Day 1, 8/19/07 Seattle to Point Hudson Marina

Scott and Tom woke up at 5:00 a.m. and casted us off the dock in the dark, drizzly rain while Cindy and I continue to slumber on in own cozy beds. The lock people at Ballard Locks weren't able to send us through immediately, so by the time they did, Cindy was up, dressed, and able to help the guys tend the lines.

I finally woke up as we were part of the way through, so I remained in my robe. (lazy bum) Our guests are hard workers and unafraid to get a bit wet - and they got pretty wet! I wondered if this was a sign of the weather to come, but when we arrived at Port Hudson marina in Port Townsend, the skies opened up, the sun was shining, and soon we forgot that it had even been raining that morning.

After securing the boat, and paying for our slip, we set off for a nice afternoon in the town of Port Townsend. We had lunch and checked out the shops in town. We went back to the boat and the guys worked on various projects while Cindy and I organized the boat and later made dinner. We had a delightful evening talking and laughing and enjoying first evening on our trip.

-Admiral Marian

The trip to Point Hudson was accomplished on calm Puget Sound seas with no significant wind or seas to speak of. Coming through the Port Townsend Canal we encountered an ebbing current of 4 knots, here is what the bouy outside the channel looked like:

(pic coming soon...)
Point Hudson has recently been renovated and now sports nicer floating docks that will accommodate longer boats. Sadly the Otter Creek Crossing Café was no longer being operated by the previous owners and we weren’t able to enjoy the banana/pecan pancakes. This didn’t detract from our love of Pt. Hudson, a place we always enjoy.

While Marian and Cindy kept things working on the care and feeding front, Tom Brownlee and I dove into some of the various projects we needed to complete during this "Shake Down" portion of our trip. In any voyage there are things that NEED to get done, things that Need to get done and things that need to get done. On my list of things that NEEDED to get done were:
a. Secure the Tender, it was tied in place but not secure enough for the Pacific Ocean
b. Complete the installation of various electronic components, including:
1. Backup VHF radio, needed power
2. 2nd Navigation system, an automotive computer connected to a 19" Nauticomp display, needed power and video cabling
3. Connect the FLIR camera, needed power and Nauticomp display up and running
4. Install the all important Nauticomp display, key to everything!!
5. Install the Loud Hailer In Point Hudson we tackled the job of installing the loud hailer. For those of you that don't know a Loud Hailer is a trumpet like fixture that can both broadcast and listen to sounds. It's used so the skipper can listen to sounds (fog horns) or broadcast his own words, like "Pirate if you come near this boat I'll, well I'm not sure what I'll do but you won't like it", it can also broadcast your own fog horn a requirement from ages past. This project included drilling and taping screw holes in the radar mounting tower, something I haven't done in years and years. With Tom's help we drilled and taped the appropriate holes, mounted and wired the Loud Hailer and got it up and running in a matter of a few hours. We tested it by broadcasting a nice greeting to those walking by and by listening to conversations of people on the dock a few yards away. Scratch that project off the list!

-Skipper