Blessed Lady

This is the cruising blog of the sailing yacht Mabrouka. The Favorites in the side bar allow those with discriminating taste to filter for just the stuff you want to read. Thanks for visiting, Roy.

13 September 2015
21 August 2015
21 August 2015
20 June 2015 | Marina Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico
15 June 2015 | Marina Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico
15 June 2015 | Marina Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico
15 June 2015 | Mazatlan Marina, Mazatlan Mexico
13 April 2015 | Off Club Nautico, Mazatlan Commercial Harbor, Mazatlan, MX
15 February 2015 | Marina Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico
13 February 2015 | Marina Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico
25 January 2015
06 January 2015 | Mazatlan, MX
24 December 2014 | Marina Mazatlan, Mazatlan, Mexico
24 December 2014 | Mazatlan, MX
22 December 2014
21 December 2014
18 December 2014 | Playa Isla de la Piedra, Mazatlan, MX
18 December 2014 | Mazatlan, MX
15 December 2014 | Ensenada des los Muertos, Mexico

Another day on Roscoe Bay (back-dated from 09/23)

19 September 2013 | Roscoe Bay on West Redonda Island in Desolation Sound, Canada
Roy
Again, anxious to explore for remnants of homesteading evidence on Roscoe Bay, I launched the kayak for a paddle around and then to the trailhead up to adjacent Black Lake. Setting off toward the mouth of the bay, I paddled clockwise past the shallow entrance, then back along the southern shore past constellations of purple and orange sea stars and rampaging brown herds of urchins. As in the several preceding anchorages, the water was filled with clouds of sea jellies as well.

Evidence of human labors

The short trail up to Black Lake sloped upward only gently as it ushered the fresh-water stream through the woods. Rusted machinery and log constructions shoring up the side of the stream paid testament to some extremely industrious enterprise that had once imposed itself upon nature here. This evidence looked too ambitious to have been of Carl Christiansen's attempts to tame his land claim, so I assume instead that it was of the logging operations that harvested the trees on the surrounding hills during that same period in the late 20s and early 30s.

Man isn't the only aggressor in these woods

Although the trail along the stream and back through the woods on the northern side of the lake inspired more fungus photos, it did not lead to any more naked swimming. There is a hike to the top of Llanover Mountain that's renown for its panoramic views over Desolation Sound, but I hadn't planned properly to incorporate it in the day, so returned to the boat and made a project of repainting my boat hook a cheery bright red. I had swapped my copy of a Lee Childs mystery for John LeCarre's The Constant Gardener with my brief neighbor in Laura Cove, and that commanded my attention for most of the day. What a life.

Tree on a log in a lake
Comments
Vessel Name: Mabrouka
Vessel Make/Model: CT-41
Hailing Port: Seattle, WA
Crew: Roy Neyman
About:
Mabrouka and I have been partners in crime since October 1998, hanging about in West Coast waters, first in San Diego, then in Seattle. All of that time we've lived together aboard. [...]
Extra:
I've called this blog "Blessed Lady" because that's my preferred translation from Arabic for "Mabrouka". She's a 1980 CT-41, one of several clones of the original Bill Garden design Mariner ketches. At 50 feet from the tip of her mizzen boom to the tip of her bow sprit, she's 16 tons of [...]
Mabrouka's Photos - Main
Photos 1 to 10 of 10
1
On the streets of Freemont
Street art edited.
Elvis the stuffed cat is a memento of my daughters at the age of about 5.  The peace sign was a gift from good friend, Karyn Borcich.  Thanks to both!
This is Swan as I knew him, though in a more rugged environment than we ever shared.  We usually met at the coffee shop or at Voula
This is of Swan as I would also like to have known him, ...cigarettes, cameras and wine.
This is Steve hosting our Elliott Bay Design Group company picnic at his vacation home in Darington.
I never went fishing with Steve, although he let me try out his fly casting rig in the river by his house during one of the company picnics he hosted.  I
The winter slip on Lake Union
Temporary raft up with Molly Bella near my old slip at Stimson Marina
 
1
This album shares photos from mainland and Baja Mexico.
1 Photo | 3 Sub-Albums
Created 1 March 2015
The beginning of the South Pacific cruise, heading to San Diego and Mexico
1 Photo | 6 Sub-Albums
Created 15 August 2014
Killing time with local sailing and projects before heading south with the Coho Ho Ho cruiser's rally
56 Photos
Created 29 June 2014
Kathy and Karyn (with a "Y") used me as an excuse for a party. I was just fine with that!
25 Photos
Created 31 May 2014
On Lake Union where Mabrouka and I spent the winter
20 Photos
Created 31 May 2014
Shakedown cruise to Port Townsend
7 Photos
Created 25 May 2014
Gunkholing in the Seattle area, with me and Mabrouka getting our sea legs back under us.
50 Photos | 28 Sub-Albums
Created 14 April 2013
Custom made sailing skiff hand-built by NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding in Port Hadlock, WA
18 Photos
Created 21 March 2013
Pre-retirement cruising pics
27 Photos
Created 21 March 2013
Photos accompanying Projects blogs.
43 Photos | 1 Sub-Album
Created 12 March 2013