Rapids and whirlpools at Big Bay

A swirling whirlpool threatens to swallow the dinghy.

Rapids at Big Bay with a beautiful backdrop.

Captain Red Beard and his trusty dinghy will not be deterred! What a beautiful day for an adventure.

Stuart Island's Green Lagoon

The green lagoon at Stuart Island. A thick soup of algae colors the water a murky hue.

We still had fun taking the dinghy out to explore the island. We found no three-eyed fish or mutant ninja turtles, to our chagrin.

Foam Party at Joe's Bay.

Alden enjoys the bounteous foam from the tidal rapids at Joe's Bay, BC.

A good facial expression for this foam party. Bubble bath, anyone?

Picture of the Day

This photo was taken in Tracy Arm on our way North. We had Brian, Shannon and little Morgan aboard. Icebergs floated by and grizzlies roamed the beach. At one point we used the wildcat to get a great close-up of a grizzly that turned out to be a bit aggressive and charged us. We gave him a little more space after that. If we're too close for his comfort, then we're too close for mine.

I love the colors in this photo, and the light on the mountains through layers of clouds. Plus, our boat looks pretty awesome.

We have a lot more amazing photos, courtesy of Alden. We'll keep posting as we go through our images. Check back soon!

Back in the U.S. of A.

We welcomed Dan and Bryan in Sydney, BC.

We anchored at the Sydney Spit for the night. The next day we set out in the fog to explore the island.

Alden wore his gorilla shoes.

We had a beautiful walk on the beach.

The spit extending out from the island.

A heron takes flight from his tall perch.

I got Alden to climb this random pole.

The fog started lifting and we headed out of BC, making for Roche Harbor to check in at customs. We had to juice all our citrus for customs before making landfall.

We had a fun stroll around the harbor, seeing the sights.

A nice spot.

Back to the boat. You can see our mismatched bottom stripes. Out with the old and in with the new. Goodbye teal and yellow. Hello navy and gold.

A float plane touches down outside our window.

The next day we had a lovely cruise to Orcas Island where we met Chuck and Sue, longtime friends of Alden and Bryan.

Here we are heading under Deception Pass bridge. Naturally we lost an engine here. We were low on fuel, wanting to wait until we got somewhere cheaper. With all our rocking about in the Rosario Strait, our engine sucked up some air or debris and sputtered out.

We limped along with one engine, under the bridge at slack water and around the corner into a sheltered bay where we moored for the night. Alden changed our fuel filter and we filled up the next morning. No harm done! But a good lesson in not running too low.

Dan and Bryan head out to catch their bus to Anacortes. Thanks for all the fun!!

We had a lovely cruise south.

A lovely day to cruise and have a nap.

Welcome back to Shilshole! 

It's been an epic trip full of challenges, surprises and wonderful memories! Thanks for sharing in our adventure!!! Check back for more pictures soon :)