The high winds and heavy rains predicted for Monday, Oct. 21, arrived on schedule, but we HAD to make our way through Deception Pass near the time of “slack tide” (around 4:30 pm) to avoid dangerous whirlpools and currents, and so we left Oak Harbor not long after noon in conditions similar to those that had made our journey challenging on Saturday. We arrived at Deception Pass in time to catch a nice current running in our direction, and so arrived at Skyline Marina on the western side of Anacortes at about 5 pm in a drenching downpour–at least the 30 mph winds had calmed down to about 10 mph in the marina’s shelter. We found that the Fidalgo Bay Yacht Club guest slip into which we were supposed to guide Braesail was occupied by a large catamaran, however, and so Walt maneuvered our boat into a short-term slip nearby that the Flounder Bay Yacht Club graciously made available for two nights. Docking in the heavy weather left us both rather wet and tired, and we were glad that our boat’s heating system works VERY well!
On Tuesday, Oct. 22, with partly-sunny peace restored, we left the temporary guest slip and moved our boat to the slip just vacated by the catamaran. Walt decided that he wanted to try to resurrect the autopilot and to solve the problem of the large leak in the galley ceiling that has sent rapid water drips plunking into pans placed on the counter top with every rain. So we walked to a convenience store near the docks, caught a bus to the other side of Anacortes, walked to where Walt had parked our Miata three weeks previously near the Anacortes Marina, tried to jump- and bump-start the Miata, failed in the attempts, finally received a jump from a truck driver, started the car, and drove back to Everett to pick up tools and supplies that Walt had forgotten to collect on Friday, the 18th.
We swapped cars in Everett, picked up tools, and drove back to Anacortes. We stopped at a brew pub for a good supper, parked the Prius near the docks, and made our way to bed after watching more entertaining waterway travel videos.
A cool, overcast Wednesday, Oct. 23, was spent picking up more supplies in Anacortes, working on the autopilot (it seemed to work after Walt’s efforts), removing all the windscreens from the front of the cockpit and re-bedding them to try to stop the persistent galley ceiling leak, and cleaning up the resulting messes with a hand-held vacuum, a special solvent, and paper towels. Rain is not to return until Friday–will the anti-leak efforts prove successful? Will the autopilot return from its unauthorized leave of absence? We shall see! Walt was VERY tired after making dinner and went to bed early. I caught up this travel journal, did some leg-strengthening exercises, and crawled into bed at about midnight.
Braesail - A grand yacht in the Salish Sea 