Half a mile outside of Elliott Bay Marina, I peeked into the engine room and saw hot, strawberry-red coolant spraying out of a now-disconnected hose. Twenty knots of southerly breeze was pushing me towards Magnolia Bluff. Instinctively I dropped the anchor and shut down the engine. This was a maintenance-induced failure. I’d just had the whole cooling system apart to clean or replace several components. Although I’d test run the … Read more
For the last several winters I’ve kept the boat in Anacortes, just an hour from the San Juan Islands. The winter boating was superb, with a dozen or more State Parks within a few hours cruise. More often than not, I was the only visitor. This winter, I’m based at Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle. And while it’s not close to deserted islands, I’m thoroughly enjoying winter cruising on Puget … Read more
We left beautiful Klag Bay on Thursday morning (August 4), backtracking out Smooth Channel a little ways to see if we could locate the island where Radioville lived. Bill Pierre in Rose’s Bar in Pelican told us to look for a red shack, and in the Evergreen book Sam had, we managed to find reference to Radioville with a line from the description box to an island (lower left)… The Douglass guide, … Read more
We left Pelican on Tuesday morning. Lisianski Inlet was gray and drizzly and foggy. This fish boat was just in front of us out of the harbor: The trip out to Lisianski Strait and on to the outside of Chichagof Island was mellow and the weather gradually improved as we continued further west. Hey look! It’s the Gulf of Alaska! The wind was 10-12 knots with 3-4 foot swells, so not a … Read more
“Taliesin, Taliesin, Taliesin, this is Just Get’n By.” “Just Get’n By, this is Taliesin.” “One of our crew just passed out for 15 seconds. They’re awake again, but out of it, pale, and they have a weak pulse.” Thus started our ninth day underway. Read more on samlandsman.com
Rounding Cape Caution can be a challenge. Queen Charlotte Sound is one of the few places where the Inside Passage goes outside. Normally we go to Port McNeill before rounding Cape Caution. This gives everyone a chance to resupply (there’s a supermarket!), fill boats with fuel, and catch up on chores. Last year we got stuck in Port McNeill for several days waiting for strong winds to die down. Read … Read more
One week in, and we’re still having fun! Today we meandered through the Broughton Archipelago. From Port Harvey we headed up Chatham Channel, across Knight Inlet, and through Tribune Channel. The weather was PERFECT…hot even. Six of us jumped in the water at Echo Bay (okay, there is a hot tub nearby). Read more on samlandsman.com
Today was a perfect day on the water. Five hours of bliss—sunshine, drone flying (twice), a nap, totally calm water, favorable current, no major boat problems… We left Blind Channel at 8:30. First we had to transit Greene Point Rapids. Even though we were about an hour before slack, it was no big deal. The current gave us a nice boost and we made it through without drama. Read more … Read more