Seattle to Ketchikan Day 1

We spent about a week in Shilshole Bay Marina preparing ourselves and provisioning the boat for our trip back home to Ketchikan.  We anticipated about a month underway, but in reality we had no real schedule. There were some places we definitely wanted to visit, but our only reservations per se were for May 10 - 13 in Victoria.  Other than those dates we were free to wander home at our leisure.

Scheduled departure day was Wednesday May 4th.

We pulled out of our guest slip at SBM at about 9:40 AM in light NW winds, overcast skies, cool temps, and occasional showers.

I also have to say that crew morale was pretty low.
We were supposed to have dinner and a visit with family the night before, but due to a number of unavoidable problems, it just didn't happen.
So we were a little low when we pulled out.

Seas in the area were a little choppy, which, combined with our low morale, made for a less than enthusiastic departure.

I piloted from the flybridge, as I would do for about 99% of the remaining voyage.
Visibility is much better from the flybridge helm station since it is higher above the water.
Also the steering is center mounted, and the wheel is smaller, making it easier to maneuver.

Our destination today was Oak Harbor Marina on Whidbey Island:

I didn't want an extra long day for our first day out, and this looked like a very comfortable place to hang out for a night.

We logged 42.3 nm for our first day out.

Faraway at Oak Harbor Marina

The guest slips at Oak Harbor Marina are very far out on the end, so it is a long walk back to real grass.  They put this dog de-watering spot out on the guest float - very considerate of them.

And they were considerate not only of the pets, but of people too.
They set up this "Water Loo" on a steel barge out on the guest floats, so we didn't have to walk all the way in to the shore to use the rest rooms.
The larger one in front even had a heater in it.


Tomorrow - Anacortes.