Our friends in the mid-east and New England will be jealous when they read this. It is the first weekend in March, and we had our first little cruise of the year!
Last week Norma and I gave our "Friday's in February" talk to 50 something folks at Corinthian Yacht Club, and this weekend was the first club cruise of the year. We only went 6 miles from Elliott Bay Marina, but it was a nice, close-hauled sail across the sound on Friday and downwind sail home today (Sunday).
We know Blake Island fairly well, and we were happy to have Patty and Mike Irish on Madrugador with us on this first seasonal outing. Their two dogs, Bonnie and Dixie really enjoyed our two-hour walk on Saturday. No rain at all!
Getting in and out of Blake Harbor was a breeze, with plenty of room to spare. Afterglow tied up to the first dock, hoping to see some otters as we have done in the past, but not this time. Critter sights were many--from a small seal, two rascally raccoons, a lovely stalwart blue heron hunting for fish, as well as a large green banana slug, a deer, and plenty of Canada geese.
A harbor seal pup, grey heron, banana slug, the notorious racoons the ever-present Canada Geese were joined by fellow club-dogs Bonny and Dixie.
On Friday, the state park ranger came by, as he does with all boats, to warn us about the thieving racoons. They have a real reputation here. We had sundowners on Afterglow with our fellow yacht club members.
On Saturday, after our walk and some quality reading time, Allen cooked tasty chicken on the barbecue, but the best part was toasting marshmallows at the firepit inside the shelter. We took our coats off because it was very toasty and warm inside.
A roaring campfire blazes in a cozy shelter. Chicken and franks 'n beans off the barbie. Norma raises a glass with friends Mike and Pattie. Cheers!
By dark, we spent time in Afterglow playing Quirkle and eating cinnamon Bundt cake with coffee. A slick sail home with 15 knots of wind on Sunday allowed for a really fun and relaxing weekend cruise. It is so nice not to winterize and getting an early start to the sailing season is a great bonus.
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