Although we have yet to reach our home dock in Eagle Harbor (being 10 miles north in Kingston for Memorial Day weekend), we have completed our May Canadian trip. The last few days have provided a bit of a different feel to this journey.

We weighed anchor at Pelican Beach, originally deciding to make our next stop at the dock on James Island, which we have previously visited and thoroughly enjoyed, but we decided to try a new anchorage-Watmough Bay at the southern tip of Lopez Island. We left Pelican Beach once again in overcast skies and reached our anchorage just as the sun decided to begin piercing the low clouds. There was only one other sailboat in the anchorage, so we picked our spot and set the anchor in about 20 feet of water with little or no wind. After relaxing for a bit, we launched the kayaks and headed for the beach which is at the head of the bay.

We then took a brief hike up to the main road where we passed beautiful wetlands.

We returned to the beach to enjoy the warm sun and fine gravel which makes up this idyllic spot.

We lay on the beach with warm sun on our faces and the warm gravel on our backs as we warmed ourselves from the cool breeze with temperatures hovering in the low 60s. We returned to Lion's Paw for the rest of the afternoon and evening with the anticipation of crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca the following Tuesday morning.

The forecast was calling for possible gale force winds on Wednesday, and we had to time our passage into Admiralty Inlet since the currents can be quite strong on an ebb tide. We had until noon to make it through the inlet before the tides changed for the remainder of the day. We awoke to our first encounter of dense fog-the same conditions which we had experienced last year when returning across the Strait where we became involved in the rescue of a powerboat that managed to run aground (you can read the details from last year's post).The forecast still called for some decent winds, but they just were not to be. We motored, watching the chartplotter for AIS targets of other boats and the radar screen for boats without AIS. We ended up paralleling a long tow (tug towing a large barge) and managed to cross just in front of it as it was staying in the shipping channel, and we needed to stay out. As we approached Point Wilson, the entry into Admiralty Inlet, we first observed a large cargo ship also approaching at a much higher speed, and we again had to deal with the long tow since we tried to do a bit of sailing which put us behind the long tow. There were also a couple of recreational boats exiting Admiralty Inlet, so it was a bit of a traffic jam. I maneuvered the boat into a proper position to avoid both the long tow and the cargo ship and then communicated on the VHF radio with one of the recreational vessels heading right at us. All went well, and as we passed the point, the fog began to lift, so we had a clear approach into Port Townsend where we anchored in our favorite spot for the night.

We launched the dinghy and went into town for lunch as well as a movie at the small theater-RBG, the story of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a worthwhile movie for those who share many of her thoughts of the Constitution and the rule of law. The theater was filled with many people of similar age or older who applauded at the end of the movie, proving that Port Townsend is truly a liberal community. We followed the movie with dinner before returning to Lion's Paw for the night. True to the forecast, the winds blew most of the evening-not gale force but enough to make the rigging hum and creak.

We arose Wednesday morning to clear skies above us, but it was quite overcast in Puget Sound itself. We weighed anchor and proceeded to our next destination-Port Ludlow where we were able to secure the sole, reciprocal dock provided by the yacht club. While taking it easy for the afternoon, a fellow Outbound 46, Shamaal, came into the anchorage and chose to anchor vs. entering the marina. We hoped that they would come ashore so that we could meet them and exchange Outbound information, but it was not to be. They spent the night onboard. We had dinner at the Fireside Restaurant at the resort adjacent to the marina, and we would highly recommend it to others who choose to visit this area. The anchorage is very well protected, and anchoring or the marina are both good options.

Thursday morning greeted us with another wet morning-not quite fog but a lot of mist in the air. Lion's Paw was covered with dew. We wiped down the dodger windows and headed out with the mist tapering off, but the overcast remained as we reached our day's destination-the Port of Kingston, which is the location for the first cruise event for our yacht club. Everyone will arrive tomorrow, and we are looking forward to the "royal dinner" on Saturday night in recognition of the Prince Harry/Meghan Markle wedding last weekend.

We return to Eagle Harbor on Sunday and will get our chance to see the status of our new house after three weeks of more construction. We move into our new house rental on June 1st, and there is much to do in preparation. Debra heads for Colorado on the 2nd, and I will hold down the fort until she returns on the 12th. This will be the last blog for awhile, as we do not have any set plans for additional cruising at this time.