On R Way ! ! !

[Skagitguy]

Film at eleven. Chuck

[Lootas1]

If the poison hemlock doesn't kill me, I'll be watching for posts. I made it to Hat Island at 10:45 but saw no boats I recognized. Put in some calls on VHF Ch. 69 and seemed to reach no one. Ate my lunch and headed back to Lummi around noon. Why not on to Bowman Bay to see if I could link up? Motor wasn't running well. It got right up on plane when I started out but took such a pounding, I throttled back about a mile from home.
Cruised at 15 mph for awhile and then hit some flat water on east side of Guemes so hit the throttle. It sputtered and slowly crept up to 29 mph and then slowed down again and wouldn't run faster than 15 mph.
So, I fired up my 9.9 Johnson and came on home in 2 hours at around 7 mph. Guess it is back to Anacortes with this Mercury!
Hope you all had a better cruise. Of course, making it home alive was some kind of an accomplishment.
Jerry

[bham-rick]

Fogged in !!

Was I the only person who had fog? Left Obstruction at 0900 and had to run across the straits to Cypress on G.P.S. only had about 100 yards of visability. made it around reef point but the channel had a thick blanket of fog and only had about 25 - 50 yards visability needless to say I did not want to cross the ferry lanes in a 17 ft. boat with that kind of sight line. limped into deepwater bay and tied up to a float and contacted Chuck and he said they were having issues getting the sling into the water at LaConnor. There was a thick blanket of fog rolling over Cypress right down the middle of the Guemes Channel. I tried to call Jerry on the radio but got no reply. When Chuck called (cell phone)at about 11:20 he said they were in the water coming out by the twin bridges ,so I attempted the channel again and it was real bad so I turned around again . Sky was clear to the north so Sarah and I decided that since we had been out all week that we would just head for the barn. Was I the only one who had fog? Was it just in the middle of the channel. Sorry we missed the run and sorry I could not get ahold of you Jerry to run back to Lummi . Bham bay was pretty choppy today but the Dorsett handled the waves real well, Sarah was glad we had the cabin and we were not in the Skagit convertable!

[Lootas1]

Sorry to hear I wasn't the only one who didn't make the cruise. There was fog over B'ham Bay early but, by the time I left L.I. it had pretty much disappaited. I could see clearly all the way to Hat Island.
Also sorry I didn't get your radio transmission. I'm a rather deaf old fart and could hear talk on Ch. 69 from time to time but couldn't make out much of what was being said. Virtually nothing when the motor was running. While at anchor, I understood a bit of what was being said but not enough to tell if it was our gang or not talking.
Don't know what to make of the motor. Maybe carb problems? Had fuel pumps rebuilt last year along with the overhaul and the distributor/magneto replaced then. Expected it would start running like a champ once I put it on the trailer but still wouldn't run right. Back to the shop in Anacortes I guess.
Anyway, it was a quieter, smoother ride home at about 6 mph with the 9.9 Johnson and the sun shone and weather was quite comfortable.
Waiting to see some pics from those who made the trip.
Jerry

[bham-rick]

By the sounds of the reports it was worse at Blakely and Cypress ! Right where I was. It gets pretty scary when you go into a shipping and Ferry lane with a 17' boat and you can't see and you have no idea how far it goes till it clears up. We waited at Cypress for about 2 hours before we decided to go home . It was clear and sunny looking all the way back. Got into some rough water in Bellingham bay (What a suprise) but we were running with it so it wasn't that bad. We will catch up with you soon I hope and good luck with the motor!

[Skagitguy]

Rick & Sarah, you did not miss anything as far as the weather ( fog ) and water condition ( rip tides, 6' swells ) going down the westside of Fidalago. Chuck

[Nomad55]

I'll second Chuck's post on water conditions. For the most part we stayed just outside the fog bank after watching the ferry quickly disappear into the fog.

[ChuckB]

The fog made going slow, the swells were like going on a slow drive in the Palouse, the tide rips with the swells, now that was another matter altogether. ChuckB
I have some interesting photos's , they just aren't cooperating with the website/computer interface right now.