Kudos to the weather forecasters – it was a beautiful day from start to finish today. We backed away from the dock a few minutes before eight this morning and headed for the locks. Most of this morning’s marine traffic consisted of racing shells from the various rowing clubs and schools in the area. They were accompanied by their catamaran chase boats carrying the coaches who were shouting instructions to the crews. We saw 2, 4 and 8 man boats – only the 8 man configuration carries a coxswain – I guess the others have to guess where they’re going or look over their shoulders.
When we arrived at the locks there were no other boats waiting, and within 5 minutes the gates to the small lock opened and we entered past the green light. We – well, probably everybody – prefer the small lock because it has floating walls that we tie to so we don’t have to tend to our lines on the way down or up. It’s also a much faster transit than the large lock because of the much smaller volume of water being moved as the level changes. We waited for a few minutes for another boat that was approaching, which turned out to be a Seattle Police Harbor Patrol boat. They were positioned right behind us, and the officer on the bow asked if I’d cut our engines, which I did. We sometimes leave them running when we’re in the small lock alone as it only takes 5 minutes or so to change levels.
We were out in the salt water and headed north a few minutes before nine o’clock. I had calculated that if we left the lock by 9:15 and cruised at 8 knots we’d have plenty of time to arrive at Deception Pass at or near slack water. We had a bit of a boost to begin with, as the tide was still ebbing – we cruised along the first couple hours at about 8 and a half knots, passing Edmonds and then Clinton on Whidbey Island – the other terminus from the Mukilteo Ferry run. This run up between Whidbey and Camano Islands always seems long – well, it is long – but we had smooth water and great weather so just kept chugging along.
As we continued past the northern end of Camano towards Strawberry Point on Whidbey Island, I could see that we were well ahead of schedule, so backed off on the throttles, down to just above idle. We continued on past the entrance to Swinomish Channel, the route to La Conner, heading towards Deception Pass. According to the current table built into our navigation program, the current at Deception Pass was still flooding (coming towards us) at 5 knots. We continued on, but took a little side tour along the shore of Hope Island, looping around past Skagit Island before continuing on towards Cornet Bay and Deception Pass. We went through about 45 minutes early, with the current against us indicated at 3 knots. No problem at all with turbulence, and we were well out into Rosario Strait by the time of slack water.
Crossing Rosario Strait was a breeze, with the only hazard being a few gill netters along the east side. We had flat water all the way, and because we were early at the pass we also caught the last of some favorable current to push us along. We passed through Lopez Pass and cruised right into Hunter Bay, where we’re anchored for the evening. This was most likely the longest cruising day of the trip – 9 hours from the time we left our dock in Lake Union to Hunter Bay – a distance of 67 nautical miles.
The evening was dramatically quieter than last night at our Lake Union moorage, where we’re situated nearly under the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. Actually, it would probably be quieter directly under, but we’re a half block away where the traffic noise can reach us directly. It’s not so much annoying, but just hard to hear in normal voice when we’re up on the bridge. This evening is especially peaceful because, even though there are a dozen or so other boats in the harbor, no one is sharing any loud music, which we greatly appreciate.
Tribble has been exploring the boundaries of the boat, walking cautiously and deliberately in full alert mode around the entire outside perimeter – twice. We’re not sure what she thinks of the water 4 or 5 feet below, and we’re hoping she doesn’t decide it’s something she can walk on. We have the salmon net for such an occurrence, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that. At dusk we closed the doors to a narrow opening and lowered the rear side curtains, but she managed to squeeze out on deck somewhere, where we found her sitting at the stern. We’re trying to keep her wandering for now to daylight hours as she’d be easier to find while doing the cat paddle.
No comments:
Post a Comment