Last year we described the cruising season as being exceptional because of sustained fair conditions. As I stated in my 2023 summary post, “a good six months of mostly decent weather.” This year was a bit different. Still a glorious season…mostly because we accomplished so much.

Before I get into this season’s highlights, I’ll start with some stats.

Trips = 8

Longest trip = 30 days

Moorage: dock = 79/Buoy = 1/Anchor = 17 (97 nights at sea)

New locations = 10

Yacht club reciprocal moorage use = 10

State Park moorage permit use = 7

Nautical miles = 1514

As Nick and I discuss our 2024 cruising season, we agree the highpoints include our trips to the Broughton Archipelago and Desolation Sound. Weeks in the British Columbia island wilderness. We enjoyed spending time with cruising buddies Shannon & Steve aboard Ramble On, and Deb & Mike aboard Aris. (Remember, both of these couples brought their boats up from their home berths on the Columbia River. (NOT for the faint of heart.)

So many new locations, abundant wildlife (whales, sea otters and bears!), seemingly never-ending spectacular scenery. One of our most favorite spots was Lagoon Cove on East Cracroft Island, B.C., replete with good food, excellent service, and camaraderie with other adventurous boaters. Not to mention the all-you-can-eat prawns supplied by the staff, fun happy hours, good crabbing and kayaking…and of course…the scenery.

We’ve talked about our choices around timing and destinations. We feel we traded weather for crowds regarding the Broughtons. We made this trip in June; fairly early compared to other cruisers. The weather was likely better in July and August…with many more vessels plying the waters and trying to find moorage in secluded areas. The weather wasn’t great, frankly, but it may have been worth it.

It was our first year of yacht club membership. We enjoyed taking advantage of reciprocal moorage, and we attended our first (and only, for the year) Squalicum Yacht Club gathering in Garrison Bay.

A few downsides?

• The number of commercial prawn-fishers in the Broughtons was crazy (a pain-in-the-ass, according to Nick).  And…while the area is quite beautiful, the magnitude of clearcuts diminishes the views.
• Not every stop was stellar, but only one we would never revisit unless major changes occur: Jennis Bay.
• We narrowly avoided “crappageddon” due to a faulty black water sensor and pump-out equipment.

Mostly all positives though, and a jolly good time!

This was also our first year for having Touch of Gray at a distance, as she is now permanently tied up to a private dock at Skyline (Anacortes). It has played out exactly as we’d hoped – a two-hour drive and we’re in the San Juan Islands in an hour; much closer to more northern destinations. While I am missing Puget Sound boating more than Nick, it is a pretty sweet situation.

We used our State Marine Park Moorage Permit less than last year. In fact, not enough to justify it. (Paid $180/ used $116.) However, we plan to use it moor (see what I did there?) next year, so will likely make that purchase again. Even if we don’t break even, it’s still good to support the park system. And it’s convenient.

We’ve started talking about 2025 cruising plans. Things we’re considering include staying in one place for longer periods of time…and definitely more anchoring. This year we just had a lot of water to cover. We are trying to remember some of the activities we’ve heard about in the past that have to do with traveling by boat to do something specific. What I am calling “activities & event-based” boating. Like a concert, wine tasting (somewhere, there is a winery with a dock!), Canadian long weekend events, and maybe some yacht club gatherings like the annual Sucia Island work party. We’d also like to identify what Nick refers to as “soaking destinations.” Places we want to throw out the hook and float for days at a time. The world is our oyster…at least the Salish Sea is…

For now, we are hanging around home. We had decided not to attend the Cap Sante lighted boat parade in Anacortes this weekend, for various reasons, and now we find out they changed the date anyway! We’ll be here for the Tacoma Yacht Club parade, which goes by our condo on Commencement Bay, on the 21^st. Nick had his second eye surgery (successful) and we have a few related appointments. Our daughter is traveling in Europe and preparing to move temporarily to Manhattan – more about that another time. We are also returning to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in January. We’ve added a stay on the coast this year – a new destination for us on the Yucatan Peninsula, north of Cancun…Isla Holbox. If we get a window of very nice weather, we may get out on the water before that, but not holding our breaths.

On Thursday we took a second walk down Ruston Way to watch the removal of the pilings at the old Dickman Mill site. Quite the project. It’s one of the Filthy Four and it’s good to see the work underway. There’s been a survey boat and a lot of other activity around that we think may be related. I overheard that some outfit is conducting noise detection monitoring in the area to make sure that the piling removal work is not contributing to loud “whale-unfriendly” sound.

We also saw this ship at the Tacoma Seaport dock…loaded with a bunch of boats. Weird.

Another fun thing: Our son Caleb kept his boat at the Pt. Defiance Marina this season. The last time our grandson Mac spent the night, Caleb did the pick-up by beaching his boat right in front of our condo!

In Remembrance

Our good friends aboard Coorie Doon recently said goodbye to their dog, Gus. I’ve written about Gus many times, as a companion on many a boating adventure. He came upon the scene not long after we met Jeanie and Steve. Here is an early photo of Gus as a puppy on the Tacoma waterfront while Steve was diving.

Signing off until 2025…