Cruising San Juans, Gulf Islands, & Desolation Sound

[DesertAlbin736]

We are still cruising the Gulf Islands, Day 41 and 508 NM, a new consecutive single cruise reord. Currently docked at the Port Browing Marina on South Pender Island not far from the US border.

Add last year's East Coast cruise and the 2014 San Juans/Gulf Islands cruise and we have logged more than 1,000 NM on the water, 340 engine hours, and more than 10,000 road miles since we bought this boat in March, 2014.

[11kolive]

I have really enjoyed this post as it takes me back to our A-25 trip to so many of the same places. Sorry to hear about the dinghy nightmares though. We used an 8'6" inflatable that we carried on the roof. I wrote. Blog of our trip in 2010,
princesslouisa2010.blogspot.com it has our inflatable kayaks on top for that trip.

Thanks for the great posts.

Keith Olive

[DesertAlbin736]

I have seen pics of A25's with dinghies and/or kayaks on the roof. Most of those had hard tops extendingover the aft cabin. Because we wanted to keep the option of installing the sail rig open we chose to keep the original style canvas enclosure plus having opening hatches over the wheelhouse. What I intend to do is add lifting davits for the dinghy and perhaps raise and enlarge the swim platform.

Anyway, we're back in the USA, checked in to US customs in Friday Harbor this morning after short crossing from Port Browning on North Pender Island BC.

Friday Harbor Marina was so crowded we decided to go over to Fishermans Bay on Lopez Island. On the way we saw a pair of Humpback whales in San Juan Channel. A mother and calf I think.

Then a while later who should we see pull in but none other than Mike Almvig in his A25! Another Albin 25/AOG IRL meet up!

Well so far we've logged 541 NM on th GPS and we're not done cruising yet.

[WillieC]

Just missed you. We were in Bellingham dropping off grandson and left this am. Cruised the chandleries in Anacortes and Poulsbo on the way home. Found a practically new stainless exhaust mixing elbow for the MD engines. Don't need it. Yet.
Back to the shop tomorrow, hopefully complete compression testing on the 17C, then off to H and H injector shop in Tacoma (Fife) soon. Another Albineer is sending a no longer needed injector pump! I actually heard back from Bosch gmbh in Germany regarding interchangeability. Typical uncertain answer, but I have options!
Steve, let us know when you are on the road. Hope to meet up with you.

[coolchange]

nice trip...too bad you missed the group in LaConnor..maybe next year??

You still have the strangest day of a cruise coming up....Haul out and driving a truck in traffic....carefull on the way home.

[DesertAlbin736]

We are back in Bellingham! Snugly tied up at the Squalicum Harbor guest dock right where we started from. Saturday morning we left the IMC marina in Fishermans Bay on Lopez Island after meeting Mike Almvig and his wife the day before. Spent last night at the community dock at Olga on Orcas Island, then left around 10 AM to catch slack tide going through Peavine Pass.

Will be here on the dock in Bellingham for the next 3 nights (Sun-Mon-Tues) as a base while we look for a dinghy, since there's much better chance of finding one up here than back home in AZ. Then it's on the road again back to the desert.

So, in all 45 days afloat, 573 NM, 111 hours on the engine, 35.9 gallons diesel purchased, ending with slightly less than 1/2 tank left. Ports & Islands visited: Bellingham, Sucia, Roche Harbor, Friday Harbor, Stuart Island, Sidney BC, Montague Harbour (Galiano Island), Ladysmith, Telegraph Harbour (Thetis Island), Nanaimo, Smugglers Cove, Pender Harbour, Chatterbox Falls, Vancouver Bay (Jervis Inlet), Fishermans Bay (Lopez Island), and Olga on Orcas.

Did not see any Orcas this time, this time, but did see a couple humpback whales.

[DesertAlbin736]

Epilogue: We will haul our boat out at the Squalicum Harbor ramp in Bellingham tomorrow morning and run down to Gig Harbor to pick up a new Gig Harbor Boatworks 8 ft Nisqually dinghy to replace the Boatex dinghy we lost off Nelson Island on the BC Sunshine Coast. Then continue on our way back home to Phoenix.

[sail149]

Hi
I'm sure it too late but I just came across this interesting dinghy , from Portland

http://www.portlandpudgy.com/
A little ugly or not depending on your point of view
Only 8' long too
Warren

[DesertAlbin736]

I saw that. Portland as in Portland Maine, not Portland, Oregon. Nice boats, but besides being expensive they're a bit heavy, over 100 lbs. Trying to stay as close to 70 lbs or less as possible.

We are stopped for the night camping in an RV park in Panguitch, UT. Flagstaff tomorrow, then home on Wednesday. That will be 58 days in all from beginning to end including the trailering road trip to and from Bellingham.

[sail149]

Sorry , yes I spotted the Portland Maine too.
I agree the wt put me off a bit too, having built 35# Adirondack guide boats I always want light!
Heck of a trip with Bently of excitement , good fun!
Warren

[DesertAlbin736]

Adirondack Guide boats? Those ones that look like canoes but are rowed with oars, with a seat for the "sport" in the stern? My late stepdad worked as a caretaker at a "camp" on Blue Mountain Lake up in the Adirondacks right after WWII. So am very familiar with that type, having also spent several years living in Upstate NY near Saratoga before moving to Arizona nearly 40 years ago. If you're ever up that way North of Lake George, a stop at the Adirondack Museum is a must.

Anyway, pretty soon I'm going update the thread on Albin Cruising board with pictures and links to YouTube uploads. Right now there's 100s of pics and 84 video clips to go through, and with the photos needing to be resized to <2MB, so be patient it'll take some time but lots more to see.

[sail149]

Yes the adirondack guide boat with all the ribs and 1/4" cedar skin. It's been a long time (90) but we used a mold made off an orriginal guide boat that a wood replica builder was using as the model to build his wood boats. He wanted to be able to sell fiberglass ones but noBody could make a guide boat that was stiff enough. The shape is very flat compared to a canoe so we had to do something different.
We vacuum bagged a foam core shell that was as stiff as the wood boats but without the ribs and without using expensive exotic materials like carbon and epoxy.
Fun project.
Looking forward to your pictures in the cruising section.
Warren

[WillieC]

DA, what radio are you thinking of upgrading to?

Here's what I have now.
http://marine-electronics-reviews.com/w ... hf550.html

[DesertAlbin736]

DA, what radio are you thinking of upgrading to?

Haven't made any serious decisions yet. Perhaps Standard Horizon or ICOM. Your West Marine looks good too.

Minimum requirements: DSC & built in GPS, remote mic capability. Optional: Built in AIS receiver.

Something like this one from Defender:

Standard Horizon VHF.jpg

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?nam ... id=2426490

This is just one example.

On getting an MMSI number assigned (which stays with the radio), here's the lowdown on that:

https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtMmsi

I'm not sure, but I heard somewhere that an MMSI number obtained through BoatUS or SEA TOW may not be able to be accessed by the Canadian Coast Guard when in Canadian waters, but would if you go through FCC to get your number. Might want to check on that, as well as getting a station license, which I think you're supposed to for Canada, but I don't think that's being enforced. At least no one asked us for one while we were up there. Might want to check into that further.

The ancient Uniden radio we inherited with the boat has none of those, not even weather channels. If I want to pick up NOAA weather broadcasts I have to use my handheld, which gets weather channels but is not DSC capable. Or, if we're in cell range use the smart phone. My handheld is an old 2002 Standard Horizon, & I have to keep feeding it AA batteries, since the NiCad rechargeable battery died long ago. In any case, having a VHF with its own GPS receiver built in would be a good back up to whatever other GPS you have.

[NickScheuer]

Glad to hear the thieves were raccoons instead of 2-legged varmints. We hugely enjoyed a cruise up the Sunshine Coast out of Maderia in our Shearwater Yawl (before we traded for our Albin-25).