Gig Harbor, Bremerton, Seattle

Mark and Henry Having Fun with Sculpture


Jellyfish Passing By, Bell Street Marina, Seattle


Tacoma Narrows Bridge with New Span

To Gig Harbor, a very fast ride under "Galloping Gertie" Tacoma Narrows Bridge. We hit 11.4 knots just north of the two spans, tying up at Arabella's Marina by 11am. We heard a rare VHF Coast Guard radio weather warning and rode out high winds and seas at dock, not on the water, thank goodness. Henry's burger and my oysters at the Tides Tavern were up to snuff.

About 10:30 am Thursday, we headed north through Colvos Passage, usually a sleepy slog to Blake Island. However, the current was running unusually high again and we rode the tidal stream at 8-9 knots all the way north. When we reached the marina at Blake Island, a state park, the docks were full up with huge yachts. They installed power on the docks last fall and so it is a more desirable destination. Gone are the small family boats with kids and fishing poles. The new order is white fiberglass walls on all sides. We met our friends outside the marina and continued on with them to Bremerton for the night.

Bremerton is famous for its naval shipyard. The waterfront has undergone quite a bit of development in recent years but the blue collar essence of the place remains. The new marina is lovely and it has bargain docking rates. However, our friends, Phil and Ann, were assigned a slip close in and ran aground as they tried to dock. We stood off for awhile and then docked several slips farther out. The afternoon and evening were spent catching up with them. Their two adventures--sailing from Palau to Australia, and boating with friends in Alaska (with a medical emergency, to boot) provided most of the entertainment. Stories became more exciting in the telling, and retelling with more details and expression.

Friday morning was an easy, motoring to Seattle. No wind, no current, so no sailing. We spent some time trying to solve a water problem, but it remains a mystery. We met another friend, Mark, yesterday for a long walk on the waterfront north of Bell Harbor and through the Seattle Art Museam outdoor sculpture park. We had Avignon sausages from the Pike Place Market for dinner aboard Jules last night. Here at Bell Harbor Marina is the embarkation point for cruise ships of the Norwegian fleet. The Norwegian Star left yesterday afternoon, and the Norwegian Pearl is here this morning. Today, it's off to Kingston and crepes for breakfast in the morning.

Sailing North from Olympia

State Capitol, Olympia, Washington from Budd Bay at Dawn

View of Monkey Face from Misery Ridge Trail, Smith Rock State Park, Oregon.

From the high desert of Eagle Crest, Oregon, in the last week we've spent some time at Little Whale Cove and the whales are back. On Sunday we packed up the car with the inflatable raft, the Yamaha outboard motor, and a summer's worth of reading and headed to Olympia, Washington where Jules, our 30-foot Newport sailboat, has been resting since last October, weathering drenching winter rains.

About 5am tomorrow morning the tide will turn, and the ebbing current will carry us under the Tacoma Narrows bridge to Gig Harbor. We are at the summer solstice and the tidal change is about 18-19 ft here. The "low low" tide today put the ramp to the docks at an impossibly steep slope.

Since Sunday afternoon we've been cleaning, provisioning, repairing, and arranging. In such a small space everything must have a place. Not too many clothes, not too much food, not too much equipment, but we never have enough gadgets. We hope we have not forgotten something critical. Even though we will be in towns almost every night for awhile, it's difficult to get some things without the convenience of a car. We still have things to do--replace the main sheet, replace the line for the whisker pole, replace a stretch of lifeline, clean the sunbrella canvas dodger,and wonder whether it will rain tomorrow. But we have fresh local strawberries aboard, so we won't complain even if some tasks don't get done before we leave, but later.

"Low low" tide will be about noon in Gig Harbor tomorrow. We should arrive well ahead of that time. We'll tie up at Arabella's marina, take a walk, and have burgers at the Tides Tavern for dinner.