We have returned home!! It sure felt good to round the end of the breakwater, pass by Stearn's wharf, and turn into Santa Barbara Harbor.
The last entry was from Anacortes, and we have traveled many miles since then. Lynel flew back to Santa Barbara, then met us later in Santa Cruz. After provisioning and attending to last minute details, Mike Wapner and I left Anacortes Wednesday afternoon, September 1. We stopped overnight in Port Angeles, then made our true departure from there at dawn on the second.
The trip down the Washington and Oregon coast was long, with 6 to 8 foot following seas and winds as high as 28 knots. As we listened to the weather projections on Friday evening, it seemed clear that the gale warning for the Cape Mendocinp area was going to persist for several days. Since our schedule was somewhat flexible, we decided to put into Coos Bay, where we got a temporary slip in the Charlston Marina.
On Sunday, 9/5, we walked from Charlston into Coos Bay. Had a great cheeseburger, looked around the town, then took a cab back to the boat.
We left Coos Bay at dark on 9/6. Conditions were good around Point Blanco and Cape Mendocino, as well as Point Arena and Point Reyes. Saw several humpback whales along the way, and had a great view of the Farralon Islands as we crossed the shipping lanes off San Francisco. We arrived at Santa Cruz at 0330 on 9/9, and stayed on the fuel dock until being assigned to D dock side tie.
Lynel arrived later on 9/9, and we had a great two day visit with Kathy, Steve, and Tyler. Tyler and I went kayaking together in one of our new pedal kayaks, we had pizza, then Grandma and Grandpa had the opportunity to babysit for an evening.
Lynel, Mike and I left Santa Cruz on 9/11 at 0645. The trip down the California coast was quiet, foggy at times, and very smooth We rounded Point Conception at dawn, and were tied to the city dock at Santa Barbara by 1245 on 9/13.
This completes a major adventure for us Thankfully we were always safe, and our floating home kept us secure We have decided to pause in our cruising plans while we make time for grandchildren, elderly parents, and probably some work assignments. Happily we were able to sublet a slip in Santa Barbara for a year, so our home base will truly be home. Next year we hope to resume our journey south, eventually ending up on the Intracostal Waterway of the east coast.
Postings to this blog will only be intermittent, perhaps descibing some of our cruising in our familiar home grounds, as well as anything else that comes to mind. Again, a hearty thanks to everyone who followed along this last summer!!

This marks the end of our Alaskan adventure, but the memories will last a lifetime. I set the knot log to zero when we were at the Longview yacht club dock in April, and it now shows 2,950 nautical miles. Adding the distance from Portland, this brings our total trip mileage to almost exactly 3,000. That's a lot of time at 8 knots! We put 383 hours on the engine and burned a total of 1,460 gallons of diesel fuel. The total fuel included a lot of heater run time as well as generator time, so overall not bad.
We have been preparing the boat for the offshore passage to California. Mike Wapner will arrive today, and Lynel will fly home tomorrow, 9/1.
Mike and I will be watching the weather patterns for our opportunity to head out. Today would not be good with winds here in the marina to 33 knots and a driving rain. Thursday might work, but we will see. The plan will be to run far enough off shore to avoid all crab traps. If the weather is good, we may run straight from Anacortes to Santa Cruz (about 5 and a half days), but if things turn bad we will put in to rest. The plan is to stay in Santa Cruz for several days of "grandson time". Lynel will join us there for the trip to Santa Barbara, where we hope to arrive about 9/15.
Many thanks to everyone who has followed along on this adventure. We have much appreciated the posted comments since it gives us a tie to both Santa Barbara and to our many friends in Longview. Once we are south, I'll try to post again with a recap of the long and hopefully boring trip down the coast.

We have arrived in Anacortes, Washington. To recount the last week:
On the 20th we had a quiet and easy trip through the Canadian gulf islands and across Haro Strait to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. It seemed to just feel good to be back in the US. However, the customs clearance dock at Roche was truly working on government time - it looked like it was going to take up to two hours to clear. We decided to go on to Friday Harbor where we cleared back into the US and anchored near Brown Island.
The 21st was a day in Friday Harbor shopping and relaxing. On the way back to the dinghy we stopped by Friday Harbor Marine Center, and on a whim took a demo paddle in one of the new Hobie inflatable footpedal kayaks. What a remarkable invention! Although not budgeted or planned for, we went ahead and bought two of the kayaks since the end of season price was right. When we get back to California we will need to sell the two Ocean kayaks we now have. The night was windy.
The next day we visited once more in Friday Harbor, then went on to Reid Harbor at Stuart Island. This is one of our favorite places, and we settled into an ideal anchorage location.
The weather turned sunny and warm, the scenery was remarkable, and the full moon on the water was unforgettable. We saw no reason to move, so we stayed until 8/26. We used the new kayaks multiple times, discovering that they work well and provide lots of leg exercise. We hiked the 6 mile trip out to Turn Point and back, andgenerally just relaxed. On 8/26 we came on into Cap Sante Boat Haven in Anacortes.

From Montague we came over to Madrona Bay near Ganges, a quaint town on Saltspring Island. Shopping, touring, and of course gelato occupied the afternoon. The weather has remained good, so at least Anne-Marie and Grant have been able to experience some of the best cruising in this area.
On the 16th we went over to Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island. Had a great lunch at the Poet's Cove Resort, then took the dinghy through the Pender canal to Port Browning. We went to Sydney Spit marine park on the 17th and had a long walk on the trails of the island. A herd of English deer ran across the trail ahead of us, a reminder of the era 100 years ago when the aristocracy of Victoria stocked the island as a private hunting reserve.
We came back to Ganges on the 18th, where Anne-Marie and Grant took a float plane back to Seattle for the trip home to Santa Barbara.
Today, the 19th, Lynel and I did some shopping and boat cleaning. Two mega yachts tied to the outside of the breakwater. It was interesting to see the crew wearing white shirts and shorts, black ties, and gold braid on their shoulders. They all had communication earpieces and other hand held radios. The chef sent several crew members ashore for fresh fruits and vegetables. Ah, but are the owners really happy people??
We've decided that tomorrow we will clear customs at Roche Harbor and spend the next week in the San Juan Islands

On the 11th we stayed at Von Donop inlet on Cortes Island. This is a beautiful land locked cove where Lynel and Anne-Marie kayaked, and we all went ashore for a hike to Squirrel Cove. The weather has been wonderful, with warm temperatures and clear skies (except for some smoke from forest fires inland).
On the 12th we moved on to Desolation Sound where the scenery is truly stunniing. Prideaux Haven was packed with over 100 boats, but right next door in Everleigh Cove there was no one. Easy choice and a good decision to stay away from the crowd.
On the 13th we moved on to Buccaneer Bay on Thormanby Island. The water was 71 degrees, so we went swimming!!
The 14th was our passage across the Strait of Georgia, through Active Pass, and on to Montague Harbor. To our surprize, Montague was not at all crowded. After anchoring, we first visited the Bakery Boat to buy fresh bread, pie, muffins, and brownies. The Bakery Boat is a retired interisland commuter boat converted into a live aboard. The couple who live on the boat have made it into a compact bake shop where they turn out a daily run of fresh baked goods. Everyone seems to know about it since there was always a cluster of dinghies tied up to the boat. We hiked through the trails of the marine park, then enjoyed a great barbeque and a quiet night

I'm writing this on the 19th in Ganges, but will back date several entries to bring things up to date.
We stayed in Campbell River until the morning of the 11th, far longer than planned. The electronic control module (ECM) of the engine was the actual reason for the engine failure, but discovering the fault, getting the parts, and having the installation and programming done took many days.
Anne and Grant Castleberg were most understanding of the problems. Actually, by renting a car for 2 days, we were able to see far more of north Vancouver Island than I ever expected. We even attended the North Island Logging Sports Show and annual Salmon Fry. We spent an afternoon in Nanaimo, drove through a lot of beautiful scenery, and saw an entirely different view of this part of BC.
With the installation of the new ECM finished, and with a lot of positive thinking, we left Campbell River on 8/11.