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At anchor, Blake Island
So instead we decided to go south, where we had heard the anchorages and marinas were less crowded and the scenery was just as pretty. Before leaving we picked up a copy of Gunkholing in South Puget Sound, which turned out to be a delight of a book, containing interested short histories of Puget Sound, and emphasizing a low-key style of cruising that is very appealing. Maybe it was the book's influence, but on this trip we skipped the marinas entirely, and only used a mooring buoy one night at Penrose Point, choosing instead to drop the hook in quieter spots along the way. Which is not to suggest we were roughing it; we slept in cozy beds, watched DVDs every night, and I was online via wireless internet twice while we gently bobbed at anchor. South Puget Sound is an extensive body of water, and we really only saw a small part of it. We didn't even go as far as Olympia, prefering instead to keep the sailing/motoring to just three or four hours a day. It was a good trip, relaxing, even though we could have covered the same distance by car in two hours or less. Six days and five nights out, no shore power the whole time and a total of 18 gallons of fuel consumed. Hard to argue with that. Alisa was with us for the first two nights, overnighting at Blake Island and Gig Harbor with a full day at Penrose Point, in Carr Inlet. Bryan and Junko drove down to pick her up on Tuesday evening at the state park, when we had a fine dinner cookout on the beach. (We had cookouts every night of this trip, using a small gas grill in the cockpit for kebabs, salmon and other treats.)
Julian and Alisa (Bryan, keep that shotgun handy)
Penrose Point was particularly nice. I wish we had stayed another night, or gone around the point and up to Jarrel Cove. Poulsbo, where we stayed the last night, was also enjoyable. I'll forgive them the ticky-tacky Scandinavian decor. There's a fine coffee shop, two independent book stores, a few decent restaurants and some fun little galleries and other places to browse. And meeting Satomi's ceramics instructor Regnor, with his classic wooden boat "Hintha" and his dog Mingus, was a nice surprise. Some more pictures...
Enroute from Shilshole Marina to Blake Island
A smoggy Seattle, and a very pretty little boat
They come in from China jammed full of stuff bound for Wal-mart, Home Depot and Costco, and they leave Seattle empty. Think about it.
A gray and white gull on a gray and white dinghy
On a mooring buoy at Penrose Point State Park
Returning from our trip around the island
South end of Colvos Passage, Mount Rainier in the distance
Ice cream in Gig Harbor
Leaving Gig Harbor on a cloudy morning
Tacoma Narrows Bridge
The new bridge under construction (the first catenary had just been strung between the new pylons)
Fudge bars at Penrose Point
The dinghy becomes a surrogate family car
Lakebay Marina (a classic)
Penrose Point
Alisa with a rather excited crab
Julian and Alisa
Low tide, walking along the sandspit
Alisa
Julian
On the sandspit, with Akari in the background (the boat on the left)
Julian (clearing the rocks out of his sandals)
Relaxing on the beach
Tidepools, Penrose Point
Tidepools, Penrose Point
Satomi, Julian and a guy with ridiculous sunglasses
Julian and Alisa
Bryan, Alisa and Junko (end of the trip for Alisa)
Julian's cabin (reading Harry Potter)
Satomi (early to bed, late to rise)
S'mores every night. You gotta problem with that?
A surprise meeting with Regnor at Poulsbo. Regnor's boat "Hintha" had a day-crew consisting of his brother, his dog Mingus and four young, attractive women. Should we have been surprised?
Poulsbo Marina
At anchor in Poulsbo Harbor (Liberty Bay) on our last night
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