d shown us. She used nsweetened cocoa powder and Splenda for sweetening. It was good!

It was beginning to sprinkle as we went back to Rikki-tikki in the dark.

Back in BC

Hello, Friends,
We checked Rikki-tikki-tavi back into Canada at Prince Rupert on Wednesday, August 22nd, after three months cruising in Southeast Alaska. We saw glaciers, grizzlies, whales, wolves, sea otters, eagles, and puffins. We enjoyed spectacular sunsets, endured zero-visibility fog, met wonderful people, caught salmon and halibut. Our blog is a bit behind, we know. Please enjoy this photo of Johns Hopkins Glacier while we catch up!


We promise more to come...
Clark & Nina

April 2007 - Princess Louisa Inlet

Princess Louisa Inlet is truly a special place. We've seen some astonishingly spectacular fiords here in Alaska, but Princess Louisa offers peace, serenity and an intimacy unsurpassed. This is enhanced when one arrives very early in the season when the snow still encrusts the mountains and visitors are few. This is the way we like to experience Princess Louisa...


We have the dock to ourselves.

One of the first things the guys did was to go hunting/gathering (in the rain, of course). The oysters at PLI are the best we've ever had and we were looking forward to eating them again. After a scrumptious dinner of fried oysters with Diane's spicy salad alongside, we played a game or two of Farkle. It was like coming home after a long absence- pure enjoyment.


It rained frequently while we were in Princess Louisa this year.

When the sun finally came out, we noticed that Talisman was looking very good. During the previous two weeks, Dean had buffed on a gloss coating and the dark blue hull was brilliant. He'd was just finishing up the replacement of all the wood plugs on the rails, a project begun back in Friday Harbor. The beautiful stained glass panels that Diane had designed and made were now installed in the cockpit doors. Together with her new Tartaruga hard dodger and canvas, the Pearson 424 ketch looked great.



Diane scooted around the inlet in her Hobie Mirage kayak on one of the few sunny days. I took her peddle kayak on a little excursion too and was treated to a close view of a black bear! The Mirage is virtually silent because there is no splashing of a paddle. This allows close approach to wildlife and leaves hands free to use a camera or binoculars. Plus, the leg exercise is very welcome. We sit way too much living aboard a boat.


I encountered this very healthy-looking black bear along the shore.


The shellfish - oysters, mussels, littleneck clams - were abundant and so very tasty.


It was easy to pick up a limit of oysters in a very short time.


This is wild cucumber, an edible wild plant and also very abundant. We would go a few yards up the trail and, in ten minutes, pick enough for the evening's salad. We were careful to selectively collect partial stalks away from the trail so as to leave the area looking undisturbed. Also known as Twisted Stalk, the Streptopus leaves are delicious with a light dressing of lemon juice, almond oil, salt and pepper.


A sleepy-eyed toad along the trail caught my attention.


We had a few visitors on occasion. Dave, Vickie and John aboard their Lord Nelson Victory Tug, Nellie D, dropped in on their way north.


Steve, Caroline and Abi, a family from the UK, visited in a chartered sailboat. We enjoyed meeting them very much.


The skunk cabbage in the creek bog was fresh and beautiful.


One day, a couple aboard this float plane dropped in for a short hike, then took off again. Another day, we heard a roar, but it wasn't one of the many avalanches we'd seen. A small black helicopter came zooming around the bend at low altitude, streaked past us, then banked sharply up above the waterfall. It circled the glacial bowl behind Chatterbox and buzzed along the snowy ridges. We wondered what it cost to take a tour like that- thrilling but expensive!


I made unique crocheted hats for each of us- Hats by 9ah

One afternoon, we took our dinghies down to Malibu Club. The four of us walked over to the edge of the pool which is perched in the rock above the rapids. The current was running out of the Inlet at 10.5 knots. We watched the whirlpools and swirls in awe, the tongue of the flow was clearly defined. Suddenly, a fast boat with two people aboard came flying through at planing speed. They were airborne several times as the hull glanced off the surging water. Then, we leisurely toured the grounds. Only a handful of folks were there getting things ready to open for the summer season. The setting is lovely, the buildings are intriguing- some are the original structures from the early part of last century. It's a terrific location for a summer camp.


Rikki-tikki-tavi in front of Chatterbox Falls.


Talisman approaching Malibu Rapids on our way out.


Malibu Club, Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia


Leaving Malibu Rapids behind for another year.

We spent eight lovely days at Princess Louisa this year. Dean and Diane were there for over three weeks! Sadly, our friends Loren and Sandy aboard Seaweed didn't arrive. Diane made a "Reserved for Seaweed" sign, we signed our names and attached it in their favorite spot on the dock. We've decided that we should start our cruising each year with a long stay at this exceptional place. That is, if we don't spend the winter in Alaska (which is yet to be determined)!

With best wishes,

Clark & Nina

May 2007 - Part 1

Hello from Alaska!

Rikki-tikki-tavi crossed the International Boundary between British Columbia, Canada, into the waters of the USA, state of Alaska, on Sunday, May 27th, at latitude 54˚46.16'N, longitude 130˚38.97'W. At this point, a line is drawn in a zigzag fashion up the middle of Tongass Passage, between Sitklan Island (USA) and Wales Island (Canada). There the line turns northwest up the middle of Pearse Canal, then up the middle of Portland Inlet to its head.

Canada charts are quite good, in our opinion more readable than NOAA charts. We reviewed the route into the USA to Ketchikan, the required check-in point for US Customs, while we were peacefully at anchor in shallow, roomy, sticky bottomed, empty Winter Inlet on the north side of Pearse Island. Canada Chart 396001 at 1:40,000 scale clearly showed that at the end of Sitklan Passage there was a shortcut into East Dixon Entrance between Tongass Island and Kanagunut Island. This shortcut would save us at least three nautical miles, a half hour. It was shallow and there were rocks, but there seemed to us a safe S-shaped course through, so I'd plotted waypoints to follow.

The morning seemed benign with light winds, so when we arrived at the point where we could've turned right (starboard) and taken the deep, therefore safer, passage along the mainland coast, despite that we saw a large ocean swell coming in, we continued into the maze. Two small, high-powered fishing boats were heading out the same way. We could see the swells rising higher on the outside as the bottom came up to meet them. Big waves crashed over the rocks, which showed us exactly where they were, of course. Rikki-tikki was in his element, his bows lifting to the swells easily. We were less enthusiastic about the heights to which we were rising, as the course we needed to hold gave little margin for error. Clark piloted the chicane (as in a narrowing turn on an auto-racing course) with confidence into the swell where it wasn't breaking and we (I) didn't panic. Let's just say that this short but exciting ride is etched into our memories. We made it through safely.

The day before, we motorsailed 35 NM down Portland Inlet with the jib out, bashing into bumpy swells and wind chop whipped up by a 20 knot breeze. To avoid motion sickness, I used my Sea-Bands with good results. We had just spent two nights at the BC Parks Khutzeymateen Grizzly Reserve, where we were treated to thirteen sightings. Luckily, we had turned up just at the right time! Late May is when these brown bear head down to the shorelines to graze on grasses, look for crustaceans and shellfish. Later in the season when the berries ripen, they head into the mountains. We managed to get fairly close by dinghy to capture this photo of one male lazily browsing on sedges.


Drooling from the bitter sedge grasses he's been eating, this grizzly calmly observes us observing him.

Now that we have reached Alaska, let's go back to the beginning of Rikki-tikki's 2007 Adventure before the story gets too confusing...

After a windy, cold, wet and exceptionally snowy winter in the Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, and Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, USA, when you would think we would be yearning for some warm sun south of the border like reasonable sailors, why are we anxious to go even farther north– all the way into Southeast Alaska in 2007? This is a question we are asked quite often, though never by other boaters who have cruised the Pacific Northwest and who understand the multitude of delights this the vast area holds for intrepid adventurers. The sea and land is simply gorgeous, filled with wildlife and fascinating geological features like glaciers, fiords, volcanoes, and a zillion islands of every size and shape. The Northwest offers endless cruising opportunities that would take a lifetime to explore thoroughly. Sailors who've been around the planet often complete their lifetime of sailing by spending the rest of their days Up North. We figure it will take us several more years just to touch some of the high points. After all, we'd done snow (this was our Happy Holidays eCard!) so we were confident that we could do Alaska, at least "Southeast".


Our 2006 Holiday eCard. Photo taken November 30, 2006, in Montague Harbour, British Columbia.

In February, I took a SWA flight from Seattle home to Sacramento for a short visit and some precious time with my grandson, Merritt, then already seven months old. I delivered the crocheted "Kiss Hat" that Clark and I made for him while we were rainbound in the boat during January's wet weather. Thanks, Mom, for making the week so enjoyable and productive for me by cooking, sharing time, lending me your car, and making the trip possible. I spent two full days with little Merritt while his parents, Michael and Samantha, were at work, giving his other grandma, Jeanne, some time off. She has been Merritt's full-time caregiver since mom returned to work. Jeanne is absolutely wonderful– she has my admiration and grateful appreciation. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Merritt– he was so much fun! He is a cheerful, athletic, inquisitive, interactive and wonderfully adorable baby! Being so far away is terribly difficult. When I returned to Friday Harbor, we ordered a little webcam so we could see each other over the computer during our Skype VOIP calls. This is very cool!!


Merritt wearing his "Kiss Hat". Photo by dad Michael.

Rikki-tikki-tavi got a new bottom paint and a straightened prop shaft beginning March 16th at the Port of Port Townsend, Washington, where his 26.5' width meant their monstrous 300-ton lift was required. Rikki's weight didn't even register on the gauge. Clark and I were challenged by high winds and rain, but we got the job done despite the weather. Rikki-tikki was spiffy-looking and ready for the water on the 24th, but winds were forecast to be 30 knots with only two lift operators on duty, so we took time to walk around the charming town while Rikki waited patiently for the right launch conditions. Clark was able to retrieve his commemorative "30th Annual Wooden Boat Festival" poster from the Wooden Boat Foundation down at Port Hudson. (More later about the Wooden Boat Festival, in which Rikki-tikki-tavi was honored to be accepted as an exhibitor.) We mailed it back to Mom in Sacramento for safekeeping. The calm morning of March 27th, we traveled the 31 miles back to Friday Harbor, across the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, in 4.5 hours! Rikki's speed seemed enhanced by his three clean, smooth bottoms. The shaft noise also seemed quieter and smoother.


Like a moth held by a gigantic spider's web, Rikki-tikki waits to be released into the water once again.

Back in Friday Harbor, our lists of things to do before heading north were getting shorter. On a very warm day, I took a kayak outside the breakwater to photograph the schooner W.N. Ragland. It belongs to the singer/songwriter Neil Young. While paddling past the breakwater where the current ran swiftly, I noticed that the dock float was covered with what I thought was hard to find– winged kelp, alaria marginata! It had been growing right here in Friday Harbor all along. The kelp was very clean this time of year, too, before the hordes of summer boaters had dirtied the harbor. I plucked a choice selection of fronds and piled them on the kayak. Back at the boat, I cut out the center vein, chopped it up for stir-fry, then hung the "wings" of the fronds from the bow nets. When they were dry, I fried 2-inch sections in hot coconut oil. One batch I left plain, the second I sprinkled with Dixie Belle Rub, a dynamite recipe from Dana Carpender's The Low-Carb Barbeque Book. We shared these delicious treats with several folks who had expressed interest in eating sea vegetables and with one who ate our kelp only as a favor. He shall remain nameless, but such a good sport!


Neil Young's schooner, WN Ragland, in Friday Harbor, Washington.

Meanwhile, Clark worked on solving our mysterious stray electrical current issue. This condition was very evident when Rikki-tikki was hauled– there was blistering of the copper bottom paint and a thick crust of barnacles all around the shaft log and up both sides of the main hull. However, there was no pitting of the prop or the shaft, or excessive deterioration of our zinc anodes. In talking with several experts, Clark first installed a new grounding brush to the prop shaft. On further consideration of the characteristics of the problem, we decided that it was better to keep electricity from getting into the water in the first place. The question was: How had it gotten there? After days of taking things apart, testing & retesting, putting things back together, taking some systems out of the circuits, testing & putting them back in... it all came down to the Honda 2000 generator. Nowhere in the manual does it tell a person who uses the generator on a boat at anchor (no earth to ground the unit to) that the floating ground in the generator should be changed so that the neutral and ground are connected inside the case. Thanks to Dan on Sequel for this information. Clark hooked them together and, voila!, no more hot neutral circuit. He also isolated all the underwater metal from the electrical system. Only our FrigoBoat keelcooler has a neutral wire running back to a battery neutral. The boat is not bonded. We have eliminated a path for stray current to get out of the boat and into the water. Our bottom paint should now stay on the bottom (except for the fact that we put on an ablative!). It won't be blistering off due to stray current.


This is where we tie up while in Friday Harbor.

Thanks to all who helped us on our way– Dean and Diane for grocery shopping, Rod for use of the shop tools, Dick and Sharon for storing our car and putting us up, Patrick for helping us get the right antenna for our wi-fi connection, Dan for the SSB/HAM radio assistance– and the many others who shared experiences and friendship. On April 10th, Rikki-tikki made a final stop at the Friday Harbor fuel dock before pointing his nose across Haro Strait into Canada.


Rikki-tikki-tavi at the fuel dock, Friday Harbor.

Checking into Canada brought the Customs officers down to speak with us again. They reminded us that we are allowed a visit of only six months out of every twelve. We didn't think we'd been overstaying our welcome, always returning to the USA before our allotted time was up. Does this mean we'll have to seriously consider spending the winter in Alaska, once we get there? They gave us our requested sixty-day clearance saying, "Enjoy your time in Canada!"


Canada's HMS Oriole leaving Tsehum Harbour in early morning light.

We anchored for a few nights in Tsehum Harbour, visiting friends and shopping. Clark helped Gerta bring Millennium Dragon from Canoe Cove to Cowichan Bay, while I drove her BMW to Victoria for provisions and an adapter for our new high-gain wi-fi antenna. Fully loaded with goods from Costco in Langford, I continued along the beautiful highway north to meet Millie D. Gerta suggested we stop for dinner on the way back to Tsehum Harbour at the resort pub in Brentwood. The Happy Hour special was chicken wings- we devoured two orders along with a pitcher of beer. Next day, we squeezed in a short visit with new friends, Alan and Bet, whom we'd met at Conover Cove, Wallace Island, BC, back in January. A wet, bouncy ride in Darzee took us to Rikki, as a storm was blowing in. Immediately, we left in the late afternoon light for Royal Cove, an island where we'd spent an entire week hiding from weather back in November.


Conover Cove in January. Photo by Bet and Alan on Cloudbreak.

There were two sailboats already in the protected cove, both with long sternlines to shore. Sheltered from the southerly wind in the cove, we had no trouble dropping our hook, pulling in between them, and securing our own sternline to one of the park rings on the rocks. The rain began and it rained all night and all through the following day. We stayed on the boat and finished stowing our provisions. The larger sailboat left, and little Wildflower, a sloop we'd seen in various anchorages in the Gulf Islands, was Rikki-tikki's only neighbor.

About 2 AM, a choppy sea started slapping off the hulls- the noise got Clark up to take a look around. We were holding in place just fine and Wildflower's anchor looked to be holding too, but the lightweight cruiser was bouncing around a good deal more than we were. Clark thought about hanging fenders on our port side but came back to the warm bed instead. We drifted back to sleep. BANG! The loud crack shocked us awake, the adrenaline rush had us fumbling to get dressed in a flash. BANG! We knew that Wildflower had dragged her anchor and was on us. We should've hung the fenders! Out on deck, we offered to let the skipper tie alongside, but he started the engine and drove slowly away to reset his anchor. He said he would stay up the rest of the night to keep watch. It was 3:30 AM. It took awhile for us to settle down enough to fall asleep again.

Next morning, the sun appeared and we said our good-byes to Wildflower's skipper, wishing him well. Rikki-tikki now had a six-inch mark where the paint had been scraped- nothing to worry about. We motored over a flat sea toward Gabriola Passage to catch the current at slack. As we glided passed Porlier Pass, where the current was running at full 5 knots of flood from Trincomali Channel into the Strait of Georgia, we watched as a sailboat went through. We looked at each other, then turned around to follow. The fast current had already carried the other boat far into the Strait- we watched our speed increase quickly. Porlier held no surprises and we flew out into the Strait. If it looked too bumpy, we could always duck into Silva Bay, but the following seas were tolerable. We rode Rikki-tikki all the way to Pender Harbour, into Gerrans Bay, arriving just as a light rain began. After fueling up at Hospital Cove, we headed for Princess Louisa Inlet next morning, crossing our fingers that Dean and Diane on Talisman would still be there.


Hospital Cove fuel dock, Pender Harbour, British Columbia.


The day trip up Jervis Inlet began with warm sun on the decks.


Clouds moved in and by the end of the day, we had sprinkles and some wind.


Much to our excitement, Dean and Diane were waiting at Princess Louisa to take Rikki's docklines once again. It was such a thrill to see Talisman all alone at the end of the dock as we came around the last bend to reach Chatterbox Falls basin. The beginning of our season of cruising was getting off to a great start!

Fair winds and beautiful views,

Clark & Nina

2006 Spring Cruise, Part 2

The conditions in Filucy Bay remained chilly and gray, but we decided to head out anyway. "Juniata" and "Sail La Vie" were going back to the park dock at Penrose Point. We elected to continue on into Horsehead Bay, where we hoped to hide out from the even stronger SE winds that were forecast. The guide book said that large, expensive homes lined the shore. We immediately thought, "Wi-fi!" It was time we checked TurboTax to see if our e-filed forms had been accepted. I couldn't relax until we were assured they went through okay. Clark steered "Rikki-tikki" as far toward the head of the bay as we felt comfortable and went forward to drop the anchor. As soon as it set, I turned on the iBook's Airport and, wonder of all wonders, we immediately picked up an open network! Yes! We'd come to the right spot. We could relax and enjoy the evening. The winds did pick up but the small bay was well sheltered, as were we.

As we exited Horsehead Bay the next day, we saw "Juniata" had already made a good distance down Carr Inlet ahead of us. It was bumpy and the wind was nearly on our nose, but the gusts soon calmed as we turned to go into Tacoma Narrows. Back in Gig Harbor at the City Dock, thunderstorms and heavy rain squalls made our walking tours "interesting". We ducked into little shops to wait out each sudden downpour. Way down the street, toward the head of the harbor, we found a little marine store where we bought a curious folding, lightweight grapnel anchor for Darzee. When Dave saw it, he immediately asked Larry to buy him one- "Sail La Vie" was staying another day or two.

On April 17, we motored 27 nautical miles back to Port Madison where, as we had expected, the wi-fi network there now required a password. Email would have to wait until we got back to Port Ludlow. After another four hours of travel next day, we anchored in our very favorite hideaway, the Inner Harbor. Dave and Marcia would go on into Canada, while we decided to see if we could offload our bicycles before heading to BC. We emailed Dick and Sharon to inquire if they had room. They replied in the affirmative, so we decided to go into La Conner, where our friends could meet us with their pickup truck. 

Leaving Port Ludlow on the 20th, we enjoyed calm conditions all the way across the eastern end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The current runs very swiftly in Deception Pass, between Fidalgo Island and Whidby Island. Everyone respects its narrow fairway and turbulent waters. We arrived shortly before slack and found a pair of tugs along the north shore with their log boom waiting to go through. They pulled out in front of us as the time neared. We hailed them several times on the VHF but they failed to respond, so we throttled up and pulled around them before there was no time left to do so. Passing under the bridge at low tide, one is impressed with the narrowness of the water, the size and frighteningly jagged rocks that line the shore cliffs. We wished someone had been on the bridge to photograph "Rikki-tikki" going under for his first time. "Serendipity" must've passed under dozens of times in her ten years of cruising these northern waters.




Two tugs with their log boom headed for Deception Pass.

The Swinomish Channel is fraught with strong currents, which even locals don't seem to quite understand which direction they will run on which state of the tide. We decided to deal with whatever current there was. The channel is clearly marked. We entered the south end, which is very narrow between mud flats with no water. The current was running against us and a big power yacht came astern wanting to get by. We pulled as far over to the right as possible. As they passed, a man came out onto the swim step and mouthed, "Sorry about the wake," and stepped back inside leaving us to rock back and forth. At far end is a steep-sided channel with an S-curve shape that blocks any view of traffic approaching. With our wide beam, we hoped not to meet any other boat, while we nervously took quick glances overhead to marvel at the homes perched on the edges of the cliffs.

There is another bridge at the south end of La Conner and the chart assured us we would enjoy ample clearance but, as we approached, we spied a cable hanging much lower than the bridge span. We were almost afraid to continue into town! Slowing to a creep, we edged our way toward the higher side of the cable and crossed our fingers that our mast top would not snag. If it touched, we were prepared to back away immediately. This time we didn't even breathe. "Rikki" went under without catching the cable, but we were sure that this clearance was not what was stated on the chart! With relief, we tied "Rikki-tikki" to a City Float, and put our $20 check into the fee box.



A metal sculpture of a salmon graces this ramp at one of the La Conner City Floats.

It turned out to be Tulip Days in La Conner. Discovering this, we were amazed that there was room along the city waterfront for us. The attractive little town was crowded with people, hundreds of cars, and motorcycles. A bank parking lot sparkled with an amazing array of shiny, expensive sportscars.



A steam-powered launch gives tours up and down the waterfront at La Conner.



Designed for speed, these sporty vehicles dazzled the eyes.



The main street of La Conner was congested with weekend visitors.


Dick and Sharon came down to the dock, loaded up the bikes, then took us to their home in Mount Vernon for dinner. On the way out of town, Dick slowed the car so I could grab a shot of the last of the tulips left in the field. The remaining acres of flowers had all been snipped off, leaving only stems and leaves! The tulips are grown for their bulbs not their blooms. We just missed what must've been a truly awesome landscape just days before.





No stopping. No Cars. Just grab a quick photo!

Our dismay at missing the La Conner fields was soon forgotten. As soon as we checked into Canada Customs on April 26th at Tsehum Harbour, we made a beeline for Tod Inlet, where we would tour The Butchart Gardens. They are renowned worldwide for their floral displays and we would not be disappointed. We spent two days taking photos and wandering through the amazing combinations of colorful foliage and bright spring blossoms.





Clark overlooks The Butchart's Sunken Garden.

Here are just a couple of the hundreds of photos I captured.




The beds are layered with swaths of blooms.




Nature creates some eye-popping shapes and hues.




The tulips are artfully integrated with contrasting or harmonizing companions.


When we emerged from our last day at The Butchart Gardens, Juniata was waiting for us in the anchorage. The following day was drizzly but we didn't care. Ira (You remember Small Fry?) met Clark and I at the end of the trail where the lane ends, loaded us into his pickup, and drove us into Victoria/Langford for grocery shopping. We enjoyed his wonderful stories along the way. After a personal tour of this beautiful area, he took us to his home, where we finally met his wife, Betty. Thanks, Ira. Our visit was much too short!


All stocked up with groceries, we followed "Juniata" out of Tod Inlet and northeast toward Pirates Cove, a popular Marine Provincial Park on De Courcy Island. The weather was threatening to worsen but conditions were benign for the six and a half-hour trip. Arriving at Pirates Cove in late afternoon, we anchored as close to the east shore as we could and rowed out a line to shore. "Juniata" anchored out in the middle, just ahead of a raft of six powerboats with music blaring and we both hunkered down to await the coming storm.


Clark & Nina

Spring Cruise, Part 1

The Adventures of Rikki-tikki-tavi

March 27 to April 12, 2006

South Puget Sound Cruise - Part 1

We bid farewell to our new friends in Port Ludlow Marina on a pleasantly sunny day. The breeze outside the harbor was brisk but going in the wrong direction. We motored south to meet Juniata in Port Madison, a quiet harbor on Bainbridge Island. Our Spring Cruise of South Puget South had begun. We anchored off an idyllic-looking private island compound sprouting a lovely home, a treehouse, a couple of rope swings out over the harbor, kayaks on the private pier, and cushy deck chairs on the porch. We figured the owners for Seattle residents, their island get-away visited only on long weekends or over summer vacations. Dave and Marcia joined us in the cockpit. The sun warmed Rikki-tikki's decks and our faces as we talked about the month ahead. The weather, so far, looked promising. We discovered that our computer could pick up an open wi-fi network, so we checked email from the boat.

Gray skies next morning greeted us as we got underway early to catch the slack current in Agate Pass. Even though the bridge clearance is 75 feet, we sucked in our breaths as Rikki-tikki's nearly 60-foot height passed beneath. There were long-tailed ducks and a few loons along the shore. We followed in the wake of both Juniata, Dave and Marcia's 37-foot Pacific Seacraft yawl, and Serendipity, my maternal grandparents' 37-foot custom motorsailer. Julian and Olive were on the same course through Agate pass back in April of 1965 and their adventurous spirits are held dearly in my heart. We pulled into Poulsbo at the head of Liberty Bay and dropped anchor in the shallow water. Two friends of Dave and Marcia's motored out to Juniata in their dinghy, and we joined them all for lunch in the cockpit. After eating, Dave lowered his new 6 HP outboard onto their Porta-Bote. He let Clark start it for the very first time (!) before they went out for a spin on the glassy bay.

The next day, we got Dave to tow Darzee into town with his new motor, while we sat back and enjoyed the ride. The little town of Poulsbo (pronounced "Pauls-bow") is popular in the summer, but this time of year things are fairly quiet. Dave, Marcia and Clark posed for a photo in front of the famous bakery, resisting the temptation of sugary morsels laid out in the window. We sat with a cup of coffee in the Poulsbohemian Café, where a couple of gals added sections to the world's longest knit scarf.

Slowly we sauntered in and out of the shops and back to the marina, where there was something even more interesting to see- the world's largest (perhaps) trimaran. Dave towed us over to gawk at a trimaran so big that we guessed Rikki-tikki would fit on one side deck! Wow, it was huge.

After a full run around this leviathan (it's for sale!), we headed back to Rikki-tikki for a yummy sardine mash lunch. Marcia wasn't so sure she would like it, but with capers and sundried tomatoes added, sardines, besides being very healthful fare, taste great. It's our staple lunch- quick and easy.

Rain soon settled in and we watched from the shelter of our cockpit dodger as a several fleets of kids raced small sailing dinghies for an hour despite the wetness. After three nights in Liberty Bay, we decided to go back to Port Madison for the wi-fi and to explore the length of the inner harbor in our new kayaks. The wi-fi remained open and we accomplished some essential tasks online. It was only a matter of time before the open network would be accessed only with a password, so we took advantage while we could.

Next on the agenda, kayaking. We enter the kayaks off the stern where I tie both ends of the 'yak off to the handrails. That way, when I get in or climb out, the plastic boat doesn't zip out from under me. Clark is much more agile and he ties only one end. Our water-level tour around Port Madison gave us a new view of the multimillion-dollar homes that line the shore. We donned our drysuits next morning and got into the water to scrub all three of Rikki's hulls, scraping and brushing off the many forms of algae that seem to grow back overnight. Clark spent the entire next day, which just happened to be April Fool's Day, working on our contribution to the Northwest Multihull Association newsletter. They had invited us to write about our 2005 trip up the West Coast. About 5 PM, he called Juniata on the walkie-talkie to announce that "writing is painful", and mentioned vodka may be the cure for his pain. After two chilled coconut concoctions and some mango ginger Stilton cheese, Clark and the rest of us were feeling quite relaxed.

Juniata sailed away for Blake Island, leaving us behind to wait for their friends, Larry and Marcia, aboard Sail La Vie, a Gemini 32 catamaran. When they arrived, we enjoyed cocktails and dinner aboard Rikki-tikki-tavi. Next day we both headed south, but our destination was Blakely Harbor. On our way past Eagle Harbor, where the Washington State Ferry traverses between Bainbridge Island and Seattle, we turned in for a look. It was raining and we were slowly cruising the harbor looking at boats. I spotted an interesting white trimaran on the end of a dock. As we approached, a powerboat drove out from the fairway behind the tri, stopping us dead in our tracks. Clark looked to starboard as we waited for him to pass and there, just a few feet away, was Bacchanal, John Marples' Searunner 37, vintage 1970s. The companionway was open, so we hailed the owner. Patrick popped his head out and motioned for us to pull in behind his trimaran.

What a great treat to meet Patrick here! He had introduced himself by email many months before as we were making our way up the coast toward Cape Flattery, saying that he'd been watching our building progress on the internet for years. He had invited us to come by to say "hi" when we got to Seattle. Eagle Harbor is across The Sound from Seattle, so we were surprised and glad for the serendipitous meeting. Patrick arranged for us to stay the night on the Pub Dock behind Bacchanal. After hours of talking, dinner and wine aboard Rikki-tikki, breakfast the next morning too, we got to know Patrick and he us.

Here in Eagle Harbor, Rikki-tikki-tavi meets his brother, Bacchanal. (They are both male boats!)

The next day, April 4th, we left Eagle Harbor enroute for Gig Harbor, some 28 nautical miles away. Puget Sound was all new territory for us and we enjoyed the afternoon with a bit of sailing and motorsailing. When we arrived at the entrance to Gig Harbor with its serpentine shallow sandy bar, it was right at a minus 0.07-foot low tide. We were glad for our mere 38" of draft! Juniata and Sail La Vie were at the City Dock, their crews wondering what had been keeping us. We excitedly related our chance encounter with Patrick on Bacchanal.

Three chums, each of a different "feather" (different number of hulls), at the Gig Harbor City Dock.

We visited Gig Harbor again on the way back from the South Sound. The city allows two free days at their dock, which is centrally located to the little town with a grocery, post office, shops, marine stores, and restaurants. Between thundershowers, we walked the long frontage road to see the historical points of interest in the harbor and town. A historic walking tour brochure and placards along the way explain key aspects of the growth of the area and the fishing industry. There is still an active fleet of seine boats.

Our first trip under the Tacoma Narrows bridges, both the old and the new one now under construction, was under a full jib and with a favorable current. The clear blue sky put smiles on our faces. Checking grandpa's log, he and grandma motored under the Narrows Bridge at 1537 hours (that's 3:37 PM) on April 9, 1965. His notes say, "Rainy & cold all day." We headed for Penrose State Park, where we were promised fresh oysters and clams. Larry and Marcia had shellfish licenses!

We all stood around watching Larry and Marcia while they dug the clams and shucked the oysters on the muddy flats. After returning the oyster shells to their beds, we all went back to the dock for fried oyster appetizers. The clams were hung over the side in a net bag to purge themselves. The fishery notice on the park bulletin board stated that crabbing was open, so Larry also deployed his trap and next morning came back with three large rock crab- our first! Returning from the second day of clam digging, the notice stated that crabbing was closed! Were the crabs now illegal? Oh well, they'd already been cooked. So yummy, too, I sat on the dock long after everyone else had finished working to get out every last shred of meat.

While Marcia shows off the harvest, "The Other" Marcia digs clams at Penrose Beach.

Our three boats all carry or tow Porta-Botes as dinghies. Darzee has two buddies!

Appetizers enjoyed at the dock- it can't get better!

Cruisers are very self-sufficient. Dave gets a haircut, then it's Marcia's turn.

Next morning, we followed Juniata through Pitt Passage where there were two fishing boats with divers in the water. The large-diameter hoses led overboard told us they were probably harvesting geoduck clams, a tough business. There was not enough breeze for sailing into Olympia, so we motored over to tie up at the Swantown Marina transient dock. Dinner for eight aboard Sail La Vie featured garlicky clams, salads, and Clark's zucchini cake with coconut cream cheese frosting.

Clark's cousin, Betty, who lives just south of Olympia, came to pick us up. She took us shopping and to her home, where we met a long-time friend of hers. Unfortunately, I spent a good deal of the time on the computer in a frustrated attempt to complete our taxes online using TurboTax. Even though Betty's internet access was fast, I didn't have time to finish and I missed out on a lot of the conversation too! The following morning, I tried in vain to get the Swantown wi-fi to work. I even took my computer outside and held it up directly in sight of the antenna on top of the laundry/showers building. Drat it! We needed to get our taxes e-filed before leaving. Back at the dock, the iBook Airport hooked into an open network of unknown origin, but I thank whoever provided this access because I was able to complete and send our federal and California forms successfully! What a great relief. Now we would need to find another open wi-fi in a few days to confirm that the tax agencies had accepted our forms. Who knows where we might be? Rune, Betty's friend, Rune, came down to boat to get a tour before we left.

Leaving Olympia on a mirror of silvered, watery clouds.

On April 9, our first stop out of Budd Inlet was for fuel in tiny Boston Harbor. It is amazing, given the size of Budd Inlet and all the boats in Olympia, that there is no fuel dock. It is perhaps because Budd Inlet has very little exchange of water, it being at the extreme south end of Puget Sound. Four hours of motoring later, we arrived at Jarrell Cove, where Juniata and Sail La Vie were already tied up at the park dock. We elected to anchor out because we had also elected not to buy a Washington State Park Pass. Anchoring is always free. We took the dinghy into the dock for BBQ with the two Marcias, Larry and Dave.

The weather was kind to us here, as it had been for my grandparents when they stopped here, apparently for lunch, on April 11, 1965, on their way to Shelton from Filucy Bay. "Sunny- warm, calm. Beautiful weather." Most likely little has changed since their visit. We got out our hair scissors, our barstool, and gave each other haircuts. A local paddled out in a kayak to comment on the unusual sight we presented perched atop a barstool on the wide side-deck of our trimaran. Dave and Marcia, out in their inflatable kayak for the very first time, arrived at our stern. They got out of and back into the 'yak without falling in, though I was ready with a camera just in case they didn't.

April 11 was David's 59th birthday. We enjoyed delicious smoked salmon dip, salad, and BBQ'd New York steaks from Olympia's famous Farmers Market. David's "cake" was a walnut chocolate brownie with caramel sauce. Larry set the mood for the evening with 50's music on the MP3 player. We all had a great time.

We weighed anchor just before noon next day, our courses set for Filucy Bay, where Serendipity had experienced chilly, overcast, breezy conditions exactly 41 years ago to the day. The wind out in the inlets was brisk, up to 25 knots, generally holding between 12 and 18 from the south. We rolled out the jib and arrived about 3.5 hours later, also a bit chilled. As we carefully searched for a secure spot to set the anchor, my thoughts were of those intrepid, amazing sailors aboard Serendipity.

Clark & Nina

s/v Rikki-tikki-tavi

(Rikki-tikki's motto, and that of all mongooses, is "Run and find out.")

svrikki.net

A Pacific Northwest Winter - Part III

"You Haven't Yet Seen Cold"

February 7 to March 23, 2006

Dear Friends,

A beautiful winter scene – warm, cozy homes nestled amongst tall trees, whose drooping branches are lightly tipped with freshly fallen snow – brings a glow to one's heart. Visions of lounging before a toasty fireplace, feet propped up on a cushy pillow, float serenely in front of the eyes. It's Valentine's Day, dreams of champagne and soft music, a lover snuggling...

Wake up! You are really in that boat anchored out in the ice-covered water in front of those cozy homes! There is no fireplace, no champagne, and you get to bundle up, go out on deck and remove the heavy load of snow that has covered the solar panels, clogged the access to the hatches- your frozen fingers aching. Your lover, however, is with you and she hasn't yet threatened to abandon ship, so it's not as bad as it could be! So get out there and shovel that snow with your little plastic dustpan while she takes QuickTime® movies of you doing it! On your way out, turn up the cabin heater so icicles stay on the outside of the boat.


The foreground reveals the true nature of the situation.


Photograph of Rikki-tikki-tavi anchored in snowy Port Ludlow Inner Harbor by Del Jacobs.


As a weak sun begins to peer over the trees, we awake to find Rikki-tikki cloaked in soft white snow.




Okay, so it wasn't a lot of snow that fell that night, just over an inch or so. And the previous week in Port Ludlow had been sunny and clear. We'd gone shopping with Dave and Marcia in their little Honda, had Polish sausages at Costco, were able to get in some computer time on the marina wi-fi, where Juniata was moored for the winter. Best of all, we delighted in some great camaraderie with our friends. We were enjoying our first week at Port Ludlow quite a bit. The Inner Harbor is lovely and very protected, with sticky mud on the bottom- all the better to hold you with, my dear. We liked the Inner Harbor.


Marcia unloading the latest goodies from the trunk. We loaded the Honda so tight we had to hold stuff on our laps!

We were soon to discover that the snow was only the beginning of our winter fun in the Inner Harbor. The VHF weather announcements gave little warning of what was to come. The electronic voice said the night temperatures would fall into the 'teens. The voice didn't say our little watery parking lot would freeze over, so we blithely hung on our anchor and watched the hail and snowflakes blow by. In the middle of the night two days after snowy Valentine's Day, we were awakened by loud sounds very much like the squelch on the VHF gone into overdrive. Immediately, we knew it was the sound of surface ice being crunched and broken up against the hulls as the breezes gently pushed the boat from side to side. No worries, it was thin ice. The low winter sun just couldn't seem to warm up the air during the day and temperatures barely reached into the 20s, then dropped again into the 'teens night after night. On the morning of the 17th, we awoke to 18 degrees. Lucky for Rikki, there was no wind because he was frozen in place- solidly. The ice was so hard that Clark couldn't punch through it with the boat hook. The entire Inner Harbor was frozen over with about 5/8" freshwater ice- and Rikki-tikki was stuck in the middle.

Darzee to the rescue! Clark got the outboard started, let it warm up, then managed to break a hole large enough to back up a little way. It was easier to go backwards because the spinning prop helped break up the crust of ice. While I attempted some video clips of the action on my Canon PowerShot, Clark ran our Porta-Bote-turned-icebreaker up on top of the ice a few feet at a time, waited for it to break, backed out, took another angle of attack, and then ran up on the ice again, repeating this action many times. It took about an hour to make a narrow cut completely around our trimaran. Then he took Darzee on a few merry-go-round turns to widen the ice-free circle.


The hard, freshwater ice laid thickly on top of the saltwater of the Inner Harbor.

Dave and Marcia were expecting us to arrive at the marina, a half-mile away, for a car trip into Silverdale for shopping or, as we call it, provisioning. We hailed them on the walkie-talkie over the racket of Darzee breaking an icy highway for us to get out of the Inner Harbor. There was no way we could move Rikki-tikki until the ice softened a bit, which we hoped the sun would do during the day. The shards of broken ice were sharp and we feared damage to the paint. So we went shopping.


Little Darzee broke a path through the ice. Wow, what a racket!

We returned from our excursion into Silverdale just as the sun was touching the tops of the trees. We rounded the tip of the island into to our bay and saw that the highway Darzee had forged remained unchanged. The ice around Rikki was as hard as ever. Clark dropped me and our goodies off at the boat, then turned to run Darzee back and forth along the edges of the path, widening it enough to drive Rikki out to the main harbor. With just enough light left to see, we anchored in liquid water to wait for warmer weather. We were determined to go back into our private bay as soon as it was possible, we liked it that much.

A few days later we found ourselves sitting in the Honda again. We were just leaving the marina parking lot for another trip to the shopping center. Marcia's cell phone rang. She missed the call as she searched inside her backpack for the phone and the call went to voicemail. Unable to retrieve the message, she merely returned the call. A friendly female voice answered but said she hadn't made the call. She asked where Marcia was calling from because the area code showed California. Marcia explained that they were aboard their boat in Port Ludlow at the marina. The woman exclaimed, "We live in Port Ludlow!" After many questions, Shirley realized that her husband, Del, had called the marina trying to find the owner of the trimaran that had been anchored in snow and ice in front of their home on the Inner Harbor. Would Marcia know these people? Yes, we know them, and they are with us right now. Would you like to talk to them?

And so we met Del and Shirley. Del had taken photos of Rikki-tikki-tavi over the last week and he wanted to make sure we received copies, so he hunted us down! He owns the only trimaran in Port Ludlow, an F-31A, and was very interested in our multihull. We invited them to dinner aboard Juniata and a tour of Rikki-tikki when we came into the fuel dock. We sure enjoyed their company! Shirley and Del treated us all to a lovely dinner at their fabulous home. Listening to Del's wonderful stories, we were fascinated by the rich and adventurous life this couple has led. We are grateful for the photos but the real pleasure resides in meeting such interesting and generous folks. Thank you, Del and Shirley.


Frozen solid. Photo by Del Jacobs.

Our enjoyable memories don't end there! Del invited us to attend a meeting of the Northwest Multihull Association in Seattle as his guests. It was a great day to ride the ferry between Eagle Harbor and Seattle- the views incredible. Del took us to Fisheries Supply, where we found a couple of terrific rain hats, and REI's flagship store, where Del bought a tent (we just browsed). The NWMA meeting was great fun. Del introduced us and passed around an 8 x 10 photo of our iced-in trimaran. We met a whole roomful of multihull enthusiasts, some cruisers and a lot of racers with "F-boats", most of the names fleeting. We were invited to write a story of our trip up the coast for their April newsletter, which we did. It is available online from the NWMA website- http://www.nwmultihull.org

Thank you again, Del and Shirley. We hope to meet you on the water, sailing your trimaran.

The rest of the story is that our heater decided to quit just as the cold weather was at its coldest. We had just spent, you may remember, about $500 to have a new fan installed in Vancouver. They did other maintenance too while it was in the shop. Clark reinstalled the overhauled unit in January before we returned to the U.S. Now it was only mid-February and the heater was belching blue smoke in attempts to fire up. We sent for more parts from Seattle. A tiny zipper sandwich bag with a little screen and a couple of gaskets arrived in the mail- $120! Clark took the unit over to the marina and, with the blessing of the staff, he disassembled the entire heater, part by part, on their worktable. After cleaning the burn chamber and installing all the new parts, he hauled the heater back to Rikki in the Inner Harbor to see if it would fire. Yes, but our confidence that we had reliable heat aboard was considerably eroded.

By now, we were making regular trips in Darzee across the 1/2-mile of harbor to the marina. Some days it was very choppy with wind-blown waves. The wind never bothered us in the landlocked anchorage behind the Twin Islands. Other days we were assailed by sleet, hail, rain– you name it. We wanted kayaks and were spending time researching online for what was available at a reasonable price. I remembered that Costco in Sacramento sold kayaks last year, but we'd been to Costco in Silverdale many times- no kayaks. Then, one day, we went to Costco with Marcia and there, stacked up high, were bright orange kayaks! The one-person sit-insides came complete with paddles, spray skirts, and a cartop carrier (smart of them to include this!). Guess what we loaded onto the car?


We went back to Costco and bought another kayak!


After a bit of practice, my kayak became less tippy.

I devised a way of safely getting into and out of the kayak from the stern steps. Two lines, one fore, one aft, tied onto the handrails, keep the kayak from scooting out from under me! We are going to enjoy having these and, Rod, we now have a way to rescue Darzee if he ever decides to go on walkabout again.

In March, Dave and Marcia took Juniata to Port Townsend for a haul-out. We visited them with Steve and Myndy from "Enchantress". Dave was lucky to have good weather for painting the bottom and removing a thru-hull. I took a walk around and shot some photos of other boats there for work. Port Townsend has a very busy boatyard, there are vessels of every size and description, commercial and otherwise, though we saw no trimarans.


Juniata on the hard in the Port Townsend boatyard.


Boatworks in the boatyard.




One of the murals in the Port Townsend boatyard.

We began getting ready to leave for our Spring Cruise of South Puget Sound. The weather was definitely showing signs of improving! Just to remind us that winter wasn't yet over, it snowed again on March 8th. March 27th, we would head south into Puget Sound to meet Juniata in Port Madison.

A Pacific Northwest Winter - Part II

"Two Windy Weeks In Friday Harbor In Which Darzee Goes On An Adventure"


We awoke to this view of Mount Baker across San Juan Channel from Friday Harbor's North Cove. Late that afternoon, as we settled ourselves and Rikki-tikki alongside the little barge in Hong Kong Basin, we met the caretaker of the barge, Jim, a very reserved fellow. He is known in Friday Harbor as a creative- local art galleries sold his jewelry and very-much-in-demand, fantastically detailed miniature buildings built inside bottles. He even designed and built the special miniature tools that this kind of weensy construction required. Now he writes stories and articles from the confines of his little boat moored out in The Basin. We marvelled at the tales he had to tell of past experiences living in a myriad of boats- all very tiny- a canoe (would you believe?), a West Wight Potter, now an 18' powerboat named "Patna".


Our view of the Port of Friday Harbor from The Barge.

We had been to Friday Harbor once before- in the company of two other boats, four of us aboard a chartered Catalina 36 named "Norma Jean". It was 1995 or thereabouts, 4th of July, and we had a great time watching the local Independence Day parade featuring kids towing their dogs and smaller siblings in decorated wagons. There were brass bands, lots of waving flags, firetrucks demonstrating their water power. It was truly small-town America stuff. Hot dogs were on the grill and lawn games were played in the sunken park. The community egg toss was especially fun. Dozens of participants were defeated, impossibly and at long last, by a very small boy whose egg, despite hitting the grass many times, simply refused to break. At the end, his egg had to be broken by the judge to prove it wasn't hard boiled!

Our 2006 visit was cold, windy and gray most days, it being January, not July. The crowds of boats waiting to get a slip were absent, as were the lightly dressed sailors wearing sunhats. Friday Harbor residents had their town to themselves for the winter. We tried to blend in. It was our good furtune to have made the acquaintance of two locals while at Nanaimo's Newcastle Island back in August. Rod and Barbara live right off the main street around the corner from the big grocery and they wanted some advice on remodeling their home. They also desired our opinion on several homes that were under construction with the idea they would purchase one as a rental investment. Since building is Clark's area of expertise, they "hired" us to do some consulting. We enjoyed many hours of discussion, friendship and were given the opportunity to see a couple of very nice homes, plus a little of the island itself.



Washington State Ferries call several times a day, leaving a rolling wake with each passing.

We were invited to a Super Bowl Party. We don't enjoy football and neither does Rod, so we spent the time walking along country roads with our hostess and enjoying great conversation. We met several other sailor folks- our hosts were long-time SF Bay Area sailors and owned Bird Boat #18 for 25 years. They later owned and raced a Farallone Clipper, a classy classic wooden sailboat. We felt like newborns talking to Dan and Eileen about sailing. Their home on San Juan Island is cozy and filled with books, a lovingly built wood dinghy resides in the shop. The rooms feature a terrific view over Griffin Bay and San Juan Channel.


On one of the two days we had sun, Clark and I filled our rolling insulated bag at "The Marketplace".

In between our forays away from Rikki-tikki with new friends, we endured unpleasant weather, both while tied to The Barge and in the marina. We backed into two slips at the Port of Friday Harbor (they only charged us for one). Big winds were forecast and the minus tides would have set us into the mud in Hong Kong Basin, so we sought refuge of a sort tied to pilings and docks in deeper water. Sure enough, the winds reached 55 knots- that's 63 mph! The waves leaped all the way over the docks even inside the breakwater. When the winds ceased, we moved back to the barge and went back to rowing Darzee into the dinghy dock. It was cheaper.



Our double-wide "G Dock" slip in the Port of Friday Harbor.


Local color inside the Port docks.



The Port of Friday Harbor before the wind began.

Back on The Barge, another rainy windstorm blew in overnight. Clark got up in the morning, made coffee and sat down in the settee to enjoy it. He usually sits on the starboard side where we tie Darzee up between the vaka (the main hull) and the ama (the outer hull), using a three-point arrangement to keep him from banging into the hulls in the wind and waves. I arrived in the galley just in time for Clark to take a look outside to find that Darzee was gone! Darzee had taken a "walk", gone on an adventure of his own, without us. It was raining. The wind was blowing very hard. Lucky for us it was blowing toward the shore behind us. How did Darzee get loose? Unbeknownst to me, Clark had moved Darzee to the barge before we went to bed. Whatever knot he used, the waves had managed to untie.

I grabbed the binoculars and searched anxiously along the shoreline. The tide was extremely high and lots of flotsam was piled up against the land. There, among a bunch of large logs, bobbed our lost tender, but we had no way of getting over to him. We thought, no problem, the tide will go out and leave Darzee high and dry. We can have Rod go down to get him later. Just as we voiced our solution, the wind shifted completely around and Darzee started to float out away from shore. I started to get very worried and fetched my drysuit from the ama, intending to swim to shore and retrieve our little taxi before he was blown out into the channel. Clark nixed my swimming. I got out my new dock hook and posted myself on deck, just in case Darzee was close enough to snag on his way past. Meanwhile, we called (we still had our GoPhone!) and left voicemail for Rod- could he come rescue Darzee?



The morning before the storm that blew Darzee away. Nice and calm.

With every gust of wind, we crossed our fingers that the jetsam surrounding Darzee would hold him close enough to shore for Rod to reach him- that is, when he arrived. The waiting was tense. After what seemed like forever, we saw our friend, without even a hat on, walking along the backyards of the homes that line the shore. Darzee was inching his way out of reach and we knew Rod hadn't seen the dinghy yet. He couldn't hear our shouts against the wind. We waved our arms and Rod finally spotted our wayward workhorse. Through the chop and rain, our rescuer brought little Darzee home. We are forever grateful and promise to never let it happen again, Rod. Thank you.


Not calm now... Rod rescued Darzee and returned him to us.

When the weather cleared enough for us to get out of Friday Harbor, we did just that. It is a great place- convenient access to everything a boater needs (except decent laundromats, more about that later) and the Washington State Ferry system. However, we've pretty much concluded, Friday Harbor is a wind-hole. Enough said.


February 6- a calm day to leave Friday Harbor.

Stopping at the fuel dock on our way out, a very pleasant couple hailed us from the wharf. They wanted to tell us how much they admired Rikki-tikki, so we invited them for a quick look-see. It turned out that Davey and Ziggy are circumnavigators, with wonderful stories we hope to hear when we meet them again. We are so glad they stopped to introduce themselves. Then we motored down through Cattle Pass and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca over relatively smooth seas, dodging the many logs and congealed islands of debris carried into the waters by the high tides and storm waves. The rain threatened but did not fall, we finally reached Point Wilson on a course for Mystery Bay. We carefully threaded our way through the complex winding entrance to Kilisut Harbor, between Indian Island and Marrowstone Island, spotting our first-ever long-tailed ducks- beautiful. A quiet night on anchor was a welcome change from the boisterous and busy days we spent in Friday Harbor.


Point Wilson.

The next morning, a very cold crosswind cut through our woolies as we rounded Marrowstone Point, but then it turned against us. The day was gray but the high clouds allowed a great view of the Olympic Mountains as we approached Port Ludlow, where Dave and Marcia on Juniata were holed up for the winter. We thought we might pay them a visit. It was February 7, 2006.


Our view of Hurricane Ridge as we head into south Admirality Inlet.


The condos at Burner Point, the entrance to Port Ludlow, the Olypmic mountain range in the background.


Dave and Marcia wait on the dock to take our lines at Port Ludlow Marina.


From their slip at Port Ludlow, Dave and Marcia enjoyed this view of the Olympic Mountains.

Yet another chapter begins in our life on the water aboard Rikki-tikki-tavi.

...
(Your patient indulgence for the belated nature of our journal entries is humbly requested.)

Clark & Nina

s/v Rikki-tikki-tavi