Dinghy Down!

Sunday August 21^st – After a fun and relaxing 2 nights at Tod Inlet we pulled anchor and headed to Port Sidney for a night on the docks.  We can’t ever go to Sidney (or even get near it) without Ava begging to go to the aquarium.  It’s a tiny little aquarium but for some reason she loves it!  Julie and I took Zach and Ava while Todd and Tami took Skylar into town.  The kids had a lot of fun and even got to see the octopus that rarely ever comes out of his den.

We all had a great dinner off the boat that night, then fired up the engine to make way for a boarder crossing the next morning.  After crossing the imaginary line cutting Haro Strait in half we were back in the USA!  We saw a few signs of whales in Haro Strait but couldn’t track them down so we pointed our bow toward Friday Harbor to clear customs and dock the boat for the night.

Todd and Tami arrived way before we did and got a slip assignment.  We didn’t have reservations and had to wait at the customs dock for a while for a slip to open up.

Our friends and owners of American Tugs, Kurt and Kristin, were already in Friday Harbor on their new to them sailboat.  This was their first big trip on their sailboat and we were lucky to be able to catch them on the tail end of their trip.  We made plans to meet up with them and we all hung out together that evening, having a wonderful dinner on Todd’s boat.

The next morning, we decided to make a dinghy run over to Turn Island, 2 miles away.  Todd and Tami were missing their dinghy because a few days earlier, while docked in Victoria, some scum of the earth folks decided they should have it.  In the middle of the night they cut the line tying the dingy up and stole the boat.  May the wrath of God fall upon you, you dirty thieves!

So all 8 of us piled in our dinghy.  Riding a little low in the water it was slow but got the job done.  Kurt, Kristen and their daughter Grace came along in their dinghy for the trek over to Turn Island.  All went as planned except a couple hundred yards before the beach at Turn Island, Kurt’s engine suddenly just quit.  After a few minutes trying to restart, we just pulled him to the beach and left the dead motor while we hiked the island hoping it would start upon our return.

We all had a great time making our way around the tiny little island.  The trails on the island are fantastic and the views are awesome.  The kids ran most of it, stopping for every little thing they thought was cool.

When we got back Kurt’s engine still wouldn’t start so we prepared for a tow all the way back.  8 people in our boat towing another dinghy with 3 people against the rushing tide was slow going!  But, it was a fun adventure, and we all had a great time!

After saying our goodbyes (Kurt and Kristen had to head home as did Todd and Tami) we left Friday Harbor for a new anchorage Kurt recommended on Shaw Island called Indian Cove.