John & Rebecca Pratt's Nautical Adventures

WiFi on your boat made simple!

Marine Covers and Enclosures

Marinas to stop and visit

- Refuge Cove
- Toba Wilderness
- Stuart Island Community Dock
- Shoal Bay Government Wharf
- Lagoon Cove Marina
- New Vancouver Marina
- Sullivan Bay Marina

Informational websites

Pat's Boating in Canada

National Data Buoy Center

BC Marine Weather

Rockfish Conservation Areas

U. S. Customs and Border Protection

Favorite Links

BillPratt.com

Sierra College

Master Gardener Yolo County

Woodland High School

Woodland Chamber Singers

EcoFriendly

John & Rebecca Pratt's Summer 2026

A Dinghy of a Summer

NOTE: To read more, click on any highlighted, or underlined, words.

Sea Life around the Marina

May into June's time with the dinghy...

Do you know that there are only so many ways, and times, you can nurse an outboard motor along until it finally says, "I give up!" We needed to drop the lower unit to change the impeller and we were busy doing this one morning with the help of a friend. Many bolts, knuckles and a few words later, the lower unit finally came apart... except, the shaft did not come with it. This particular shaft remained frozen in the upper half, with the motor; which after talking with knowledgeable Honda outboard motor technicians, meant that the cost of repairing it was comparable to the cost of buying a brand new one. Um, let's see. After weighing the pros and cons and time factor, we opted for the new. Hmmmm... the specific motor with a short shaft, power tilt, remote steering, and an electric start was, of course, on back order.

It is a lot of fun watching the various birds that use our pulpit as a place to perch, not to mention the debris they might happen to leave behind. That's ok, for the most part, it is worth the watch to wipe up the waste.

This one happened to swoop down, catch a fish and then came back to show the results. Nice!

Another frequent flyer happens to be the pigeons and this one was poised perfectly in the pulpit. Beautiful.

There are multiple birds diving in the water, throughout the marina and this rare one happened to show up one day.

There are some pilings runing on the west side of the water way that seagulls and cormorants use to ruffle and dry their feathers in the wind.

And in the peace of the setting sun, they are busy drawing oil out from a specialized gland at the base of their tail to waterproof their feathers, while making them more supple as well as protected from bacteria or fungal growth.

So, more time flew by while we worked on other mini projects that included the installation of a third solar panel along with a new control panel that gives more information, housecleaning (i.e. the interior of the boat), along with maintenance and checking over of both diesels and the genset; we had much to do to keep us busy. Due to the marine environment, wiring needs to be checked on a regular basis, to ensure good connections and minimal corrosion. Plus, having been here awhile, already, defrost bothe the refrigerator and the ice maker for ice was building. Always something to do.

Underneath the water frontage walkway, at low tide, a couple of pigeons were busy looking for marine life snacks.

The green of their preenage was beautiful with the algae green background.

If they are not down on the rocks under the boardwalk, then they can be found strutting across the parking lot!

Around the marina, quite often you will see one, or more, rabbits running around.

The park that is south of the marina, also has quite a few on the grass in the early morning.

And, oh yes, there's another angrily barking sea lion, that's probably hollering at a boater at the entrance way into the Port of Edmonds. They hang around out there a lot, too.

Plus, time spent with friends up here, and our dock buddy, was an extra bonus for hanging around during the summertime in the Port of Edmonds. We were able to attend a Celebration of Life for our dear friend Judy, up here, who recently passed away unexpectedly. What a beautiful tribute to Judy and her life. We learned so much more about her wonderful personality, and, she had a smile that never quit. Wasn't that long ago we also attended Rebecca's sister Laura's, Celebration of Life with family, to bury her ashes on her favorite beach. Was a beautiful sunsetting goodbye. We did meet more of our fellow boaters on the dock and got to chat with ones we might see only once a year, if we even happened to cross paths.

A cormorant is standing in the breeze on top of one of the pilings in the water way, drying off it's feathers after a successful swim in the marina finding the balls of fish swimming around.

Not far away, a heron in flight is heading for the jetty rocks for a safe landing spot to either nap, or look for a new fishing location.

Herons find fishing off of nearby boats to generally be a successful endeavor, for they return frequently.

And, if not on boats on our dock, then, on a boat just across the water way, with a great view and they have a prime location for the balls of small fish swimming nearby.

Once they have caught their quota, they spend time preening in the sun, doing the same thing the seagulls do to protect their feathers with oil.

Or, they head for the roof top with a prime view to perch and from there, project a very grumpy attitude. When they gronk, you know it is a grumbling day.

Happened to be up early one morning and two slips down, found sea otters on the dock. When walking down, will quite often hear them slipping over the side from other boats. Caught them this time.

Yep, there they are, on the sailboat, too!

Now, we are nearing the end of June and we finally got the phone call that the outboard has arrived to be switched out with the defunk old one that is currently on our dinghy. It took a little planning to coordinate the haulout so that they could pick up our dinghy. Obviously, we had to paddle over to the haulout dock, and then off it went to WayPoint Marine for a new face lift and other needed repair work. So, more things to work on, on the boat, and explore low tides and/or wildlife all around.