Round Two

After a break from sailing we decided to head out for Memorial Day weekend. We boarded the boat on Thursday evening after a 4 hour wait for the ferry. Thankfully we had packed food and beverages for our long haul so we were prepared to kill time.

Friday morning we headed to Friday Harbor to run some errands and eat lunch. We stayed at the dock for the allotted 4 hours and decided to head to Turn Island to stay the night. As we were tying up to the mooring buoy at Turn Island, my mom recognized the boat moored next to us. It was Louise & John's boat! We got our dingy off the boat and were getting ready to head over to their boat. Then we spotted them coming around the corner of the island in two row boats. After waving and yelling Hello, they headed our direction...they were just as shocked to see us as we were them!

After a visit with John & Louise we decided to stayed Friday night at Turn Island. We couldn't wait until morning to explore the island. On Saturday we walked around the island, and made a few trips to shore to allow the dogs to run around. We decided that we were having so much fun that we would stay Saturday night as well.

We lucked out with nice weather on Sunday and played on the island some more. The boys blew up my folks kayak and went exploring around the area. Mom and I had to laugh at the boys as they couldn't make it all the way around the island due to the current, but John & Louise had no problem in their individual row boats!

After a day filled with fun in the sun and a few cocktails mom and I took the dogs to shore in the evening and were sitting on the beach enjoying the sun. As we were basking in the evening sun we watched Max start to take off the sail covers, and run the Jib line. We were sitting on shore thinking there is NO WAY we are going sailing! Next thing we know, Nick is up on deck hollering and waving for us to come back to the boat. Mom and I had a good laugh, and contemplated ignoring them but thought we had better follow the Captains rules. We quickly gathered the dogs and started rowing back to the boat. Once we got to the boat we prepped everything for sailing, put our life vests on, and waited for our orders. Dad said "Good job, everyone made it back to the boat, and prepped the boat to sail in less than 20 minutes. A successful drill!" What! It was just a drill! We could hardly believe it! So, we got another good laugh for the day and called it a night.

Monday we decided that we would head over to Jones Island for a night or two. We pulled in and totally lucked out! Just as we were getting ready to grab a mooring buoy three boats left the dock! So, we switched direction and tied up to the dock. We hung out for the day, going for hikes, and taking the dogs for walks. In the evening the Sheriff came by to give "free" safety inspections to all of the boats tied up to the dock. Thankfully the inspection was painless and we passed. We got a kick out of watching the other boats get inspected and irritated that their boats weren't up to snuff. As the sun was beginning to go down, Nick and I went for a kayaking trip around the west side of the island to watch the sun go down. Unfortunately Nick didn't bring the camera so I don't have pictures to show, but it was the most amazingly beautiful sight. We must have been out for an hour or so and saw only two boats! We saw two dolphins, lots of jelly fish, two deer grazing, and my parents! Yes, my parents had walked to the other side of the island so we ran into them as well. :) That kayaking trip is one of my most favorite memories with Nick. The view was totally incredible!!! I can't even begin to put into words how amazing it was.

Tuesday morning we slept in and decided to stay another day/night at Jones Island. We thought we might get rained on as the weather report predicted rain. Wrong! Around noon we got a couple of sprinkles...just enough time to get the tarps up and the weather cleared again. We spent the day going on a couple of hikes and watching the drama at the dock. Sometimes there is more dock drama than the Real Housewives! People are so particular about their space on the dock that they become inconsiderate of others. It is funny to watch the drama!

Wednesday morning (today) we got up and decided to head back to Orcas to take showers, and supply up to go out again. The weather report predicted rain today but we haven't seen it yet.... We will be on Orcas for the remainder of the day today and tomorrow and then head out for another adventure. So far round two has been a thousand times better than round one! We are thoroughly enjoying the incredible scenery, beautiful sunny weather, and adventures that each day brings. Even Roxy has adjusted better on round two! If things continue to go this well, we are going to have an awesome summer! :)

Break from Sailing

Things haven't exactly started as we had expected them to start. :) After our first sailing trip it became apparent that some work needed to be done on the boat before we head out again (installing an anchor wench, etc...). We jumped ship as there is NO WAY that four people and two dogs could be on the boat when work needed to be done.

Nick and I were thrilled to get off the boat and get a "real" shower! We quickly jumped ship and caught the next ferry. And let me tell you, when we got home and took a shower...it felt like the best shower I have ever had in my life! It was amazing! Spending time on a boat sure does make you appreciate the conveniences of home.

Originally we thought we would be home for five days and head back to the boat. That was three weeks ago now! :) One thing after the other happened to delay the trip - dad threw out his back, weather sucked, follow up doctor's appointments, etc...

So, for the past three weeks we have been thoroughly enjoying ourselves and the conveniences of our home! We have visited with friends, gone on a few bike rides, taken Roxy to parks, and used some Groupon's to go to the movies. And somewhere in between all of the fun I managed to convince Nick to get his wisdom teeth pulled! hee hee

It has taken me some time to adjust to living life without work, but now I am actually starting to enjoy it, realizing that I don't need to accomplish something everyday, and that there is so much more to life than work!

By the end of next week we should be boarding the boat again. I say "should" because you just never know! Planning a trip with my parents is always unpredictable as they live the retired life!

Thank you to all of our friends and family for following our blog and sending us kind messages. It is so nice to hear from everyone!

Photo's Wk 1 & 2

Sailing

Learning how to tie knots

The Captain

Boot's (Roxy's new friend) sailing

Nick out on a hike with Boot's & Roxy

With Mom in Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor w/ Louise & John

Day 1 of Sailing - just before the chaos started!

Wrapping up week 2 of our adventure!

Boy does time fly when you are having fun! Day 13 on the boat and it hardly feels like we have been on the boat for 2 weeks! We have had so many experiences in such a short amount of time! I am so grateful to have this opportunity as it really is an amazing experience. Not all of it has been fun, but if you look past the bad the good outweighs it!

Our first day of sailing 4/15 (my birthday), I thought would be a fabulous experience as we had planned to head to Friday Harbor to celebrate my 35th birthday. I was wrong! My dad decided to break out the military sailing instruction. With no training, tons of yelling, tears falling, and me thinking I have totally lost my mind...we eventually made it to Friday Harbor. Clearly the military style did not work!!! I would have thought that he knew it didn't work from my experience with him in Alaska on his fishing boat, but I guess he was having a good time watching the three of us try to sail a boat with no training! I was so happy when we made it to Friday Harbor!

The next morning my mom's roller skating friend Louise and her husband John invited us over to their house for breakfast. We had a fabulous breakfast with wonderful conversation! After breakfast, mom and I went shopping while the boys had beers at the 'Rumor Mill'. We got supplies and finished the night off with a few drinks at the American Legion. That was a good time! The bartender clearly noted our good time by stating "Sometimes driving is safer than walking" as we headed out the door. We all made it safely back to the boat, and woke up the next morning to head out once again!

There was less yelling this time, but it was clear that the three of us (mom, Nick, & myself) needed training! When someone is yelling sailing terms and you have NO idea what they mean it is really hard to react! We made it safely to Jones Island, and totally embarrassed my dad when we pulled up to the dock as none of us could tie off the boat correctly. That was when he finally clued in that we need training! We needed to know what things are called, how to tie knots, how to tie on the fenders, how to raise the sails, how to take down the sails, etc... We didn't know anything! We spent the remainder of the day learning how to tie up the boat, tie the fenders, tie knots, and general boat terminology. We stayed a couple of nights at Jones Island as the weather was beautiful and the island was a ton of fun.

After the second night we decided to venture out again and try to sail. Things were definitely better as we had somewhat of an idea what things were called, and how to put the sails up. The nightmare on this trip was trying to tie up to a mooring buoy. Nick and I had no training and my mom had a little bit of training. After missing the buoy the first time, we all clued into the fact that we had better get this right on the first time as it would make the experience so much more pleasant. Once we were all tied up and the anxiety was fading. My dad decided that he didn't like the spot and wanted us to move to another buoy! What???? So, we did it again and were successful on the first attempt! We spent two nights moored at Sucia Island.

After two nights in Sucia we attempted our fourth day of sailing to Stuart Island. The weather was beautiful, we were thoroughly enjoying ourselves...only one problem! No wind! A must on a sailboat! We drifted around for a bit and finally decided to motor the remainder of the way into Reid Harbor. No dock space meant tying up to a buoy! The anxiety started up again, but we were able to tie off successfully! We arrived to the Island a little earlier in the day so Nick and I decided to discover the island. We ended up going on an 4 mile hike to get to the other side of the island to see a lighthouse. We were so disappointed when we arrived as the Coast Guard had taken over the old fashioned lighthouse and turned it into a large pole with 8 huge camera's on it. So, we trekked the 4 miles back and were surprised with a crab dinner! It made our night after the disappointing walk to the lighthouse.

After one night at Reid Harbor we decided to move the boat over to the other side of the island. We were so excited to see that there was a space on the dock and we could practice our knots! We did pretty good tying up the boat! That night we ended up running out of water and had to break into our emergency water. So, we knew that would be our last night out and we would have to return to Orcas Island to fuel up, water up, food up, and shower up before heading out again.

The next morning we got up and started our trip back a little early due to the tides. We had a beautiful, but really cold sail back to Orcas. We stopped at Deer Harbor to gas up and get some lunch. I was thoroughly impressed with our docking skills as we managed to get the boat tied up with less critique!:) After getting gas we motored from Deer Harbor to our permanent mooring and have been in Orcas for the past couple of days.

Everyday things get a little easier, and I realize more and more how blessed we are to have this opportunity. It's not easy to learn how to sail, live on a 44ft boat with 4 people & 2 dogs, go days without a real shower (only baby wipe showers), and have very little alone time. Once you look past all of that, we have had some incredible experiences while we have been on this trip. We have had more blue skies than I think I've seen in the past 6 months, seen so many different types of wildlife, explored different islands, and laughed and laughed and laughed. I am so thankful for this opportunity!

I will post some photo's on the next blog as it looks like we will be on Orcas for a few more days getting ready for our next sailing adventure.