On the boat at last!

It’s been a busy week! We are 98% moved out of the house and 98% moved on to the boat. All that is left is to move our mattresses into our storage area, pass along the keys to the new tenants mid August and then we are officially moved on to the boat. I’ve had a few moments of panic where I realize that this is not packing for a summer vacation – this is our life for the next while!

At first, our slow move onto the boat seemed easy. A few loads here and there.  Clean the boat – clean the house, it was all going well. Our things seemed to be fitting well in the boat and I mentioned to Gavin that this all was going much better than I had thought. I spoke too soon.  We buckled down and did the final 20%. It was not easy and we were all exhausted by the end. The piles in our living room – boat pile, storage pile, give away pile – were constantly replenished and never seemed to end.  Gavin said he’s been moving piles around since he returned home with boat last August.  I consoled myself saying that we didn’t have that much stuff.  But when I kept seeing it appear in endless piles, I concluded that I don’t want to ever have this much stuff again!

My favourite part of this ‘packing up stage’ has been social fun with friends – multiple barbeques and get togethers- and several discussions with folks grabbing atlases or maps asking us to point out where exactly it is that we plan on going again? We are going to miss friends and family at home!

After Gavin plumbed a new house water hose, we were finally out of the house with our vehicle stuffed to the gills, three sails tied to the roof, kids and groceries, we finally made it to Point Roberts.

Then it took us two days to load the boat, do last minute jobs and finally leave the harbour! The sand dunes at Point Roberts were fun. Next time we will bring our skim boards!

We are taking two weeks to explore the San Juan Islands before we leave for San Francisco. It has been wonderful so far and we are enjoying exploring new cruising grounds and getting used to boat living again.

Our first stop was Sucia – a Washington State Marine Park. We absolutely loved it; rope swing for the kids, beautiful sandy beaches, caves and walking trails. It was a pleasure to unwind, relax and be at anchor for a change. Nathan is loving his dingy driving and did his first solo dingy ride. 

Next stop was Roche Harbour with all the beautiful boats and action. “Colours” at sunset with taps and formal retiring of the flags by the ‘sweatpant brigade’ with a cannon was a hit with the kids.  We found out there was free wifi that we can pick up with our wifi booster (thanks Jer!) just as we were leaving and will be back to visit soon! There is also a beautiful pool, great general store, tennis courts and a playground.

Then on to Stuart Island at Reid anchorage with its large bay and gorgeous outlook. We had a beautiful evening with dead calm moorage with the kids enjoying tubing, the bosun’s chair and dinghy riding of course. This morning was a treat with both of them getting into boat life reading their books for a good stretch while Gavin and I continued with boat chores.  

We have found this first time visitor’s guide to the San Juan Islands breally helpful with some great tips: http://sanjuansailing.com/documention/roger-and-marlenes-san-juan-islands-cruising-guide.pdf

After a month solid of work at the house and boat we are so glad to have this time to relax, continue with boat chores and enjoy our last cruising in the PNW for a while!