Splashed, Chilled, Ready to Go............

Our time at Seaview East Boatyard came to an end and the excellent crew led by Harris put us back in the water last Tuesday with our newly painted bottom, shiny propellers, and new zincs; not to forget the new winglet on the port stabilizer. A short trip back through the locks, the small one this time, and we were back at Elliot Bay Marina.


Captain waiting for the lock gates to open




Admiral on the stern line at the locks












John and Gary from Hatton arrived and worked over the main, gen and wing so we will be ready for the best part of a couple of thousand miles of cruising, like, 250 hours at 6 or 7 knots. On the general maintenance front, Last Mango had some 35 maintenance alerts on the Wheelhouse Technologies list (  http://www.wheelhousetech.com/ ) and these have all been whittled down and dealt with by the team from Emerald Harbor Marine with thoroughness and efficiency. The range of jobs included: adjusting the autopilots and relocating the inbound signals; bringing the water maker back online after winterizing; fitting a pair of downriggers for controlled depth fishing;  installing a stand-alone Maxsea system with USB GPS on our spare laptop; creating secure fittings for the new kayaks and dinghy, and much more.


New dinghy tucked away



Kayak mounts on either side




Over last weekend we decided to explore the Olympic Peninsula. A southerly drive to pick up Route 101 at Aberdeen; we headed for Lake Quinault Lodge. Wonderful historic place where Roosevelt visited in the 1930's and the decision to make the whole area a National Park was formulated. We hiked the 4 mile Giants of the Forest Loop through marvellous mossy rain forest and ate an excellent dinner (5***** from the Admiral is hard to beat). The next day we drove up to La Push and walked the scenic beach before getting to Forks for the famed breakfast at the In Place Diner. All of these towns have been suffering in the economic downturn; let's hope that they see better days in the not too distant future. Saturday night we stayed in Port Angeles and Sunday headed for the snow on Hurricane Ridge then Sequim and a very pleasant couple of hours visiting with John and Debbie Marshall. John very capably fills the role of guru to many Nordhavn owners and more than a thousand Dreamers, add his blog to your list.  http://sailblogs.com/member/mvserendipity/

It was very wintery up at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center......

I was asked, "Snow chains Sir?"






Iced up on Hurricane Ridge









Sunday evening saw us in downtown Port Townsend; the New York of Washington state which never happened since Seattle got the railroad terminus. PT is a charming town and we recommend the Bishop Victorian Hotel and the William James-Bookseller. There aren't many bookstores where even I emerege with half a dozen books in one go.


Bishop Victorian hotel reception




Admiral in book heaven












So here we are in Seattle ready for departure north. As before we have much enjoyed our time here and are sad to leave. Ballard has had everything we've needed. Shipyard. Boatyard. Every ship's supplier you can think of. India Pale Ale (check out the Maritime Brewery Jolly Roger Taproom where Jason will look after you). Fred Meyer. West Marine. Fisheries Supply. Quilting Loft. Nearby National Parks. Three weeks has disappeared quickly.

Tomorrow high tide here is at 0400; we will leave as early as we can and get a good carry up Puget Sound. The weather is not looking too bad for our planned 8 hour run to Anacortes where we will top up on fuel and contemplate the next leg of our journey. After Anacortes we head to the San Juans, check out of the US and head across to Port Sidney, Canada.

We have been working on various aspects of this blog. The maestro, son-in-law Daniel, will be on board in just over a week and no doubt will do some tuning. It would be good to improve the location and route features and also introduce some photo albums where we can display Susie's excellent photos. Watch this space.