Crossing Boundary Bay, from Semiahmoo toward Bowen Island, this morning was not “pleasurable.” But first, let me start from the beginning.

Birding Anyone?

I enjoy birdwatching. An amateur, at best. I have my favorites, and in my top five is the belted kingfisher. Striking appearance, easy to spot, easy to hear. A king among fisherbirds. They are typically skittish. It’s not often I get close enough for a good photo. So, imagine my surprise when one flew into our condo! I was in the kitchen, preparing to leave for this boating trip when I heard a loud squawking and looked up to see something fly in the door. I was expecting it to be some smaller bird, but no…a kingfisher! It flew straight at me and that’s when I shrieked, ducked behind the counter and yelled for Nick. (He came running because he thought someone was being murdered.) He cornered it and it flew right back out the door fairly quickly. I was just about ready to snap a pic when it took off. That would have been a close-up!

We left early Tuesday morning to get to Skyline, fuel up ToG, pump out, and head for Semiahmoo in Blaine. Not a bad 32 nm cruise. The wind had picked up a little by the time we approached Drayton Harbor, so getting into our slip was a little challenging. We enjoyed some wine on the roof deck until it started to sprinkle.

A word about bedding: Sleeping on our boat is not the best. We know we need a mattress but haven’t followed through. Aside from that, the bedding situation is not ideal. I’ve written before about the challenges of getting bedding that fits and stays in place. (I do like our custom fitted sheets from Quahog Bay Bedding.) With a small-ish “queen” that tapers, it seems something is always sliding off, especially if one of us is restless and/or it’s warm. So, I’ve been thinking about the Scandinavian sleeping method quite a bit lately. I was going to adopt this in our RV and then didn’t. I decided to give it a try on the boat. I came equipped with two twin lightweight (all weather) comforters. At bed time, off came the quilt and the top sheet, and we each got our own comforter instead. It’s just been one night but we think we have a winner!

We talked to a local on the dock at Semiahmoo yesterday evening who mentioned a “storm” coming in. Nick thought it was likely to be some rain, with little to no wind. So, we took off this morning (north) at around 8am in a bit of chop, with clouds and light precipitation. Boundary Bay was sloppy and Nick asked me at one point if I wanted to turn around. With 1.5 to 2 ft. waves, it didn’t seem too bad, and we decided to stick with it. (A couple of years ago, we turned around, while heading south, at Cherry Point – didn’t really want to do that a second time.) As soon as we rounded the corner at Pt. Roberts, it got a lot better. Pretty smooth sailing now, other than dodging commercial prawners.

On the way, we passed this ship (heading south) and the tug Protector. What is going on here? (I had noticed the tug icon going backward on the chart.)

This trip is mostly about the Sunshine Coast and Desolation Sound. I want to kayak…a lot.

Next stop: Bowen Island in Snug Cove, at the Union Steamship Marina.

One more sidenote: We had a very nice 4^th of July at our cabin with family. My 95-year-old father made it, despite a fractured vertebra. Here is a photo of our daughter Sierra, my mom, and Sierra’s new baby Finlay.

And here is part of the clan digging clams: