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December 2005
Port Townsend, Washington
It’s hard to believe that our last log was posted August 31st and it’s almost December 31! There’s a theme here, I’m always amazed at where the time goes…that’s probably not much different from how those of you “on land” feel too.
We are currently moored at tiny Point Hudson Marina in the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend, WA, having arrived here October 3rd. Wand’rin Star’s winter home is at the Transient Dock and only a block from downtown Port Townsend, we were fortunate to get a slip in such a great location for the winter and are enjoying our stay here….more on that at the end of the log. First we’d like to share our adventures since August with you:
September
 The month started with us anchored in Royal Cove on Portland Island, BC. This is a delightful little “V-shaped” cove where boats must have a stern line ashore to prevent swinging thus allowing more boats to anchor. This was our first experience with this type of shore tie and proved to be a “learning experience”. We were fortunate that the gentleman on the boat next to ours pitched in lending a hand and helping get the line secured ashore. Over the next several days we watched & learned as others also employed with various methods of taking a line ashore. It was interesting seeing the variety of anchoring methods used. This was a beautiful cove and Gary was able to get some great sunset pictures. The entire island is a National Park with a variety of hiking trails & primitive campsites. I took Nomad ashore and went for several walks exploring the island. Labor Day we untied the stern line, hoisted anchor, and headed for Port Sidney Marina, Sidney, BC to pick up Nan for a week’s cruise on SV Wand’rin Star. She’s visited us several times from Michigan, but had never been on the boat underway so we were all looking forward to this new experience.
Nan stayed at Beacon Inn, Sidney on the first night of her trip in a room with a great bathtub (!), which she willingly let me “borrow”…a real treat! While in Sidney, we needed to replace our propane tank, as it was impossible to get the current one filled due to the type of filling mechanism required. After many calculations regarding space, plumbing, and size, we finally purchased one at West Marine (with my discount!) and eventually were able to get it filled. This has been an ongoing issue since leaving California; and we are currently carrying two different types of propane vessels.
 The first stop on the “cruise” was Sidney Spit just a few miles from Sidney where we used our new mooring hook to pick up the ring. This was a great anchorage and we went ashore to walk and bird-watch. It was fascinating watching the spit appear and disappear with the tide changes. As the “world-famous” Butchart Gardens outside Victoria  were on the cruise itinerary; we motored to Todd Inlet on Vancouver Island and treated Nan to seals, seabirds and great scenery enroute. Todd Inlet is usually VERY crowded in the summer, but fortunately we were there in mid-September and there was plenty of room. Ospreys, herons, kingfishers and several seals entertained us while anchored here. Butchart Gardens started out as a 25-acre quarry, which was turned into gorgeous public gardens by the quarry owner’s wife. We dinked to the back entrance and spent the day among the beautifully designed and tended gardens. We also celebrated Nan & Dorothy’s birthdays with High Tea in the restaurant! Next stop on the cruise would be Victoria with a stop overnight in Saanichton Bay. We hadn’t planned on stopping, but the winds increased to 25 knots and we decided to wait it out anchored in the lea of the land.
 Luck was with us when we contacted the Harbor Master in Victoria and were assigned a slip at James Bay Wharf, directly in front of the Empress Hotel - talk about location! Victoria is a very walk-able city and we spent two days exploring before Nan left on the Victoria Clipper which took her back to Seattle & her plane to Michigan. It was great being able to share our life on the water with her and we’re always glad when she visits.
Jennifer, one of the women I met on my Alaska Eagle trip, lives in Victoria and we had the opportunity to get together with her & her husband, Campbell. It was fun to see each other after a year and compare notes and boats. They are busy readying their boat, SVCamdeboo , a 50' steel hull sloop, for a year-long trip to New Zealand in 2006 with 3 adults and 4 teenagers aboard! It was now the 14 th of September and we still had a couple more weeks to “cruise” on our own before heading to Port Townsend. Sidney Spit was calling to us again, so we went there for a few days after leaving Victoria. The 4½-hour trip was pleasant but ended with our prop making contact with a dastardly crab pot line while preparing to pick up a mooring! We thought we were far enough away from the float, but it disappeared underwater, the engine hesitated briefly, and the float didn’t reappear. Because the engine kept running, we hoped that maybe we had been lucky and not actually hit the line. Unfortunately that was not to be; however we did our best Scarlet O’Hara imitation and said we’d deal with it "tomorrow.” Four days later, Gary decided it was time to bite the bullet and go in the water to check out the prop. Luckily he had dive skins and his short wetsuit on board, along with his mask & fins….the bad part was the water temperature was 49 degrees! Murray was frightened & intrigued when he saw Gary in this getup (understandably!) After several dives, Gary managed to cut away all the line and the propeller turned perfectly when we started the engine. Needless to say, he was definitely ready for a hot shower once he was back aboard!
The remainder of our Canadian 2005 cruising season was spent at Princess Cove, Portland Island, BC where we were treated to river otters & bald eagles; and a return to Port Sidney Marina for a few days before returning to the states. On Sept. 30 we entered Roche Harbor to clear US Customs, it looked like a ghost town compared to the circus we witnessed in August! We quickly cleared Customs by phone and went to Garrison Bay for the next four days. Again we were treated to open space instead of the 60+ boats we encountered here at the height of the season! The 8-hour trip to Port Townsend gave us another opportunity to view whales as we crossed the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A great way to end the 2005 cruisin’ season!
October - December
 As previously mentioned, we’re now at Point Hudson Marina and have met some interesting folks, both local and from other parts the world. We've been treated to the antics of these river otters several times and are always on the lookout for them. November & December again brought visitors from the east as Dorothy’s daughter, Kate, spent 3 days with us. She says it’s nice knowing where her mom is and likes to be able to reference places. We flew back to Michigan in November to celebrate an early Thanksgiving/Christmas with our parents returning on Thanksgiving and meeting Diane & Dennis, Dorothy’s sister & brother-in-law, for a week’s vacation. This gave us the opportunity to do some sightseeing in the Olympic Peninsula as we visited several areas of the Olympic National Park – Hurricane Ridge, the Hoh Rain Forest and Kalalach - all beautiful spots with breath-taking scenery. We hope to return to some of them before leaving the area in April.
Luckily, Dorothy was able to go back to work part-time for West Marine and we continue to enjoy the great discounts on boat “stuff.” Winter is the time to do all those little projects that don’t get done during the cruising season, and this winter is no exception. We’ve had some canvas work done and the boat is scheduled to be pulled out of the water the first part of March for bottom maintenance & painting.
 Christmas day we shared a ten-pound roasted turkey with all the trimmings with Derek & Anthea from the UK and had a delightful time hearing about their adventures since leaving England in 1999. I was amazed how well the turkey turned out and now know that ten-pounds is the limit for our Force 10 oven!
We just had our mail forwarded and thoroughly enjoyed receiving holiday cards and letters from friends and family. It was wonderful to sit in our cozy pilothouse with a cup of tea and read of the adventures of folks we met along the way and family far away. I have to admit a tear came to my eye more than once as I thought of the folks who are no longer near physically, but whom we still hold dear in our hearts.
 Murray has adapted quite well to being in a slip, but isn't sure about this colder winter weather. Every morning he stands by the door waiting to go out on deck; however when he realizes that it's 50 degrees or colder he turns around and heads for the warmth of the aft berth....content to spend his day there thinking about Louis & Lestat, his friends in warmer San Franscisco Bay!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this quick summary of the past 4 months and one of our goals for 2006 is to be timelier in posting logs. May the coming year be one of adventure and growth for each of you; may we see positive steps toward peace between the human beings on this small planet.
LAST MINUTE NOTE: Gary was just reading the Feb. 2006 issue of “PassageMaker” magazine and came across an article entitled “A Fluke Encounter” on pg. 102. It describes the incident of a boat, Hawkeye, hitting a whale that we mentioned in our January 2005 log! Check it out if you’re interested in learning more.
Joyfully,
Dorothy, Gary, & Murray the Cat
“The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” ~ David Viscott
“For President Bush first it was French Fries, then it was Freedom Fries, now it’s Reality Fries.”
Last updated on
December, 2005
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