Back to Roche
09 July 2010 | Roche Harbor, WA
Stefan / Sunny and warm
We sailed and motored back to Roche and then the motor decided to conk out near Turn Point on Stuart Island. We were motor sailing in very idyllic conditions with some patches of wind but largley just a glassy Swanson Channel between the Penders and Stuart Island. The GPS was set the the customs dock at Roche and we were toying with all sails, dinghy's rode length etc to make us arrive by or before 8.00.
With 20 minutes to spare, the engine decided it wasn't ready to return to the San Juans or the US so protested accordingly. We sailed around 30 minutes at 3-4 knots but the math did not work out. After looking for any obvious sign of failure, we tried and the engine sputtered bag to life. We decided some fuel contamination or obstruction was responsible but it never materialized again. Math on...to the customs dock. We arrived with 5 minuts to spare and much to the annoyange to Customer Officer Morgan (?) who cleared us at the cost of our shriveled lemon and lime. Kids slept all the way to the dock.
Roche was pretty empty compared to the Mardi Gras atmosphere of the Fourth. We easily found dock space and stayed 2 days while enjoying the pool and the local restaurant.
We watched the retiring of the colors and Dylan though the cannon salute was very cool but Kai didn't :).
Liz and Bill Baxter - who we met up in Otter Bay and knew from home - met us back in Roche. Our kids played hard for hours in the large pool and then we all had dinner on the deck of Roche Harbor waterfront. We even leared to play Mexican train dominos and are now hooked.