This year our big family boating trip is going to start off a little different.  The plan is to get the boat further north for a jump off point closer to Desolation Sound, our northern most cruising grounds for the next 3 weeks.

To accomplish this, our family trip is starting off as guys only trip.  Two friends; Marty, a vegetarian from Long Beach CA “city boy” and Scott who shoots/hooks just about anything for food, will join me for a 5 day adventure up to Nanaimo BC.

Once we arrive in Nanaimo Julie and the kids will floatplane in while the guys do the same back to Seattle.

Our trip started off with the 3 of us arriving at the boat around 8pm on July 25^th to pack it up and stay the night for a 5:30am departure.  You would have thought the world was ending with the amount of food we were able to pack on the boat.

With a 5:11am departure we were off for Sucia Island in the San Juans.  It was a beautiful morning with the sunrise over Mt Rainier.  We had a smooth although long (12 hour) cruise up the inside route via Swinomish Channel.  Our plan was to take Admiralty Inlet into Juan De Fuca Straight to save a little time but gale force winds were forecasted in the afternoon so we avoided that route.

On a Friday night at 5pm we were lucky enough to get a buoy after dropping 2 crab pots at the entrance to Echo Bay.  We took the dinghy to shore for a little hike then picked up the pots for one keeper.  Getting Marty out on a hike in the wilderness was fun, but from now on for his sake we’ll just call it a “walk”.

After our big summer cruise of 2012 we had some great fall/winter cruising.  The most memorable was taking off on New Years Day for a 5 day run up to LaConner for some work at the factory.

The weather was beautiful but super cold.  Skies were clear with almost no wind.  Highs during the day were just over freezing and every morning we woke up to a frozen boat.  Ice and frost covered the docks and beaches, is was an awesome sight but slippery!  Our heater got a serious workout.  I don’t think it ever turned off the whole time but it did keep us warm.

We had a great time at Deception Pass where we stayed a Cornet Bay (TYC outstation).  We played on the beach for a few hours in the freezing cold all bundled up in our winter clothing.

The final leg of our trip was finally here.  One more push form Seattle to Tacoma Yacht Club, our home port.  I woke up, went outside and decided to wash the boat at Bell Harbor before we left.  When we get back to our home slip its always a challenge to finish up cleaning the boat while the kids sit there knowing home is just a short drive away.  I washed the boat while Julie cleaned the inside.  I was hopeful our 3 hour cruise home would be free of any saltwater spray on the boat.  The wind was calm though, so I took the risk.