Sailing with friends and family in the San Juan Islands June 2017

We purchased Pegasus in March and had her moved to Blaine, Washington.  This is the first town in the US after crossing the Canadian border south to Washington.  Nice quite harbor, safe in the winter.  Mark visited her several times before I could get away in June for training.  

By accident we found out our friends, Cathi and Merle, had owned 2 boats they cruised around the San Juan Islands for years before retiring in Flathead Valley. We planned a working trip in June so the could help us become comfortable with our boat.  They showed us their favorite island (Stuart) and tried to train me but I did not absorb all I needed.  I wanted to be brave and jump off the boat but I found it too high in the air and too far to do any jumping.  We still call it a controlled crash each time we dock.  We did anchor on two islands and that was easy.  

My niece and her husband joined us over one weekend.  They live in Tacoma so we meet them in Anacortes Harbor and went out to Orcas and San Juan Islands.  

Cathi was our chef and activities coordinator, while Merle was Mark' first mate.  They took out one of the jib wenches.  The motor had quit and they had a ball pulling that heavy device out of it's home and hauling it to be re-built.  I was never so glad to have a friend to help Mark so that I would not end up in that position.  

Fueling up.

Mount Rainier in distance.

Merle as skipper.

Heeling at about25- 30 degrees.

Mount Rainier

Charts of San Juan Islands.  We did practice manual charting.

Merle in her element.  She is an accomplished musician.  Cathi is as well.  They both practiced and serenaded us each day.  So relaxing is listening to live music on the water.

Rock formation on Stuart Island

Friday Harbor on San Juan Island

Merle and Cathi,( left to right).

Loading or unloading, it does not matter, it is both work.  Exercise is hauling stuff onto and off of the boat.

Rosario, Orcas Island

Rosario, Orcas Island

Noah relaxing.

I was taking a pic of Anne (my niece setting out front), she was taking a pic of me.  I have not found the one I took of her.  Will find one day and publish.

Rosario Harbor

Friday Harbor

Our Peg on the hook.0

Cathi and Merle treated us to a sushi lunch. (fresh tune from Friday Harbor)0

Anna and Noah Shown, my niece and husband.0

Cathi with her ukulele she brought back from China.

Cathi and Merle had osyters in Blaine.  Mark and I passed.

Boat hunting February 2017

After 13 seasons in Montana the winter of 2016 did us in.  From what we hear in Mexico this winter of 2017 is starting out to be the same.  The never melted.  We are in Flathead Valley that is called the banana belt of Montana in the northwest corner.  The snow usually melts in the valley and stays on the mountain tops.  We had 2 frozen pipes in 2016.  We hope the house sitters this 2017 winter can deal with whatever comes up.

In the past we vacationed in the winter as to optimize our bed and breakfast season in the summer.  We had RV'ed, cruised and traveled by car in the winter.  Mark changed all that in the winter of 2016 by planning a trip to the Seattle Boat Show in Feb. 2017.

All pics of winter 2016

Aah!, Vancouver ,BC in February.  At the Seattle Boat Show we toured a new Hunter/Marlow yacht.  After a conversation we were convinced that the boat we wanted was waiting for us in Vancouver, BC.  We jumped in the car and away to Canada.

The boat was on Granille Island near the heart of Vancouver.  I had just looked at the class to work silk in wool.  This is a product of that art.  I had to take a pic for my friend Dawn who has done is class.

Such a wonderful market on Granville Island.

Grain solos are beautiful on Granville Island.

We stayed in the Granville Island Hotel. Views were great, no rain.

All pics Vancouver on Granville Island.

At last we see Peg (Pegasus). What a beauty. After reading all the books on how to buy a sailboat and watching numerous videos on the subject, emotions can blear reason. We were smitten.We made one more trip together to sign papers and Mark went back for the inspection. We were to find out how long it takes to import a boat to the US from Canada later.  Two bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a good size kitchen and really good bones.  A  Marlow-Hunter 50 foot center cockpit is a safe boat on the open oceans and pleasing to the eye.