Clipper Run Down

Monday August 1^st – We left Blakely Harbor at 6:30am on Monday August 1^st headed for La Conner on the Swinomish Channel.  Our boat still needed the upper deck seating installed and a bunch of miscellaneous other items that the factory was going to complete.

As we headed out of the bay it became apparent we were in for some serious fog.  Keeping our speed to about 7 knots Julie and I were glued to the radar, chart plotter and our surroundings while the kids slept below.  Unfortunately, if you boat in the Pacific Northwest for any length of time you will encounter fog.  It’s never fun and can be very stressful but after some whiteout experience you get just a little more comfortable.  However, when you see a blip on the radar racing toward your stern you get a little nervous.  Then out of the fog you catch glimpses of the Victoria Clipper racing along, it’s a little eerie and unsettling as the clipper runs you down in the fog while you never actually see it.

We arrived in La Conner at about 1pm and the guys were quickly down to the dock starting the seating install.  The next day we hauled the boat out at 10:30 am so we could install a new thru hull fitting to relocate where the watermaker was pulling seawater.  The boat was out of the water for a couple hours hanging in the sling while the factory performed the work.  A few other miscellaneous projects got done but still more to do tomorrow.  All together we spent 3 nights in La Conner sitting at the dock while the factory performed the necessary work.  The kids were very good considering but they (actually Julie and I too) were getting a little stir crazy!