April's Adventures in the San Juan Islands - Day 6
our route (on Trip30)
Today we got sort of a late start. Kipper Kite, the boat we were rafted to last night couldn’t start her engine and it looked like it was a dead starter battery. We have three batteries aboard, all full, so we lent her one to get going. It was a good learning experience. We called the mechanic and looked at their battery, and then ours. Robin and Lisa ended up doing the dirty work of pulling the battery and moving it. It worked and their battery started right up! They ended up getting out of the anchorage before we did!
I’m the navigator today so my duties include:
- listening to the weather report
- looking up the tides and currents for our course
- checking the cruising guide for our route and destination
- plotting courses, fixes, and dead reckonings
- briefing the skipper
- turning on and off the instruments
- putting the vhf on channel 16
- turning the navigation lights on and off
This is definitely my favorite job so far. We had a gorgeous sail on the way there, and were regularly maxing out our hull speed, around 8 knots, under sail alone. We stopped for the night at Rosario Marina on Orcas Island. It is a pretty fancy resort with a nice restaurant overlooking the bay and a pool and hot tub that we have access to. The hot tub and shower are wonderful, and we all enjoyed the fancy meal out. I had an after dinner drink tonight and Michelle recommended Chartreuse, which I have never even heard of. It tastes sort of medicinal…almost like sweet patchouli. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think it’s at the top of my list either.
Oh, and we figured out that it was just a blown fuse that made Kipper Kite’s battery not work. The lesson I have learned…ALWAYS CHECK THE FUSES FIRST! They are an easier fix than almost anything else.
Rosario Harbor
View of the bay at sunset. I hiked up the hill trying for a cell signal. I haven’t spoken with Jacob or the girls for two days and I miss hearing their sweet voices! No luck though, I couldn’t find the elusive signal.
