Day 220 More projects

The fun just keeps on coming!!  More projects to do and check off some that are done.

We took Zephyr to the pumpout station in the morning to get the head tanks emptied.  While we had checked the electric macerator that empties the tanks while far away from shore, apparently the pump in the stern isn't actually doing its job.  With the button pushed, it's not pumping anything out so.  I'd checked it a few weeks ago before we took off for our last shakedown cruise and it appeared to be fine but I guess not so out it will have to come.  Lucky me, I will get to take it apart(after a good cleaning) and see what is wrong and if I can fix it.  That's a lot cheaper than a new one.  The bad thing is that I will probably have to take out the plumbing for the sink that is in the way of getting the unit out.  The hoses that are attached to the macerator are on real tight and don't come off easily.

We scrubbed down the entire deck getting all the dirt and salt from our trip around the islands.  It's amazing how dirty a boat can get even when surrounded  by lots of water.  We've been dive bombed by seagulls more than once.  

While we were out, I made quite a list of things that needed attention when we got back as well as a list of people to contact to see if they can answer questions that have come up.  We're slowly chewing through them, one by one all the while adding more as more things come up.  

We've bought new line-rope-for the dingy.  New polypropylene line that floats.  This way, if we tow our "taxi" instead of putting her back on deck, the line won't have a chance of going down in the water and fouling the propeller.  One of the last things I would want to do is to go swimming in this water.  It's to COLD!  The ends are all whipped(thin twine wrapped around the ends to keep them from unraveling) and they are set to be attached.

That's about it for yesterday.  We took a walk or two to get some exercise.  That's one big reason for having the dingy available is so that we can get ashore and walk around.  You don't get a lot of exercise when your on a boat.  Of course when sailing you do, but at anchor you don't.

Raining--gee what fun?

Day 219 Back in Point Hudson again.

Blue came on deck during our trip back from from MacKays Bay.  It's the first time she has come up on deck while the engine was running.  She wandered around the deck without a care in the world.  Peering over the side and looking down into the water.  We kept a close watch over her stroll.  The boys stayed down below.  They had no interest in coming up.  She stayed up there until just before we arrived at Point Hudson.

We checked in with Sea Marine about what we had found wrong during the 12 days we were out.  They arrived at Zephyr this afternoon and started working on correcting the problems.  They fixed the stereo--stopped working.  Took off the grounding strap that rides on the propeller shaft and grounds the electrical systems on board.  It wouldn't stay in place and made lots of noise as it vibrated against the propeller shaft.  The sump pumps for the showers has been also fixed.  Now when you hit the switch for the stern pump, it actually pumps the stern sump instead of the one in the bow.

Now the anchor light has them all perplexed.  It had worked fine after it was installed.  We had let it work its magic for several days after it was installed.  It came with a photo cell that turns it on automatically at dusk and off at dawn.  A great feature so that if you are on shore at sundown, you don't have to rush back to the boat to turn it on.  Well, we checked it out while on the trip and found it didn't work.  We turned on our "running" lights instead while we were at anchor.  These are lights at the bow and stern on board.  Better to see us than not during the night at anchor.  The lights do work but a cigarette lighter makes more light than our anchor light.  It glows at the brightness of a dim star.  They have ordered a replacement for it and hope to have it some time next week.  No real rush as we will need to stay here during the diesel class I will be taking this next week.  

Today was clean up Zephyr, do laundry and run errands.  One of the reasons we returned was we were out of clean clothes.    It get quite chilly out there so you dress in layers.  This tends to go through clean clothes fast, especially long sleeved shirts.  I'm not sure I want to get to close to my long johns.  They are pretty ripe by now.

With laundry done, we took off on errands.  Lunch at Sea J's and then over to West Marine for some line and other things we needed.  Then down to a marine exchange.  This is a store that buys old boat equipment and resells it.  We traded some of the things we found on Zephyr for a wind scoop that we will be using a lot once we get South next year.  It fits in the hatches and helps pull fresh air inside Zephyr to keep her cooler.  Not a lot of  use for it this far North.

With the oil pressure switch going bad, I stopped at NAPA and bought the two that they had in stock.  One for now and one for later as needed.  It's already in a plastic bag stowed in the bilge.  I installed the new one tonight and will start the engine tomorrow to make sure it works properly.  

Our replacement fresh water pump arrived while we were gone.  The existing one that I installed back on May doesn't like to shut off once it reaches the pressure it is set at.  The manufacturer sent me a replacement.  I'll be installing it later next week.  While no water leaks from the pipes, every time it runs it uses lots of unnecessary amps from our batteries and that's not good when you are our cruising.  It needs to run, get to the right pressure and shut off.  I don't want it to keep turning it self on and off when it is not necessary.

Well, it's after midnight.  Bed time.

Have a great weekend.

  

Day 217 Off we go again

We set off from Roche Harbor about 9:15 this morning for parts unknown. We thought we would stop at a small island called Turn Island along the South end of the San Juan Channel. Not a breathe of wind but quite a current as we left Roche Harbor. The bad thing was that it was against us. We'd planned to be out by 8:15 but that just wasn't in the cards. While we had only been here one night, it still took us a while to get ready to leave.

Yesterday, just after we checked in, we ran into one of the men that works for Sea Marine. Randy, one of the crane/boat llft men was outside the marina office. He's pretty much a jack of all trades around the yard. A really nice guy. We had lunch at the Lime Kiln Cafe and talked about what we had been up to since we left the dock 11 days ago. Work has slowed down over the past few weeks and some of their projects had been placed on hold for a while apparently. It was nice to just sit and talk without one of the other people in the yard--bosses--seeing us chatting. Afterwards, it was back to Zephyr to get cleaned up and things set up for the evening.

We fought the current until we made it to the San Juan Channel--about two miles and then headed South. We passed Friday Harbor along the way. It's one of the bigger towns in the islands. We found no reason to stop on this trip. Maybe the next time out. We got to Turn Island--another state park and hooked up to one of the buoys to see how it was. We both felt it was a bit to exposed to traffic as well as currents for our liking so we unhooked and set off for Fishermans Bay along the East side of the channel. I called to check for availability. They had slips so off we took at least until I asked the price--$49.00 for one night. That's almost as much as we paid at Point Hudson during the Summer. It's way out of line for a Winter slip. I hung up and we looked at the charts and set off for MacKays Bay on the South side of Lopez Island. A well protected bay with a few houses and no other boats. As we approached the end of the channel, it gets quite narrow and the current speeds up. By the time we got there, we were doing 10.8 knots. That's about as fast as we have ever had Zephyr under motor. Much faster that she would normally ever go under engine. The current was just over 2 knots with lots of eddies in the water as it flew through the end of the narrows. It was quite a ride. We were on constant watch for logs and debris as we went. The last thing we wanted was to hit something at that speed.

We pulled in about 1:15 and dropped the anchor and tried to get it to set. I wasn't sure it did, so we have been watching it every time the wind blows in any fashion. We both had another great lunch of turkey leftovers. Tracy is now out of hers and I'm down to just a few pieces. Enough for a nice portion of turkey curry again.

We saw a bit more Sun today but all in all, it was a bit chilly all day. We were both well bundled up. Once we got settled, I took a shower in the stern head. Try taking a shower in a room about half the size of an old telephone booth with a nice curtain the tends to stick to you when ever you turn or move in the room. At least the water was still hot from using the 110 power plus the engine heated water. I still had some hot water left when I was done.

Now taking a shower on boat is a lot different than what you do at home. You make sure you are all ready--soap, shampoo, brushes(as needed) etc. Get into the shower stall(tiny stall that is), turn on the water--but be carful, it's not hot when it starts flowing(God, it can be cold). Suddenly, it gets hot--not just hot but HOT. You stop for a second and add some cold water, all the while aware that you could run out of hot at any second as your tank is quite small and it's been a while since you left the dock with nice heated water. Spray yourself down and then turn off the water--the shower has an "off" switch on it. We bought it at an RV showroom. Now that your wet, soap up and do it quickly--again, the hot water may not be running, but there is only so much of it. Now you're covered in soap and shampoo and get to rinse off--again in fear of running out. It's like taking a shower on a timer(at the marina). You just never know when your water will suddenly stop and pray that you have gotten all the soap off when it does. In a boat, you can't just add quarters to the controller and get more hot water. When it's gone, it's gone and believe me, I really don't care for a cold shower at least not until we get to some place that's warmer.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and checking on deck at each gust of wind to make sure Zephyr was safe and sound.

Tonights dinner was a great beef enchilada that Tracy has made for years. It's nice and spicy. Tracy claims I've burned out my taste buds as I can eat much more spicy foods than she can. Being raised in Pennsylvania, spicy was something that was never on our menu at home. Tracy and I were talking just the other day about dinners we had as children. I really had a hard time remembering meals my mother made. The biggest memory was cauliflower with velveeta cheese on it. To this day, I can't and won't eat it. I hated it then and still do. My father rarely barbecued. Maybe twice that I can remember and that was for parties. I just couldn't remember. Strange. When you read this brother Rick, leave me a "comment" if your memory is any better.

Tomorrow, we are heading back to Point Hudson after twelve days. A great shakedown cruise. Our education is growing every day. I now watch the battery monitor regularly, especially when something is running to see how many amps it is drawing and planning out how long it will be before we will need to start the engine to recharge. I now have a better understanding of the "system" and how it works. A battery is like a quart container. The container holds amps. As they spill out, the container holds less until you know that you have to refill it or the container will run out. That can't be allowed to happen. Watch, watch watch. Charge charge charge.


Thursday--
The computer ran out of juice and there was no internet connection so now it's Thursday and we are about a third of the way across the Straits of Juan DeFuca. Just a breathe of wind so we put up the sails. First time in a week plus that we have been able to sail. Well, try at least. After about 45 minutes of going less than a knot, in came the sails and on came the engine and we are currently motor/sailing. The main is still up to stable keep us riding flatter in the chop that is out here. A lot less rolling side to side.

I'll write more later--

More photos

Rocky cliffs along Stuart Island.  Now that we can get ashore with the dingy, I can take more pictures.
The calm of Prevost Harbor.  Bad thing is that calm doesn't make electricity on our wind generator.
Reid Harbor on the South side of Stuart Island across from Prevost Harbor.
The shore line of Stuart Island.
A Madrone tree.  It looses it bark as it grows up.  I don't know how it lives without it.
Our shuttle bus to shore.
And you think your roof may be having a problem?
Thistles by the Deer Harbor Marina. 

Day 216 Connected again.

Here's a scene from our walk around Stuart Island.

We're in Roche Harbor tied up to a dock nice and safe and sound.  They sure like getting money form visitor here.  Lunch--two hamburgers with fries and one Pepsi came to $25.00.  A load of wash is $3.50 for a half size load and the same for the drier for only 40 minutes of drying time.  That's normally just short of when the cloths are actually dry.  There is only one grocery store in town and while well stocked, it is about 50% more for everything than your local Safeway. 

We started the day in Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island and the Sun actually came out for the first time in a week.  Boy it was nice to finally see it again.  Having been living in Colorado for so long, we had learned to take it for granted.  Suddenly being surrounded by clouds and fog can be a real downer especially after being without it for a week.  It was so nice and warm on our skin.

We're heading back to Hudson Point to start on the continuing refit and repair.  We made a list for Sea Marine to redo since some systems have failed.  Plus a long list of things we have thought about that need repair.  We have already ordered some parts before we left and some

 should be in by the time we get back.

 Here's the plane that followed us into Deer Harbor the day before Thanksgiving.

The shoreline on Reid Harbor on the opposite side of Stuart Island from Prevost harbor.

We've found a much easier way to get the dingy on and off Zephyrs deck.  Bill left us a block and tackle to hoist the dingy using a small crane attached to the rigging on the starboard side.  We brought a small whisker pole that we had had on our last boat.  A "whisker pole" is normally used to hold a jib or genoa sail out away from a small boat when sailing downwind.  We attached it to the mast using the spinnaker pole attachment(that's what holds the big colorful sail out in front of the boat)  then hooked a halyard(rope that raised the sails) to the end of it along with the block and tackle.  We then attached the other end of the block and tackle to the dingy and hoisted her up and on board.  With this being said, now we will need to find a spinnaker pole for Zephyr as the whisker pole is a bit small for this job but at least it will work for the time being. 

Each island seems to have it's own personality.  While they are all in the same chain, each is slightly different from the trees to ferns to the leaves from the trees.  

Day 217? Maybe, maybe not.

We just came back from a nice hike around the state park here at Prevost Bay. Up and down trails with lots of fauna and not much flora this time of year. Lots of moss and ferns and we even saw a deer. I"ll post pictures once I get connected back to the internet. This program won't let me add them unless I'm connected. At least if it will, I haven't figured out how to do it.

The day started with more drizzle and fog. By midmorning, it was high enough that we could see the islands across the Haro Straits. By the time we got back from the hike--about 3:15, the fog had settled enough that you couldn't see to the end of the bay let alone across the strait. The entrance to bay was just about gone too.

We were buzzed by the local immigration boat earlier this afternoon. They buzzed into the bay and passed by all three of the boats here. There are two more across the bay that are anchored up together. I'm sure we are now in some government data base with our name and hailing port. There can't be too many "Zephyr"s with a hailing port of Denver. We've gotten asked by many people as they walk the docks how we got her here from Colorado.

With Washingtons rules of how long we can stay, we will have to watch our dates to see when we may need to get re-uped on our stay permits. Not being sure when they actually started us as being here, we don't want to get caught short. We probably appeared on their radar when we bought the parks permit. You can only stay for 180 days--total and then must leave the state for at least a year. If you buy one of their new permits--$500.00, you can stay a year but must then leave Washingtons waters for two years. If you don't leave, they require you to register your boat here in Washington and pay taxes and sales taxes as though you bought it here. That is one of the primary reasons we took Zephyr out of the state as soon as we did.

It's just started raining again. Could be why it's so green on these islands.

We hope to be off South to Roche Harbor tomorrow. There is more fog in the forecast so we will see. Radar makes it easier but it sure is nicer to be able to see as you go through the straits. It makes it easier to avoid other ships. As big as Roche is, I'm sure they will have internet and my cell phone will work again.

Day ? Not really sure anymore!

Another day without the internet. Well sort of. When we left Jones Island on our way to Provost Bay on Stuart Island, I went below for a short time and got connected!! I rushed through all our normal sights and did my downloads and uploads and headed back up on deck. There was some fog as we left Jones Island and it was now in full force. Visibility kept getting less and less. By the time we got to the entrance to Prevost, you could just barely see from one point of land to the other as we made our way through the cut to get in the harbor. That makes visibility of only about 100 yards on each side of Zephyr if that. We are both thankful that Bill(previous owner) had installed radar on Zephyr. While we have lots of chart plotters to get us from one place to another, the radar tells us what is out there. A big help in pea soup. As we entered the bay(in pea soup), another sail boat came out of the mist and cut right across our bow. We had the right of way but he had other ideas. We put Zephyr into reverse and waited until he was past. At least he waved to us as he passed.

We pulled up to a buoy(found it in the pea soup) and hooked up until I could row ashore to see how the dock was. Better safe than sorry. Lots of room so in we came and tied up nice and snug. The State Parks had removed the dock at Jones Island for the Winter. The normal charges for being tied up to the dock are .50/foot/night. We're getting closer to getting our money back for the state parks permit. We expect to stay here for at least two nights before we start heading back to Point Hudson.

As you have all read by now, internet and cell phone while great isn't always available here in the islands. You can go from great to non-existant simply by changing islands or going around a point of land. It all depends on where the towers are. On the North side of Jones Island, there was none. On the South side, there were two bars. One thing they really don't tell you is to watch out for "roaming" charges. Once you get this close to Canada, if you connect, you may be "roaming" and get nailed for BIG charges by the folks up North.

A big challenge is keeping trash to a minimum as what ever you make, you have to haul around with you till you get to a disposal station. Tracy has been known to wash the dishes sometime four or five times a day. Paper plates and bowls are out. We cut cans flat and squash plastic bottles. We wash the dishes when the engine is running as that is what makes the hot water. Unless there is shore power, that is the only way--short of a tea kettle--that you will get hot water for the dishes or for a shower.

The other problem while cruising is the conservation of the battery charge. Many things that we have taken for granted are no longer used. Hair driers, toasters, microwaves, electric tea kettles all are things of the past while cruising. Our inverter makes 110 power but since it was made for the previous generation of electric appliances, it really won't power what we use. No electric blankets at night!!! The toaster clicks when we try and use it. Since I bought it last Spring when the previous one melted, we have a while before we will be getting a newer generation. Our diesel heater can really chew up the batteries. Since it has been having a problem--flameouts--we have to monitor it each time it comes on or it will run for an hour or more gobbling up the amps. It will run only once during the night and then goes into fault mode and won't run again until the switch is reset. It's on the list of things that need looking at when we return to civilization. There has been virtually no wind for the new DuoGen to make power from so we are forced to run the engine about two to three hours a day to keep the batteries as full as possible. Our life revolves around our batteries. We're learning to live the dream!!!

If you're looking for us on Google Earth, we're at 48 40.662N 123 11.908W. The last time I used Nobeltecs VNS software, it had us on Jones Island, not in the bay at Jones Island. We were about 200 yards inland. And here I thought these things were accurate. It pays to pay attention to where you are and not go by what your electronics tell you. You can loose a boat that way.