Puget Sound Sailing

Vessel Name: Jollygood!
Vessel Make/Model: 1979 Cal 31 Hull #59
Hailing Port: Olympia
Crew: Bob and Diane
17 September 2009 | Fort Flagler then home
16 September 2009 | Dawn in San Juan Channel
15 September 2009 | Customs is not happy we stopped
14 September 2009 | Wallace to Ganges to Stuart Island
13 September 2009 | Jollygood sign with 9-11-09
12 September 2009 | Ganges and off to Wallace Island
11 September 2009 | Portland Island to Ganges
10 September 2009 | Portland Island to Fulford Harbor
09 September 2009 | To Sidney and up the mast
08 September 2009 | Repair stop at Roche Harbor
07 September 2009 | Across thed Straits of Juan deFuca
06 September 2009 | Mystery Bay, Marrowstone Island
05 September 2009 | enroute to Port Townsend, Day 1
14 September 2008
11 September 2008
11 September 2008
11 September 2008
11 September 2008
07 September 2008
Recent Blog Posts
17 September 2009 | Fort Flagler then home

Jollygood Adventures 2009

After a great hike around Fort Flagler and inspection of some of the fortifications we untie from the dock. The current can be very strong where we had docked so we leave at slack low tide. We gingerly make our way out the snaking channel generally with about 16 feet of water beneath us. But at one [...]

16 September 2009 | Dawn in San Juan Channel

Jollygood Adventures 2009

Dawn in San Juan Channel, heading south with the current is pushing us at about 8 knots, then out of the San Juan's, through Cattle Pass and into Haro Straight. It is dead calm so we have to run the diesel. This is the kind of day you appreciate as you make the 5 hour crossing south toward Port Townsend [...]

15 September 2009 | Customs is not happy we stopped

Jollygood Adventures 2009

Turn Island, Friday Harbor

14 September 2009 | Wallace to Ganges to Stuart Island

Jollygood Adventures 2009

We leave early with the ebb tide and stop into Ganges to pick up some supplies and have a great lunch at Bruce's Kitchen. A really neat organic restaurant in the string of buildings along side the city park. Soup and quesadillas on a overcast day. We head south down Swanson Channel on a reach with [...]

13 September 2009 | Jollygood sign with 9-11-09

Jollygood Adventures 2009

Princess Cove - Wallace Island. We hike to the cabin with all the boat signs and retrieve our sign from last year so we can paint on this years date. Of course I have lost track of time since I haven't had to worry about tides and currents and end up putting the wrong date on the sign, but close enough for a marine Park in a foreign country. Later that day we kayak several miles to Conover Bay and re-hang the sign. Another wonderful bar-b-que followed by a gorgeous night. It is now time to talk about our schedule to get home. We do some calculations, evaluate the satisfaction we have so far garnered from this trip and decide this is far North as we go this year. Pirate's Cove, Telegraph Harbor, exciting Dodd narrows and the great town of Nanaimo will have to wait until next year. Tomorrow we head south.

12 September 2009 | Ganges and off to Wallace Island

Jollygood Adventures 2009

Saturday morning starts with a $3.00 shower and a walk to the Saturday Market. We don't need a whole lot of supplies so we grab a bratwurst with sauerkraut and look around awhile. We buy diesel and ice from the Ganges Marina and make our way out of the harbor and naavigate around about 50 scattered crab pots and into Trincomali Channel on the west side of Galiano Island. With no wind we have to motor uneventfully to our next destination - Princess Cove at Wallace Island Marine Park. We find a spot between another sailboat and a 50 foot trawler with kayaks scattered all over the deck. We anchor and work our way back toward the cliff where we get ourselves stern tied after a little bit of excitement. We settle down for two full days of relaxation, hiking and kayaking.

Jollygood Adventures 2009

17 September 2009 | Fort Flagler then home
After a great hike around Fort Flagler and inspection of some of the fortifications we untie from the dock. The current can be very strong where we had docked so we leave at slack low tide. We gingerly make our way out the snaking channel generally with about 16 feet of water beneath us. But at one point we read 8 feet on our depth gauge, and with 5 feet of draft that's cutting it a little close. We make it out safely and turn East and then south into Admiralty Inlet and into Puget Sound. We have the tide with us but the wind in our face. We have all day to get back to the Shilshole Marina where the adventure started so we cut the engine and tacked for two hours toward Seattle until the wind died and it was time to turn on the dependable "iron wind" once again. We have an uneventful (this time thank goodness) crossing to the marina, hail the marina on the radio late in the afternoon and receive a guest slip number for our brief two-day stay. Being in on Thursday night will allow us to unload all of our stuff to take home before I have to single-hand the boat back down to our slip in Olympia about 12 hours away. Diane can't come with as she has a sea kayak trip on Diablo Lake with her book club on Saturday.

We slowly begin to come down from the excitement of the vacation and both wish we didn't have to return to Olympia, as much as we like it down there. We decide then and there to try and find a slip in Shilshole Bay Marina. We pay $50 to get on a waiting list but we are 23rd for our size slip. I am starting to begin plotting my course for my trip back to Olympia when I see a sign for subleasing slip space. I call the number and within minutes Jollygood has a new home in I-46. We are so jazzed that it was the icing on the cake. Our trip, while a learning experience, once again was everything we wanted and now we could look forward to having the boat within 15 miles of home. Monday night races....here we come!

Jollygood Adventures 2009

16 September 2009 | Dawn in San Juan Channel
Dawn in San Juan Channel, heading south with the current is pushing us at about 8 knots, then out of the San Juan's, through Cattle Pass and into Haro Straight. It is dead calm so we have to run the diesel. This is the kind of day you appreciate as you make the 5 hour crossing south toward Port Townsend with Japan off on your starboard side. Once there we stop once again at Boat Haven and after going through the "pump out" routine, we get showers and go shopping for a "For Sale" sign for Diane's brother, Mike's Alberg 37. It is in the Boat Haven Marina and he has decided to sell it.

That chore done we push off as the wind starts to pick up. We sail to Marrowstone Island with only the jib out and the wind to our back. Diane is on the internet catching up on things. It was a quiet and pleasant crossing. As we serpetine into the bay we see a space at the dock to Fort Flagler, turned around, and grabbed it. We are settled in, Diane is on a call with her sister determining where the next "Carlson summit" will be held in Coeur d'Alene and I am finally catching up on my cruising log. Tomorrow we plan on hiking around the old fort before we leave about 11:00 to once again catch the right tide to carry us south to Seattle.

Jollygood Adventures 2009

15 September 2009 | Customs is not happy we stopped
Turn Island, Friday Harbor
The trip today from Stuart Island to Friday Harbor and Customs lasted about 3 hours as much of it was against the current in the San Juan Channel. We saw a large sea lion that must have been 12 feet long but no more whales today. We tied up at the Customs slip and picked up the wall phone to check in. We were scolded for staying the night at Stuart Island and not coming to Customs directly. That is a bad no-no as that is what the drug runners coming in from Canada do. But they let us off with a warning and a very valuable lesson learned. They are serious about security up here. Frankly I think they let us go because no self-respecting drug runner is going to tell them they STOPPED AT STUART ISLAND for the night!

We spend three hours at the guest dock which allowed us to do a load of laundry, get some great burgers at Herb's Tavern, and Diane went up to the UW Extension at Friday Harbor Laboratories to discuss our whale sighting with one of the folks she met at Roche Harbor during our stop there. We pushed off after one more stop at the market for ice and headed 30 minutes away toward Turn Island, where we had stayed on our first night in the San Juans. Unfortunately, as we approached we saw that all three of the mooring buoys were taken but as we got closer one of the captains hailed us that he was leaving so we were able to tuck into Turn Island for the evening with plans for an early start Wednesday morning with the ebb tide.

Jollygood Adventures 2009

14 September 2009 | Wallace to Ganges to Stuart Island
We leave early with the ebb tide and stop into Ganges to pick up some supplies and have a great lunch at Bruce's Kitchen. A really neat organic restaurant in the string of buildings along side the city park. Soup and quesadillas on a overcast day. We head south down Swanson Channel on a reach with both sails out until we get to the end of the channel when the wind come right into our face and we end up tacking back and forth for awhile for the fun of it and because that's sailing.

The wind let's up just as we reach the end of Pender Island and have to cross Boundary Pass so we pull in the sails and motor across. As we approach Stuart island we are startled as an Orca blows about 50 feet from the boat. We stop the engine (one of the rules for whale watching) and drift as perhaps a dozen Orcas swam nearby. Some spy-hopping, or pushing their heads up out of the water for a quick view at their surroundings. It was an absolute blast. I took many photos but of course got none of the ones that surfaced right next to the boat (I was too slack-jawed), or spy-hopping (I was looking the other way). We watched the parade and saw whale spouts coming up almost all the way across Boundary Pass. It must have been a very large pod. They finally swam far enough out of view that we started the engine again. We knew we couldn't get to Friday Harbor at this point so we dropped into Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island for the evening. Found a nice place to drop the hook and excitedly downloaded the whale photos to the lap top to re-live the experience. Another nice dinner, some wine and a great nights sleep.

Jollygood Adventures 2009

13 September 2009 | Jollygood sign with 9-11-09
Princess Cove - Wallace Island. We hike to the cabin with all the boat signs and retrieve our sign from last year so we can paint on this years date. Of course I have lost track of time since I haven't had to worry about tides and currents and end up putting the wrong date on the sign, but close enough for a marine Park in a foreign country. Later that day we kayak several miles to Conover Bay and re-hang the sign. Another wonderful bar-b-que followed by a gorgeous night. It is now time to talk about our schedule to get home. We do some calculations, evaluate the satisfaction we have so far garnered from this trip and decide this is far North as we go this year. Pirate's Cove, Telegraph Harbor, exciting Dodd narrows and the great town of Nanaimo will have to wait until next year. Tomorrow we head south.

Jollygood Adventures 2009

12 September 2009 | Ganges and off to Wallace Island
Saturday morning starts with a $3.00 shower and a walk to the Saturday Market. We don't need a whole lot of supplies so we grab a bratwurst with sauerkraut and look around awhile. We buy diesel and ice from the Ganges Marina and make our way out of the harbor and naavigate around about 50 scattered crab pots and into Trincomali Channel on the west side of Galiano Island. With no wind we have to motor uneventfully to our next destination - Princess Cove at Wallace Island Marine Park. We find a spot between another sailboat and a 50 foot trawler with kayaks scattered all over the deck. We anchor and work our way back toward the cliff where we get ourselves stern tied after a little bit of excitement. We settle down for two full days of relaxation, hiking and kayaking.

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