May 8, 2006

Stormy Weather; Port Ludlow

Position: 47’55.27’ N, 122’ 40.65’ W

Captain: Barbara J. Austin

Time on Water: 7 hours

            When we woke up this morning the sky was clear and the winds were lighter, the only thing we waited on was the tide. High tide was due to peak around 0900, meaning the boat needed to be ready to head out shortly after. Our actual goal was to make Port Townsend that evening, giving us a few days preparation to cross the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

            The wine connoisseur we met the day before greeted us bright and early this morning. He wanted to see Nesaru before we left. He was also impressed to see two sloops, both based out of Maine, docked next to one another. He seemed particularly interested in our neighbor’s boat because he has a friend from Bath, Maine who would be interested in meeting the sloop’s owners. Yet, once again, Arie became engaged in conversation with his newly found wine expert only to be interrupted by a harbor seal who literally “butted in” the conversation by surfacing next to the dock where the two men were standing. It only lasted a few short seconds, but the look on Arie’s face was priceless.  It was white with black spots, and Arie swore at first that it was a swimming Dalmatian!

            After a quick trip to the harbormaster’s office to check out, we shoved off and said goodbye to this buccaneer place that we came to know as Eagle harbor. Once again we entered the Southern portion of Admiralty Inlet only to be greeted by laceName w:st="on">ElliotlaceName> laceName w:st="on">BaylaceName> and the beautiful Seattle skyline straight across from us. The wind was still in our favor coming from the Southwest at around 10 knots. As we pushed North through the inlet in route to Port Townsend we encountered quite a military spectacle. Sitting between Edmonds and Kingston we passed a military entourage of naval destroyers and US Coast Guard ships towing a nuclear submarine into port, most likely Bremerton Naval Base. It was quite a sight, and yes, we did take pictures to capture the moment. Not something you see everyday. The journey continued north as we ran with the wind, that is, until we hit the infamous Point no Point about 6 nautical miles north of Kingston. We were approaching another storm front to our west and the winds dramatically switched from SW to NW blowing around 15-20 knots. Realizing that we were going to have to “beat to weather” for the remainder of our trip, we decided to make a closer stop than Port Townsend. We decided on Port Ludlow based on our current location. Ironically we had to fight to get past Point no Point, and Foulweather Bluff before reaching Port Ludlow.  For the next three to four hours we fought the wind and waves… no wonder why they call it Foulweather Bluff… Fortunately the storm front blew west of us before reaching the quiet bay that housed Port Ludlow. As we entered the bay we were blown away by the view…the Olympic mountain range in the background with bald eagles flying high in the sky at sunset. There was also a large totem pole sitting above the shoreline just before you entered the marina. The marina was very beautiful, quiet, and clean. You almost felt secluded here.

            After finishing up with dinner and dishes, we decided to walk up to the restrooms and had a look around. Just as we rounded the corner of the dock to head up the ramp we spotted two animals lounging on the Kayak raft. As we started to get a closer look I soon realized we were sneaking up on two otters. One of my favorite animals! Obviously it did not take them long to scatter, except that they did stick around. Instead of swimming away they stayed underneath the rafts sniffing at us and following us as we walked around to get a closer look at them. The best part is yet to come…I was sneaking around the kayak float and peeking around each rack of kayaks hoping to get a glimpse of otter. I finally reached the end of the float and slowly peeked around the last rack only to be caught of guard by an otter climbing up a ladder onto the float. The otter froze and I screamed, more out of delight than anything. The look on the otter’s face was priceless, like he/she was just caught in the act. I would have given anything to have a camera on me at that moment. It was something I wished the whole family had witnessed. I wonder what the otter was thinking…