Withdrawl

Well, here we are in Blind Bay, on the North side of Shaw Island. And here we are with no internet connectivity! But it's OK - I can quit using the Internet anytime I want. Really. I can! Umm... I just don't want to right now.

I can't blog, so I am writing this entry in a text editor and I will post it when we get somewhere where I can.

After a night of rest, we motored up here from behind Center Island and dropped the anchor in 18 feet of water in the very back of the Bay. This is a great anchorage - it is large enough to be uncrowded, yet small enough to be protected. The bottom is mud, which our Bruce anchor likes very much and hangs onto tenaciously. There is a small island guarding the entrance of the Bay called (in an amazing coincidence) Blind Island, which is a great place to explore. It is directly across Harney Channel from the ferry dock on Orcas, at the town of (wait for it...) Orcas. You can camp on the island, but only if you arrive on a human-powered craft - that is, by kayak or canoe. (Paddling over from your parents' boat does not count.)

The ferry dock on Shaw is no longer run by the nuns, nor is the store (it was always a kick to see a nun in full habit, with an orange life preserver/vest, directing traffic off of the ferry). But it is still really funky and cute, and is a great place to go for a bowl of ice cream on a hot day.

We spent two days here, and accomplished two boat projects in that time (because our Calvanist background won't let us just read all day or something). The first was completing the wiring of the new GPS, by providing a wire entrance thru the cockpit coaming. I used a forstner bit to make a large but shallow flat-bottomed hole, and then used a smaller one to make a hole inside the first, leaving a shoulder. Finally, I drilled the rest of the way thru with a 3/8 bit. Then I epoxied in a flanged bronze bushing. This is the same technique that I used to make the peg locating holes for the backrests a couple of years ago. It makes a nice finished looking hole that will not wear out and enlarge with use.

I have no pictures of the second project. I rebuilt the aft head. Did you really want pictures of that?

(We are now in Indian Cove, on the SE corner of Shaw Island, hiding from the 20 kt NW wind. I have the flakiest internet connection ever - I am talking to a linksys - what else? - router over a mile and a half of water. )

Withdrawl