Mike and Beth's Adventures

Back On The Water Again! I'm back on the water again Out where a fish is a friend And the Orcas jump and play while the Humpbacks splash and spray I'm back on the water again. Ridin' the waves once more Where the rocks do line the shore And the winds do often roar Back on the water again Whoopi-ty-aye-oh Rockin' to and fro Back on the water again Whoopi-ty-aye-yay I go my way Back on the water again Port of Kingston We launched the boat at Kingston Washington and spent a two days getting her sea ready.  This entailed laying in the required stores, setting up all the systems and verifying proper operation as well as stashing the truck and trailer in their storage spots for the duration of our Pacific Northwest cruise.  It all came together.  It sure felt good to cast off the lines and head out on Puget Sound.   Sea Scouts Returning from Cruise Almost immediately we spotted a friend on AIS. (AIS is a system which tracks and displays other vessels on your chart plo...

Cruising the azure waters of British Columbia is to bear witness to the awesome beauty of nature.  On a calm day the sea mirrors the sky and provides a perfect framing for the snow capped mountains, the vast forests whose towering trees stand straight and tall, and the harsh rocky shores along which the wild life searches for their next meal.  Visitors must be self reliant and well prepared to survive and enjoy their visit as it demands you be at the top of your game to survive the strong currents, rocky shoals, navigation challenges, scarce services, and wind and weather.  For boaters, it is the ultimate skills challenge.  The reward is the opportunity to immerse yourself in rugged beauty that is accessible if you are willing to accept the challenge. We waited for 4 days for weather suitable for crossing the Strait of Georgia from Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island,  to Secret Cove, on the mainland.  If you are lucky, you may encounter a calm day to cross. ...

Our ramblings this last week have included celebrating Canada Day in Ladysmith and then returning to the shelter of Newcastle Island to wait for a weather window to cross the Strait of Georgia.  This wait lasted 4 days as the wind made a passage untenable.  On the day we departed Ladysmith we could see that an extended wind event was arriving.  Our hope was we could sneak across the Strait before it built to a nasty level.  Our hope were dashed within the first mile of poking our nose out into the Strait.  It was one of our first warm days of summer so we left the skylights in the cabin roof open.  We did close the one on the top of the vee-berth.  We could see white caps out in the Strait, but thought we could use a technique where we pick up our speed and skim along their tops.  Wrong!  Didn't work this time.  The wave height and interval resulted in Amy Marie burying her bow and sending water over the top of the cabin, creating a love...