The Great Northern Expedition v. 2014

We've been chomping at the bit to get out on the water.........hmmm, a horsy entry doesn't really go too well with the whole boat thing, does it? Let's try this again:

The main's set, the jib is ready and the vessel's tugging at her lines..........that's better.

Either way, we're getting close to casting off for the 2014 version of "Heading North on Nellie." I have been buying food for 8-10 weeks, and Bob's challenge is to find places to store it all. We've decided that our boat refrigerator is simply too small for everything, so we're going to be taking a couple of ice chests. As the fridge empties, we'll move things there. Right now, juices, sauces (Worcdestershire, soy, mae ploy, teriyaki, etc) are in the cupboard, but as soon as they get opened, that's more room taken up in the fridge. When I checked out of the grocery store yesterday with two carts and a huge bill, the checker looked at me and asked me just how many kids and grandkids I had! (I THINK he was joking.)

We will head off Friday - probably in the late morning, since we are only going for about 3 hours. We will anchor in Cornet Bay and await the Deception Pass slack tide at 7:00 Saturday morning. The plan is to meet up with friends at the Deer Harbor Marina on Orcas Island for the weekend, then head through Canadian customs on Sunday or Monday. Our first anchorage will be Montegue Harbor, on Galiano Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands. From there, we may head over to Ladysmith for a day (just because we really like Ladysmith), and then it's through Dodd Narrows and into Nanaimo, where Bob buys his Canadian fishing license.

We will have Internet connections the first 10 days or so of the trip, but that will go away the farther north we go. Once we are past the northern tip of Vancouver Island, it'll be sketchy at best. I have promised Ross that I will post more pictures, since that's his favorite part of this blog. My plan is to keep a daily journal and post it whenever I have the opportunity.

Stay tuned..........