Today (Saturday) it wasn't nearly as warm. It was cloudy all morning and into the afternoon - just like the weatherman said it would be. That's our air conditioning kicking in. Whenever Seattle gets hot weather for a few days, the flow reverses and we get the cool moist air off the ocean, which cuts the sun's intensity in the morning so we won't get so hot. As we're near the summer solstice and the sun is high in the sky for many hours, it almost always burns through in the afternoon so we get a sunny day that's just comfortable. And, so it was today. We (Lynn, Jenne, and I) got on the boat at about 2:15 this afternoon. The sun was moderately filtered - you know what I mean, perfect picture taking lighting. Not bright sun, but bright enough that there are definite shadows. In fact, I was thinking I should have a tripod there and take some pictures of the marina. It was a very low tide, so standing at the top of the ramp down to the docks you seemed to be about mid-height on many of the sailboat masts. It would have been perfect angles and lighting for a panoramic shot of the whole marina. I'll keep that lighting and tide in mind for the future. But, on to the boat. Headed out, and had full sun by the time we were 5 minutes out of the marina. Light breeze at about 8 knots. Just perfect for a relaxing sail with a 5-year-old on board. Especially one that wants to steer part of the time.
Got the main sail up. Got the jib deployed. Doing fine, moving about 4-5 knots. But, the wind is tapering off as we head further out. At 3-4 knots of wind we're moving along at 2 knots (not bad!). Finally, the wind is just kind of whispering at us from various directions. We're almost dead in the water. So, drop the jib and start the engine. Plan B is in effect. We'll motor over to Blake Island (about 5 or 6 miles), and check out the mooring buoy situation on the back side. We're planning a trip in late July with some of Jenne's "China friends" to Blake Island, and just in case the dock and mooring buoys on the front are filled up, we want to know what our options are. My, but the island is busy today. All of the mooring buoys on the NW end are taken, as are the ones on the east side. On the south side, just across the point from the dock, there is an available mooring buoy. Wish we'd come prepared to spend the night. It would be a perfect night to sleep on the boat.
Head back to the marina. Jenne steers the last 15 minutes toward the marina.She's really getting the hang of this. Last year, she understood about turning the wheel in the direction she wanted to go, but didn't understand about straightening the wheel (OK, that word picture isn't right) once you were pointed in the right direction. But, she understood the important things. Once, when Lynn was below decks and Jenne was steering (assisted), she asked if she could turn the boat in a circle so she could see Mama's reaction. Of course I said yes... And we hadn't made more than a third of a circle when Lynn's head popped up asking what was going on, much to Jenne's delight. This year Jenne understands how to steer. Her concentration often lapses and she needs to be reminded where she's heading, but hey, I know adults that need that!
Again, perfect weather. With the light breezes and sunshine, it's another T-shirt, shorts, and Tevas day. I did put a sweatshirt on after 6:00 PM out on the water. Took it off when we got in the marina.
Back into the marina, where the tensions normally mount. Gee, I must be getting the hang of this - and I haven't even been a boat owner for 4 years yet! No stress. Of course, the winds are light at about 6 knots, and they're coming from the right direction. We'll be heading almost straight into the wind coming into the slip. Lynn agrees to handle the lines and get the fenders out, and I'll just stay on the helm. Turn at the right channel (I've almost screwed that up in the past - quite embarrassing). Head up the channel and spot our boat's slip (it used to be hard for me to pick that slip out - there are a lot of slips in this marina - we're slip 63, and just over half way out). Swing the bow toward the slip - hey, it's looking like I turned at the right time. Ease it around, pop it in reverse. Rev the engine, and the boat slows nicely. Serenity "walks" left when in reverse (normal for single-engine boats - the physics of the prop and all), and we have a bow-in port-tie slip. Wonderful - the stern sucks nicely up against the pier, and I step over the lifeline, hop off the boat (almost tripping over the dock line that's wrapped around my foot, but no one notices), and secure the stern line while Lynn is handling the bow line. Jenne now gets to shut down the engine (it's a diesel - you don't shut off the key until you've starved the engine of fuel so the engine dies), which she thinks is a cool job. We're back. Just pick up all the stuff we brought on board, close up the boat, hose off the salt spray (we didn't do that after our ride Thursday night), and go for Chicken Teriyaki.
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