Unexpected Benefit

I mentioned earlier that I had cataract surgery... Aside from the obvious benefit of being able to see clearly in the distance without glasses (!), there was an unexpected additional benefit.

New vs. Old

The lenses in my eyes had discolored just like a piece of Lexan left in the sun - they had acquired a yellowish/brownish cast.  Of course since this discoloration came on gradually over the decades, and because I had no other reference, I was completely unaware of the change.  I thought everything was normal - a real testament to the adaptability of the human brain.

In the picture above I have tried to show the dramatic difference between the views supplied by my new left eye and my old right eye.  The view on the left is completely unadulterated - it is as the camera saw it.  On the right is my attempt to show how that same view looked thru my old eye (there is actually less brown and more yellow in the old view than I could get into the picture).  Yes, it is that dramatic!

In another week I will lose this reference, because I go in for surgery on the other eye.  And then once again everything will be "normal".  So it is only in this brief interim period that I can enjoy the difference between "old" and "new".

A clearer more colorful normal!

Unexpected Benefit

A Tale of Two Marinas

If you are a liveaboard (or near-liveaboard, as we are now), then your marina is your neighborhood.  When we moved Eolian from Shilshole Bay Marina in Ballard (Seattle) to Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes, we changed neighborhoods.

We love having Eolian at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes!  There are no locked gates at the marina, nor are they needed.  The docks are new, and the space for mooring Eolian is eight feet wider(!) than our space on G-Dock at Shilshole.  There is WiFi in the marina, and it is free.  Just about anything you might want is within easy walking distance of the dock (restaurants, pubs, West Marine, grocery, pharmacy, NAPA, etc, and even driver's license bureau).  And it is a hop skip and jump from the San Juan Islands.

But.

But I miss the community at Shilshole.  At Shilshole, 300 slips are (arbitrarily...) designated by management as liveaboard slips.  Of course, this creates an artificial shortage, with a wait list, additional fees, etc.  But it also means that somewhere between 300-500 people live in the neighborhood, creating an ever-changing community of like-minded souls.  Tho we have made friends at Cap Sante (Hi Ed & Lisa!  Hi Parker & Carol!  Hi Jonathan & Sarah!), the atmosphere is very different.  Instead of liveaboards, many (most?) of the boats on our dock have "boat managers", who make sure that there are fresh flowers on the saloon table when the owners arrive - not at all like the liveaboard/DIY group at Shilshole.

A picture is worth a thousand words...  Here's a comparison of the night views of the two marinas this Christmas season:

Shilshole Bay marina

Cap Sante marina

Now, in fairness, I must note that there is one boat whose lights didn't show up in the Cap Sante picture because they were obscured by another boat.  Here it is:

So why is it that one marina has a vibrant liveaboard community and the other does not?  Part of it is simply numbers - Shilshole is a much larger marina, with approximately 1500 slips, and as I mentioned earlier, 300 liveaboard slips.

Part of it is due to the actions of one very special individual at Shilshole, Angela Brosius, whose dynamic personality has helped to create and foster a community there.

Part of it is location.  Shilshole is located in a very high rent housing area - I am certain that living aboard is an economical alternative to the high rents ashore for some (but by no means all) of Shilshole's residents.

Neither marina encourages liveaboards.  Few marinas do.  I do not know all the reasons for this position, but I suppose one might be that it is very difficult for a marina to encourage responsible liveaboards while discouraging the hoarders with near-derelict boats that barely float.  For more on this subject, I refer you to an article which recently appeared in the Victoria, BC Times Colonist.

Maybe we need an Angela here...

A Tale of Two Marinas

The End of the Season

After months and months of sunny, warm, benign weather, we sit at the dock being buffeted by constant 20+ kt winds.  It is cloudy and chilly, and rain is coming in later this afternoon.

[we just got hit by a 30+ kt gust]

We made a command decision not to go out this weekend because of the forecast - maybe the best call we've made all year.

[a 38 foot sailboat just blew down the waterway between D and E docks, out of control, sideways.  Just missed our stern...]

I had been planning to clean our BBQ grill, but with this wind, that is out of the question.  If I sprayed Easy-Off™ on it, it would probably land over on E dock somewhere.

Our son and his family are off camping over on Orcas Island where there is no connectivity.  Hope they're all ok and their tent hasn't blown away...

So now we are hunkered down, with all the ports closed and the heat pump running for the first time in I don't know how long...

Winter is coming...

The End of the Season

In a San Juan Frame of Mind

Shilshole Sunset

In 1997 we berthed Eolian in Seattle because I had just gotten a job with the University of Washington.  Later, we moved her from the Fairview Marina on the south end of Lake Union out to Shilshole when a slip became available there, in 1999.  We've been there ever since - for 15 years - the longest time we have ever lived in any one place, ever.  Now that I just said that, I realize that's a pretty big indictment of our apparently nomadic lifestyle.

But in any case, we are now retired.  The need for a living space convenient to work is over.  As one of the many life changes that occur with the end of work, out of the blue Jane contacted the Port of Bellingham wondering if there were any slips available suitable for Eolian...  the wait list was five years long.  Then she tried the Port of Anacortes, asking for 50' slips (Eolian is 52' overall, without the dinghy hanging from the davits - maybe we could squeeze in...) - ten year wait list.

Then something completely surprising happened.  The helpful guy at the Port of Anacortes asked if we might be interested in a 57' slip.  They had nine available.

Wait - what??!

Yup - not only was there a slip big enough to take Eolian, with the dinghy, but we could have our choice of nine!  And these are brand new docks.  And the slips are eight feet wider than those at Shilshole.  And the Port supplies free WiFi. And it's cheaper than Shilshole. And finally, Anacortes is the gateway to the San Juans - just a hop, skip and a jump across Rosario Strait.

Cruising in the San Juan Islands has always been a life objective for us, ever since our first visit in 1977, aboard our little Cal 21, Deja Vu.  While berthed in Seattle, we've made it to the Islands several times over the years, but it is always a journey, if you know what I mean.  And for years we had our names on the waitlists at Friday Harbor and Anacortes, hoping for an opening (and the opportunity to work remotely, which sadly never appeared).

So, yeah, we took a slip at Anacortes.  We have it now.  And we have given notice to Shilshole - our time there ends 5/31.

I know it's not the same, but I feel a little of that footloose and fancy free feeling that world cruisers get when they are about to cut the docklines.  But without the anxiety of whether we have covered everything on the boat prep list.  We could go to Anacortes today.  Or next week.  Or after Memorial Day.  Or we could leave Shilshole at the end of the month and arrive in Anacortes at some indeterminate time further in the future. 

We will miss all of our favorite anchorages - Port Madison, Eagle Harbor, Poulsbo, etc.  And we will miss all of our friends on the docks at Shilshole, old and new.  But I trust that we will see our Seattle friends up in the Islands, because they are a popular Seattle destination.  And that we will make new friends in Anacortes.

It's a time of leaving, and a time of arriving.  It's sad.  It's exciting!

Sunset in Parks Bay, San Juan Islands

In a San Juan Frame of Mind