Poulsbo - June 21, 2010
Destination: Liberty Bay, Poulsbo, WA
Dates: June 21-22, 2010
Crew: Stan, Derek
Trip Distance: 46.1 miles
Moving Time: 10 hours 8 min
My best bud, Derek, is leaving for China with his lady friend this month, so to spend some time together before he left, we took off for a short 2-day trip on the boat. We decided to head for Liberty Bay in Poulsbo since neither of us had been. We packed some food, some beer and a couple of sleeping bags. The weather hadn’t been cooperative with pretty much anything except getting wet and cold in Seattle, so we packed a bunch of layers and set sail from Shilshole around 2. It was partly sunny, but not quite warm. As soon as we left, the clouds rolled in and we bundled up and headed for Agate Pass.
The wind was light, but with the cruising chute up and wind from the S, we crossed the sound in good time, 4-5mph COG on the beam. It really helps to have a clean bottom! Despite having bad timing with the currents, we hit Agate pass and motored through at a couple of knots with the motor, cutting through the jelly fish that were all over the sound.
We pulled into Liberty Bay and discovered the house battery was dead. We had been expecting to fill up the dinghy with the 12V air pump when we got to Poulsbo, so that was a no go. The depth sounder hasn’t been working either since we painted the bottom (not to mention we had no power). So we decided to pull into the mostly empty marina and pay the $25 to tie up overnight.
We called some friends, Jon and Shelley, and were to meet later that evening for drinks. While waiting and grilling some sausages, we were met by a seagull. Derek formed a special bond with it.
The next day, we went and had breakfast and watched Mexico vs. Uruguay at Tizley’s. We hung out and read a bit and left around 11. While starting the motor, I finally checked out the motor to see where a small fuel leak was coming from and found that the fuel pump probably needed to be replaced. Boo. Then, the water pump in the galley sink stopped working. Boo. That’s three with the battery, so we were hoping we’d be good for the rest of the trip.
We left the dock and had no wind, but plenty of sun and warmth, and so we had a pleasant motor south along the west side of Bainbridge. Having to pump fuel into the motor every 30-60 seconds was a nice addition! Through Rich Passage against the current again, but still going 2-3 mph over the ground. We got out into the sound and put up our sails and started beating against the north wind back toward Shilshole. After a couple hours of crossing the sound, we put out the motor and motored back to Shilshole, where we wrapped up in a couple minutes and flew back over to Ballard to meet our special ladies for burgers and beers.
I nice trip, minus the fuel pump, water pump, and dead battery.
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