Boater Beth Bream

When last we chatted, we were recovering from a great Fourth of July on the Key Peninsula with the Schneiders and the Gruvers.

The morning of the fifth, we hauled anchor and headed for Gig Harbor...back under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.  Every time we pass under this structure we talk about those amazing videos of that bridge tearing itself apart due to the wind action on the bridge deck and the harmonics it created.  Galloping Gertie is this bridge's nickname.  Yikes!  Not a name you'd want for your bridge!

Beth had spent the fourth with her family then drove to Sacramento where she caught a flight to Seattle.  From there she took a shuttle to Gig Harbor and was dropped off only 2.5 miles from the marina.  When she found out taxis were pricey, she decided to walk.  Good thing she packed light!


After a very happy reunion and a night in Gig Harbor (complete with gin and tonic on the boat deck!) we were off once again.

Anacortes friends, Anita and Dale Neifert, have some lovely property on Anderson Island, way at the south end of Puget Sound.  That was our first stop. We pulled into their little bay, were warmly greeted by their friend Steve, dinghied (I'm pretty sure that's a verb!) and did some hiking.  All the while, Mt. Rainer is keeping a close eye on us.  It was beautiful.  We anchored that night just around the corner in Oro Bay and would go there again in a heartbeat...so lovely.


July 7 dawned bright and sunny...promising to be our warmest day yet.  We had decided to head north and go to Poulsbo on Liberty Bay.  It's got a strong Norwegian heritage and we thought it would be interesting to see.  We also needed to replenish groceries and, unfortunately, had to climb a serious hill to do so, in the 90+ heat.  Wah!  We've totally lost our conditioning for hot weather.  This was another great stop and a beautiful bay in which to anchor.  Coming and going to Poulsbo, we passed the Keyport naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station.  It was as impressive as it sounds, but the facility didn't get our attention until we saw a sign that said "Caution, Torpedo Testing.  Watch for the Yellow flashing Light".  Another sign that said, "Maximum speed 3 knots".  We thought we were safe since we saw no flashing lights, but knew that at only 3 knots, we'd be sitting ducks!  Didn't seem like that would be much of a test!

July 8 saw us up and out early...weighed anchor at 0800 so we could have slack water going through Agate Passage between Bainbridge Island and the Kitsap Peninsula.  The boater guides told us this was a fairly narrow passage and the currents could be wicked, so we planned cautiously.  As my boat captain remarked, as we easily made the passage, "Piece of cake!"  Yup, we did well once again!  


We decided to stop in Saratoga Passage for lunch.  It's a rather eerie sensation to simply stop the boat, turn off the engine, and bob on the waves.  It was rather bouncy so we didn't linger long, but did enjoy the quiet of the water and waves.


That evening we docked in Oak Harbor marina and expected a lovely spot to explore.  We were disappointed and wouldn't recommend it again.


July 9 we were back in La Conner, did laundry, rinsed the salt off the boat, got some groceries and anticipated heading to Rosario Resort on Orcas Island early Saturday morning.  Fortunately Beth brought us to our senses:  "Are you sure you want to take off again?  You've been out a long time, how about a quiet day in La Conner."  And that's just what we did...and it was marvelous!  La Conner really is a destination all its own.  Lovely little shops, museums, good restaurants.  That Beth is so smart!

Sunday morning, July 11 we went to church at the Anacortes Lutheran Church (a delightful, welcoming congregation) and departed for Rosario Resort about 1:30.  We weren't quite so clever on this departure, since we didn't check the weather.  We had a choppy ride to East Sound on Orcas Island, where the resort is located.  We decided to grab an anchoring buoy rather than anchor or pull in to the marina, since it was so rough.  Well, that might not have been our best decision either!  Usually grabbing a buoy is relatively simple, but not this time.   The boat was being pushed around quite a bit and it took two tries to get tied up to the buoy, and I managed to seriously skin a couple of knuckles.  Once settled, we jumped in the dinghy and went to shore to look at the Moran Mansion.  Beautiful!  Our ride back to Cosmo Place was even rougher and we all get wet...but Beth got the worst of it!


Fresh grilled halibut for dinner, a "hot" game of Mad Dash, and a night's sleep rocking on the waves.  We didn't awaken the next morning until nearly 9 AM!  Our destination on Monday was Bellingham.  We thought we'd spend a night in the marina so that Beth could easily get to the B'ham airport on Tuesday morning to head home.


We called our buddies at San Juan Sailing (we'd chartered a Nordic Tug from them in 2009) to ask for a slip, rather than using the guest dock and they graciously provided us with one.  After we got settled in we took about a four mile walk along the bluff above the harbor in one of B'ham's historic districts


After breakfast and a shower Tuesday morning, we saw Beth off in a taxi to the airport.  It was hard to see her go, but she PROMISED to return and we've got so many wonderful memories and pictures.  


Can't wait for the next set of visitors.  Who knows what amazing adventures we'll have.