After waiting for 2 days for winds to stop we had a sunny and gorgeous day to cruise from Bickley to Refuge Cove. This route required us to go through the rapids—3 in a row, Dent, Gillard, Yuculta—that must be timed exactly for flood slack north to south. Jim obsessively researched the tide charts and we rounded the corner with dozens of boats also timing the rapids. His research paid off. We cruised through without event but the rapids up north always get your attention. Perfect cruise to Refuge Cove and we weren’t surprised to find dozens of boats anchored in front of the marina. We’d stopped here in the spring on our trip north but nothing was open. We purchased propane, walked around a bit and left. This time we attempted to anchor on the north side of the little island twice but rocks proved poor holding. We moved to the other side and successfully anchored in 60 feet, a ways away from the marina and other boats. We looked up and N57 Keewaydin was cruising in next to us. Jim radioed them and said hello and when we took the dinghy into the marina and restaurant, they met us at the dock. We toured their 57, met the owners (Roddy’s parents) and after we had dinner we brought Roddy and his partner, Marte, to Joyride for a cocktail. Such nice guys and a really good time.
It’s summer and high season for those boaters in the PNW, but we chatted and Jim and I are both feeling a bit burnt out and not much humored by the many boats competing for anchorages or dinner reservations. We enjoy the occasional new friendships but don’t need the social buzz. We looked on marine traffic and all of the anchorages we loved on our way north are packed with 20+boats. We decided that we were excited to make a run back to Vancouver where we can walk, tour, repair the hurricane heater and just love Vancouver for 14 days IF we can find an anchorage at False Creek. We applied for the 14 day stay. We’ll cruise in there early tomorrow and hope for the best! As of now, in the last 4 1/2 months we have stayed at a marina for 34 days—usually to avoid weather or pick up or meet guests. We’ve been aboard for 6 months straight today, Jim without going home at all and I went home for a week to check on parents. It’s been incredible! We may also feel a little let down from leaving spectacular Alaska. But, we are thrilled about a return to Vancouver if we can get an anchorage. One more new anchorage tonight.
Happy 65th birthday to Jim! It poured rain with low clouds on the water the entire day. We had a delicious breakfast casserole with prosecco, watched movies, played cards, and had baked chicken with garlic mashed potatoes for dinner along with the homemade cinnamon rolls we purchased at Blind Channel for dessert! It was low-key but the winds were up until Wednesday so we hid out! Nice, peaceful and quiet anchorage. And, Medicare, hellllo.!
Just a shitty weather day. Rain lets up for a few minutes to tease us then resumes pouring! Sporty dinghy ride into Blind Channel marina! Just saw a whale underway!
Blind Channel marina anchorage. Good holding but fairly exposed to wind. We took the dinghy into the marina for lunch and bought bread and cinnamon rolls for Jim’s birthday treat —all in the pouring rain. Moved to Bickley Bay that evening which was far more protected. Rain. Rain. Rain. And clouds.
This is Saillogger’s older entry for our trip North: Arrived Port McNeil and anchored across from the marina. This stop is to prep for our departure after May 1 for Northern BC and Alaska.
May 3 - we depart tomorrow for the start of our trip north. Went shopping in town today for produce and last minute supplies. It has been a nice stay here Port McNeil at anchor but we are ready to go!
On July 18th, 2026, we stopped at Port McNeil once again. Doug and Gretchen will fly home to Oregon from here on July 20th. The anchorage here is huge and mostly protected. We get waves from the ferry but otherwise, it’s completely acceptable for quick stops with dinghy rides into town for provisions and lunch/dinner. Tomorrow, we will drop them off and go to IGA and rent a Rug Doctor to clean our carpets—way overdue. And, after a seafood feast in Prince Rupert we hunted down a seafood smell that may have residue on the galley rug. Julie has cleaned and scrubbed everywhere to eliminate the unpleasant odor. Jim may not be welcoming seafood on the boat for a while (though there is still a supply in the freezer that I can easily air fry on the cockpit to avoid the danger of spills)! He was mostly patient with the entire process. Mostly.
We had Doug and Gretchen on board (picked them up in Prince Rupert) and after visiting Lowe Inlet and Khutze Bay, we ran to Pruth to await good weather to get past Cape Caution into Port McNeil in preparation for their early Monday morning flight; we wanted to be close enough so they wouldn’t miss their flight home. We stayed one night at anchor at Port McNeil and went into a local restaurant for lunch in town the next day and also picked up a few provisions. We lifted the anchor in the late afternoon to dash to the Broughton’s to enjoy their last 2 days in a beautiful setting. Our plan was to anchor in Waddington Bay (one of our favorites) but as we were cruising in, noticed that there were a minimum of 5 boats already anchored there. We decided to cruise by to confirm. We then peeked into an anchorage just south of Waddington, Carrie Bay, which was not on No Foreign Land at all. It was empty, beautiful, and intimate. We dropped the anchor in 65 feet in the middle of the small inlet, the sun came out, and we opened some red wine (Doug had bought 7 Deadly Zins—a jammy Zin which I definitely want to remember to buy) and chatted. I made taco salads and we enjoyed a nice dinner and chat until bedtime. We stayed in the anchorage for breakfast (bisquits and gravy—a hit) and Jim and I watched the World Cup final game (Argentina vs Spain—Spain won). Once it was over, I made some taco soup quickly as we prepared to depart for Port McNeil. We will drop the anchor, open some wine, and celebrate Jim and Doug’s July birthday with salad, Lasagna soup, and brownies and ice cream with chocolate syrup on it. They fly from Port Hardy/McNeil at 10am tomorrow AM. It’s been a lovely visit. They continue to surprise us with their enthusiasm for being aboard Joyride. Next to Karley, they are our most impressed guests and frequent visitors.
Photo along the passage to shearwater is a BC Coast Guard facility.
Kutze or Khutze Inlet was unforgettable but we also found such beauty when we entered the very secluded and protected Lowe Inlet. We anchored very close to the waterfall in 80 feet and hoped the gravel bottom would hold if the winds blew. The weather the next day looked a bit windy but the following 3 days were gale force and defininately not suited for our trip from Lowe inlet to Prince Rupert. We decided to enjoy the scenic and quiet anchorage (that we had to ourselves after one boat—Shearwater SV—came then left. We to out the kayaks and paddled around and got some fun photos a the mouth of the waterfall. We are really loving our kayaks as a great way to easily explore an area, move a little, and get off the boat. We are both getting quite good at mounting and dismounting from the swim platform and no one has dunked yet! Ultimately, we made a game-time decision when we woke up the next morning, checked the weather again and decided to do the run and hoped the winds didn’t come up. We didn’t regret it. But, we would certainly return here! Thus far, our anchorages like Waddington, Kwatzi Bay, Kutze Inlet and now Lowe Inlet have been spectacular and so memorable! We regularly look at each other and wonder how this happened —that we are floating on this spectacular boat in the middle of British Columbia! We are loving our live-aboard life!
Docked here to wait out weather. Kevin (who we met on Daybreak in Mexico) caught our lines and helped get us tied up in 20 knots of wind. Tied up in front of Gitana, who we met in Village Marina in Victoria. Ping showed me how to crab on Mother’s Day! A first for me —and so much fun to see Ping’s trap and learn how to clean and prepare them. She also cooked two of them up for me and what a delicious lunch I had! No butter needed, the meat was a so sweet and tender. We went for a walk to pick up my own crab trap but it was Sunday and most stores were closed. I’ll get one in Ketchikan, perhaps. The trap type is best for dock crabbing so we’ll give that some thought since we don’t spend as much time at the dock as Gitana does since they both still work and travel. We walked to OV Cafe for their famous smash burger and we were NOT disappointed! Worth the 2 mile walk up the street and I was glad we had to walk back down. I got calls and texts for all 4 of my kids, and fatty, today for Mother’s Day. My mom is home from the hospital and my dad called later that evening.
Kevin and Melanie and Ping came on the boat for Happy Hour. We had a very nice visit! We’ll be excited to see these friends again!
Arrived in Ketchikan! Staying two nights. Bought a crab pot for Julie (and nicer boots!). Walked 5 miles two the cruise ship harbor and back. Tomorrow we will take on 1000 gallons of fuel then head to Thorne Bay to visit our friends Dino and Cathy (N62 Giramondo) before we head to Wrangell.
Winds 25 knots. Not too rough seas. Windshield washers started working out of nowhere then the valve stuck open. Water pouring out then hose split or failed in overhead. Water pouring out of overhead console. Turned off water pump until we can get to the dock and close the valve under the helm for the washer water supply.
Passed 10,000 nautical miles
Fantastic overnight in Thorne Bay. Dinner with Dino and Cathy on a Giramondo, then a coffee shop visit this morning, drove the site of their cabin under construction and we are off to Wrangell - 56 miles away. In retrospect, Julie much prefers leaving earlier and arriving early so avoid the afternoon slump that we both experienced. Daytime naps off watch were enjoyed! Short stay in Wrangell, but we will be back in Wrangell on June 13th to meet Daybreak and Penny and Lawrence (N50 Northern Ranger II) for dinner then cruising the area for a week or so. Slip in Thorn Bay was $85–$60 + $25 power.
You really want to arrive here at slack tide!
Arrived with a stabilizer problem… Turns out the breaker tripping was because of a bad servo coil - it had shorted out and melted. The good news is a $35 part…but no longer available but tracked down a replacement and Karley is bringing 3 up to Sitka when she comes on July 1.
Great troubleshooting help from Graham at ABT and Tony at Yacht Tech. Running on 1 fin in the meanwhile.
It was ambitious of us to decide to make a trip from the Sitka side (East side) of Baranof Island all the way south around the tip and cruise up the West side to an anchorage Julie had seen on No Foreign Land and wanted to experience, but even after a long 10 hour-ish day of cruising the pay off was BIG. This bay and anchorage is simply spectacular. It’s a fjord so we are surrounded by layers of tall mountains, lush foliage and deep green clear water.
And, we have had the most gorgeous 2 days of sunshine since Karley arrived so that made the cruise that much more beautiful. Once the anchor was down here, Jim got the drone out while the sun was shining on the mountains. We know we can easily have days of clouds and rain, which is typical of this area.
We had a mostly benign trip here—a little rolly on the way south as were exposed to the Pacific Ocean but much flatter once we made it around the corner. And, we must’ve seen more than 30+ whales on the Pacific side but the big surprise came on the west side of Baranof when two humpbacks surfaced right off our boat. We brought the engine down to watch them. We are in awe every time we see whales or dolphins while cruising! It just never gets commonplace. With the smooth water on the west side, Karley and I took a chance to do some yoga in the cockpit while underway.
Once the anchor was down, we sat outside on the cockpit, had a late dinner and played Rummy together.
Gut Bay was spectacular from the moment we turned into the entrance! And, the same beauty we loved in Ford’s Terror, we get to share with Karley here at Gut Bay. We made the long trip (rather than jumping to a closer anchorage for one night) so we could stay here for 2 nights. We will kayak into these nearby coves and we’ll see if Karley cold plunges!
Well this is something I have never had happen before! Oddly had a hard time getting the anchor to set!
We docked in Sitka and took the dinghy over to the dinghy dock closest to the Sitka airport where Julie walked 20 min to meet Karley. She had not been aboard Joyride since the three of us cruised from San Diego to Dana Point in July 2025. She had been ill so we returned to the boat for the evening. The next morning Jim dropped us at the Crescent Harbor dinghy dock closest to downtown Sitka and we walked and toured the city until noon, when we had to vacate our slip. From there, we cruised back to Goddard Hot Springs Bay. We had difficulty getting the anchor to hold, and discovered it was tangled in the chain. We decided to make some minor adjustments to our anchoring procedure: rather than free-falling the anchor as quickly as it would fall, we now ease it down a bit slower until we know it hits bottom, being certain to reverse and lay the chain out more methodically. We’ve never had much trouble with holding until this anchorage.
After the soccer game and dinner, Karley and I took the kayaks to shore and sat in the lower pool for an hour. The views from there were so beautiful and these are rare warm springs. We had a really nice time. It’s always so great and easy to have Karley aboard!
Purchased 1050 gallons of fuel at $5.13 per gallon. Also purchased 10 gallons of Delo oil for the main engine.
Also filled our 14 gallon tender bowser, purchased another 5 gal of Delo oil.
Karley arrived for a week long cruise. We plan to go south and back up the east side of Baranoff and thru the Peril strait back to Sitka.
Two parts to quite a narrow entry but straightforward. Very secluded, protected and quiet anchorage. We jumped here from Kalinin Bay to get a bit closer to Sitka to pick Karley up the next day. There were so many jelly fish in the water—huge orange ones. We saw these same jelly fish in Kalinin Bay—both anchorages are on the same small island just north east of Sitka.
Anchor up around 6:15am-ish. Much foggier out here than expected with winds that were not predicted on Predict Wind. We are cruising to Goddard Springs on Baranof Island near Sitka to meet up with Daybreak and perhaps sit in the springs. They left yesterday and are fishing today. We had a peaceful down-day celebrating Father’s Day and watching the US Open in a beautiful setting. Hoping our cruise today doesn’t get too sporty. Seas were predicted at 3’ on 10 seconds, which would be comfortable.
Beautiful location. Open north and south. Whales came thru channel likely because there was an abundance of kelp in the water. With Daybreak. Julie departed on Daybreak to fish two days in a row while Jim stayed at anchor with Joyride—a bit hesitant to leave Joyride behind. We’d come back to this anchorage just to see whales so close to our boat. Alaska continues to amaze us with its beauty— openness, wild life, mountains, terrain and various colors of water. And, sharing time with Jerome and Karen Fisher and Lawrence and Penny Talbot has truly been easy and so enjoyable. This last week kicks off our busy month-and-a-half with guests on board. It’s very fun to share our Joyride—food, drinks, laughs, stories and fun with friends!
Rafted to DAYBREAK
Light at 420am!
1 night $106 inc power Filled up with water and departed for Petersburg at 830am. Very short stay in Wrangell. Julie wanted to walk into town this AM but our marina is a ways from town—and a walk down the highway so she opted to walk the docks and ran up the gangway 7X for her workout. The great news is her knee (meniscus surgery last year at this time) feels really good!
We departed at 6am to catch a push down the narrows. Julie drove from the starboard wing station for the first time, off the dock and into the narrows. Glad Jim insisted that I try it. I’ve docked from the flybridge before. Now cruising down Wrangell narrows—so scenic! It’s a beautiful sunny day with calm water and a bit of a push in the beginning. We’ll anchor near Wrangell tonight for an easy cruise into the marina to meet our friends Jerome/Karen on N68 Daybreak and Penny/Lawrence with them! Should be a fun week with them.
Now in Stephen’s passage. Winds 4.5 kts seas are calm
Underway out of Fords Terror - 23-30 knot winds out in channel.
Entered about 50 minutes after high tide. The route shown at slowboat.com is correct / and takes you over land on both Navionics and Timezero. Aquamap satellite view is the best choice to follow. Anchored in 80ft 3/1. True Blue N63 followed us in.
We stayed in the first evening and got some rest. The next day it rained most all day. We had our first bear sighting, which was exciting. Not close enough for a photo though. We joined N63 True Blue for a cold dinghy ride in the rain to check out the rapids and the other arm of Ford’s Terror. It was a sporty ride through the east arm rapids. We did not go all the way through the entrance where the tide was ripping since we could not fully get eyes on the conditions around the corner. Jeremy and Kim boarded Joyride for a chat afterwards, which was nice to get to know them, then we FaceTimed with Doug and Gretchen who want to plan to come aboard Joyride in July. We will look at our itinerey and decide on a plan! We left this anchorage at 4:30am the next day to catch high slack to cruise into Dawes Glacier before we go back to Tracy Arm tonight and into Juneau tomorrow. This was a simply stunning and exciting anchorage!
Changed oil, filter and fuel filter on 12kw. Topped up coolant and oil on Main engine. Lubed intermediate bearing.
We had our new drone delivered via via FedEx today, but they missed the delivery and we ended up driving around Juneau looking for the FedEx truck and found one… Which was not the right one, but that driver called the correct truck and we met that truck in Juneau at his next stop and got the drone!
Heading back to Juneau on a warm and calm day! Calm seas and whales breaching! Overall perfect cruising day.
Beautiful anchorage in 45 ft over mud.
Day trip to Elfin Cove. Significant current/tide/wind waves on the trip out. Lunch at Coho Grill. Cute town!
Crazy currents fron Ilian cove to Elgin cove creating 4’ waves. Exciting ride!
We were anchored in North Sandy Cove and woke up to clouds, drizzle and colder temperatures than we’ve had. By 1pm the sun came out to greet us and we were excited to cruise north to another anchorage to stage for a run to the glacier, following a cruise ship to push the Bergie bits out of the way for us!
Turned out to be a spectacular cruise to Blue Mouse anchorage with absolutely no boats in sight. One cruise line was leaving the Bay but we are alone in this wonder! But, no bear or whale sightings yet in Glacier Bay. But, our week has just begun.
Worked on minor fuel leak. We left Bartlett Cove after a very short 3 hours and cruised 3ish hours to this anchorage. Reviews said we see bears but we did not. Short stay here but the anchorage is quite protected and a place we will likely return when we move south from the glaciers. It was a glooomy—cloudy, rainy, and cold morning so we hung out and read until the sun greeted us and urged us to get out and underway north to see glaciers on the next clear day!
Tied up to the dock in Bartlett Cove to check in, get our required briefing, and wander around a bit. Once again with True Blue. Also met the former owner of Starweather on the dock 57-06. Very short visit to Bartlett Cove but surreal. We opened our bottle of bubbles as soon as we docked and while we waited an hour for our orientation. We had to celebrate the 3000+ miles we have cruised, from San Diego, with this as our destination! What an adventure it has been!
Lots of otters in the water 5 miles south of Bartlett
Good holding. Windy when we arrived but all alone. Anchored in 60 ft - 240ft of chain out - back down at 1100 rpm.
Been a very quiet and safe anchorage. Watching cruise ships and icebergs float by….
We arrived in the afternoon and had to wait 90 min (approx 50 min after Juneau high tide) for the rapids to lay down so we could enter this very precarious opening into Ford’s Terror. Aptly named! True Blue N63, Jeremy and Kim, waited with us.
Entering La Conte Bay - icebergs ahead!
Our trip up Wrangell narrows was some of the most beautiful we’ve seen since entering Alaska. We are close to the shore on both coasts and there are some beautiful homes built along the coastline. We’re grateful for Dino’s advice to not worry so much about the current up to Petersburg, but DO arrive at slack to enter Petersburg. We planned on a 1pm arrival for slack and it looks like we are on track. We got a good push at the beginning of these narrows, as planned. We are getting better and better at understanding both tides and currents and planning accordingly. This is just a gorgeous cruising day! Light mist but sun is up and out and the foliage is deep green and lush. We’re getting back into the mountainous areas again.
Photo of Petersburg Marina is here.
Put 1000 gallons of diesel onboard at 5.67 per gallon. Note: the two forward tanks accept high speed fill no problem until about 300 gallons. The aft tanks will not accept a high speed rate.
Fuel station was across from the airport (only reachable by ferry!) and next to the seaplane base.
Fog, clouds and wind gone—just sunny, flat and beautiful out here with 3 hours to Ketchikan!
Smooth seas underway, even if it’s cloudy with a bit of fog. Jim wants sunshine! Making 9.9 at 1320 rpm and 5 gph. Last night’s photos with Kevin and Melanie at happy hour on Joyride. Ping, too.
Decided to leave for Prince Rupert to beat the weather. Good run in 25kt winds.
Anchor up at 530am perfect conditions—while we were protected by islands. Sea state was considerably rougher once we were north of Vancouver island with 8+ foot seas on 9 seconds. Once we backed down the RPMs the ride was more tolerable. It’s always disconcerting when the dishes loudly rattle and lift, fall, and jostle with the motion of the boat. I was forced to do the few dishes in the sink and pull out all dish towels to pad the classes and dinner ware. Also, put the plants all on the square table tray to keep them confined. It’s been a while since we’ve been in rough seas and we seem to forget how distressful it can be when we aren’t “prepared for sea” as Bernie Francis would tell us! We will be past Cape Caution in 2 hours. Seas are far calmer over the last 30 min; 5 feet on 9 seconds as forecast. We are back “at speed” at 8.6 knots and the ride is now manageable if not comfortable. However, there are so many large logs in the water that the captain is vigilant and often steering with the follow-up lever to dodge the timber. There tends to be patches where the timber is quite condensed.
Stunning anchorage in a tight bay - listening to waterfalls. Kwatsi Bay was “other-worldly” from the moment we entered from the Tribune Channel. The bay is surrounded by tall forested mountains on all sides—probably in excess of 1000 feet high and dense with plush bright green trees and sprinkled with many small waterfalls. We could hear the calming fall of the water continuously as we navigated the glassy water and unspoiled cove right to the very end where we anchored in 30 feet—the only boat in the bay. Kwatsi Bay Marina was once run by a family for 25 years but sold and closed in 2021. The new owner wanted to be anonymous but it appears that someone does live there but there are no trespassing signs posted and no real signs that a resident was around. We dropped our kayaks in the water and explored from the end of the cove where we anchored to the opening of Kwatsi Bay where the marina had once been. The shear size of the towering mountains as a backdrop made Joyride appear as a very small toy boat. Since we departed Vancouver, Waddington Bay had been a very favorite anchorage. We were also there alone and it offered many inlets to kayak in and out of. However, Kwatsi Bay is somewhere we will return and perhaps take visitors. It is unspoiled and spectacular.
So we left Waddinton Bay to go check out Echo Bay and Shoal Harbor. Saw some Orcas on the way to Echo. Then we nosed into Shoal and it just was not appealing.
So we departed and went to look at our backup choice a Joe Cove. Pretty spot but the wind was blowing straight up the channel and it seemed unpleasant - so we pivoted and came back to Waddington. So happy we did that. Anchor back down and watching golf! lol.
Heading to Blind Channel to duck out of the 25knts wind
Seymour Narrows was totally benign - went thru just before slack. Much stronger wind then expected now - currently 23 kts on the nose and whitecaps. We haven’t seen whitecaps since we left Blaine for Vancouver.
Campbell River was a return to civilization. From the Discovery Harbor marina, we could walk to Canadian Tire (where we bought bear spray) and also hit the grocery store for some spices I was missing. We ate out at Riptide the first night. Their seafood linguini was really very delicious; Jim had the french dip sandwich. The next morning, I walked along the seawall for 2.5 miles out then back, for 5 mile round trip. My hips were stiff and required a good stretch. We were planning on staying an extra night due to weather reports of higher winds on Thursday but when we checked weather again, the winds were down. That’s when we decided to stay with our plans to leave on Thursday 4/23. We checked the currents and planned a departure a 8:45am to go north thru the notoriously tumultuous Seymour Narrows at Slack tide in our first move towards the Broughton’s. Seymour Narrows is very wide and we had no problems there. As noted in what we’ve read, Johnston Strait’s wind can often oppose the current which causes bigger seas. We were surprised with nearly 30 knots of wind and white caps the entire trip. However, the ride was quite smooth, even if watching the water conditions and wind gusts were at times worrisome. We have grown accustomed to cruising in very calm water since we moved north of Vancouver and today was an exception. Although we left our plans somewhat open—to decide while underway—we stayed with original plans to duck into Blind Channel and came to a nearby anchorage with good protection from winds. It was a successful day, albeit not one of our favorite cruising days. We will venture farther north tomorrow. For today, we are in yet another peaceful, quiet, and scenic anchorage. We (I) had selected our anchorages/stops from research I had done on both Desolation Sound and the Broughton’s favorite and notable stops. However, we are here in April, which is VERY off season. So, all of the events, social settings, happy hours, restaurant reviews, etc. apply to high season, making it utterly unnecessary for us to stop at a marina. We provisioned in Vancouver and will need produce eventually —probably in Port McNeil, before we cruise into Alaska, but for now we will change our plan to find the most gorgeous anchorages not the stops that cruisers enjoy most since that appears to be heavily linked to social opportunities during high season. But, we do plan on visiting these places on the way south: Forward Harbor (no restaurant but free prawns and dockside happy hours where everyone brings an app) Blind Channel Marina (good restaurant), Lagoon Cove (cinnamon rolls), Pierre’s at Echo Bay (amazing restaurant and social scene), and Kwatsi Bay. For now, we are happily swinging around our hook in Cordero Islands anchorage. And, having a lovely G&T as an anchor-down celebration! Cheers to this unbelievable adventure we are living!
The Refuge Cove General Store was open for 3 hours on MWF, so we cruised in, dropped anchor and took the dinghy in only to find that the door was open but shelves were empty and there was no one there. We walked to the fuel dock and met Richard, the guy who runs the fuel dock and General Store. We decided this was an opportune time to fill our propane so we returned to the dinghy then waited over an hour for Richard to get back to the propane task. But, both are full and we feel good about that as we go north for the summer. There were many seals on a rock in one cove so we quickly chose to anchor in another area. But, given there’s nothing going on in Refuge Cove this time of year, we opted to tow the dinghy and return to Tenedos where we will stern tie close to the hike to Unwin Lake. There was no one there earlier today and it would also be a nice place to kayak later today or tomorrow, should we decide to stay an extra day there. We’d also like to go to Teakerne Arm but No Foreign Land said to watch for cables on the sea floor so we will likely take the dingy to see the waterfall but not anchor there. It’s a gorgeous 65 degrees out and our VERY FIRST day in t-shirts for months! We will come back after June 1 to enjoy their highly rated restaurant and shop the General Store when it’s stocked!
We cruised into Tenedos Bay to check it out on our way to Refuge Bay (since the General Store is open today (Monday) for 2 hours—1-3pm. Ha. N55 Beyond made us promise to go to Refuge. Tenedos Bay is protected and beautiful with rock formations and a hike from the East side to Unwin Lake. We saw many stern tie chains all along the south east wall. We want to return. And, we saw our first pod of Orcas on our trip from Laurel Cove to Tenedos Bay.
First orca’s!
Beautiful cove with narrow entry
4/19/26 transferred fuel to aft tanks. Both forward tanks are empty. 1100 gallons on board. Took the kayaks for a paddle to Melanie Cove. Got caught at low tide and had to get out and get the kayaks past the shallows on the way back. Flew the drone which promptly spun out of control and went swimming.
Entering Thulin Passage
Narrow entrance to Smuggler Cove! First time we used the new Kayak and first time ever stern tying to shore. All went well on our trip up. Tomorrow we head to Prideaux Haven.
Anchored overnight in False Creek. Took the dinghy to Granville Island - amazing Public Market shopping center. Had a great lunch at Tap and Brew then went for a walk and shopping (donuts!) before heading back to the dinghy and Joyride.
3/26/26 Hurricane Heater Running normally. In-pickled Watermaker and now making water at 150ppm. With the HH running our batteries only drop to 80% overnight. Game changer.
3/27/26 took the Dinghy to the Punlic Dock at the convention center. We called Quayside Marina who quoted $25 per hour to leave our Dinghy. Wow. We rented bikes and went for a bike ride through Vancouver today. Amazing. What a beautiful and fun city. Julie and I had a really nice time. Then got a Haircut, had a drink at Alchemy (disappointing) and then walked back of to the dinghy - went across the harbor and had drinks and dinner at Tap and Barrel. Sangria was amazing.
4//26
After a couple days of absolutely beautiful weather last night had Gus up to 34 knots. The hurricane heater fan in the salon failed yesterday so today will be working on a replacement. Also, the last few days reprogrammed the Victron with the help of Claude AI, so now battery charging overnight is much improved. Also completed service on both generators And spent quite a bit of time on the Highfield replacing the fuel filter and making other improvements.
4/16/2026
Departed today in perfect weather having enjoyed our time in Vancouver immensely. What a beautiful place! We got to visit with Dennis and Adrienne on Beyond before we left, and look forward to seeing them up north somewhere! We purchased inflatable Kayaks for our trip north so we can explore more off the boat. We Ubered from the marine store then loaded them in the tender for the trip back to the boat. Looking forward to using them.
Anchored in Deep Cove although found out later no longer allowed. Scooter and Annie on board. Indian Arm was beautiful.
Unexpected rough seas on the beam. We were not ready for sea! Sorry Bernie.
Significant fog on trip in. Docked at Yacht Tech in slip C1. Pumped out at Floating Dock. Docked bow in.
Update on Sept 30 moved to C45 in 20 knot wind
Oct 18 -30 knot sustained winds gusting to 43
Rough seas to start out today with 25knt winds and against current. Was only making 6 sog! Electronics working great, boat running perfect. Seas now calm 11 miles to go to ANACORTES
Nov 2nd
Arrived on Sunday night for haul out on Monday. Checking in was easy.
Current trip log 7194nm since we purchased Joyride
Work items: Bottom Paint, Drop Keel Cooler, fix Gelcoat Cracks, install new DST810 depth transducer starboard side, new battery for the wing engine, repair shower, pickle Watermaker, troubleshoot oil and water leaks.
Nov 10, 2025
Following the sea trial discovered the port stabilizer yoke was broken. Boat had to be hauled out and the repair completed before we can depart for Victoria. Working on getting parts from ABT. Our boat has the older smaller spline shafts - no longer available.
Took on 1200 gallons of fuel in Anacortes. Headed to Van Isle marina in Canada for haulout
Wind 14.4, seas calm, making 7.8 knots against the currents.
Boarded by the coast guard. Clean inspection.
Heading to Garrison Bay for a couple of days.
Great overnight in Friday Harbor after dropping off Doug and Gretchen at the sea plane. Went to see the movie Downton Abbey at the local theater but first we had pizza by the airport and nice wine up at the wine bar. Clean the boat this morning and departed for Anacortes.
We passed Kariwa and Geramando on the way in to Friday Harbor. We will see them both in Anacortes
Departed Shilshole this am. Pumped out at fuel dock.
Calm seas and mild wind.
Repaired alternator issue - broken wire on the Alternator
Left Anacortes this morning. Noticed negative amps and low output from ME alternator- now dropped to zero. Running gen set to charge batteries and carry house load. Also have on going seawater leak on floor starboard side of ME coming from wall outboard.
Currently running 11.6 knots into 6 knot wind.
At anchor - we decided to move after we realized we were in the seaplane takeoff path! So peaceful here.
Running with the current - just saw 12 knots SOG
Departed for Roche Harbor this morning. Cloudy skies,wind 3-5, smooth seas, current turning behind us right after departure.
Have spotted several whales and lots wood and kelp.
Tied up in Neah Bay. No drama smooth sailing. Tired from the overnight trip. Tomorrow on to the San Juan’s! 80 miles day tomorrow to Rochester Harbor. We will cruise until we need to be in Seattle on Sept 15 for our Captain’s Generator Class (both of us) and then the Diesel Engine Hands on 2 day class (Jim) at Northern Lights Seattle HQ
Rounding the corner into the straits of Juan de Fuca. Dodging logs is a real thing!
Dodging fishing boats at night is always interesting. Winds calm, some fog patches, seas 2-3 on 10 secs
What an awesome stop in Newport to see Karley and Doug/Gretchen.
Arriving into Newport OR
Unreal calm
Amazing calm night continues today! Almost flat seas 4knots of wind making 9.0 knots. Our oil leak continues to be a problem but is manageable. Very little traffic out here 35 miles offshore.
Currently passing Crescent City - not stopping due to amazing weather window. considering stopping in Newport OR but will likely just keep going.
Seas calm wind 5.0
Docking at Richmond Yacht Club courtesy of N46 Egret
Sea lions swimming in the bow wave like Dolphins
Absolutely gorgeous flat ocean today!
Making 9.4 kn speed over ground. Expect to arrive at Richman yacht club at approximately 5:15 PM.
Humpback whales!
Center of point conception 21 knots wind and 3-4 ft seas
Last engine room Check had some oil in the engine pan. Monitoring
Calm seas 9knts wind
Seas 1-2, wind 7 knots
We had to stern tie and and snag existing lines with long boat hooks to tie mid ship and bow lines. We were happy to get a long night’s sleep in a quiet slip! We wandered to the Funk Zone for dinner and found the most delicious tri-tip sandwhich at a family-owned restaurant, Shalhoob’s. We will celebrate Jim’s 64th birthday here in Santa Barbara—a quaint and walkable city with delicious food, craft beer, and wine.
Ate Indian food on our last night to celebrate Jim’s birthday. One highlight of our trip was wine tasting at Margerum’s tasting room on Mason. Most delicious reds we’ve had since our wine tasting in Willamette or Paso with Doug and Gretchen. We walked up and down State street on our last night—enjoyable walk home after dinner. We will look forward to a return to SB on our way down after we cruise the PNW. So far, Julie thinks it is the most desirable, quaint of CA cities! We departed SB on Jim’s birthday, 2025 at 7am and will run directly to Monterey (24+ hours) since we have a desirable weather window, according to Rich our new weather router.
Met NOAA Shearwater Captains Matt (mustache) and Luke (Aussie) in the marina on the dock tied next to us. Very nice and helpful guys.
Anchored in 18 ft of water with 150 ft out. Very rolly anchorage! Wind shifted 180 so wind and waves were not in sync Jim slept in the salon.
First time picking up a mooring - with 18 knot crosswind in a tight mooring field made it very sporty!
Visit to PAE. Enjoyed one of their slips and all of the activity and sights in Dana Point. Docked next to N625 - Greg and Madelyn.
