Cruising is always more fun when you can share, learn and enjoy the experience with friends. So Jody & I feel lucky that we've been able to connect with long time friends Harry & Sandie aboard their motor yacht Sea Eagle over the past week. Harry & I were fierce competitors in the Thistle Class racing dinghy 30 years ago, and he was one of the best sailors in the Tacoma area for decades. He now spends his energy catching fish and harvesting shellfish as he & Sandie cruise the waters between their home port of Gig Harbor and all the popular cruising grounds in Canada and Alaska.
We're also cruising with our friends Bill & Debbie on Anakena whom we met during our South Pacific cruise. So it was special for us to be here in Desolation Sound, celebrating our 38th wedding anniversary with old and new friends. Eating fresh clams and drinking champagne in these absolutely gorgeous surroundings was every bit as special as Bora Bora was last year. We share meal preparation, happy hours and we each host dinner on a rotating basis.
Last evening, Harry invited nearby boats in our anchorage for happy hour onshore at a place known as Harry's rock. You know you're there when you see a rusty metal sculpture of a large Dungeness crab with Harry's name on it! Harry can tell you how it got there. Anyway, fourteen folks enjoyed fellowship, sea stories and fresh cooked clams. You meet some of the nicest people on boats!
Today, we gathered aboard our mother ship, Sea Eagle, and gazed skyward to observe the solar eclipse from here in Canada. At 50° north latitude, it was only a partial eclipse, but we and everybody else anchored in Tenedos Bay was on their decks enjoying the event.
Don't worry Mom, Jody brought special glasses, and we also took sun sights from the various sextants that surfaced for the occasion.
Below are the three amigos; Bill, Harry & Gerry.
What's next is unknown. We have no specific cruising plans, and we're dam well sticking to them!
Cheers from Huzzah!