Venture Continues - Deer Harbor to Reid Harbor

Now that Labor Day weekend has officially started, we're headed off to Reid Harbor for some (hopefully) peaceful time at anchor, and to finish the hike to the Turn Point lighthouse. We ran out of time last year at the intersection by the air strip. Hopefully it won't be as dusty this year (it took months to get all the dust out of my shoes).

Unfortunately, we hit the first maintenance snag of the trip this morning. Frog Prints has her holding tank mounted high in the hold - a location which is excellent for emptying the tank by gravity where allowed, but means there's a good uphill run in the line from the head to the tank. This morning the head doesn't seem to be pumping uphill as well as it should, and things seem to drain back. The layout prevents a siphon, so it's not a disaster, but it's not pleasant and would require filling the tank faster than usual (it's only a 12-gallon holding tank) to avoid sewage from running back. Most likely it's a bum joker valve.

Fortunately, we're not that far from West Marine in Friday Harbor. If we divert early, we should be able to miss the growing chaos of a holiday Friday at Friday, while still picking up what we need.

We set out for Friday Harbor around 1015 for an uneventful trip. We managed to get the last spot on the temporary dock, although it was a bit of a trick wedging in. There seemed to be a good current, and there wasn't a lot of space. Laura did a great job getting us in to the dock, and we levered her in on the lines.

Happily, West had what we needed, although only in the full rebuild kit. We stopped and picked up some extra stuff at the grocery on the way back down to the marina while we were there, and I began the project. Flushing some raw water through the system kept everything reasonably pleasant, and the shower sump pump got the water out. The old joker valve had calcified and was not closing well. The new one fixed everything up nicely, and with a douse of Lysol and hot water, we were ready to head out around 1345.

We were hoping the crowd in Reid Harbor wouldn't be too bad with it only being Friday. We figured most people would be wanting to stay someplace more developed for their first night out. We were wrong - there were around 80 boats in the harbor that night. It took a while to find a spot, and we annoyed at least one power boater while we were looking (they must have had a heck of a lot of scope out). We finally found a spot towards the outside - not perfect, but good enough. It would be good exercise rowing in from there.

Our nearest neighbor was an island of power boats. I think they were trying to see how many boats they could hang off of a single anchor. At first it looked like a boat show, with a small, medium, large, and extra large boat all rafted together, although the island kept growing as the evening wore on. It must have been a dozen boats of different sizes at its peak. They were well-behaved though, and didn't disturb us.

This was our first opportunity to try our new anchor riding sail. Laura was going to sew something up, but we ran out of time so we splurged for one from Banner Bay Marine. They do a nice job, and since they ship by USPS, it only took three days to get the sail.

Given a choice, Frog Prints actually likes to lie stern-to in the wind. It makes backing her into a slip when the wind is blowing her off quite easy, but it also means she tends to wander when at anchor. Personally, I think she just doesn't like to stay still (first thing heard at any dock is some variant of "She looks fast"). Anyhow, we're still experimenting with the best way to rig the riding sail, but it does definitely help keep her pointed. Since we opted for the colorful one, it also helps spot her when rowing back in a crowded harbor.

Well, two days into the trip and we're already set for a day off. Tomorrow's just hiking before we set out for Canada on Sunday.