Sunday, Sunday,Sunday...Reids Harbor

In the morning you could look out of the bay and see a layer of fog covering the horizon. Ryan and Zane sat on the edge of the boat and jigged for fish. Our fishing had been poor and our crab count was a bit weak. We hoped to get a couple more keepers for dinner.

A bank of fog just outside the bay.

We untied the boat and got on our way. Today's destination was Reid Harbor at Stuart Island. The trip was about 19.2 miles and when we arrived we were able to moor on one of the buoys near the docks.

Holly, Linda, Anika and  Zane went ashore and hiked to the Turn Point Lighthouse and visited The Teacherage Museum. One of the restrooms at the lighthouse had been decorated, making it the nicest porta potty found on this adventure.

Ryan and Zane jig for fish.

In a new location the kids set the crab traps and our crab count continued to grow. By dinner we had enough big crabs to give us some great hors d'oeuvres. It was fun cooking the crabs and showing Zane and Anika how to clean and eat the crab meat.

Captain Bob gave Ryan his first written test and he talked me into trying my hand at the test. Ryan passed with flying colors. I even passed and I didn't even read the text! During the week, Ryan took three tests and got his certification so that he would be able charter sailboats without a captain on board for future adventures. I took and passed the first two tests, but didn't give the third one a try due to the length of the test. 

Lessons for the day.

The Teacherage Museum on the left
and a library (old school) on the right.

Putting a tree swing to good use

Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island.

Nicest outhouse of the trip!

On the Water

Mt. Baker from Bellingham Bay.

We woke to a flurry of activity on the docks around us. Tivoli was comfortable! Linda and I had the V-berth, Holly and Ryan were in the starboard stern berth and Anika and Zane were in the port stern berth. There was a head off the galley and also one in the V-berth area. Our captain would be staying in the main cabin area, where the table would collapse into a bunk.

Captain Bob and Ryan chat about the next few days.

At 9:00 AM sharp Captain Bob arrived and introduced himself. We went over some safety items and talked about our expectations and then we readied the boat and Ryan took the helm as we backed out of the moorage and out into open water. Within an hour we were sailing and motoring down and out of Bellingham Bay toward our first anchorage.

We spent our time learning about the boat and getting a feel for how it sailed. When the wind died down we motor sailed as much as possible. Our first leg was was about 26.2 miles with the end destination being Echo Bay in the fingers of Sucia Island.

Always teaching, Bob explains some of the instrumentation. 

In this bay we had three options for anchoring. We could dig out the anchor and drop it to the bottom, tie off to a mooring buoy or we could take advantage of the horizontal tie buoys that were available. We chose the horizontal tie system and made our boat secure.

Once we got settled, Ryan and the kids set out the crab traps. They had purchased fish heads for bait and they filled the trap cage with a big smelly one. When the trap was down, everyone got into the boat and headed to shore. I stayed on board to fish and keep an eye on the crab trap.

On shore, Holly and Linda took a short hike recommended by Bob while Ryan and the kids played on shore. On the boat I jigged for fish and took a nap. Once everyone returned, the crab trap was checked several times by Zane and Anika. They caught a couple of keepers and then placed them in a big pot that worked as a temporary live well. Hopes were high that we would get a couple more and we could have a crab feast the next night. We fixed a spaghetti dinner, cleaned up and ate some cookies. The next hour was spent charting our course for the next day and then everyone went to bed.

Our navigation backup.

Explaining the basics of port and starboard to Zane.

Sea dog at the helm.

Enjoying our first day on the water,

Photo ops!

Zane skippering the boat.

Everyone aboard for a little hike.

With everyone gone I have the run of the boat.

Measuring the crabs and looking for keepers.

End of the day drinks and relaxation.

Plotting our next days route.

Bellingham

Sailboat on Bellingham Bay.

Edison was wonderful and we so enjoyed visiting our friends, but we had to move on to the exciting unknown portion of our adventure. Following Chuckanut Drive, we made our way north to Bellingham. We stopped along the highway and took photos, then made our way to Boulevard Park where we took a break and walked along Bellingham Bay.

Boulevard Park with the marina in the background.

Our friends Holly and Ryan were on the road and sent us a txt explaining that they were being slowed down by road construction. They asked us if we could do the remainder of the shopping for them and sent us a list. We drove to Fred Meyer and gathered their food items along with the provisions we needed to pick up. We packed the cooler and filled the truck with diesel and then headed down to Bellingham Port.

When we arrived at San Juan Sailing, we found out that we could not get on our boat until 6:30 PM. This information along with a lack of prior communication provided Linda and I a bit of anxiety boarding because we did not have a clue what the process for getting on the sailboat would be. I walked to a local chandlery and picked up fishing and crabbing licenses for the next week. Finally, Linda inquired in the main office and a gentleman explained some of the processes we needed to follow for our charter. Following his chat, we attended a safety meeting and by that time Holly, Ryan and the family arrived.
We all went down to our boat, Tivoli, and started poking around. The boat was a beauty, a Jeanneau 409 and she was 40 feet in length. It had been suggested that we look over the boat before we moved anything to the dock and as we did this an employee of San Juan Sailing came by and tried to explain the systems we needed to be familiar with for our week on the boat. She was very nice but did not know Tivoli's systems at all and her demonstrations were not very helpful. In fact, she ended up turning off the refrigerator instead of leaving it on, which I believe caused a bit of a problem that surfaced further on into our trip.

Tivoli at the San Juan Sailing dock. 

The move in began and we brought in cart after cart of food and baggage to store in our floating home. For the next few hours, it was a flurry of activity. Once we got settled in a bit we walked to the main office and grabbed a hot dog and drink, provided by the staff.

Exhausted we finally got the beds made and went to sleep. We were a bit apprehensive but too tired to let it affect us.

Our first look around Tivoli.