Well, it’s been months and months since I’ve put out a blog post. I just couldn’t find the words to describe everything going through my mind, our minds. But I think it is time. It’s not going to get any easier. I’ve just gotta jump in.
We got through winter moorage at the Port of Poulsbo, and even stayed there a month longer than planned due to all the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19. Washington had been given stay-home orders, but where are you obligated to stay when you live a nomadic lifestyle on a boat?
Well, like I said, we stayed an extra month at the dock in Poulsbo. We prepped the boat to be our safe haven because we had no idea what was going to come our way.
Come the end of April, our options to stay in a slip ended. The marina wouldn’t allow winter moorage patrons to stay any longer, at least not without switching from the cheap monthly rate to the three-times-as-expensive daily rate. And that simply wasn’t an option for us.
Spring Cruising in the Central and South Puget Sound
So we left Poulsbo for the unknown. Our boat full of food and fuel. Prepped to be self-sufficient, as needed. We bumped around the central and south puget sound, exploring places that we hadn’t been before, challenging ourselves to see how long we could stay away from any docks thanks to our newly-installed solar panels.
- Blakely Harbor
- Eagle Harbor
- Lynwood Center
- Blake Island
- Port Orchard
- Gig Harbor
- Penrose Point
- Dockton in Quartermaster Harbor
- Eagle Island
- McMicken Island
- Jarrell Cove
Then, as the state started to open back up gradually, we were allowed to get together with family who came up for a visit, then a week later with our friends aboard their boat SV Muse.
We ended up spending over a week with them in Gig Harbor and then cruising down into the south sound together to Penrose Point. Eventually, a couple weeks later, we cruised down to McMicken Island and then also to Jarrell Cove. We saw orcas from the boat down by Anderson Island. And an octopus at Penrose.
We’ve also been sailing Mosaic a lot more this year and in widely varied conditions, which is great for us. Gaining experience handling the boat in different situations is invaluable. Plus, we finally have gotten to start sailing our little sailing dinghy that we bought late last fall. The kids are really taking to it and having a blast.
The Self-Sufficiency of an Outfitted Cruising Sailboat
We’re proud of being able to keep our batteries full through solar power and the occasional recharge off our alternator while moving from place to place. We’ve saved so much money by keeping out of the marinas.
Before leaving Poulsbo, Brenden made a few improvements and installations for help. The biggest single upgrade was the installation of our two solar panels. He researched, bought, and installed two 160-watt Renogy solar panels. Eventually, we hope to add a third panel, but so far these two are able to keep up with our modest power needs as long as we get good strong sun.
Most boats have an inverter onboard to convert power from the battery banks’ 12-volt system to 110- or 120-volts which is the power needs of many household plugin appliances. We opted to purchase and install a small, simple inverter with just two outlets. This would give us the option of using any power tools or our sewing machine when needed.
And, finally, he also installed a simple 12-volt charging station near where I set up my computer for work. It’s got a 12-volt cigarette-style sharing port and 4 USB ports that we can use with various cables to charge devices or whatever we need.
Of course, we also now have a functioning alternator on our new engine (as compared to the barely or rarely functioning alternator on our old engine), and we also have our little Honda suitcase generator for backup power if we ever need it. Last year we were using the generator to charge our batteries every two or three days. This year, we’ve only pulled it out one time when we stayed for about a week and a half in one place and had multiple consecutive days of clouds and rain so our solar panels couldn’t keep up.
We’ve been out of winter moorage since May 1st and have only stayed 3 nights in a marina since then, and not by choice.
We had to spend two nights at Shilshole Bay Marina in Seattle in early July due to needing to have the 50-hour warranty service performed on our new engine (a service we weren’t allowed to do ourselves and still keep the warranty intact).
Then, about a week and a half later, just before making the jump across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the San Juans, we had to go in to Port Townsend for provisions and to get our propane tank filled. We had planned to utilize their 4-hour guest tie-up option but they “didn’t have any slips available”. We needed that propane and, without a car, our options were limited. Funny, when I asked if they had any slips available for an overnight stay, then they had a spot for us. Ha. Well, it’s OK. No hard feelings, Boat Haven.
The Cruising Season is Finally Here for our Crew
Last Sunday, we made an easy passage across the Strait of Juan de Fuca up to the San Juan Islands. In the absence of options to explore Canada this year as we had planned, we now expect to spend the rest of the summer and fall here in the San Juans.
Nearly every other boat that we personally know, many of whom are based usually in the San Juans, have recently decided to head south to explore the central and south puget sound. For them, without the option of heading north to Canada and/or Alaska, they’re opting for new cruising grounds and exploring to the south.
But it’s OK – we’ll happily bop around these islands, exploring and self-isolating. It’s such a strange time. It’s weird to want to get together with friends, and/or to reach out and meet new people in the area, but also to feel a moral obligation to stick to ourselves and stay away from other people entirely.
So, we’ll have to just see how it goes. It seems Washington’s Covid cases are on the rise again. Will we receive new stay-home orders from the governor? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, one thing we CAN do is seek authentic friendships and connections with people online. Build and grow our online communities and tribes. I would love to hear from YOU. Where are you? What is life like in your city, town, home? I hope you’re safe and well. Truly. ~Rachel