Sea Star 7

​We leave Bainbridge for Bremerton 9/24. It was a super foggy morning with less than 200-feet of visibility. Once we rounded the bottom of Bainbridge Island, it cleared and became a bright blue, warm day. It was the best weather in a month after a fairly lousy late summer. We tied up in our usual spot inside the breakwater.

The next day we had a rental car place come pick us up so we can drive out to David and Lisa's. The car was a Mazda CX30 - one of the cars Dave is considering for Mexico. He was glad to have rented it because, as he suspected, it just did not have the pep he was looking for. The driving in Mexico can take you over some pretty steep mountains. The old Hyundai barely had enough power to keep up with traffic so Dave wanted something a little more powerful. 

We had a great time with the Murphy's. We got dressed up and went out for a nice dinner the last night.  

Dave and Melissa left Everett for Poulsbo 9/12. It was a smooth crossing. 

The next day, we head south to pick up the Maurer crew at Jennifer's. The red kayak gets a new home here. Once the three guests are on board, we head for Ostrich Bay. 

The next day, we ran out of gas for the portable generator so needed to go on the search for power and or more gas. Up to Silverdale we went and tied up on the dock. They still do not have power on the dock so Jim went and filled the little gas can on land. It was a noisy/windy night. Dave gave up trying sleep and rose at 5:00.

On the 17th we head for the Bremerton Marina for a night.

After a peaceful night, we did a side trip up to Brownsville before taking Jennifer home. Dave put 25 gallons of gas into the tank and topped the dinghy tank. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew set off for the famous butcher returning with various lovely meats. It is low tide so tying to Jennifer's buoy is questionable. We tried lowering the dinghy platform while drifting but it wouldn't budge. Then Melissa noticed hydraulic fluid in the water. At least the platform was stuck up, not down. Back to Bremerton we went. Jennifer ended up taking two ferries to get back to Bainbridge Island.

Jennifer and Margaret show up on the 16th. They brought the new Starlink mount to move the antenna onto the railing. It worked great and now the dish is out of the way. ​

We spent two nights at the Thetis Island Resort. We did not want to be anchored out as a storm was predicted. Although the afternoon was splendid, the winds picked up at midnight. There was a spectacular lightning storm followed by pouring rain. While we were there, the stabilizer tech contacted me with instructions how to identify and bypass the bad sensor. He was fabulous and I quickly had the stabilizers back online. 

We headed for Chemainus Wharf where we knew we could get water and stayed the night of the 19th. And then down to Salt Spring Marina for a couple nights. We rented a car and toured the cidery, a couple wineries and some shops. 

On the 22nd, we went down to Port Browning, South Pender Island. Along the way, Melissa tested positive for Covid. Dave gave Jennifer anchoring lessons so Melissa could rest. 

We arrived back in Victoria (Ship Point) on the 23rd with the hopes to listen to the Blues concerts from the boat. Margaret and Jennifer made the wise decision to cut it short and head home. If they were going to get Covid, it would be better to be at home close to local resources. Melissa and Dave hung out until the 28th working on getting well. Meanwhile, we were tied up in front of Popeye and enjoyed listening to the music and people watching in between naps. 

Heading south to Victoria to pick up Chris and Virginia who are coming up on the Clipper in a couple days. 

Our trip through Seymour Narrows was painless. However, around Campbell River, we lost the stabilizers. Cycling power only made it worse so Dave had to go into the super hot engine room to pin the fins. You cannot let them flop around, especially when backing, or they can be damaged or worse put a hole in your boat. The trip over the Comox River bar is always nerve wracking. The charts show 2 feet depth on either side of the narrow, but well marked channel. His watch even warned him when his pulse rate was over 120. We settled in at the anchorage on Denman Island, again. 

We leave the anchorage on the 5th heading for Fairwinds Marina (again). Halfway down Denman Island there is an interesting ferry that uses a cable to pull itself across the channel. You look for the light to go green to tell you it is safe to cross the cable. We arrive at Fairwinds Marina to the same slip as last time. It has been fairly calm so not having the stabilizers in the Straights has not been a problem. 

We depart on the 6th for Montague Harbour. The wind forecast was 10-15 on the stern but we saw 20 knots on the nose. 

The 7th was spent anchored in Port Browning. Dave was a little nervous because the forecast was for the winds to come up but never did. 

We arrived at the Wharf Street Marina (Victoria) on the 8th. On the way, a sailboat motoring with its headsail up (so could not see well) cut us off in a very narrow channel. The emergency 5-blast from our awesome horn hot their attention but it was pretty close. We had the right-way (and size-away) but it would have been a mess to collide in such a narrow spot with the current ripping through. 

Our guests arrive on the 9th. We depart for a cruise through the Islands on the 10th.