Log
Aug 01- 11: Cornet Bay to Friday Harbor
Tuesday 8/17 2010
July 31-Aug 2:
Cornet Bay, WA (long: 48° 24΄ 000˝ / lat: 122˚ 37΄ 300˝)
Departed Everett at 12:15 on Saturday, July 31st. Arrived Coronet Bay 18:00. Rendezvoused there on Aug 1st with Lin McJunkin and Norm Johnson for a bon voyage luncheon. Departed 11:00 Tuesday, Aug 03 for Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island.
Aug 3-Aug 6:
Prevost Harbor, Stuart Island, WA (long:48° 40΄ 673˝ / lat: 123° 11΄ 523˝)
Arrived: 1550 .
We planned to stay until the 9th and then head out to Sydney, BC. This was our big chill out and unwind week. The weather was great and we were crabbing and working on our tans. Then on Friday (Aug 06) the generator started leaking coolant and we had to stop using it. When we bought the boat, Rich knew they no longer made parts for it and the conclusion was we would ultimately have to replace it, but we would use it until it gave up the ghost. And we were th
inking that’s what it did. Rich touched base with a mechanic in Friday Harbor (about 2 hours away) and that became our next stop. We spent the rest of the day readying the boat for departure, which takes hours. No hop in, turn the key, and off you go. Oh uh uh! Departed for Friday Harbor 0910 Saturday Aug 07.
Aug 7-Aug 11:
Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA (long: 48° 32΄ 570˝ / lat: 123° 50΄ 470˝)
We cruise off to Friday Harbor in the pouring rain. The uneventful 
journey ended at 11:00 as Rich took his place milling about in the harbor waiting with a gazillion other boats, including ferries coming and going, for an open slip assignment, which we got at about 12:30. Now we were warm and comfy while putting along, however, in the few frantic minutes it takes to dock the boat, I was drenched. And it's not like I don't have enough rain gear...it just never occurred to me to have it available to jump into. Ah learning the life of a boater.
We got settled in our slip, Rich started dealing with the mechanical stuff and I got online and spent over 2 hours composing my first real entry for the travel log. I managed, due to user error, to lose all the text with no backup.
Important Lesson: Always finalize the text in Word first, then copy into log admin.
We had a fabulous dinner at The Place, took some hot showers with good water pressure, replenished some of our fresh food, did some laundry and dumped our garbage. Important Lesson: Never pass up a legal opportunity to get rid of your trash.
Rich spent his time focusing on repairs, I spent mine online (trying to create an update for the log or at least an email to send out), doing laundry, food shopping, people watching. We walked up to town at least once a day. On Wednesday, the mechanical issues were finally resolved. The generator was not down for the count, just leaking vital fluids, so we are going to continue to “nurture” the relic and have high hopes it will finish out the season. My update was nowhere near finished. Departed Friday Harbor Thursday morning at 11:45.
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Aug12-17: Parks Bay - Deer Harbor
Tuesday 8/17 2010
Aug 12- Aug 14:
Parks Bay, Shaw Island, WA (long: 48° 37΄ 009˝ / lat: 122° 59΄ 648
˝)
Arrived 12:38 Aug 12th (then re-anchored at 13:25 into a better spot) Parks Bay, Shaw Island for a couple of days to see how well the generator recovered.
We really love Parks Bay. The weather was glorious, not many boats and the generator worked like a charm.
I had a pair of young eagles, a mature eagle, and three great blue herons to watch.
Important Lesson: Never cast off the dingy from the boat until you double check with the person IN the dingy. No details necessary.
Departed Aug 15, 12:15.
Aug 15 – Aug 17 :
Deer Harbor, Orcas Island, WA (long: 48° 37΄ 142 / lat: 123° 00΄ 319˝)
On Sunday we cruised over to Deer Harbor, Orcas Island (one of the places we are considering for winter moorage) because they have BBX (our provider!!!) dropped anchor and got online! It’s now Tuesday and all I have left to do is enter the updates (thank you John S. for making this easy once I get it together). Tommorow we will start heading toward Sydney BC. I’ll keep you p
osted. IES
Looking south from our anchorage,moon rise over Fawn Island.
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June & July:
Saturday 7/31 2010
De part before Departure
Everett, WA (long: 47° 59΄ 00˝ / lat: 122° 13΄ 00˝)
This is the part of the plan we are really glad is over; the packing, purging, preparation part. We started this task sporadically more than a year ago, and then again in earnest in March. And it’s a good thing we did. As Memorial Day 2010 approached, the light suddenly appeared at the end of the long, tedious, sometimes emotionally charged process and at 8:59pm May 30th, Rich, the cats and I finally moved onto our boat at the Everett Marina.
Our house was rented, our things (what we didn’t give away or throw away) were safely packed and stored and the expectation to leave and begin cruising seems days away. Not exactly.
I never really gave much thought to what had to happen between moving out of the house and cruising away. After completing the larger-than-life task of packing up the house, stowing the miniscule amount of gear we brought with us (in comparison to the amount of stuff we lived with as land-lubbers) seemed like a piece of cake. I figured we would be squared away in a week to ten days and ready to begin the fun part. Not exactly.
We had completed the “get out of the house” part only to be confronted with the “finish getting the boat ready part”. 
The covered moorage on I-dock was both a good thing and a not so good thing.
Plus side: June was cold and wet….rain, rain, rain…we were dry and snug. Minus side: Being undercover is like living in a dark, gloomy garage.
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Plus side: We had a nice view and good neighbors who gave us crab!!! Minus side: We never stopped working. We also couldn’t utilize our internet service from the boat, which made it clear what a challenge updating this log, paying our bills, and checking our email could become. (That has since resolved itself…I will update when I can.)By the end of June it became apparent we were not going anywhere yet, there was just too much left to do. We decided to draw the line and made the commitment to leave July 31st. The last three weeks were a blur of shopping, stowing, phone calls, far.jpg)
ewells and check list after checklist. Finally, the morning of departure. Then Commodore Bean disappeared. After a very frantic hour of searching we discovered he had stuffed himself into a small storage space behind the helm. Our crew reunited, we cast off at 12:15. On our way at last.
Last look at Port of Everett, leaving Jetty Island channel.
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The Western Star
Saturday 1/9 2010
This is the voyage of the Western Star and our adventures nautically and photographically as her crew. In April, 2008, we took on the stewardship of a 42 foot Tayana Trawler built in 1976.
We had been searching more than a year for the perfect vessel for "the plan": move onto a boat and cruise up and down the Inside Passage between the San Juan Islands in Washington and Alaska. The list of must-haves we wanted for our home afloat was extensive. Ironically, she had very few of the listed necessities. We stepped up into the pilothouse and knew this was going to be our boat. And the longer we have her, the more we know she truly is the right match for us.
Our crew is Capt. Rich; a 30+ year veteran of boating and sailing, Mrs Capt; that would be me, Commodore Bean; aka Cootie Garbonzo our 17 lb cat and Tinkerbelle; the baby cat. The cats have no real assigned duties other than to shed as much as possible, demand attention and sleep where ever they please. Rich and I took instruction re: steering, docking, being under way, etc and so far we are successfully getting better (and calmer) everytime we practice.
Two weeks ago, we moved the Western Star to covered moorage and began the projects we want to complete before our anticipated departure this spring. I'll keep you posted. IES
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