Saturday, March 28, 2009
V is for Victory
For those of you familiar with our windlass saga, you'll be pleased to know that Aaron was victorious! He'll be by to give the play-by-play soon. Aaron 1 - Windlass 0
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Orcas, and Porpoises and Sea Lions, Oh My!
The seas were particularly calm as we headed the 6 nautical miles across Elliott Bay to Blake Island State Park last Saturday. The water was glassy, and as the fog pulled back, we had great visibility. Now we would have loved for a stiff breeze to fill our sails, but we take what we can get in the winter (What? It’s spring? Nah, I don’t believe you.) So we’re motoring along when the Coast Guard comes over the VHF talking about an adrift boat off West Point. Being the curious (Aaron might say nosy) person that I am, I pulled out the binoculars to see if I could spot the boat in question. Well, I never did see the boat, but I saw something way better—J pod! The orcas that make up J pod are part of the larger southern resident population of killer whales and have been milling about off Bainbridge Island recently. Neat!
To add to the marine mammal fun we were having, a plump, whiskered sea lion swam over to check us out. No doubt he was heading for his perch on the channel marker. It must take real skill to cram all that sea lion pudge onto that tiny little channel marker.
Like it tends to be in the winter (right, right… spring), there was plenty of room for us in the Blake Island marina. Nothing beats grabbing a mooring buoy and bobbing along peacefully, but having the option to plug in a heater in this chilly weather is a plus! Besides, our new 2hp Honda outboard is sitting, fuel tank on empty, in the garage. Yes, we could row the dinghy, but that would be work.
The trails and beaches were wide open for wiener dog romping (and Canada goose chasing), and we got in a nice hike in the sunshine. We capped off the day with s’mores by a toasty campfire (ohmygosh, do I love s’mores!). Fabulous!
I know harbor porpoises are supposed to be elusive around here, but we sure see a lot of these guys. As we headed back to Elliott Bay Marina on Sunday, we got a close-up view as a pair cruised south. The Argosy boat (and the tourists) will descend on Blake Island next month, so we were pleased to get in one last relaxing visit to our favorite quick-trip spot before all the commotion starts.
Check out this video of J pod (complete with J pod babies) taken off Bainbridge last week.
To add to the marine mammal fun we were having, a plump, whiskered sea lion swam over to check us out. No doubt he was heading for his perch on the channel marker. It must take real skill to cram all that sea lion pudge onto that tiny little channel marker.
Like it tends to be in the winter (right, right… spring), there was plenty of room for us in the Blake Island marina. Nothing beats grabbing a mooring buoy and bobbing along peacefully, but having the option to plug in a heater in this chilly weather is a plus! Besides, our new 2hp Honda outboard is sitting, fuel tank on empty, in the garage. Yes, we could row the dinghy, but that would be work.
The trails and beaches were wide open for wiener dog romping (and Canada goose chasing), and we got in a nice hike in the sunshine. We capped off the day with s’mores by a toasty campfire (ohmygosh, do I love s’mores!). Fabulous!
I know harbor porpoises are supposed to be elusive around here, but we sure see a lot of these guys. As we headed back to Elliott Bay Marina on Sunday, we got a close-up view as a pair cruised south. The Argosy boat (and the tourists) will descend on Blake Island next month, so we were pleased to get in one last relaxing visit to our favorite quick-trip spot before all the commotion starts.
Check out this video of J pod (complete with J pod babies) taken off Bainbridge last week.
It's about time
We finally have a blog. Yay! Stay tuned for tidbits about our adventures and projects.
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