Sailing the Northwest

FUN ACTIVITY NEWS!
Hello Friends and Neighbors! Our summer in the Northwest is coming to a close, although sailing is still good all through Sept and into Oct. We have always had to leave to go back to work, but this year we are here to enjoy the sunny days and cooler evenings. Our plans include a trip to visit friends at Kayak Point on a short cruise over Labor Day weekend. (They'll be on the mainland, and we'll be in our boat.) And, we hope to get over to Roche Harbor for a weekend. We are in the grasp of new boat fever! Not new, but different. Our Newport 30, the Karen Marie is a good boat, but not the last boat for us. She has limited space and needs a few niceties to make her really comfortable for cruising. A little like the difference in a tent and a 30' travel trailer with hot water and in door plumbing! We decided a few weeks ago to begin the hunt for another boat, a Catalina 30. We know we want that kind of boat, but they are scarce as hens teeth in the Northwest, and Jim has been a little reluctant to go to California to buy. We'll see if things look any better for finding a boat up here in September, and then maybe we'll look south for the perfect boat. We have decided to name our new boat the Karen Marie II;however, Melissa is holding out for the Karen Marie, Too. She says her sister would understand and think it was funny. The photo is the same kind of boat we will christen as the Karen Marie II.
KNITTING NEWS!
I am finally back to knitting socks. I have loads of warshrags and need to get started on some Christmas presents. I have enough yarn to knit three more felted bags, so I'll start those soon. They will all go as presents. I gave away the orange bag and kept a blue lopsided mistake, although someone told me I can cut it down and sew it up for use as a smaller bag. I think I'll keep the floppy old thing and store yarn in it. It's hanging on the back of my chair right now, doing a good job of that. Christmas means I have to start on my daughter's blanket. I hope I have enough done to give it to her. I have beautiful yarns to knit it in colors of olive, beige, white, burgundy and blue. I'm going to try the Log Cabin blanket pattern in Mason Dixon Knitting.
The day is speeding away, so I'll sign off. Fair winds and following seas! The Whidbey Wagners

August Cruising

August is here and the weather continues to delight us all as the temperature hovers around 75, the breezes are light and the sun sparkles on the water. Jim and I got out on the Karen Marie for a short cruise, but it was not without some lessons learned. His printout from the computer of currents and tides at Deception Pass Bridge was incorrect, and we tried going against the tide. That did not work! We were down to moving at 1/2 knot when we finally turned around and shot out from the shadow of the bridge at 9 knots! Wow, that was a big lesson. Coronet Bay provided a great stop over as we waited for slack water the next day. We did go under the bridge the next morning right at slack tide, proving the point that the correct information is critical for safe travel. We slipped into Bowman Bay right outside the bridge, but the wind and swell made that a very uncomfortable anchorage. In the afternoon we gave up and went back inside the bridge to Hope Island. The mooring buoy we hooked was twisted by the current and wind, making a bumpy anchorage in the evening with lots of banging on the buoy itself. I wondered if we would get any sleep. Finally, Jim tied the buoy up as tight as he could. The next morning we gave it up and went back to Oak Harbor to plan another trip with a better start. We hope to get out again on the 14th, this time under the bridge and across to Lopez and then to San Juan Island. I can't go a whole summer without going to Roche Harbor, my favorite place in the islands, and we want to check out Garrison Bay, too. Maybe we'll even get to Reid Island along the way. Debbie, Ray and boys arrive on Friday for two days, and then we are off again. Everywhere I go I knit washrags. They are the ultimate take along knitting. Happy Days! The Whidbey Wagners.