We’ve lived aboard for nearly five full years. In all that time, the only time we’ve had any visitors stay aboard overnight was during our passage north from the Columbia River back in 2019. That streak came to a solid end in the past month, with overnight visitors aboard for three separate occasions!

In late May, Brenden’s dad took a couple days off work and came to visit us for a long weekend. He was able to leave his car in Anacortes for the 3 nights and walked onto a ferry to Friday Harbor where we picked him up. it was 7pm by the time he was aboard with us Friday night so we just hopped across the channel and anchored for the night in Parks Bay.

The next morning, we got up and headed for Sucia Island to show him one of our favorite spots in the San Juans. We had a wonderful day of exploring the island and we even spotted some orcas pass the south side of the island from a nice high vantage point on the southern cliffs.

That evening the winds picked up and we ended up moving from our mooring ball in Snoring Cove around the corner to anchor for the night in Echo Bay where we found more protection from the wind and waves.

The next day, we picked up and headed to Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island and we were able to get a nice spot on the State Park dock. We did a little bit of hiking and exploring on the island with my father-in-law, but it was cloudy and drizzly and we spent the afternoon/evening playing board games and watching a movie.

After dropping Scott back off at the ferry in Friday Harbor, we spent a week or so back out bopping around the islands until our friends Rachel and Brian came up to visit. Rachel and Brian are going to be crewing down the West Coast with us in August and we wanted to prioritize a visit for them to get a chance to sail with us aboard Mosaic before heading down the coast. They did the same thing that Scott did- left their car in Anacortes and took the ferry to Friday Harbor for us to pick them up.

We got a nice sail in from Friday Harbor to Stuart Island. Nothing crazy but they at least got to familiarize themselves with the boat and sail controls. We’re very excited and grateful to have these guys willing to come down the coast with us. They’re new liveaboards and future cruisers themselves but plan to stay here in the PNW for another year or two. Their boat is currently in Olympia. You can find and follow their adventure here.

Then, after dropping them back off in Friday Harbor on a Sunday afternoon, we headed over and anchored in Fisherman’s Bay on Lopez for the next week. Brenden’s mom had a vacation week and came up to spend a week with us and the grandkids. She stayed for four nights at the Islander Resort there in a room overlooking the bay. The kids stayed with her the whole stay and Brenden and I took some vacation for her stay.

On Friday that week, we brought her aboard the boat for a couple nights and were happy to get a chance to bring her to see Sucia. We spent a night there and got in some hiking the next day.

We had to head back to Lopez that night due to tides and ferry schedules for her to get headed back to Vancouver that Sunday BUT on our trip back to Lopez from Sucia we saw orcas!! Not only did we see orcas, but we had the most MAGICAL encounter we’ve ever had- they came up right beside our boat and passed about 15 feet from us!! I didn’t take any photos but did get it on video. Try this link to Facebook where I posted it.

Now, we’re sitting in Roche Harbor hanging out for the Fourth of July celebration and fireworks this evening. This upcoming week, we will cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca to get back to Port Townsend for our haul out and project mode. Hopefully we’ll wrap up our projects in time for a visit with family down in Vancouver.

By the end of the month, we should have Mosaic back in the water and then by mid-August we’ll be staging in Port Angeles for our passage south. It’s feeling like crunch time is upon us! Thanks for reading and I’ll try hard to keep y’all updated with all our coming projects and adventures! Much love. ~Rachel