September 2004 San Francisco

After arrival, in San Francisco, we hooked up with a local HAM operator, Peter and wife Dei, with whom we'd been in contact at home and on the way down the coast. It was great to finally meet him.

We visited with Dei and Peter in their home and went off for dinner too. They were great hosts and we enjoyed their company.

This is Kim, Linda and I in downtown San Francisco. This was the first and last I saw of the city. The next evening, while readying the boat for a progressive dinner (I being in charge of the main course), I slipped down the companionway steps.

That's me, hiding in the background at the dinner. I was so sore, I just sat in the corner. The next day, I couldn't get out of bed so we moved the boat to the dock, hauled me ashore and took a taxi to the hospital. Diagnosis, $14,000 US later, broken or cracked ribs. I was flat out for a month...missed all of the goings-on there. I didn't leave the boat for the duration.

These are all the members of the Bluewater Cruising association who were in Richardson Bay, Sausalito(except for me, bedridden aboard). There was quite a crew!) It is a great community and they helped Ralph and I avoid killling each other during the month-long patient/nurse endurance test!

This gift is from Denis and Michele, aboard Aquastrian. We saved them, and others, from following in our footsteps and losing their US Cruising permits for not checking in all the way down the coast...we were told, in Friday Harbour, that it wasn't necessary. We regained our permits in Monterey where that customs agent said we should never have lost them in the first place!

Aug. & Sept. 2004 Vancouver to San Francisco

This is Fortuitous before leaving on our jouney. She is berthed in Steveston. We loved Steveston and enjoyed the pub and fish and chips especially. It is a bustling little town and we were one of the very few sailboats here. Mostly fishing boats and a few small pleasure craft.

Working aboard requires flexibility! I'm happy to say that Ralph managed to remove himself from this locker after fixing whatever it was that he was fixing!

Another terrific shot of Steveston Harbour.

The morning we were leaving Steveston, for the Bluewater Cruising Farwell on Newcastle Island (just off Nanaimo), a training ship was leaving. As you can see, it didn't get very far. Apparently they refused to use a pilot, ran aground, and all crew were removed from the ship. Shows it can happen to even the most experienced of captains!

This shot is taken at Peter's and Colleen's dock in Maple Bay. We visited here, for a few days, and continued to work on boat projects that were remaining.

Sunrise as we leave Neah Bay and head out into the Pacific Ocean. We had planned to harbour hop all down the Washington Oregon Coast. Little did we know, this was not to be. Although we had calm seas, there was a lot of fog. We ended up with a 3 night passage to Crescent City California. That meant that we didn't have the opportunity to purchase a watermaker, tax free, in Oregon. Oh well, I would trade the conditions, on our trip down, for a few dollars worth of tax any day!

We were very worried...or at least one of us was, as we headed out. Our personal weather router, Jeff-our youngest son, said go for it after checking the sources he uses for surfing. This picture pretty much sums up the state of the ocean for our entire trip down the Washington Oregon coast.

The sea was like glass! I was very worried about this trip and had contemplated flying to San Francisco, rather than being beaten up down this coastline. As you can see, it couldn't have been any calmer. We seldom have seen water this calm on Georgia Strait!

You could see your reflection in the water! Here I am looking at the dolphins swimming in the bow wake. You'll have to take my word for it as they really don't seem to like to be photographed and there were no good shots of this.

Here we are in Crescent City! Boy, were we proud of ourselves!! We'd survived the terrors of the coastline of Washington and Oregon! We had friends who had abandoned their boat, on this route, last year!

All these shots are taken in Crescent City. As you can see, from the one on the left, there certainly was a lot of fog out there!

Look closely...watch the birdie! This was to be the first in a series of birds to join us on our journey. We're not sure when this little sparrow arrived, but it seemed to be a quiet, safe resting place and he stayed with us for quite a while.

The next stop, after Crescent City, was Eureka California. They had some tremendous old buildings like the one at the left. We borrowed bikes, from the Marina, and took in the sights!

Here's the proof we actually went riding!

Here I am killing 2 birds with one stone...laundry and updating the website! One-stop shopping! We are now in Bodega Bay, waiting for a weather window to continue south.

Ralph, the chef at work! We'd left dinner a bit late and he couldn't see how badly he was burning the sausages...so we found our first domestic use for our headlamps!

Our mooring in Bodega Bay. Here we met fellow Bluewater Cruisers, Denis and Michele on Aquastrian. They were to become very good friends!

After a week or so, waiting in Bodega Bay, we finally arrived in San Francisco! What a rush going under the Golden Gate Bridge, instead of over it!

In fact, you can see that all that excitement just wore me out!

AND, UNDER WE GO!!