Seabiscuit and Beyond

Saturday, May 8, 2021

South and Central Puget Sound

Location: Roche Harbor, WA

At the end of the last blog, we were leaving Olympia and continuing our exploration of South and Central Puget Sound.

B and Louise on the 11th Street (Murray Morgan) Bridge in Tacoma
Looking north up the Thea Foss Waterway towards Commencement Bay

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - Olympia to Longbranch (17 nm, 2.1 hours) It was cold this morning when we got up, 34F/1C, but sunny with light winds. We left the dock in Olympia ~10:15 and arrived at the Longbranch Improvement Club Marina ~12:30. We settled in then went for an afternoon walk along the roads in the community.

Seabiscuit at the dock, Longbranch Improvement Club Marina

View of Mount Rainier from the Longbranch Improvement Club Marina

Monday, April 12, 2021 - Longbranch to Wollochet Bay (13 nm, 1.6 hours) We did boat chores this morning while waiting for slack tide through Pitt Passage between the Key Peninsula and McNeil Island. Our plan was to go to Penrose Point State Park and anchor out for a night, but the anchorage is exposed to the north and there was a small craft advisory in affect with north winds 15 - 25 knots forecast. We changed course after going through Pitt Passage and went to Wollochet Bay where we would be protected from the wind. We were anchored up before 14:00 and we settled in to do some chores and to enjoy the area.

Deer on the beach at low tide, Pitt Passage, McNeil Island

Tuesday, April 13, 2021 - Wollochet Bay to Tacoma, Dock Street Marina (14 nm, 2.2 hours) We spent the morning doing boat chores and waiting for the tide to turn so that we could ride the ebb current out of the Tacoma Narrows. We heaved anchor at 12:30 and went under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge with about 1.5 knots of current pushing us north. We tied up at the guest dock at Dock Street Marina, near downtown Tacoma, mid-afternoon. We were planning to stay for five nights but they had a big group coming in for the weekend, so we decided to stay for two nights, learn our way around and then come back for a week when my mom came to visit at the end of the month.

We spent our time exploring the waterfront, trying out the nearby restaurants and drinking establishments and figuring out the transit system.

Cider tasting at the Incline Cider Company

Looking up at the Seaform Pavillion on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass

Seabiscuit at the Dock Street Marina, Tacoma, WA

Thursday, April 15, 2021 - Dock Street Marina, Tacoma to Foss Seaport, Tacoma We've had some white smoke coming out of our stack when we've fired up the main engine in the morning and also when we have been "blowing tubes" (running at wide open throttle WOT) at the end of the day. We set up an appointment with a diesel mechanic for Friday morning so on Thursday we moved from the Dock Street Marina to the Foss Waterway Seaport dock at the north end of the Thea Foss Waterway. The Seaport Museum was closed, but we had a nice walk along the waterfront and went downtown to a wine bar for supper.

Seabiscuit at the Foss Waterway Seaport Dock, Tacoma, WA

A flight of white wine at STINK/El Tufo, downtown Tacoma

Friday, April 16, 2021 - Tacoma to Blake Island South (20 nm, 2.5 hours) The diesel mechanic came on board Friday morning and did a valve adjustment on the main engine. We went out for a test run and everything seemed ok so we dropped him back at the dock and headed north to Blake Island for the weekend. The weather was forecast to be beautiful, sunny and warm, with highs near 75F/24C. There were a lot of boats anchored and on mooring balls around the island and the Blake Island Marina was full. We decided to anchor up on the south side of Blake Island. After running out 200 feet of chain, we decided we were too close to a cable crossing and started to heave the chain back in so we could move to a different location. With about 50 feet of chain left in the water, the windlass pulled up tight. Our anchor was fouled and we weren't going anywhere.

Rough sketch of how to get the anchor loose using the dinghy including tide and current times.

We studied the tides and currents for the south side of the island. We launched the dinghy ~16:00 and dropped a weighted line down around the anchor shank, then used the dinghy to try to pull it loose. We didn't have any luck and decided to try again the next morning.

Sunset at Blake Island

Dave suited up in his dive gear early Saturday morning and went into the water to try and free the anchor. It was close to high tide and with the hookah compressor on the stern, we didn't have enough hose to get him down to the bottom. We spent the day enjoying the sun and doing outside projects including setting up our new barbecue table. With so many boats in the area, we decided it was too busy with too many boat wakes to make an attempt at freeing the anchor that afternoon.

Barbecue table set up on the stern deck

Sunday was another beautiful, calm, sunny day and we took the dinghy ashore and walked the trail around the island. We stopped for a lunch break on the east side of the island near the marina and campground.

B on the Blake Island outer loop trail

The dinghy on the beach on the south side of Blake Island. Seabiscuit is at anchor in the background.

Sunday afternoon, we moved the hookah compressor to the bow of the boat so that Dave would have enough line to make it to the bottom. After rigging up our lines, agreeing on signals and waiting until low tide and slack water, he went back into the water. Once he got to the bottom, he could see that the anchor flukes were underneath a large concrete slab. I slacked the chain and he was able to free the anchor and lift it up onto the top of the slab. He gave the signal to heave the chain and we were free. We moved the boat east about 400 meters and re-anchored for the night.

Monday, April 19, 2021 - Blake Island South to Port Orchard (10 nm, 1.7 hours) We had our breakfast and coffee, then anchor up at 7:30 to catch slack water going through Rich Passage. It was another bright, calm, sunshiney day. We tied up at the Port Orchard Marina just after 9:00. We did some boat chores then walked across the street to Carter's for lunch.

Tulips in bloom on Carter's back patio, Port Orchard, WA

One of the reasons we came to Port Orchard was to pick up a new LTE router. Our KVH satellite system will be obsolete as of December 31, 2021 and since we are doing mostly coastal cruising, instead of installing a new satellite system, we decided to go with an LTE router instead. We couldn't re-purpose any of the satellite equipment, but we could install the router in the satellite dome to get it up as high as possible on the boat. We purchased the system from Milltech Marine and Doug came down to the boat Monday afternoon to help us hook-up and bench test the system. After discussing many iterations, we decided on the following configuration:

Up in the satellite dome: Pepwave MAX Transit Category 18 LTE router and an ethernet POE (power over ethernet) splitter.
In the pilot house: Pepwave AP One Rugged Access Point and a POE inserter
An ethernet cable from the dome down to the pilot house connects the router with the access point.

You can see the specifications on all of the equipment on the Milltech Marine website in the mobile connectivity section. Here is a link to Doug's blog post about Mobile connectivity while onboard.

Setting up the new LTE router equipment.

We spent Tuesday in Port Orchard dismantling the satellite system. We got a few groceries and rode the foot ferry over to Bremerton for a walk and supper.

Dave up on the mast taking down the satellite dome base.

Dave removing the satellite equipment from the dome base so that we could use it for the LTE router.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021 - Port Orchard to Eagle Harbor aka Bainbridge (13 nm, 1.9 hours) We left the dock in Port Orchard at 8:45. The west side of Puget Sound was clear but the east side was covered with fog. As we were cruising past Blakely Rock, we saw the Seattle - Bainbridge ferry appear out of the fog. We tied up at the Waterfront City Dock and got busy with our projects. The weather was nice so we finished mounting the LTE router up in the dome and ran the cable from the dome down the stack, then ran the cable through the pilot house window and hooked up the system to make sure everything worked - it did. We needed to take down the overhead panel in the pilot house to complete the ethernet cable run and the installation but we saved that for another day.

The Pepwave MAX Transit and ethernet POE splitter mounted in the base of the satellite dome.

B putting the aft stack cover back on. The ethernet cable from the satellite dome is running down the inside of the funnel, out the bottom of the vent on the starboard side of the stack and in through the window until we take down the pilot house overhead to complete the cable run.

We spent Thursday doing more disassembly work on the satellite system and a few other chores. Thursday afternoon we took a long walk along the shoreline, bought some groceries and had a nice supper downtown.

Tree in bloom Bainbridge Island

Trees in bloom, Bainbridge Island

Friday, April 23, 2021 - Eagle Harbor to Blake Island North (6 nm, 1.2 hours) We left the dock in Eagle Harbor about 9:30 and cruised back to Blake Island. We enjoyed our time here last weekend and decided to spend some more time hiking the trails on the island. The state park marina was full so we anchored on the north side of the island. We took the dinghy into the harbor and walked the loop trail around the island, then stopped for a beer at the snack bar before going back out to the boat.

B enjoying a beer after our hike around Blake Island

Artifacts inside the Tillicum Village main building, Blake Island

It rained most of the day Saturday and we stayed aboard the boat and did projects and chores. We lounged around Sunday morning. Early Sunday afternoon we moved over to the Blake Island Marina and hiked the cross island trails.

Seabiscuit at the Blake Island Marina

View of the Seattle skyline and the entrance channel to Blake Island Marina

Monday, April 26, 2021 - Blake Island to Dock Street Marina, Tacoma (20 nm, 3.1 hours) We got underway this morning at 8:30 and cruised south to Tacoma. It was an uneventful run and we pulled into the Dock Street Marina at noon and settled in. The Dock Street Marina is on the Thea Foss Waterway and is very convenient to downtown Tacoma, the museums, bars and restaurants and transit.

The Point Robinson Lighthouse on Vashon Island

Approaching the 11th Street Bridge over the Thea Foss Waterway

Tuesday was an exciting day - my mother, Louise, flew up to visit. We hadn't seen her in over a year and it was great to spend some quality time together.

B and Louise, Dock Street waterfront, Tacoma, WA

We started off the day on Wednesday with boat projects including taking down the overhead in the pilot house. We ran the ethernet cable through the cable transit block and into the chart cabinet where the Pepwave Access Point will reside. For our afternoon adventure, we walked across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass to the Washington State History Museum. The featured exhibit was about the history of the railroad and train travel in the western United States. We ate supper at the Fish Peddler restaurant then walked back to the boat for our nightly game of pinocle.

The Crystal Towers on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, Tacoma

The Venetian Wall on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, Tacoma

Because of COVID, most of the museums were only open Friday/Saturday/Sunday, so we spent the day Thursday doing really fun chores. We gathered up all of the electronic equipment associated with the satellite system, stuffed it into three large backpacks and rode the bus to an electronics recycling center south of downtown. They accept all kinds of electronics and we were able to drop off our stuff in front of their facility. From there, we rode the bus to the grocery store and filled our backpacks with supplies then rode back to the marina. That was enough excitement for one day. We had supper on board and played our nightly card game.

What's a trip to Seabiscuit if you can't do boat chores - Louise defrosting the refrigerator

A small pile of the electronic equipment that we dropped off at the recycle center.

Friday morning started off with some more boat chores and lunch on board. Early afternoon we went to the Museum of Glass.

The Museum of Glass Hot Shop. We watched the Hot Shop team while they created a glass vessel.

After touring the museum and watching the Hot Shop team in action, we rode the trolley downtown then walked down the hill and stopped at 7 Seas Brewing for an afternoon beer. We had supper on the boat and played our nightly card game.

Louise and B drinking a beer at 7 Seas Brewing

We took down the 2 x 4s holding the pilot house overhead beams in place on Saturday morning and called the LTE router installation project complete. Saturday afternoon we went to the LeMay - America's Car Museum. They have over three hundred cars on display there and we all found one or two that we would be willing to take home.

A Saleen convertible Mustang

The Momentum solar electric car

The Flintstone's Car

Sunday was another nice, sunny day. As usual we did our morning chores. After lunch we went to the Tacoma Art Museum. From there we walked the Prairie Line Trail, up to the 11th Street Bridge and down to the waterfront. We ordered a pizza for supper and played our nightly card game.

A dogwood tree in bloom along the Prairie Line Trail.

Monday morning was gray and overcast. We did our morning chores then took a walk along the waterfront. It started to rain mid-afternoon and we popped some popcorn and watched the movie Nomadland which we all enjoyed.

Tuesday morning was gray and overcast but the afternoon was sunny. We rode the bus to Point Defiance Park and hiked through the woods.

Dave and B studying the map at Point Defiance Park

B and Louise hiking at Point Defiance Park

The end of our hike - waiting for the bus to take us from the park back to the marina

Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - Dock Street Marina, Tacoma to Edmonds (36 nm, 5.4 hours) Today was travel day. We had our breakfast and coffee then Mom and I caught the bus from the Tacoma Dome transit station to Sea-Tac airport and Dave cruised up to the Port of Edmonds. Louise checked in and cleared security for her flight home, then I caught the train/bus from the airport to Edmonds. I got there in time to have lunch and to read my book while sitting near the waterfront. Dave pulled in about 13:30 and I helped him tie up at the dock. We did some unlaxing then walked into town for supper.

Seabiscuit at the Port of Edmonds guest dock

Thursday, May 6, 2021 - Edmonds to Anacortes (51 nm, 6.5 hours) It was windy and gray this morning when we left the dock. We cruised north up Possession Sound, along the east coast of Whidbey Island, into Skagit Bay, north through the Swinomish Channel into Padilla Bay and west into the Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes.

A log boom north of Goat Island at the south end of the Swinomish Channel.

We spent Thursday afternoon and Friday doing boat chores and provisioning and planning for our journey north.

Saturday, May 8, 2021 - Anacortes to Roche Harbor (27 nm, 3.9 hours) A last minute trip to Safeway this morning for a few more groceries then we were away from the dock at 9:00. The cruise to Roche Harbor was uneventful and we tied up at the dock here about 13:00. We plan to spend today and tomorrow hiking the nearby trails and enjoying the resort area.

Until next time...

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Spring Cruising in Puget Sound

Location: Olympia, WA, USA

We have been enjoying some spring cruising in Puget Sound. The days are getting longer, there is more sunshine and less rain, the trees and flowers are blooming and the birds are starting to migrate north. At the end of the last blog, we had just arrived in Roche Harbor. Since then, we have been traveling south through Puget Sound, returning to some of our favorite places and exploring new places we haven't been to before.

Cruising east through Guemes Channel to Anacortes.
Mount Baker is in the background on the left and the Coho Ferry is in dry dock on the right.

March 4 - 8, 2021, Roche Harbor: We arrived in Roche Harbor on March 4 and settled in at the Roche Harbor Marina and Resort for a few days. Roche Harbor is one of our favorite stops in the San Juan Islands and we had some nice weather while we were there. As per Washington Covid-19 guidelines, the resort restaurants were operating at limited capacity. The marina was open but since it was early in the season, there was plenty of space available at the docks. We worked on some of our leftover projects from the boat yard and took some long afternoon walks.

Dragonfly Spirit Pole
San Juan Islands Sculpture Park

The Frog Prince

The Southern Resident Orcas, carved from solid western red cedars.

The circuit board for our Wesmar hydraulic stabilizer system.
This was one of the leftover projects from the boatyard. We were still working on getting the system calibrated, but we couldn't get the starboard fin to go to neutral; it either wanted to go hard right or hard left and wouldn't center itself between the two.

The Mausoleum at Roche Harbor built by John McMillen to honor his family. McMillen was the founder of the Roche Harbor Lime and Cement Company which is now the Roche Harbor Resort. Weird US - Washington provides a good description of the symbolism built into the structure.

Dave re-installing an overhead light in the pilot house.
The 2x4s are holding up the starboard overhead beam cover. The port beam is still exposed.
We use Sikaflex 291 to hold the beam covers in place. It provides good adhesion, but allows for easy removal when we need to take down the overhead panel for access to the wires. We had taken the panel down when we were in the boatyard so that we could install the wire transit blocks for the cables going up the mast.

March 9, 2021 - Roche Harbor to Friday Harbor (10 miles, 1.5 hours): We left Roche Harbor Tuesday morning for a short run to Friday Harbor. The marina there is a popular summer cruising destination and they are good about fitting visiting boats into the available slips. We stayed for two nights, did some boat chores and explored the town.

B inside the forward storage locker, restowing the 2x4s used for the pilot house overhead beam reinstallation.
We stow extra lines and fenders in this locker.

B standing with the Brickworks pig in downtown Friday Harbor.

There is always a project on a boat. While cooking Dave a delicious supper in the microwave, i.e. reheating leftovers, I broke the door opener. He removed the latch and found that one of the pegs that holds it in place had broken off. He epoxied a small bolt to the opener to replace the peg and that fixed it. Now we are "gentle" when we open the microwave door.

Dave reinstalling the microwave in the galley.

The Port of Friday Harbor marina as we are leaving.

March 11, 2021 - Friday Harbor to Anacortes (20 nm, 2.5 hours): We left Friday Harbor on Thursday morning and headed to Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes.

We still hadn't resolved our issues with the Wesmar stabilizer system, so we made an appointment with a techician to do some troublehooting. He figured out that the two hydraulic hoses for the starboard fin were reversed, changed them around, did a few adjustments, tested the system at the dock and we were back in business. That was the last major outstanding item from our boatyard projects. Now we are back to regular maintenance, repairs and chores.

The sunshine and warm weather continued. We took long walks along the waterfront and through the nearby neighborhoods, ate at some of our favorite restaurants and bought fresh produce at the local farmer's market.

The Coho Ferry in dry dock at Anacortes. Prior to Covid-19, the Coho made twice daily runs between Port Angeles and downtown Victoria, BC. All sailings are currently cancelled but they plan to be back up and running again once the border re-opens for non-essential travel.

We had been checking the availability of Covid vaccines in the nearby areas and were able to get Dave an appointment in La Conner.

March 16, 2021 - Anacortes to La Conner (10 nm, 1.5 hours) We left Anacortes at 9:30 and headed south down the Swinomish Channel to La Conner. La Conner is another of our favorite stops and we spent the first two days enjoying the town; the link here provides a good overview and descriptions of the historic sites that you can see on a walking tour of the town. We were both able to get our first Covid vaccine shots (Pfizer) while we were here.

B at the Old Fir Log in downtown La Conner. The tree was logged in the Mount Baker forest in the late 1950s and was brought to La Conner to be preserved and displayed. They estimate the tree was over 800 years old and there is a timeline display (on the right side of the slab) that shows the historical events that occurred during the tree's life span. As an example, when Magellan left Spain in 1519 to sail around the world, this tree was already over 350 years old.

A view of some of the historical buildings in downtown La Conner, the Swinomish Channel and the west side of the channel.

There was some weather moving through the area, so we decided to stay and work on some of our projects.

Our wine cabinet got damaged when we were rolling across the Haro Strait from Victoria to Roche Harbor. The door was torn off the drawers and we had to make some repairs then glue/nail it all back together. This is the cabinet on its back with books on the door to add weight while the glue dries.

Running Ryd-Lyme through the main engine (top) and the generator (bottom).
This is a regular maintenance task to clean the calcium out of the heat exchangers.

The pipe coming down from the chain locker (the white pipe at the top of the photo) had a hole in the elbow so we patched that with JB Weld.
We are re-varnishing the taped off area of the deck (sole) of the forward cabin

March 21, 2021 - La Conner to Langley (27nm, 3.5 hours) We timed our departure from La Conner on Sunday morning to catch the current flowing south down the Swinomish Channel. The south end of the channel into Skagit Bay is shoal so we also wanted to make sure the tide was above the low water mark. It was cloudy with some light rain and the wind was blowing 15 - 20 knots. The journey was uneventful and we were tied up at the dock in the South Whidbey Harbor (Langley) before noon. We had lunch and worked on our projects then walked into town. We stopped at the grocery store for a few things then had supper at Ultra House - a Japanese Ramen restaurant.

Monday afternoon the sun came out and we went for a walk up the hill and along the shore line south of the harbor.

Seabiscuit at the dock, South Whidbey Harbor (Langley)

A rabbit near Edgecliff Park in Langley.

March 23, 2021 - Langley to Port Ludlow (23 nm, 3.3 hours): Our next stop was Port Ludlow, a place we hadn't been to before. We left the Langley marina Tuesday morning and had calm seas and light winds for our journey across the Puget Sound traffic lanes. We tied up at the Port Ludlow Marina and walked up to the hotel for lunch. For our afternoon walk, we went to Ludlow Falls, a small waterfall in an old growth patch of forest. Some of the trees around the falls were 300 - 400 year old Douglas Firs and Red Cedars. We spent three nights in Port Ludlow. There are a lot of walking trails through the woods around the resort and we walked a different path every afternoon.

The totem pole at the Port Ludlow Resort. When we called to ask if they had space available for us, they said yes and told us that when we could see the totem pole we should call them on the VHF radio for our slip assignment

Seabiscuit at the outer dock, Port Ludlow Marina

Ludlow Falls

B near a springboard stump on the Osprey Trail. A springboard stump is the bottom part of a tree (the butt swell) where the loggers cut notches to place springboards. They stood on the springboards so that they could harvest the tree above the butt swell.

March 26, 2021 - Port Ludlow to Pleasant Harbor (26 miles, 3.5 hours) We left the Port Ludlow marina at 10:30 and headed south down the Hood Canal. The Hood Canal is a 65 mile fjord carved by glaciers. A floating bridge crosses the entrance to the Hood Canal. The west end of the bridge has a vertical clearance of 33 feet and the east end has a vertical clearance of 50 feet. With our fixed antennas we have an air draft of 37 feet, so we passed under the east end of the bridge. There is a large Navy base along the eastern shore of the Hood Canal with clearly marked restricted areas and patrol vessels plying the waters nearby. Bangor Naval Station is the homeport for a fleet of nuclear submarines. We counted four submarines moored near the shore as we passed by. The weather was nice and we had an uneventful voyage.

We tied up at the Pleasant Harbor Resort Marina mid-afternoon then went for a walk along the south side of the harbor. We had a lazy morning on Saturday, reading books and watching three fat seals sun themselves on the dock in front of us. Saturday afternoon we went for a brisk walk along the shore. We ended our walk at the Galley Grill where we had beer and supper on the roof top patio. Sunday we were planning to cruise down the to Alderbrook Resort at the south end of the Hood Canal but there were gale warnings and it was raining so we decided to stay at Pleasant Harbor for another night. The wind and rain finally quit about 15:30 so we took a walk to the public boat launch.

Three seals sunning themselves on the Pleasant Harbor docks

Dave standing at the end of the boat launch dock looking east towards the Pleasant Harbor Marina.

After our brisk walk, Dave with a beer at the Galley Grill rooftop patio.

March 29, 2021 - Pleasant Harbor to Poulsbo (49 miles, 6 hours): I have been checking into the Great Northern Boater's Net (Ham Radio 3870 KHz) most mornings and one of the boats checking in had been lauding the bakery in Poulsbo, Sluy's, so we decided we needed to try it for ourselves. It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp (39F/4C) day and there was frost on the docks when we pulled away from the Pleasant Harbor marina at 9:00. We went north up the Hood Canal with the ebb current pushing us then rounded Fairweather Bluff and had the flood with us as we headed south. We cruised through Agate Passage, between Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula, then around Point Bolin and north into Liberty Bay Inlet. The Port of Poulsbo Marina is near the head of Liberty Bay and is in downtown historic Poulsbo, also known as Little Norway.

We tied up in a slip at the harbor about 13:00 and checked in. This was our first visit to Poulsbo so we got some suggestions for things to do and places to see, then went for a walk along the boardwalk northwest of the harbor. We ended up at Western Red Brewing where we had a nice cold beer. From there, we went to supper at Sogno di Vino, a small Italian restaurant downtown.

Daffodils blooming along the Poulsbo boardwalk overlooking Liberty Bay.

The beer tap line up at Western Red Brewing, Poulsbo, Washington.

Sluy's Bakery opens at 5:00 am so we were up there early Tuesday morning getting our breakfast, apple fritters and coconut crunch bars. Of course, what would boating be without projects and chores. Dave worked on changing the o-rings on the main engine heat exchanger and changing the transmission fluid while I walked up to the hardware store and the grocery store. It was a nice, sunny afternoon so we walked south along the shore of Liberty Bay and on the way back, stopped at Valholl Brewing for a beer on the patio.

Draining the antifreeze out of the main engine heat exchanger in order to change out the o-rings.

Dave on the patio at Valholl Brewing, Poulsbo.

Early morning on Wednesday, we went to the bakery again for cinnamon buns and sour cream cake donuts. More chores. Late afternoon, we walked around the head of the bay to the west side and ended up at Rainy Daze Brewing. Are you seeing a pattern here? We aren't doing very well on our weekly weigh in. We walked back into town and had supper at a restaurant near the waterfront then called it a day.

A stout and a red ale at Rainy Daze Brewing, Poulsbo.

April 1, 2021 - Poulsbo to Gig Harbor (28 nm, 4 hours): We fired up the main engine at 6:15 and moved over to the pump out dock to empty our waste tanks. While Dave was doing that, I walked up to the bakery for one last sweet breakfast before leaving town; I got peanut butter/chocolate chovannahs, blueberry cake donuts and sugar and glazed donut holes plus orange-cranberry scones for tomorrow. We left the marina at 6:45 and headed south down Liberty Bay. We timed our departure to hit slack water at Rich Passage which leads back out to Puget Sound. Our journey was uneventful and we entered Gig Harbor just before 11:00. We tied up at the Jerisich Public Dock near downtown Gig Harbor. This was another new place for us. We walked into town for lunch and did some exploring.

We went out for our afternoon walk along the waterfront and ended up at 7 Seas Brewing where we had a beer on the outdoor patio.

Dave ready to drink beer at 7 Seas Brewing, Gig Harbor.

Friday morning we did a few chores. Early Friday afternoon we walked north along the waterfront to the head of the harbor. Late Friday afternoon, we walked south along the waterfront to the harbor entrance, then stopped for supper at a local barbecue place.

The entrance to Gig Harbor.

Saturday we did morning chores and I put out the hummingbird feeders, then we went to the Tides Tavern for lunch. Late Friday afternoon, we walked up the hill from the harbor to the Cushman Trail head, then followed the trail north along the creek and power lines and circled back to downtown.

The Tides Tavern, Gig Harbor. They have their own dock where you can tie up your boat and then walk up to the restaurant for lunch or supper.

Jerisich Public Dock, Gig Harbor. It was almost empty when we arrived but filled up for the weekend.

April 4, 2021 - Gig Harbor to Jarrell Cove State Park (28 nm, 4.1 hours): We left Gig Harbor early Sunday morning to catch the flood tide south through the Tacoma Narrows.

Seabiscuit approaching the Tacoma Narrows Bridge from the north.

It was very quiet out on the water. We saw a few fishermen and the ferries making their regular runs. We turned into Jarrell's Cove about 10:00. This was another new place for us. Jarrell's Cove is near the northwest corner of Harstine Island. As you enter the cove, there is a small marina on the west, two state park docks on the east and 14 mooring bouys in the center. We tied up at the end of the inner state park dock. We spent two days at the park, hiking the trails around the campground and enjoying the sunshine.

Seabiscuit at the Jarrell Cove Marine State Park dock.

April 6, 2021 - Jarrell Cove to McMicken Island (6 nm, 1 hour): Our next stop was McMicken Island, a marine state park on the east side of Harstine Island. We anchored on the northwest side of the island, our first anchorage of the season. We uncovered the dinghy and let the sun warm it up while we did a few boat chores. After lunch, we launched the dinghy, took it for a spin around the cove and then went into the beach on the island. We took the loop trail through the woods, then walked along the beach where Dave found a sand dollar.

The dinghy anchored on the tombolo that connects McMicken Island to Harstine Island.

Seabiscuit at anchor, McMicken Island.

B on the beach, McMicken Island.

April 7, 2021 - McMicken Island to Olympia (14 nm, 2.2 hours): It was windy and overcast this morning with some light rain. We heaved anchor at 9:30 and headed south to Olympia, the capitol of Washington state. This was another new place for us. We tied up at the Percival Landing Public Dock near downtown and the Capitol Complex. We walked through downtown and stopped for lunch. Later in the afternoon Dave got his first haircut since we left Kodiak in July and we had supper at a neighborhood bar and grill.

View of the Washington State Capitol Building from our stern while we are docked at Percival Landing.

It had been three weeks since our first Covid vaccine shot and we were ready for our second jab. We found a small clinic in a suburb east of downtown that was accepting walk-ins for second doses, even if you didn't get your first dose there. Thursday we did a few morning chores and then walked out to the clinic for our shots. We're very grateful that we were able to get our vaccines and both of the clinics we went to were very accommodating.

After our shots, we rode the bus (we discovered that the buses in Olympia are free) from the clinic to a shopping area. We had lunch, did some shopping and then rode the bus back to the dock. We weren't sure if we were going to have any side effects from the vaccine so we spent a quiet evening on the boat.

B sitting on the west side of Percival Landing with Seabiscuit docked on the east side of the channel.

Other than a sore arm on Friday morning, we didn't suffer any side effects. We spent the morning doing chores, then walked west to another shopping area for a few more things. We rode the bus back into downtown, had a beer for happy hour at a nearby taproom, then had supper at a wood-fired pizza restaurant.

It was rainy, windy and cold when we got up Saturday morning but the rain stopped ~9:00 and the sun came out. We walked to the Farmers Market and bought some fresh greens, baked goods and plants for B's planter box.

Lots of different lettuce and greens to choose from at the Farmers Market.
We got four different varieties plus some herbs to plant in B's planter box.

Our goodies from Farmers Market. In addition to the plants, we got cheese, bread, scones, radishes, garlic, arugula, fresh salad greens and microgreens.

We ate brunch at a cafe along the waterfront then came back to the boat to unlax. Late afternoon, we walked around Capitol Lake and the Capitol Complex, through the Yashiro Japanese Garden, to the french patisserie Left Bank, then to the Whitewood Cider Teeny Tiny Taproom. The taproom is located amongst a group of food trucks so we ate supper while tasting five different ciders.