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Here are a few photos of the new Rebecca Ann, our marina in Edmonds, and family and friends. Rebecca and I first started boating in Washington in 1987 in our 24 Bayliner. Soon after that we purchased our 2556 Bayliner and moved it to Port Townsend, WA. For many years our summers were spent fishing in Port Townsend for salmon and cruising to the San Juans for gunkholing. We made many friends and have countless memories of the fun and adventures during that time period.

In 1998 we purchased our 32 Bayliner and made it our cruising vessel while keeping our 25 Bayliner in Port Townsend for fishing only. As our cruising destinations expanded into Canada and the salmon fishing started to face closures, we adapted to fishing other waters nearby, Point Defiance. This last May, 2007, we made the decision to put our 25 on the market and chose a broker Larry Bond at Point Hudson Marina to sell it for us. On June 10, Larry called us while we were in Canada to finalize the sale and once again we became a one boat family.

For several years we had been looking for the perfect 38 Bayliner that had the classic design of boats built before 1994. While in Shoal Bay Canada we were docked next to a couple that were in a very clean, well cared for 3818 Bayliner. The rest is history. We sold our 32 Bayliner after returning home in the fall and purchased the 38 at the same time. We also were able to continue the lease on their slip in the Port of Edmonds marina. It is a covered slip and has a nice view of Puget Sound.

This year, 2008 will be our second season of cruising to Canada in our new boat. We have made a few modifications but for the most part the new Rebecca Ann is still the old Blue Wave. Enjoy the photos and feel free to join us during the summer as we continue to explore new areas in Northern BC.

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We’re on our way! Friday morning June 6 @ 5:30 am we left Edmonds Marina. It was breezy, a few showers, and a little lumpy but everything sort-of smoothed out after we rounded Possession Point. It was a nice ride up and it gave us a good chance to get use to our new navigation system. Needless to say it was a winner. Rebecca likes the new features, especially the overlay of the tides and currents on the charting program.

It was a little chilly this morning. The weather advised for snow in the higher elevations. We had a cold breeze but we stayed very comfortable in the fly bridge. I had the cabin heater on so it was very warm inside the boat. Our destination was LaConner. We fueled up and decided to spend the night because the weather is very changeable currently.

John is quite pleased with our new wireless system. He has an outside wi-fi antenna connected to a router and wireless bridge inside the cabin. He’s smiling so it must be working. We plan on leaving early in the morning for Canada. We will check in at Bidwell Harbor to clear customs and then head to Nanaimo where we will meet up with our friend Garry Marr on the “In Search Of”. Attached are a few photos of the last couple of days in Edmonds.

John & Rebecca

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June 7

After arriving in La Conner, we hit the fuel dock and made our deposit. We tied up at the guest dock which is the closest to town and settled down for the night. Rebecca walked into town to mail some cards and to stop at the small grocery store to pick up some of their great homemade potato salad and some ice cream for our freezer. Our friends Mike and Judy last year gave us a very nice ice cream maker which we plan on using this summer, but we have to have ice cream on board just in case of an emergency.

We left the morning of the 8th and headed towards Bidwell for customs check in. We called Garry to find out his location and decided that we would meet in Prevost Harbor before we crossed into Canada. We rafted together for the evening and had a nice dinner and good conversation about our future boating stops.

We left early the next morning, Sunday, and went to Bidwell Harbor. After tying up our boats Garry and John went up to customs and checked in. John took a few pictures of Poets Cove and we boarded our boats and left for Dodd Narrows. We were a little early for slack but we got through ok. Garry got to Nanaimo first and he fueled up and went out to Marks Bay and anchored. We fueled up next, bought our fishing licenses, and went out to Marks Bay and side tied next to Garry. We lowered our inflatable and then we all went back into town and bought some additional supplies. After we returned back to the boat, we had chicken and potato salad and called it a night.

John got up early (4:15) and listened to the weather report and decided that it was no better than the night before so he went back to bed. Garry got up around 6:00 and the report was better, so we pulled anchor and headed across the Straight of Georgia. The weather changed many times but we just kept on going. Finally when we neared Desolation Sound the water flattened out and we had a nice ride to Squirrel Cove. We arrived around 3:00. Garry dropped his anchor and we are side tied to him. Currently it’s raining and has been most of the day. The wind is calm and we are tucked into a nice anchorage with a scenic view of everything.

Rebecca is in her kayak on a mission to gather oysters. Somebody said something about hot dogs and potato salad for dinner though. We’ll see. We might be stuck here for an extra day or so because of the weather. When we do leave we plan on going to Octopus Island and doing our first serious crabbing and fishing. Our friends Barb and Trav introduced us to that secret spot a few years ago. Below are some photos that illustrate where we are and what we are doing. We hope that you all are fine and our enjoying your warm summers.

Love, John & Rebecca

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June 12

Hello all: We’re anchored in Octopus Islands Marine Park, tucked back in a little cove. We have a stern line attached to a tree on shore and Garry dropped his anchor, backed down, and we’re firmly settled in. There are shoals all around us but we have plenty of water under us. We had a nice ride from Squirrel Cove, and went through the Hole-In-the-Wall with no problems. There are several boats anchored out where we normally stay so we decided to anchor inside this cove. One thing that we do know is that this area is a dead zone for cell phones so we are unable to communicate. What we can do is add to our boating adventures 2008, and upload it after we leave here.

Yesterday we set out 4 crab pots in 50 to 60 feet of water. We baited them with chicken legs that Garry brought and some fish that Rebecca caught. We checked several hours later and came up empty…all of them! We left them out overnight and we’ll check them this morning. We plan on going fishing today when the water is slack. Rebecca fixed the last of the oysters last night along with a nice salad, noodles, and some kind of mystery rice, called Cous Cous! Rebecca does a good job fixing our meals for us. I’ve learned to stay out of her galley.

Early this morning, with the calm water and the light reflection, we were able to see the totems on shore. Barb showed us how the rocks and shoreline cast the same reflection as the water and it looks like a totem pole except it is horizontal. Today was almost a kick back day. Rebecca felt a little punky this morning so she reluctantly stayed in bed while Garry and I went fishing. We checked the crab pots and found only two females, which we had to let go. We moved the pots into the 40 foot range and went bottom fishing. We only managed one bottom fish which we put into one of the traps. We all started to catch up on our reading and early evening we went back out to check the crab pots. Bingo, we caught 5 legal crabs. We plan on going back out before dark to put more bait in the pots, but right now it’s really raining….hard. It might be difficult to drag John out again! The generator is humming, it’s 70 degrees inside the salon, Rebecca is drinking her special tea, John is drinking a Chai tea latte….we’re good.

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June 14

Hello again, we are in Forward Harbour (Today is our 23rd anniversary!), and on our way to Lagoon Cove. Wind is really kicking up and after going through five separate rapids (some with us and some against us) we are anchoring and waiting for calm. Hole-In-the-Wall was our first rapid, then Yuculta and Gillard Passage (nice due to going our direction), next was the Devil’s Hole in the Dent Rapids (not as bad as it sounds), then Green Point Rapids (really easy) and finally, Whirlpool Rapids and this one was running strong (against us)! In channel going into Forward Harbour we spotted a bear off the starboard side (right) of our boat. Rebecca nosed over for John to get a picture, but the little (he was really big) rascal climbed up and disappeared into the brush. Needless to say, I don’t think a walk on the beach is a good idea!

Next morning, the 15th, traveled down Sunderland Channel (7 miles long) and entered Johnstone Straits. Fanny Island weather report said winds were 19 knots with 2 foot seas. Well….they were right on! A bit bouncy during the 13 mile run up to Havannah Channel and once we were around Broken Islands, waters were calm. I think this is when John blessed them. Even with the wind in our face, the current was going our way and so we moved along at an average of 8.4 knots. Now John has to clean the windows. Rebecca liked the bouncy water. Chatham Channel was slack, and the Blowhole was not moving much either. Left Forward Harbour at 5:25 a.m. and entering Lagoon Cove at 9:30 a.m. This boat can sure handle the rough water. Nice.

Lots of great people at Lagoon Cove and Bill is always the first voice you hear when we call on Channel 66 to see if he has any room at the docks. Bill and Jean have been here many years (I am not sure exactly how many) and they are one of our most favorite stops. We will only be here for a couple of days due to needing to move on with Garry, to go halibut fishing. Plan to stop and stay longer on our way south. One of the best things about staying at Lagoon Cove is their 5:00 o’clock happy hour. All of the boats bring up some type of simple dish that would be enough for 5 to 7 people and Bill always has prawns. Boy are they good. The number of boats on the docks can range from 15 to 40 and the more the merrier! We all visit, exchange boat names, and share all kinds of stories…anything from, “We shouldn’t have done this!” to “You just have to go to this other place and see such and such a thing!” Then…….Bill will tell one, or more, of his bear stories. They all have a punch line and there has to be a newby in the crowd who will ask, “What happened?” while the rest of us sit back and laugh our heads off. Bill should be on T.V. with his stories. They only get better, every year.

Love, John & Rebecca

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June 19

We left Lagoon Cove at 6:00 am on June 17. Dave got up early to help us push off the docks. We had already filled our fuel and water tanks so we were ready to leave early. We had smooth water and the current was in our favor so we took Spring Passage to Dickson Island. We were going to stop at Sullivan Bay to pick up some 9 volt batteries for Rebecca’s depth finder and use the Post Office but the water was calm in the Queen Charlotte Strait. We headed up Wells Passage and dropped anchors and setup stern lines to shore. We’re tucked back into a protected corner and have a great view of the waters and hills around us.

From where we’re anchored, we have to travel only about 20 minutes to the fishing grounds. The fishing has been great but the catching could improve. We have all caught lots of bottom fish which for the most part, we release. We have caught many greenlings which we really enjoy, and we caught one large lingcod. Rebecca loves to filet the catch which we share with Garry.

The weather up until this morning has been very nice. It was raining and overcast this morning when we left to go fishing. The water never really slowed down enough to jig off the bottom for halibut but we did catch some nice greenlings. We decided to come back in and try it later on today when the tide changes. John and Garry are reading on the boats and Rebecca is out fishing and exploring in her kayak. She did say this morning how much she misses Judy not being here and going fishing with her in the kayaks.

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June 22

We’re still at Dickson Island fishing, exploring, and relaxing. We’ve been catching lots of fish but no halibut as of yet. We’ve come to the conclusion that the halibut haven’t migrated into shallow water yet. We looked at our log from last year and we are about a month early. Garry will be leaving in a couple of days to head back to Tacoma so we have been stocking up on greenlings and lingcod. We’ve had some big fish on but we were unable to land them.

The weather was great when we first arrived here but since then it has become windy and cold. A couple of times we were heading out to fish and had to turn back because of rough water. We have been entertaining ourselves watching the wildlife around us. Rebecca set out several fish carcasses on the rocks near our boats and we watched for hours the ritual of feeding between the crows, eagles, buzzards, and weasels. The eagles now sit in the trees around the boat waiting for Rebecca to re-supply their “rock”.

We are in another dead zone for cell signals and the internet but we are planning on taking the laptop out with us this afternoon to try and pickup a signal. When we do eventually leave here our next stop will be Sullivan Bay to pickup some supplies.

Love, John & Rebecca

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June 23-29

Spent several days relaxing on the boat, reading, anchored out at Dickson Island, even after Garry Marr departed on his boat ‘In Search Of…’. Taking it easy was fun as shown by the eagle and otter pictures above. Also watched boats come and go, including a commercial fishing boat over 65’ that towed off a 35’ aluminum fishing boat along with a 25’ funny looking type of work boat. The big boat must have put out over 200 feet of tow line before the 35+ foot boat started moving and another 50 feet of line between the 35’ and 25’ boats. It was interesting watching them set up the lines and the 65’ boat could really maneuver tightly, while moving around the other two boats. That captain knows how to handle his boat. More fishing below and then off to Sullivan Bay, before starting the next part of our travels up here in the Broughton Archipelago.

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June 30

Arrived at Sullivan Bay and as shown in the picture above, there aren’t many boats at the dock. We did observe a boat made by ‘Westport’; pull in to Dock 3 that easily had to be over 120 feet in length. Will have to get a picture and post it. Name of the boat is ‘Estancia’. We have several chores to do while at Sullivan Bay including laundry by Rebecca and bills to pay by John. Hmmmm…..who has the easier job, hard to say at this point. Need to refill the water tank as well and pick up a few items at the store and send off some ‘regular’ mail!

We had a wonderful welcoming committee as we pulled into the dock, Pete Peterson. He, and his wife Gail, have a float home here in Sullivan Bay and arrived about four days ago. They will be here until the end of September. They currently have two grandsons visiting with them, Patrick and Christopher, who will be here until the end of July. Patrick is 10 years old and his older brother, Christopher, is 12 and is both very nice boys. We will definitely go over and say hello to Gail and visit with all of them, while here at Sullivan Bay.

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July 2

We’re leaving Sullivan Bay this morning probably around 10:00. Our next stop will be Claydon Bay which is almost directly across from Sullivan Bay. Two days on the docks is long enough. We did pickup some limited supplies and topped off our water tanks. Last night we had dinner at the restaurant. It was a nice break for Rebecca. We also spent some time with our friends Pete and Gayle Peterson from Sacramento. We met them years ago while we were members of the Sacramento Yacht Club.

Pete and Gayle have their grandsons Christopher and Patrick visiting with them. Pete took Rebecca and his boys out fishing yesterday and they caught a nice assortment of fish. We’ve seen more boaters coming into the marina but they are not staying, only picking up supplies and water. Our guess is that they are on their way up to Alaska. Most of the marinas have a 4th of July celebration for the American boaters. Some have fireworks, and pig roasts. Here in Sullivan Bay they are having food, music, and lots of celebrations. Lagoon Cove has it’s annual crab race which is a lot of fun to attend.

Rebecca just left to go kayaking with Trish. She and her husband live here also in a float home. Trish was aboard our boat last night for a visit and we found out that she really likes the author Robert B. Parker and his detective novels which include the Stone Cold movies with Tom Sellick. We loaned her the DVD’s to watch. She has never seen them before so she is in for a real treat. We hope that all of you are enjoying your summer and having fun.

Love, John & Rebecca

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July 4

Happy 4th of July. We’ve been in Claydon Bay for two nights. We didn’t have to travel far from Sullivan Bay to get here. When we arrived we were the only boat in this bay. A couple of sailboats came in later. We decided to drop anchor and stern tie to shore. It’s well protected from the wind and possibly we can see a bear on shore. Rebecca did spot one the second morning here but it was on the opposite beach. It’s very quiet and peaceful here.

We spent the first day catching up on our reading and cooking crabs. The next morning, Trish and her husband Larry came over from Sullivan Bay on their boat the ‘Mully Lee’, and Trish and Rebecca went kayaking while Larry took John on a short fishing trip. The fishing was uneventful but the kayaking was great. Trish is new to kayaking but is learning very quickly how to maneuver and handle herself.

After a short conversation on the VHF radio this morning Trish and Larry, accompanied by their granddaughter, motored over and Trish and Rebecca went exploring at low tide. John and Larry stayed on the boat and engaged in spirited conversation. Larry is retired from the Forestry and he is an avid guide and fly fisherman. Their home is in Ashland, Oregon but they live in their float home during the summer. It’s obvious their lifestyle fits them because of their outgoing friendliness and their caring attitude towards each other. Their nice people to be around.

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July 8

We’re anchored in Turnbull Cove, just a short distance from Claydon Bay. This is a very beautiful anchorage, possibly the best so far this summer. We are in a very secluded bay with an entrance across of approximately 200 feet. We are completely surrounded by steep hills and tall forests. We are anchored in 35 feet of water on the northwest side. The south side shows the visible effects of a large slide that occurred in 1995. This morning there are only 5 boats anchored, including ourselves. It is cloudy and raining but we’re nice and comfortable on board.

We caught up with our crab cooking on July 6 and Rebecca toured some of the area in her kayak. We’ve noticed that the water is very clear in here with visibility down to ten feet deep, probably due to the fast moving current on the outside of the cove. Yesterday morning we caught the low tide and went exploring and fishing in the inflatable. Our first stop was the ‘Roaringhole Rapids’. It truly lives up to its name because it is very noisy and there is 5 minutes of slack water, at high tide only, for those who wish to go through.

We also took a short jaunt up ‘Kenneth Passage’. Rebecca saw them moving a float home by means of a very small tug boat while she was out exploring and we wondered where they had it tied up. We went fishing down in a place that Larry recommended and where Rebecca had caught a very nice yelloweye yesterday. While fishing Rebecca caught a small yellow eye but while she was reeling it up a very large lingcod grabbed it. She said that all of a sudden her pole really jerked hard and line started peeling off her reel; unbeknownst to her, she now had two fish on. That lingcod wasn’t about to let go of the yelloweye and Rebecca did a great job of bringing them both up to the boat. John managed to hand gaff the lingcod, “whew, what a tricky job”, and we got them both into the dinghy. We decided that we had enough fish for the day and continued with our exploring the area and looking for bears.

We went over to ‘Overflow Basin’, carefully entered and left ‘Embley Lagoon’, and checked out a couple of bays; one of them had a half sunken float home back in a cove. Finally, we headed back to the Rebecca Ann for some serious fish cleaning. So today we’re just kicking back, reading, and watching it rain. It’s 1:00 pm and it’s still raining but who cares.

Love, John & Rebecca

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July 9

This is our last evening in Turnbull Cove. We leave tomorrow for Sullivan Bay to top off our water tanks and check our e-mails. We agreed that we are going to return here before we leave and head south. After breakfast we loaded up the inflatable and went fishing. We quickly caught our limit of yelloweye and Rebecca had another lingcod on, but it got off after a good battle. She said that it felt bigger than her last one. Good grief. How was John supposed to get that in the boat?

After we got back to the boat we decided to hike the trail to Huaskin Lake. We went over in the kayak and pulled it up on shore. This use to be a very large logging camp at one time. You can still see the remains of the skid trails, steam donkey, cables, and old growth forests. The forest service has done a nice job of keeping the trails open and securing floats for sunbathing or swimming. It’s only about a mile and a half to the lake which is approximately six miles long. It was a nice hike and it was good exercise also. As you can see by the photo, Rebecca couldn’t resist going in for a swim.

They did a very nice job of building the steps into the old cedar trees that were part of the skid road. The hand rail was a nice touch also. We spotted the old steam donkey back inside the alders just above the high tide mark. It was in remarkable condition but it was missing the boiler.

After we got back to the boat, we put it in shape for traveling and had a nice pizza for dinner. The weather was calm during the night but we learned at Sullivan Bay it was really kicking up and blowing hard. It still is blowing at 5:30 but it will probably calm down tonight. Larry and Trish have invited us over for dinner tonight. We’re having problems with our internet and cell phone still, so we will probably stay here a couple of days to try and straighten it out.

Love, John & Rebecca

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July 17

We left Sullivan Bay last Monday the 14th early. We decided to go back to Turnbull Cove for a few more days. We stayed longer than we intended to, in Sullivan Bay. With Bill’s help we were able to contact Verizon through Skype. I was fortunate to speak with a knowledgeable technician who tried everything possible to get our Internet service back for us but it was not to be. He at least found the problem and they will correct it when we return to Seattle. We will still be able to go online but only at a few marinas that have Internet.

Chris at Sullivan Bay cooks a deep fried turkey every Sunday so we wanted to stay and enjoy an early Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the dinner but we enjoyed being with Pete, Gayle, and their two grandsons even more. Rebecca, Trish, and McKenna all went kayaking together in nearby waters of Sullivan Bay. We were able to get caught up with our e-mails, and even watched a movie one night.

Rebecca, Trish made plans for Wednesday morning to go kayaking in Turnbull Cove. Larry motored over Trish & McKenna, with all their gear, and after coffee the trio set out for some exploration. John and Larry just kicked back and shared stories. Rebecca radioed John and said that the prawn trap had run away from home and was floating down the channel. Larry and John caught up to it just as the floats were sinking under the water. The wayward trap re-appeared when the tide changed a couple of hours later. We pulled it and reset it again. I guess you could say that we were prawn trolling because we had over 20 huge prawns in the trap. We have been doing well in the prawn department. These are by far the largest prawns that we have ever caught.

The fishing department has been great too, except that John needs to go back to gaffing school. Due to some unexpected events we have lost our last two lingcod. Our conclusion is that we need to equip the inflatable with a collapsible handle net, along with a better gaffing hook.

When we leave Turnbull Cove we will head back to Sullivan Bay for water and the Internet, and then continue on to Dickson Island to fish for halibut. Sunday morning we went with Larry, Trish, and McKenna down to Dixon Island for the gals to kayak at low tide and Larry and John were going to try their luck halibut fishing. As the photo shows Larry caught a large halibut while John was just along for the ride. Larry is an expert fisherman and is very knowledgeable of the area.

The gals were exploring in their kayaks for about 4 hours gathering treasures. After we returned to Sullivan Bay the gals got busy with their treasures while Larry cleaned the fish. John noticed a familiar boat heading towards the fuel dock and it turned out to be our neighbors next to us in Edmonds; Jo Ann and Ed in the JoSea. They stopped for fuel before continuing on their way to Rivers Inlet. They decided not to spend the night here because the waters were still calm outside. Rebecca was invited to go halibut fishing with the Petersons in the morning if we stay another day. John said: why not, we’re on vacation.

Love John and Rebecca

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July 21

Last day in Sullivan Bay. We have been hoping to hear from our friends Gene and Bev McGihon. Our cell phone service is still not working so we have been relying on the internet for contacts. We had a special treat for dinner, corned venison. We invited Trish, Larry, and McKenna over to share dinner with them. Trish complimented the meal with her homemade bread. We have wanted to try out our new Cuisinart ice cream maker that Mike and Judy gave us so we figured this was as good as time as any. The ice cream maker worked well but we had to put it in the freezer overnight to fully harden. The next day we shared the ice cream with everyone.

Rebecca is going fishing with the Petersons this morning. Chris and Patrick leave next Sunday to return home so they are keeping Pete and Gayle very busy with their activities. Here are some photos of Chris, Patrick, and Pete showing off their two nice halibut and some special photos of sea creatures, and fishing.

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July 29

This was our last day at Dixon Island. We have spent the last week fishing and kayaking. We were only able to get out fishing when the wind wasn’t blowing so we totally kicked backed and enjoyed ourselves reading, drinking coffee in bed until late in the morning, and reflecting on how fortunate we are to be able to spend our summers here in Canada. We are very lucky indeed.

Larry, Trish, and McKenna came down one morning and Trish and Rebecca kayaked together for about 4 hours. Larry and his granddaughter McKenna were going halibut fishing together and they invited John to join them. Larry caught another large halibut but decided to release it being that it wasn’t harmed. We all had a great time fishing. We met up with the gals later on and loaded their kayaks on the boat and returned back to the Rebecca Ann. Needless to say the gals also brought some treasures back with them. We had a great day together.

Rebecca and John tried fishing for halibut several times. They did catch two; one was so large that all parties agreed to let it go. Needless to say, we had a very interesting time getting it up to the inflatable for inspection. The unwritten rule up here is that anything over a hundred pounds is usually a female, so releasing it helps to insure that the halibut stock continues to grow. Keep in mind that ‘all parties’ agreed to let it go. The halibut had a say in it also. So between greenlings, lingcod, and halibut, we’re doing just fine and really enjoying ourselves.

The weather continues to change daily. A couple of days ago a storm was centered in the Gulf of Alaska and continued to spread down to our area In the Queen Charlotte Straits. The weather forecast was for 40 to 50 mph winds but we were pretty well protected in our anchorage. We did do an anchor watch for a few hours during the night but we held good and fast. We wanted to go back out fishing this morning, July 29, but the wind was still gusting outside. After we had our coffee we decided to head up towards Sullivan Bay and top off our water tanks. We’re here now, tied to the dock, but we’re not sure where our next destination will be. We do know that our turnaround time is almost here so we are enjoying each and every minute of our day.

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July 30

Today will involve kayaking, laundry, cleaning up the boat, and adding a few provisions. John made enchiladas yesterday. That was a real treat. Larry, Trish, and McKenna joined us for a movie, Stone Cold with Tom Selleck. We snacked on popcorn and a dessert that McKenna brought over. This morning Rebecca is going kayaking with the group for a few hours. The winds have died down but it is still cloudy and unsettled weather. There are more boats here at the docks this morning. According to the managers Chris and Debbie, June was a very poor month here in Sullivan Bay. We are seeing smaller boats, which we didn’t see in June.

While John was over at the fuel dock filling up the portable gas tanks for the inflatable, he ran into Ron Bauman from Harbour Village Marina in Kenmore. Ron and his wife Suzie are on an extended vacation and stopped here for lunch and shopping. They have a very well equipped sailboat, Tango, and are on their way to circumnavigate Vancouver Island. This is their first trip to the Broughtons and they shared with us their destinations and anchorages. They left late in the afternoon to anchor out in Turnbull Cove so they could explore the area including the Roaring Hole Rapids. We promised to contact them when we come back to Seattle in December.

We’re going fishing this afternoon and will probably set out a crab pot.

Love, J & R

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July 31

Well the gals are getting in all the kayaking that they can. We leave in the morning for a return trip to Turnbull Cove for a little more fishing and prawning. Our turn-around day, depending on the weather, will be August 5. Our first stop on our return home will be Lagoon Cove near Minstrel Island. We plan to fill up our fuel tanks (ouch) and take in the happy hour and maybe some bear stories. Depending on the water conditions, our next stop will be at Oleo’s to visit with Ruth, Katerina, and Paul. Hopefully Katerina will be cooking dinners and we’ll be rewarded with some fine cuisine. If not, just to visit their home and get ‘caught-up’ with the latest news will be fine. After leaving Oleo’s that puts us within a couple of days of crossing the Strait of Georgia and a fuel stop in Nanaimo. After leaving Nanaimo it’s a full day’s travel to the U.S. border. Hopefully we can clear customs in Anacortes with a phone call. We will probably spend our first night back in U.S. waters in LaConner. We plan to be back home in our slip in Edmonds the afternoon of the 15th of August. Rebecca flies back to Woodland on the 17th. John will stay in Seattle until September 10, doing maintenance, washing the boat, and packing. Rebecca and I are already making plans for next summer’s return to the Broughton Islands. We hope that you have enjoyed traveling with us and sharing our Adventures 2008.

Love, John & Rebecca

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August 5-7

We left Turnbull Cove early in the morning to catch the current moving in our direction. We chose to take Sutley Channel instead of Wells Passage because of predicted fog and winds in Queen Charlotte Straits. As it turned out the water was flat calm and no fog. Go figure. We had a nice ride down to Lagoon Cove where we topped off our water and fuel tanks. Bill put us at the dock where we could leave early in the morning.

We wanted to attend the happy hour that evening so Rebecca baked our last pizza for us to contribute. We had a very enjoyable time but left early to hit the sack because we planned to leave at 5:00 am. When we left Lagoon Cove the fog had pretty much settled in but with our radar and GPS maps, Rebecca did a good job of getting us to Johnstone Straits. We had a very nice ride down and eventually ended up at Oleo’s in Fredrick Arm. We had tried to contact them on the radio but found out after we got there that their VHF radio was on the blink.

Rebecca recognized a boat that was already tied up at the dock. It was Peter Lazenby aboard the Moon Mist IV. Peter introduced us to Fran, a very warm and friendly acquaintance. Peter and Fran had been here for a few days helping Ruth in the kitchen because her son Paul had to make a run to Vancouver because of an engine problem. We were treated to a wonderful dinner of pork chops that Ruth prepared. Fran was our gracious hostess and after dinner we enjoyed chocolate cake for dessert.

We got up early to help Peter and Fran leave the dock because they had to catch the slack water to go through the rapids on their way south. We may meet up with them again in Pender Harbour before we cross the Strait of Georgia. We decided to stay another night here at Oleo’s. Tonight will be our turn helping out in the dining room and kitchen because Paul will not return until late this evening. It also gives us time to visit with Ruth and get caught up with all the latest.

We have noticed that the fish farms have expanded their operation here in the basin. There are more float homes for the employees also. This seems to be a very thriving industry here in B.C. We left Oleo’s Friday morning early enough to catch the slack at the rapids. It only took us about 3 hours to reach Desolation Sound. We decided to anchor out in Squirrel Cove instead of continuing on to Pender Harbor. As it turns out that was a good choice because the winds picked up and blew all night.

We left early this morning, Saturday, to continue on to Pender Harbor. We had smooth waters until we reached Powell River and then the wind started to pickup as did the seas. It was a bumpy ride to Pender but were fine. We met up with Fran and Peter and are going to a local restaurant this evening for some fish and chips. The wind is still blowing hard so we might stay here another night. We’re still without our Verizon cell phone coverage and are relying on BBX for our Internet.

Love, John & Rebecca

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August 9 and on...

What a great time we had in Pender Harbor with Peter and Fran. We were both tired from the rough seas down to Pender but we were up for a good fish and chips dinner with Peter and Fran. Wouldn’t you know it, the restaurant closed early for cleaning so we had to go to plan B. A short walk down to the water was the Garden Bay Pub. We found a table for 4 and ordered drinks and prime rib dinners. Our service and food was excellent. Then we were treated to a live band that really rocked the place. Well, not really, but they were very good and the crowd really appreciated their music.

We left after awhile to have dessert on Peter and Fran’s boat. Strawberry shortcake and coffee. We said our good nights and retired for the evening. The next day Peter and Fran took us on a boat tour in the Zoomer to see all of Pender Harbor. We saw all the sights, stopped at a grocery store for some pastry, and continued the rest of the boat trip.

That evening, we again tried for fish and chips and this time we were successful. It was worth the wait because the food was excellent. We had dessert again with Peter and Fran, this time blueberry and strawberry shortcake. We left early because we were going to leave at 5:00 am to cross the Strait of Georgia. The water was flat and calm all the way across the straits. We decided to anchor in Clam Bay on Thetis Island for the night. One night turned into two because we had such a good anchorage and Rebecca was on a moon snail mission the next morning at low tide.

We left this morning, August 13, to cross into U.S. waters and clear customs. We had planned to spend one night at Sucia Island but we had to go into Anacortes to clear customs. We were going to anchor out at Hat Island and drop our crab traps but the wind was picking up and it would have been a rough night out. We decided to continue on into LaConner and tie up at the docks and top off our fuel tanks before we head back to Edmonds.

Tomorrow the 14th is Rebecca’s birthday, so we’ll celebrate it at a nice restaurant here in town. We’re only 4 to 5 hours from here to Edmonds, so it’s fair to say that our summer’s boating is almost over. Of course we’re already planning on next summer’s adventures.

Love, John and Rebecca

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September 12

After we finished our summer in Canada our activities up north still continued until after Christmas and the New Year. John didn’t come back home until September 12. He used that time to service and wash the boat. It’s much easier to service the engines when the weather is still warm. He says his ‘old body’ doesn’t bend like it use to. Rebecca had to report back to school August 18 for teacher work day. Her semester started just a few days after that. Kicking, screaming and dragging her heels all the way to the airport, pretty much sums up her leaving Seattle. Here’s a few more photos that Trisha and Larry sent to us, after they returned home to Ashland, Oregon.

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November 22

Trisha and Rebecca planned a little get-away to Seattle in November. It was just a short trip but much can be accomplished in three days. Bill picked them up at the airport and drove them over to Woodinville to pickup our car. They stayed on the boat and had a great time planning meals and figuring out their itinerary for each day. Needless to say kayaking, walking the shoreline, exploring, were all included. The weather didn’t cooperate as much as they would have liked, stiff wind and chop, but they still had a good time.

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November 29

We drove down to San Jose to visit with David and Kazue and John’s new great-grandson, Kenneth. We had a wonderful time visiting with them. We went to their favorite park near their house and David took Kenneth on the slides. It won’t be long and he will be doing that on his own. The weather was nice and warm for the walk to the park. Later David cooked some steaks on the barbeque and we had a very nice dinner. Kazue is a very good cook and everything was delicious. We said our goodbyes and headed back to Woodland.

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December 21

We spent our Christmas break on the boat in Edmonds, WA. This truly was a white Christmas. The weather turned very cold after a hard rain and the roads turned to ice. Then it started to really snow and the fun began. Our vehicle that we leave in Woodinville is a rear wheel drive so traction can be a problem. Having completed that, we headed back to Edmonds, hopeful that we would be able to meet up with friends and family before Christmas. That wasn’t going to happen. We were snowed in for a few days and could only walk to town. Snow on the docks was beautiful and we were snug and warm on the boat.

Our Christmas dinner with Paul Gahr’s family was cancelled because the roads were too dangerous. Bill and Marsha were going over to her daughter’s house for Christmas dinner and that was cancelled also. Plan B. Bill drove his new SUV over to Edmonds and picked us up and we had dinner at their house. It was great to be with family on Christmas day.

We had made an appointment in Blaine, Washington to finish our application for the new NEXUS card that will allow us to cross the border, to and from Canada, without stopping for an inspection. The last half of the application included an in-person interview so we had to be there. Fortunately, the weather warmed up a little and we were able to drive up and back on Monday, Dec. 29th.

The next day we drove down to Fox Island and visited with our friends Mike and Judy. We had one of Judy’s fabulous meals, watched a movie, and spent the night. We drove back to Edmonds the next day late in the afternoon. The weather turned cold again and it started snowing. We pretty much stayed on the boat, cranked the heaters up, watched movies, and read. We managed to take a few short trips to visit with friends but for the most part we just camped out on the boat. Our boat is under cover so we were out of the weather but there were times when the wind was fierce.

We did take the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston and then drove over to Sequim to have dinner with Paul Gahr at the 7 Cedars Casino. As luck would have it, it was seafood night. On January 6, Bill drove over and took us to the airport and we returned home to Woodland, CA.

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February 7

Rebecca’s all dressed up for the Friends of the Library presentation of “Dead to Rights”. The Historic Woodland Downtown Businesses are major contributors for this event. The activities include a silent auction, sample appetizers and taste your favorite wine. Everyone who attends the event tours the library and have the opportunity to mingle with their fellow “sleuths”. Throughout the library there are 10 clues which may, or may not, help you solve the crime. The actors/actresses and volunteers are business members, library staff, and local woodlanders. Rebecca and two other ladies in our community are “Greeters”. Rebecca is the “Major Domo”. ……….break a leg!

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This is our 3rd summer of cruising to Canada and visiting the Broughtons’ in our “38”. We are looking forward to meeting up with friends and visiting old anchorages and exploring for new ones. We are traveling again this summer with our friend Garry Marr from Breakwater Marina in Tacoma, WA. Our first extended anchorage will be Octopus Islands in Desolation Sound. Past experience in this area has consistently filled our traps with Dungeness crabs and good fishing. Rebecca has her favorite places for kayaking and exploring the shoreline. Here are a few photos of our marina in Edmonds that show what the weather conditions were during our winter break. Also attached are some photos that were taken during our Spring break that show Rebecca and Trisha kayaking in the Puget Sound.

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