Captain's Log Stardate September 7, 2008

I am getting soooo lax at updating this blog. I guess I have been having too much fun. Since we arrived in Alaska, we have been cruising down the inner passage to Anacortes. Some of the most memorable events have been :
- Fishing: In Alaska and B.C., we caught salmon and crab, until Carol said, "No more fish. There isn't any room in the fridge or freezers".
- Mountains: Awesome! Still lots of snow on the peaks and the trees grow right down to the water. Everything is green.
-Rain: That's why everything is green. Our rain gage registered at least 2 inches almost every day for three weeks! It is so nice to now be soaking up the sun in the San Juan Islands.
-Spinnaker runs: Most memorable, down Peril Straights and Johnstone Straights and down the Swinomish Channel from Anacortes to La Conner.
Numerous people have taken pictures, a couple of boats radioed us to say that we were really brightening the day. One man called down from his beautiful home perched on large rocks above the Swinomish Channel to tell us that our spinnaker was the first one they had seen in five years! The spinnaker is great fun to fly from a catamaran since it does not need a spinnaker pole. We typically can do ½ the wind speed.
-Porpoises: Their visits to the bows of Caprice are so exciting. They play like happy children and make our day.
-Whales: We saw whales almost every day. One of the most exciting sights was when a mother whale surfaced, rolled over on her back so that the baby whale could lay on top of her stomach to feed, then after about 10 minutes, she gently rolled over and dived.
-Customs officers: In British Columbia, they were professional but friendly. In the US, they were not.
-Food: Same as always, great!
-Quiet anchorages: Every night we had a separate experience. The quite anchorages are numerous, very scenic and almost sacred. The bald eagles are numerous and wonderful to watch.
-Cool weather: Our forced air heater is worth its weight in gold. We have used it almost every morning since we arrived in Alaska..
-Electronic charts and navigation: Invaluable. We had some back up paper ones , just in case, but using the Raymarine/Navionics charts relieve a lot of worry. We had to wait 3 days in Prince Rupert for the British Columbia chip, but the Raymarine system worked flawlessly, except for the constant alarm for the AIS. I understand that the software update will correct this irritant.
We reluctantly said Goodbye to our friends, Ernie and Lynne Landes at Anacortes. The next day, we met the Richmond Yacht Club Cruisers, and greeted our new crew members Dan & Gerrie Peterson and Sue Hubbard.
This crew will be with us for ten days and then we will welcome Roy and Dione Henrickson for the last leg of our journey down the West coast to home.
We have just gone through Deception Pass on our way to Port Ludlow.
Tomorrow we go to Port Townsend before heading North to the San Juans.
We are getting anxious to get home, but in the interim, life couldn't be better.
Cheers,
Caprice and Crew