# Mark and David's Winter Adventure



## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

OK... This isn't going to be the best trip report, because we don't have a camera with us, but after all, it's the middle of winter, so we figure the bar is set pretty low right now...

It's Winter Break and The Admiral








and Hope ( in pigtails, proudly wearing her Foulweather Bluff Race T-Shirt )









Are presently in Honduras working at an orphanage. So, Mark and I decided to take a local cruise this week. It's not supposed to rain all week, and mid-day temps are going up to the lower 50s, which is pretty good weather for Seattle this time of year.

So we loaded up the boat Monday night and slept aboard. It was in the 30s, but the space heater kept the boat reasonably comfortable.

We left at 9 in the morning, passing blt2ski's Amoretto. We expected to get the remains of a strong northerly, but would up with 5 knots on the nose, so we motored. We had hoped to stop by and see ArtByJody's boat Hello Georgeous, but she's at the yard getting new rigging.

We arrived at Bell Harbor marina Port of Seattle: Bell Harbor Marina around noon. The marina is right at the foot of downtown Seattle and is quite modern and nice. We're the only boat on the dock.

Bell Harbor is a great place to stay, since everything is so close. I'm looking out the windows of the boat right now at the beautiful nighttime Seattle skyline... Amazing!

We took a walk down the waterfront to a famous Seattle restaurant, Ivar's

I was a good skipper and let Mark order extra fries to throw at the seagulls.

YouTube - Seattle seagull french fry party (Not my video)

After that, we headed up to the famous Seattle Public Library, where we wandered about and spent some time with friendly librarians who showed Mark what microfilm was, and let him look at and touch a 400 year old book.

The downtown Seattle Library is an amazing piece of architecture and community resource.


























After the library, we walked to a video arcade and wore ourselves out. After another short walk, we fired up the famous Catalina BBQ and cooked hotdogs

Mark brought his trombone along and is serenading the marina.

A great first day!

Tomorrow, more Seattle.. Later, the circumnavigation of Bainbridge Island


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I have sailed the Puget sound and am in love with Friday Harbor, lived in Anacortes when I was young and learned to sail there, have fun and toast the mountain for me.....


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## AdamLein (Nov 6, 2007)

We had a brief but impressive view of Seattle on our shakedown cruise out of Port Orchard -- a marina I highly recommend if you're willing to go slightly out of your way on the Bainbridge Island trip.

Curious about a couple of things: one, what's Agate Pass like? I was thinking of taking that route but opted for the slightly longer but much wider direct route to the Sound. Two, what sort of space heater have you got? Not complaining about the little forced air heater we use, but our guests often get cold overnight and I'm not comfortable leaving the thing going full blast unattended.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Adam:

We just have a regular household space heater. It's one of the better ones, but I generally won't run it unattended. I leave it on low at night, otherwise it gets too dry in the boat..

Agate pass is short and easy. Maybe 1/4 mile. No real turbulence to speak of.. So, I don't pay much attention to it, and will just push through it during an adverse tide. I've never seen more than 3-1/2 knots there.

Rich Passage, as you know, is much longer and there are ferries to dodge.... I've been pretty successful finding back-eddies if opposing the current there.

I expect that we'll have an ebb tide when we head to Poulsbo, so, if I'm lazy, we'll skip the circumnavigation and ride the ebb to Agate Pass. 

David


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Worried about the Admiral*

Lori is looking rather attached to the orphans. Are you worried that she'll bring one home?


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## AjariBonten (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, great report. Nice to see what everyone is up to.

Your wife looks like she's having a great time in Honduras; and doing good work too, I expect.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

AjariBonten said:


> Your wife looks like she's having a great time in Honduras; and doing good work too, I expect.


I think so, too.. You can follow the trip here:
Hogar de Ninos Tierra Santa - Honduras

They are posting and blogging daily.

David


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Are you going to be home intime to race sunday? Looks like Sheryl will have the tiller on sunday, looks like I am working, if teaching ski lessons is working sat and sun?!?!?!

Off to Amoretto and see if the mast is straingt, not quite, off about 1/4-3/8" or there abouts at the top, ok in the middle.......mark some other stuff........


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Yep.. we plan to race... Hope will still be gone so I may be driving.. Look out!

David


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

A bit overcast/foggy this morning and cold... Showers at Bell Harbor are free, which is nice. We're still the only visiting boat on the dock.

Took the monorail







to the Seattle Center 
and visited the Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum.







The have some amazing real/simulated musical instruments there. I particularly enjoyed sitting on a 1960's era sofa and watching Hendrix perform "Red House"








YouTube - Jimi Hendrix- Red House
Mark played along to Nirvana's "Smells like Teen Spirit" on his electric guitar debut.

As a geek, I liked the SciFi museum. Liked the Lost In Space robot there (an original)









We had lunch at the Center House, I lost a game of giant checkers to Mark, and we saw a 3D movie at the Imax.

We're back on the boat settling down and planning the trip for tomorrow. A friend of Mark's will be joining us. The forecast calls for 10 knots out of the north and a weak ebb tide. If the boys are game, we should have a nice sail upwind through Agate Pass








to Liberty Bay







, and the town of Poulsbo,








our next destination.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

Doh! I used to get to stay up late on the nights that "Lost in space" was on. So have you worn out your shoes yet, or is the public transportation pretty good down there?


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## AjariBonten (Sep 7, 2007)

erps said:


> Doh! I used to get to stay up late on the nights that "Lost in space" was on. So have you worn out your shoes yet, or is the public transportation pretty good down there?


I cried when they put BatMan on opposite Lost In Space!

We must be about the same age.


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## erps (Aug 2, 2006)

> We must be about the same age.


That age when the phrase "remember when" starts creeping into all the conversations?

I think the phrase that identifies the guys a little a head of us is "now what was I talking about?"


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## AjariBonten (Sep 7, 2007)

LOL, so true.

By the way, you guys live in Heaven up there!


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Well.. I don't remember them putting Batman on opposite Lost in Space, but I do remember being very excited when Batman premiered. (I'm 46)

A couple of years ago, I NetFlixed the entire Lost in Space series and forced the family to watch them.

They weren't impressed. They did enjoy the early episodes when Dr. Smith was evil and not a goofball.

I had heard that a Jupiter II model was at the museum, but it was not to be. Just the saucer from The Day The Earth Stood Still.


Ray: Yes, transportation is good here. We never walked much more than a mile to anything. Buses and the Monorail took care of the longer trips. The marina is really in a perfect place for a Seattle urban adventure

David


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

As an avowed fan of Seattle and the Pacific North West (even though I have never been there) this is turning into a really interesting thread. 

Thanks.

ps - we didn't get our first TV set until around 1965. Lost in Space was on at 6.30 and although I always thought it was a load of hooey I watched it every week without fail. Smith was most definitely better when he was being a right nasty bit of work. From memory Mr Ed also shared that timeslot. Dr Who another night and maybe F Troop the fourth. Friday night for some reason was a gardening program. In case you are wondering why 6.30 was so important to me, at 7.00 was the news, 7.30 a current affairs program and it was turned off at 8.00. Damn that was a long time ago.


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

That photo of the Space needle - looks like it is ready to launch - maybe there is more to it than it being a rotating saucer on a stick after all! Glad your son and yourself are enjoying - perfect weather for sight-seeing downtown the past few days at least. I am still on the sticks until next week.... (Jody is not happy about that as I was supposed to be splashed yesterday)....

At any rate - have fun on the remaining legs of the trip (weather should be excellent) and thanks for the call...

Cheers...


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

You're not a real local unless you remember getting up at 7 to watch JP patches, or watching him after school, unless of course you remember Brakeman bill, NW Exploration or some, Ivar singing on Sam Borreson with nomo the basset hound. Always wanted one after that!

I do remember Batman coming on, Flinstones, Lost in space a bit, mom would not let me watch that one...........Of course there was Vptn kangaroo, Sesame street from the get go at lunchtime at school...............


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

Did he make it to Poulsbo? Did they sink? Or did they make it to another place? ............ a tune in the brain.........uh oh!.......

.......here on Gilligan's Isle!.........

Okay, enough of that baloney!

WInd forecast for next 5 days.......

COASTAL WATERS FORECAST FOR WASHINGTON
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
857 AM PST FRI FEB 20 2009
INLAND WATERS OF WESTERN WASHINGTON AND THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL
WASHINGTON COASTAL WATERS
PZZ135-202330-
PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL-
857 AM PST FRI FEB 20 2009

*TODAY*
N WIND 10 KT OR LESS. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS. AREAS OF
FOG THIS MORNING.

*TONIGHT*
LIGHT WIND. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.

*SAT*
LIGHT WIND BECOMING N 10 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES
1 FT OR LESS.

*SAT NIGHT*
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.

*SUN*
SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.

*MON*
S WIND 10 TO 15 KT RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR
2 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT.

*TUE*
S WIND 15 TO 25 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2
TO 4 FT SUBSIDING TO 1 OR 2 FT.

Good week to be out, some wind, no rain, sunny..........oooops......... need to correct that per CW rag that came yesterday reporting on the Perry roudezvous at Port Ludlow............. IT ALWAYS rains in the NW!.........


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Thursday was another beautiful day, with the fog clearing by mid-morning. Mark's friend Nathan and his family arrived to drop him off for the return leg of the voyage. We took the family out for a short spin around the bay and let everyone have the helm for a bit.

The crew was less impressed when I pointed out to them that the Coast Guard boats near us had a machine gun mounted on the bow.
















These boats are used for ferry escorts, and will "stand you down" and stay between you and the ferries, even when you are well beyond the minimum distance of 100 yards. It's a bit unnerving at times.

We dropped the extra crew off and proceeded with just the three of us. Winds were predicted to be 10 - 15 knots from the north. We intended to beat up the main channel of Puget Sound, taking advantage of the ebb tide, and head south around Bainbridge Island through Agate Pass. The winds were about 10 knots in Elliott Bay, and every bit of 15 knots in the main channel, with waves running 1 to 3 feet.

We put Nathan at the helm. The distressed look on his face as the wind and waves picked up made the decision to fall off and go "inside" through Rich Passage easy. We had a smoking fast reach across the Sound, and headed north to Poulsbo









The waters we passed through have been used for torpedo testing since WWII, and the Keyport Naval Installation is and interesting sight, although annoying at times since they require boats to slow to 3 knots when passing by.

There is a naval undersea museum there. We've never taken the time to stop and see.
Naval Undersea Museum - Keyport, Washington

We entered the marina around 3:30 PM, which was a bit late for the Marine Science Center, Poulsbo Marine Science Center so we decided to visit there in the morning. Mark and Nathan explored the town while I checked out the other boats on the dock.

Several years ago the town of Poulsbo decided to dedicate 30% of their moorage to transient boaters. Their rates have historically been low, the dock is in good shape and the marina staff are friendly and helpful. Prices have come up quite a bit (our 30' boat was $25.50, including electric), but it's still a good deal and a nice stop.

There is a small liveaboard community in Poulsbo, that anchors in the shallow waters of Liberty Bay. During the winter, they take refuge at the guest docks. There's quite a collection of boats there. Some derelicts, and some in nice shape. I was happy to discover that we had moored next to new Sailnetter FindTheJake and his very nice Lancer 30: his new home.

We fired up the faithful BBQ and had hamburgers for dinner


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Friday dawned foggy and cold, with frost on the boat and docks. The boys slept in and we all headed to the Marine Science Center that opened at 11:00 AM

The science center is small, but nice, with a friendly volunteer staff. We spent about and hour there.

We left the dock at 12:30 in now-clear skies and no wind. We motored back, with Nathan at the helm again, and arrived in our slip tired and happy at around 3:00 PM

While this wasn't the world's biggest sailing adventure, it was a lot of fun and good to spend time with Mark. We all had a great time, and it was an extra bonus to introduce Nathan to the joys of winter cruising in Puget Sound.

Thanks for traveling with us.

David


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

southernwind said:


> toast the mountain for me.....


Southernwind is referring to Mount Rainier, which was showing nicely with a lenticular cloud at the peak. Nice views of Mt. Baker as well.

We toasted the mountain for you, southernwind.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

tdw said:


> As an avowed fan of Seattle and the Pacific North West (even though I have never been there)


So, Fuzzy/Bruce: why don't you come and visit? We'll take you sailing.

David


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Just picked The Admiral and Hope up at the airport.

They are tired but happy.

Good to have the whole crew back.

David


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