des moines and home
Date: August 14, 2019
Time Start: 10:30 a.m.
Time Finish: 2:15 p.m.
Cruise From: Edmonds
Cruise To: Des Moines
Engine Hours Start: 1101
Engine Hours Finish: 1105
Weather/sea conditions: Sunny, calm, warm, 70's
A morning walk along the shoreline of Edmonds demonstrates how much the city has done to make access to the water available to everyone. We love it! Great views, ferries, beaches, flowers, statues, an underwater park for divers, maps and signage - there is so much to see and do along the way.
Time Start: 10:30 a.m.
Time Finish: 2:15 p.m.
Cruise From: Edmonds
Cruise To: Des Moines
Engine Hours Start: 1101
Engine Hours Finish: 1105
Weather/sea conditions: Sunny, calm, warm, 70's
A morning walk along the shoreline of Edmonds demonstrates how much the city has done to make access to the water available to everyone. We love it! Great views, ferries, beaches, flowers, statues, an underwater park for divers, maps and signage - there is so much to see and do along the way.
We cruise close to shore as we make our way south, recognizing places familiar to us, including the light station at West Point.
We cross the mouth of Elliott Bay to West Seattle, enjoying a clear view the skyline of downtown Seattle and then passing the Alki Point lighthouse as we again follow the shore south to Des Moines. It is a beautiful day for cruising, with a hazy Mt. Rainier hovering over our views.
Pulling into the marina at Des Moines, we notice a lineup of Ranger Tugs and Cutwater boats along the northernmost dock. And there is Jeff Messmer! What a surprise to learn that Fluid Motion now has their own gated dock at the marina, such a convenient spot for demonstrating and delivering their boats. Jeff is here with his wife and daughters unloading their personal tug after an extended cruise.
Also new at the marina is the "Quarterdeck", a place to get coffee during the day and to gather for happy hour in the early evening. It is a clever use of a shipping container. There is wine tasting today. Our cousins Rod and Susan join us for a visit, and it turns out they know the owners! They also join us for a dinner ashore, we love getting together with these two special people. After they leave, we have time to enjoy sunset views from the public pier.
Date: August 15, 2019
Time Start: 12:10 p.m.
Time Finish: 8:40 pm.
Cruise From: Des Moines
Cruise To: Swantown
Engine Hours Start: 1105
Engine Hours Finish: 1111
Weather/sea conditions: Gray skies clearing to blue skies, 80 degrees, windy evening
Andrew and Tim from the Ranger Tug crew are on the dock this morning, preparing a new tug for orientation with the owners. We find out how handy these docks are for the factory. We are in need of a new anode for the prop, and Richard from the parts department drops by and delivers it! How great is that for service!
We get more family time when my cousin Steve arrives to share some old family photos with us. He has been doing a lot of research into the histories of our grandparents. Today he has a photo album that belonged to our grandmother. She immigrated by herself to the U.S. from Norway in the early 1900's, arriving on the Lusitania two years before it was sunk, and is the lovely young woman seated in front in the photo below. (Click to see the full photo.) It is really wonderful to learn more about her, Steve is a wealth of information. He was lucky enough to grow up right next door to our grandparents!
Time Start: 12:10 p.m.
Time Finish: 8:40 pm.
Cruise From: Des Moines
Cruise To: Swantown
Engine Hours Start: 1105
Engine Hours Finish: 1111
Weather/sea conditions: Gray skies clearing to blue skies, 80 degrees, windy evening
Andrew and Tim from the Ranger Tug crew are on the dock this morning, preparing a new tug for orientation with the owners. We find out how handy these docks are for the factory. We are in need of a new anode for the prop, and Richard from the parts department drops by and delivers it! How great is that for service!
We get more family time when my cousin Steve arrives to share some old family photos with us. He has been doing a lot of research into the histories of our grandparents. Today he has a photo album that belonged to our grandmother. She immigrated by herself to the U.S. from Norway in the early 1900's, arriving on the Lusitania two years before it was sunk, and is the lovely young woman seated in front in the photo below. (Click to see the full photo.) It is really wonderful to learn more about her, Steve is a wealth of information. He was lucky enough to grow up right next door to our grandparents!
Andrew is beside us, ready to lend a hand as we depart the marina and head to the Narrows. Dan gets a bit of a reminder about wearing a life jacket from him (we all know who fell in the drink at Edmonds!).
Mt. Rainier, Point Defiance, the Narrows bridges, South Sound! We are so close to home, NORTH STAR should know the way now.
We make one last stop, Squaxin Island, for a swim and to enjoy a final dinner aboard. It is a lovely spot, a favorite place of ours for dropping anchor near home. Dan dons his wetsuit so that he can attach the new prop anode.
S.W. winds have picked up for the final leg to Swantown. We return a salty NORTH STAR to her berth, surely the sign of a good adventure. And what an adventure it has been, with so many stories to tell, so many photos to post, so many new friends, and old ones, too. People, places, waterways, shorelines, skies, weather . . . there is simply no way to describe it all. It has to be experienced! And now our summer cruise has reached its end. A glorious sunset welcomes us home.