Cruising the Inland Waters of The Great Loop

We got on the water early, arriving in Shearwater by 10am to the greatest conglomerate of mega-yachts, trawlers, sailboats, fishing boats, dinghies and rowboats we'd seen since leaving Ketchikan! As predicted, there was no room at the inn, so we dieseled and watered up at the fuel dock then snuggled our way into a spot along the outside breakwater for transient visitors awaiting the possibility of a slip in one of the moorage areas. By mid-afternoon it became evident that the space we now occupied was as good as it was going to get, so we dinghied ourselves into the Marine Center and began our errand-doing to use our time well. By 6:30pm we had delivered our laundry to be done, emptied our garbage, and completed the grocery shopping (even with the 'Freight Day' crowds). We had a great dinner at Fisherman's Grill, and ended our land-time by taking Skipper for a walk on the beach. We were pretty proud of our efficiency considering the inconvenience of having to "anchor out", agreed?

As we were dinghying back to the boat, 2 humpback whales cruised through the harbor just 50' from Capella III, amazing all the other transient Breakwater-ites with their nonchalance, grace and showmanship. Our neighbors on s/v "Cosmic Dancer" (Clive and Angela from Eng/Germany) were watching the interlude from their cockpit and hailed us over for wine, snacks and sailing storytelling. We finally realized the advantage to being assigned to the Breakwater. Ah, yes...this is what it's all about!
(PHOTO: A unique sailboat spotted at Shearwater Water)