Dock *free*
We are rootless again and it feels so very, very good.
Plans include a month or so cruising before a major (planned this time) haul out including pulling out the mast.
"I had grown accustomed to life being interesting and adventure ridden and, rather childishly, I refused to believe that this must necessarily come to an end and that the rest of my life should be a sort of penance for all the reckless, irresponsible, and immensely fun things I'd done before."
"I was simply restless, quite likely because of a dissatisfaction with the recent trajectory of my life, and if there is a better, more compelling reason for dropping everything and moving to the end of the world, I know not what it is."Love it.
Recently we’ve had another set of meetings with people we met via our blog or theirs.
We had Carol & Lance from SV Syrah over for drinks while in Victoria as they were making plans to move their new boat.
While at the Seattle Yacht Club in Lake Union, Bob & Jane from SV Eolian (and also the great site Small Boat Projects) came over with a bottle in hand for a session where we tried to get stories out of them and Bob managed to always turn the tables and get us yammering on again. Next time, you’re in trouble Bob!
And finally, we hung out with Aaron & Nicole, some likeminded sailors on the similar sized yet opposite-to-us boat SV Bella Star who very kindly helped us out with a bottle of home brew that my brother gave us (in this case, you’re in trouble Josh!).
Cheers to new friends and to fun people aboard ships passing in the night!
Following (vaguely) our hurricane like naming system, this year’s snowman is Downtown Seattle. The first snowman we didn’t make, we both saw this snowball light sculpture at the Space Needle and chose it. Previous years snowmen here.
Four years ago this month we sailed Estrellita out of Lake Union for parts North.
For those not familiar with Seattle geography, the city is bordered by both saltwater and freshwater. The Puget Sound (the big dip in the state of WA) is saltwater and tidal, but there is a cut connecting the Puget Sound to Lake Union (centered in the Waggoner 2007 map below) and beyond Lake Union to Lake Washington. To get into Lake Union you have to pass through 4 bridges, 3 of which are too short for our mast and must be opened for us to transit. You also pass through one set of locks which control the water level in the lake and separate the fresh and salt water.
After one bridge, we entered the small locks (there are two) side by side, and it was full of boats. Rather than tying to the wall we had to squeeze into a spot not much wider than our boat and tie to another boat (see boat on our left in first photo). While the locks fill and empty there is a bit of turbulence and jostling and then we had to squeeze out of the locks going first without crushing ourselves into the wall or the other boat. Our stanchion and his rub rail brushed against each other with no damage (whew). I’m on the foredeck and Carol is driving.
After the locks we passed through 2 more draw bridges and one “tall enough” bridge into Lake Union but we were heading to the fancy schmancy Seattle Yacht Club and so we continued on through another tall bridge (I-5) and another draw bridge into Portage Bay. We posted the video yesterday but this is what it looks like from the helm to aim your mast at the gap in the draw bridge.
Leaving the SYC for a cold weather NYE viewing of the fireworks at the Space Needle: