Wonderful MLK Rendezvous

Dec 25, 2000
5,702
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Sail plan included a rendezvous with a Friday Harbor sailing buddy from this past season, Tom Burgess, He lives aboard a Dana 24, very nicely equipped with all the comforts of home and cozy. Also brought along my Dad's very old eight bell cast brass ships clock for my clock repair guy from Anacortes to fix the time barrel pall ratchet spring that broke.

Drove to the boat Friday night with a plan to set sail Saturday morning. A reasonable forecast for a change. No gales and minimal rain expected for the weekend. Woohoo! Early ebb out of Shelter Bay (cast off at 0700) in order to catch a nice current push out of the channel, but absent any wind, period.

Arrived at Cap Sante marina around 0830 with a two hour transit moorage on C-4. Marina staff always very courteous and helpful. My clock guy arrives shortly after, and does his repair. He brings along his tools and parts container and goes to task while on the boat. Takes him about an hour to disassemble the clock, replace the spring and put it all back together. Test run checks out good.

Felt a nice SE breeze as Belle-Vie clears the Cap Sante channel entrance, so skipper sets the genoa and off we go towards the east side of Guemes Island on a starboard tack. SPOG ranges from 3.5 to 5.5 all the way to Jack Island. Then it is time to change to a port tack and head towards Clark point, the north end of Guemes.

Sail across Bellingham Channel then time to stow the sail and grab an available mooring ball. Of the fifteen available, Tom has one and I grab almost the last one next to him. That was close; of course we're the only ones there, then settle in for the afternoon and evening. Skipper serves chili for a late afternoon lunch with ample treats afterward. Beer flows freely.

Lazy weekend. Then the big, once in a lifetime, show starts Sunday night. Rowed back from a hamburger, with spinach and mashed potato dinner on Tom's boat to see the full moon amongst the few clouds. Looked odd, as if there was an eclipse starting. So it was to become; a super (32K miles closer to the earth than normal), wolf (January), blood (earth crosses a full path between the sun and the moon) eclipse. This triad will never happen again in our lifetime.

Amazingly clear night, clouds have moved away, and here is the enlarged moon with a soft rose red glow. What an event. Watched almost the entire process from the cold cockpit. Binoculars really put an eery view of the whole spectacle.

Slept well with the Wallas on low during the night to keep the chill at bay. Then this morning, time to head for home in windless flat calm waters. So, I cast off at 1015 to follow the remaining ebb through Bellingham Channel to Guemes Channel west entrance where the flood begins. As Belle-Vie approaches the swinging bridge, the tender decides to close the bridge for a long petroleum tank train. Then on the way through the ditch where the 2.5 mph current pushes us along at a blistering 8+ knots, SPOG.

Sorry no pics, but had a great time with several hours of sailing under our belt. Caught up on the latest happenings with our families, reminisced our cruising this past season and planned for the next get away, which will be next month.
 
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Oct 22, 2014
20,989
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
:plus: on the connection to the weather gods.
Give them a shout out for us when Les and I are putting Mahalo to sea in February.
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,702
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Sounds like a nice outing Terry! BTW, who fixes clocks in Anacortes?
Thanks Mark. My Dad's clock had not run since we came back from Texas in 1997. Each time I checked it was going to cost $250+ just to open it up and clean. Then my boating buddy came across a retired clock repairer that had repaired his clock. His name is Bob Desault at 360/708-7291; be sure to give him my name (Terry Cox) when you call.

I've oiled the clock myself over the years, but when it came time to remove the chime and time barrel springs to clean and oil, a bit over my pay grade. He did that, got it running and charged me $30. A minor repair, or to clean and oil, he normally charges $20. He can work on most any kind of clock, mechanical or electric.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,759
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Thanks, Terry,

We got to see it, too, but on land from our deck. Impressive. "Never again in our lifetimes" makes it super special.
 
Dec 25, 2000
5,702
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Thanks, Terry,

We got to see it, too, but on land from our deck. Impressive. "Never again in our lifetimes" makes it super special.
You're welcome Stu. The next one is 100 years away. Just might make it if I drink more beer. They say it adds to ones longevity.
 
May 7, 2012
1,338
Hunter e33 Maple Bay, BC
You're welcome Stu. The next one is 100 years away. Just might make it if I drink more beer. They say it adds to ones longevity.
Yup. If I remember correctly, some of those "the morning afters" felt like they would never end.
 
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