Let the year begin!

I am writing this at anchor in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island. At anchor... not tied to the dock at Shilshole, finally!

Well, OK, there was one other nite on 4/30 when we made a quick trip over to Port Madison, but it was a quickie, and it was still cold enough that we had to use our spare sleeping bags as an additional comforter, and we had to fire up the Dickenson (or rather I had to fire up the Dickenson) to heat up the cabin in the morning. And, as opposed to that trip, I can report that all systems (including the anchor windlass) are working fine!

We left Friday evening - our original plans were to go to Poulsbo, but that would have required sailing to windward against 17 -20 kt. Instead, we just rolled out the yankee and coasted downwind, south to Port Blakely. It was a relaxing trip until we started to encounter the shipping... a lot of shipping, all apparently exquisitely timed to intersect with us. There was:

• A northbound tug and tow
• A southbound tug and tow
• A big container ship
• A submarine, traveling on the surface with two Coast Guard cutters as escort.
• The eastbound ferry out of Eagle Harbor
• The westbound ferry bound for Eagle Harbor.

Thankfully, the container ship turned into Elliot Bay, giving us a little gap in time that we exploited to put the traffic behind us.

We had a delightful evening and a quiet nite at anchor in Blakely Harbor. Our usual spot was available, and we took it.

The next morning, because it was calm, we elected to try Eagle Harbor again. In the past, the harbor had been filled with derelict boats, collections of boats, and collections of things that floated (but could not be called boats). I am not sure how it was done, but I counted only 5 derelicts - and all the anchor zone restrictions are gone too (I think that was an earlier attempt to clear the harbor). In any case, I can report that our stay was wonderful. We dinghied into town and stopped at our favorite pub for a pint, and then went grocery shopping for dinner: Shrimp Pahd Thai from scratch.

And now here we are, enjoying the warming morning. Our departure from here this morning will be timed to get us back to the dock at Shilshole at slack water, to facilitate docking, as always.

It's a good weekend!

Let the year begin!