Logbook Day
170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176
8/26/2012 -
9/01/2012
Late Summer Trip
Up Into The Strait
8/26/2012, Sunday
Edmonds to Elliott Bay Marina
This trip has a lot of moving parts. It began with
Mike and I towing the boat up to Edmonds on Sunday afternoon and
launching at the sling launch. We then raised the mast and set up all
the equipment. By 4pm we were ready to leave the dock and turn south to Elliott Bay marina. It
was a bit rough which limited our speed going south and we arrived
around 6:15pm. Dawn then headed over to the marina in the Jeep to pick us up as Mike
and I ordered dinner at Maggie Bluffs. Once Dawn arrived we hung
out for a bit, then headed home having accomplished the initial
positioning of the boat.
8/27/2012, Monday
Elliott Bay Marina to Eagle Harbor to Elliott Bay Marina
Dawn's mom Bonnie is in town and we wanted to take her
on a little boating outing. We drove over towards Seattle around noon
and after fighting our way through the terrible traffic, we were able to
get under way on the boat just past 1pm. It's a nice calm and sunny day for a
cruise. We made the easy trip across the Sound to Eagle Harbor on
Bainbridge Island and docked at the Harbour Marina. It's a short walk
from there to the Harbour Pub were we had a nice late lunch. The trip
back across the Sound was equally uneventful and we arrived back at
Elliott Bay around 5pm just in time to fight the evening traffic back
over to Bellevue.
8/28/2012, Tuesday
Elliott Bay Marina to Fort Flagler
Dawn took her mom to the airport late Tuesday morning
and arrived back home around 12:30. We had the Jeep all loaded for the
next leg of the trip and the four of us drove over to Seattle. After
Dawn dropped Nick and I off at the boat she drove the Jeep up to Edmonds
to meet us for our 2nd phase departure.
It was another great day
with flat water so Nick and I cruised at 12 knots up to Edmonds. The
conditions were so great that we decided to press on north while the
getting was good. After loading everything into the boat from the Jeep,
parking the Jeep (thanks for the free parking Edmonds), and a quick fuel
stop, we pointed the bow out into the Sound. It was so smooth, just a
light chop, that we cranked up to 17 knots and ran with the wind past
Point No Point and up to the Port Townsend Canal. We slowed there to
pass through and made it the rest of the way to
Fort Flagler at 10
knots. We found a nice spot at the end of the dock and relaxed knowing
we were much further north already than we had planned on. Mike and Nick
went for a hike to explore some bunkers while Dawn and I kicked back. We
enjoyed a nice dinner and watched a couple episodes of 'FireFly' at
Nicks request before turning in.
8/29/2012, Wednesday
Fort Flagler to John Wayne Marina, Sequim Bay
It was a calm night and we woke ready for the next
day. We crossed over to Port Townsend for a fuel stop (to make up for
our gluttonous ways of the day before) as well as q quick grocery run
for a few things we forgot. We also had the fuel debacle (more on that
later). We left Port Townsend, rounded Point Wilson, and turned west
along the south side of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. The current was
against us cutting a few knots off our progress until we passed under
Protection Island and were able to escape it's grip.
We arrived off Sequim Bay and followed the winding,
but well marked, channel along Travis
spit and south into the bay. Not far past the entrance we came to
John Wayne marina and pulled in to the guest dock. We selected a nice
spot on the inside of the breakwater dock where we could reach the
sparsely spaced power outlets. Everyone went for a walk around the
grounds exploring the very well maintained marina built on land donated
by 'The Duke'. John Wayne Marina was constructed in 1985 on 22 acres of
land donated by the John Wayne family. John Wayne frequented Sequim Bay
waters aboard the family yacht – the “Wild Goose” – and prior to his
death envisioned a marina in the scenic bay. The boys hung out back at
the boat doing a bit of fishing while Dawn and I had a drink in the
marina restaurant. After dinner we watched the movie 'Red Tails' and
then turned in.
8/30/2012, Thursday
John Wayne Marina, Sequim Bay
We rose late, had nice hot showers, and prepared to
depart for Dungeness Spit around noon. This quickly came to a halt when
the motor would not start. Never before had the motor not started on the
first turn of the key.
After some basic trouble shooting that found
everything working perfectly, except the running part, I call Todd at
BWY to get his advice. We checked a variety of other things, all coming
back as working perfectly, but still not starting. While I went through
all these checks, occasionally with Dawn's help, the boys connected with
some others on the dock and started a rousing afternoon of fishing and
crabbing. With all ideas about the motor exhausted, I had resigned
myself to giving up and using the small 6 hp dinghy motor and the sails
to make our way home.
On a final pass through the motor one final time
before I let Todd go, I commented that the fuel filter looked weird,
that it has a pink cast. This made no sense to me as all I ever have
needed was gas, but Todd quickly asked if I could have got diesel in the
tanks as recreational diesel is dyed pink. After a few further tests I
was able to confirm that I indeed had diesel in 2 of my 4 tanks. At Port
Townsend I had asked for gasoline, but had been given diesel by mistake.
I had filled the one 6 gallon tank we burnt running fast from Edmonds to Flaggler and
added about 2 gallons to the one I was currently running on.
Amazingly, that tank of mixed gas and diesel had run OK all the way from
Port Townsend to Sequim although there were a few stumbles along the way I thought
might have been water. It also seemed like the motor was
smoking more than normal as we docked.
Todd walked me through the three stage process I would
need to follow to flush all the sections of the motors fuel system. Once I
flushed the low pressure side using a fresh tank of gas with the fuel
line primer bulb I now had a nice golden cast to the fuel filter instead
of the pink one. By cycling the high pressure fuel pump using the key I
was able to flush through the next filter and to the fitting on the
injector rail. A final bit of work cycling the pump flushing the rail
from the Schrader valve finally got rid of all the pink. Satisfied we
buttoned up the cover and turned the key.
The motor fired right up, although it smoked for a few
minutes as the last of the diesel burned off. Soon it was running
smoothly with no smoke and seemed ready to go as usual. While not a
pleasant way to spend the afternoon, I certainly now know the motors
fuel system from end to end and also was glad to find that the tools I
carry on board really are what I need to do some fairly in depth motor
maintenance. It certainly is a pain to do this kind of work when
the boat is floating at a dock however. I was very pleased nothing
was lost over the side.
Of course by now it was
mid afternoon and was time for a beer. We paid for another night at the
dock, and were told we could dump our un-needed tanks of diesel fuel at
the marinas waste oil dump. Once we got these last few messy tasks out
of the way we relaxed for a nice dinner and the evening. One more
episode of 'FireFly' found us ready for an early bed time.
8/31/2012
John Wayne Marina, Sequim Bay to Fort Worden
We pulled over to the fuel dock mid morning, made sure
we were getting gas, then headed out into the bay. We turned south to go
further into the bay to check out the state park before we left Sequim
Bay.
It looks like a very nice quiet place to stay as well. Dawn was at the helm as we did
the drive by, then went back up the bay and
ran the exit channel back out into the Strait. We continued north up the
coast to Dungeness Spit to do a little exploring.
The spit is the
longest naturally occurring sand spit in the United States.
At 5.5 miles long we definitely enjoyed seeing it and the
Dungeness
light house by boat rather than by foot.
From there we turned east back for Point Wilson.
Currents were on our side today and we made quick work of the distance
back to Admiralty Inlet. We zipped by the marker buoy and through the
notorious Point Wilson rip in the 3+ knot flow. Nick really wanted to
explore more of Fort
Worden so we poked our nose inside the small dock
wrapped inside the parks Marine Science Center. There was only one boat
at the vary small dock so we tied up on the south side. With the weather
very calm we decided this quite un-protected location would work out for
the night. After paying our moorage fee we walked up to the parade
grounds and the coastal artillery museum. Everyone enjoyed exploring the
displays and we learned that there was a military vehicle display being
help out the park over the weekend. The host suggested we stop by the
next day after 10am and catch a ride up to the bunkers on the hilltop
where the display was taking place.
We walked back down to the beach, got some tasty ice
cream cones, then walked around the lower park area. Mike and Nick went off
to the bunkers along the north beach while Dawn and I enjoyed a stroll
along the east beach back to the boat with the dogs. We closed out the
evening with a showing of 'Act Of Valor'.
9/01/2012
Fort Worden to Edmonds Marina
Nick and I headed up to the the park at 10am. Mike
elected to stay in his berth. We climbed the hill and hung around the
museum for a bit waiting for the vehicles that were suppose to provide
rides. A tent pitched outside had a bunch of WW1 rifles and pistols on
display which the attendants were happy to talk with Nick about and even
let him hold one. They suggested we walk over to the gate to have a
better chance of getting a ride. Sure enough, there was a waiting duece
and a half ready to haul people up the hill. After a fun ride dodging
overhanging branches we arrived at the field amidst the bunkers on the
top of the hill.
Shortly after we arrived, a humvee pulled up and asked
if we wanted a ride. Nick climbed in the passenger seat with me behind,
another passenger climbed in behind the lady driving and her 6 year old
nephew was directed to the gunners seat with his head sticking out the
top. We wove around some of the smaller roads and eventually up a narrow
lane ending at a tunnel under one of the bunkers just big enough for the
hummer to fit through.
Nick and I spent the next hour exploring the
array of vehicles and chatting with the enthusiasts who owned them. We
caught a ride back to the museum in another 6x6 then walked back down to
the boat. Dawn and Mike returned from the beach bunkers 15 minutes later
and we got ready to try and squeeze our way out with no rudders or
centerboard through the narrow 4' deep passage between the dock and the
shore at low tide.
We were successful on the second attempt and turned
the bow south into Admiralty Inlet getting a nice push with the current
and making 10-12 knots all the way back to Edmonds. We were directed to
a tie up along the break water with no dock where the harbormaster
wanted us to lower our mast before we pulled into the launch dock. This
went smoothly and soon Dawn and I had the boat ready for the sling
launch. The boat was quickly back on the trailer and we made the easy
drive back to the house.
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