Waiting for the tide to come in

Quite clearly we did not set sail (so to speak) on Friday as originally planned.  Simply too much to do and not enough hours.  The good news our new tenants are all set and the to-do list for the rental property is assigned and in good hands.  After scurrying all week to get "our ducks in a row," we decided we would take our time to finish preparing the boat on Saturday and depart on the early tide on Sunday.  We encouraged our house-sitter to come and settle in, creating a one night overlap.  As it turned out, that was a very good plan.  Little did we know that our house-sitter is not just a musician, carpenter, and tile-layer -- he is also a talented chef.  Andy created a wonderful meal while Barrie and I continued to organize for two months away from home.

Waiting to depart on Sunday seemed like a good plan until small craft warnings were put in effect for Northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Somehow facing winds in excess of 30 knots on the first day of a long voyage was not something we were willing to tackle (nor should we).  So, we left the boat at dock and spent another day catching up on chores.  The forecast for tomorrow is for light winds, perhaps a rain shower or two but mostly sunny skies. 

Fingers crossed that the weather forecast is correct.  Since we plan to depart at 6, we will be up to watch the sunrise.  As a rule, we must wait for high slack tide to navigate our way out of our Lagoon Point moorage. But, tomorrow low tide is actually quite high (over 6 feet) and high tide is just 2 feet more -- that means we will have plenty of water and not too much current and can depart at will.  We have been so busy with other projects that I have scarcely had time to think about this trip until now and it feels good to be worrying over the height of the tide and the force of the wind.

The dock (and the property attached to it) that we rented from Retired Coast Guard Captain Joe Smith has been sold and we will not be returning to this space.  A number of months ago Joe passed away and so this was bound to happen.  Leaving the dock for the last time I can not help but think of Joe.  While I never met him, we did communicate through email and telephone.  Joe had a real fondness for the sea.  He followed this blog on each of our journeys and one year I quit blogging a few days before returning home.  Joe became concerned that something might have happened to us and when he was unable to reach us by phone he contacted the local sheriff department on Whidbey.  They found me at home unpacking.  Joe apologized for the inconvenience but I told him that his care and concern was very touching.  I promise to blog to the end of the journey.