Another great day...week on the water

Well I can safely say this has been a very nice vacation. I got to play around with all my new rigging and sails quite a bit. Went a couple places I had never gone before and did something I don't want to do again!
We stayed a few days in Pt Hudson. I always like staying there but this time I was a little annoyed at the overabundance of starlings as well as the usual flock of seagulls. To make matters worse they were eating some sort of purple fruit with seeds which they proceeded to poop out on my boat!
Nevertheless we had a nice stay. I rigged the dinghy and took it out into the bay a few times. Pt. Townsend bay has lovely winds and it was quite fun to stretch the dinghy's legs a bit. A little exciting at times too! The harbor entrance was a little tricky and sailing straight upwind to Attitudes to get back was a challenge but neither one of us had to resort to oars to get in. Our last day at Pt Hudson we flipped a coin so to speak to stay or go. Turned out they did have a spot for us but we would need to move the boat. Well if I was going to untie her I was going to go someplace else, not just another slip. Choice made!

So off we went making the decision at about Pt Wilson to head over to Sequim Bay. I have never taking a boat there although at one point Attitudes' was signed up for moorage there. We had driven up and eaten at the lovely Dockside Grill there so were looking forward to that. On the way over we went by Protection Island and saw the young seals and lots of birds. I have been a little disappointed this trip by the lack of Rhinoceros Auklet sightings but we have seen all types of other cute seabirds. Sequim Bay was not too tricky getting in. Just watch the buoys and look at your chart. Having GPS is nice also. I did have a little trouble with a couple of the last buoys I needed. I could only find 1! I did see a coast guard boat ahead and about on course so figured the water was ok there. Turns out the coast guard was doing buoy maintenance, they dropped the buoy back in the water just as I came by! Getting in to the Marina was only tricky in that as I lined up to come in to the small oval marina I realized I had quite a cross current at the entrance. I had to pick up speed a bit more than usual to make my way in. Once inside we had the transient area all to ourselves. We made reservations for dinner and settled in for a nice relaxing stay. I found at this point that I really wanted nothing more than some long naps so signed up for two nights. In fact we ended up staying a third we enjoyed it so much! We found John Wayne Marina very peaceful even with a busy boat launch ramp.
All things must come to an end though and we finally decided to head out again. On the way out I decided we were so close to Dungeness Spit that we should run up and look at the lighthouse and see what wildlife was about. NOAA was promising small craft winds so I figured we could sail after visiting the spit. We went up and poked around, took pictures and then I put the sails up and headed east hoping that the 2 knot wind would pick up. On the way I flipped another proverbial coin and decided to stay on the south side of the Straits. The wind didn't really pick up but there was enough to keep us moving and I enjoyed sitting in the sun listening to the birds with salmon jumping all around me and even the sound of whale surfacing. I only managed to catch sight of one at it but that at least let me know I wasn't hearing things! Eventually the wind died altogether ( even though the coast guard was still announcing small craft advisories where we were.) so off we went under power into Pt. Townsend. This was the first day of the three day weekend so of course every inch of dock space and anchorage was in use. I've never really felt great about anchorage at Pt. Townsend anyway so just as the sun was going down I made the decision to go into Mystery bay between Indian and Marrowstone Island. Doing that route after dark is not an experience I want to repeat! None of the markings are lighted so it was a strain to find each one. I went in mostly under iPad navigation with Sinan watching the depth. We made it without going aground and even made it into Mystery bay without hitting anyone else anchored there or hooking a crab pot. I had never been in there so was pretty conservative anchoring and didn't try to get inside too far. Also put out quite a bit of chain while Sinan backed it down. I somewhat regretted this the next morning while hoisting all that chain (item on wish list: electric windlass). I would recommend the little bay, there are a number of park buoys and it was quite dark and quiet. Although just as we finished anchoring a chorus of coyotes started up! I would recommend going in during daylight!
Now on the home stretch we pushed out of Pt. Townsend Bay under sail in a nice breeze. Unfortunately the current was hard against us. I first went out in order to take a freighter wake headfirst ending up taking it in the middle of the tide rips. At least we got the rest of the anchor muck washed off the deck! We then fought our way towards shore where I was hoping for some current relief. We were flying through the water on a nice broad reach but we were not making very good headway over the ground. No matter once we got close to shore our SOG picked up and we had a pleasant sail. I had tweaked my neck and shoulder hoisting anchor that morning and was getting a little tired from all the downwind running in the tide rips. Plus I just didn't want to go home yet! I called Pt Ludlow on the off chance that they had a spot for us even though it was the middle of the holiday weekend. In fact they did! I pointed slightly more to the west and headed in to ice cream bars and free showers!
So today puttering along in a non existent breeze, current still against us, I am confident we will be in to our slip at Shilshole tonight. A little sad to be going home but I have a bunch of things I want to tweak on the boat at the dock now. Looking forward to a barbecue/ clean up evening on board and maybe even some adventuring on land.
Cheers!
Linda
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