Sunday, April 24, 2011

3 Days to our 2011 Departure

It is early on Sunday morning, April 24, 2011 and we are getting ready to attend Easter Sunday services, one of the last events we will attend in Bellevue before heading back to Anacortes on Tuesday morning. In the afternoon we will celebrate Easter with Patrick's Mom, sisters Julie and Rosemary (husband Jim), brother Michael and son Sean and his wife Margaret.

Spirit is nearly ready to depart. The fuel tanks have been filled (and a hole created in our bank accounts with diesel fuel now at $4.19 per gallon). We only need to put our clothes and last minute perishables on board and we are ready to cast off the lines and head for our first destination, the Northwest Selene Owner's Rendezvous at Roche Harbor on San Juan Island. That first short leg is only about 28 nautical miles.

The Selene owners gather each year at the end of April before many head out for a summer season of cruising. We get to see what others have done to improve their vessels, exchange cruising tips, attend seminars, take lessons and socialize, as well as browsing the displays that a number of equipment and service suppliers set up at the event. This year we arrive on Wednesday and the Selene fleet departs on Sunday, May 1, 2011.

We will be joined on the trip to Roche Harbor by Joyce and Tom Hawkins, who keep their Catalina 42 sailing vessel "Liberty" moored at Roche Harbor during the winter. We hope to spend several days cruising with them after the rendezvous as we make our way north through the Canadian Gulf Islands.