July 4th

Yes, I know... it's an odd title given that it's Sept. 1st... but we are playing catch up remember?

So, the first boating trip didn't really involve Jessi or Sea Change. It was July 4th weekend, and my buddies Matt and Megan were going up to the San Juans in their First Child so I tagged along. It was to be my pre-pre-Jessi's-parents-trip. That's right, two "pre's" - I had a lot of learning to do.

Matt and I started in Kingston and sailed up to Port Townsend on that Friday. It was an 8ish hour day filled with salty sea stories, laughing, chips, a bunch of beers and even some sailing. We met up with Megan in Port Townsend, had some dinner and hit the rack. We woke up early Saturday morning and took off for Friday Harbor. A little rough out off Point Wilson where the tides tend to rip, but smooth sailing (and some motoring) most of the rest of way. The only snag we hit was working our way around Smith Island. It's a tiny island with a bunch of shoal water in the middle of the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Looking at a chart you may barely notice it, but of course, the winds were such that we had to tack north and south for an hour just to get around her to the west. Such is the life of a sailboat. We arrived at Friday Harbor, rafted up in the port and went into town. For the rest of the weekend, I hung out with Jessi (she was already up there for work) and Matt and Megan did some cruising. We all met up to watch the fireworks from the boat, which turned out to be spectacular. They next morning we set sail for Port Townsend again, although this time we mostly motored. I learned a lot on that trip, it was really a great experience, and thanks to Matt and Megan for showing me the way. Now to put some of that learnin' to use on our own boat!

(pics will be posted soon, so check back)

-Tom