jarrell cove birthday
Date: June 4, 2023
Time Start: 12:15 p.m.
Time Finish: 2:45 p.m.
Cruise From: Swantown Marina,Olympia
Cruise To: Jarrell Cove State Park
Engine Hours Start: 1498
Engine Hours Finish: 1501
Weather/sea Conditions: Sunny and windy, NE winds, low 70's
Finally, an overnight cruise, and June is busting out with lots of sun - and lots of wind, too. The ramp is steep for loading NORTH STAR. Tides are low this week due to the full "strawberry" moon. Our dock heron is foraging along the exposed shore of the marina, and the day looks so inviting for being on the water. Weather issues along with waiting for and then having and recovering from surgeries have kept us ashore for too long. It's cruise time!
Time Start: 12:15 p.m.
Time Finish: 2:45 p.m.
Cruise From: Swantown Marina,Olympia
Cruise To: Jarrell Cove State Park
Engine Hours Start: 1498
Engine Hours Finish: 1501
Weather/sea Conditions: Sunny and windy, NE winds, low 70's
Finally, an overnight cruise, and June is busting out with lots of sun - and lots of wind, too. The ramp is steep for loading NORTH STAR. Tides are low this week due to the full "strawberry" moon. Our dock heron is foraging along the exposed shore of the marina, and the day looks so inviting for being on the water. Weather issues along with waiting for and then having and recovering from surgeries have kept us ashore for too long. It's cruise time!
It's Sunday afternoon, and we find plenty of space on the long dock inside Jarrell Cove, a destination so familiar to us. The water is green, thick with plankton!
We meet our boat neighbor Dan on the small sailboat next to us. He is from Amsterdam Bay on Anderson Island. He bought his boat for just $1,000 when it was a total fixer upper, and now it is a gem. We share stories, happy hour, and he gives our Dan a copy of the Navigators Handbook. He got quite a laugh out of hearing that Dan actually built a sextant out of cardboard!
With the skies absolutely clear, there are no colors at sunset, but the cove is beautiful. To our disappointment, cormorants don't arrive to roost overnight in the cove as they have done on so many of our visits.
With the skies absolutely clear, there are no colors at sunset, but the cove is beautiful. To our disappointment, cormorants don't arrive to roost overnight in the cove as they have done on so many of our visits.
Date: June 5, 2023
Jarrell Cove Layover Day
Weather and water: Sunny, strong north wind, whitecaps, choppy water, mid 70's
Cruise: A short 2 hour visit to McMicken for low tide, too windy to stay there
It's a beautiful morning! We have more visits with Dan, and then two unique boats arrive. Earl on a home built small tugboat, and Bob on a sailboat made from a kit arrive together. Both are from Corvalis, Oregon, and launched their boats at Swantown for a tour of several days in South Sound. The boats are conversation starters to say the least! Both men are in their 80's and so inspiring. The sailboat is just 12 feet long, and the tug is 18 feet. CUTE!!
Jarrell Cove Layover Day
Weather and water: Sunny, strong north wind, whitecaps, choppy water, mid 70's
Cruise: A short 2 hour visit to McMicken for low tide, too windy to stay there
It's a beautiful morning! We have more visits with Dan, and then two unique boats arrive. Earl on a home built small tugboat, and Bob on a sailboat made from a kit arrive together. Both are from Corvalis, Oregon, and launched their boats at Swantown for a tour of several days in South Sound. The boats are conversation starters to say the least! Both men are in their 80's and so inspiring. The sailboat is just 12 feet long, and the tug is 18 feet. CUTE!!
Dan takes off in his easy to spot sailboat, just look for the wonderful bright yellow stripe!
Mid morning we decide to head to McMicken with the hopes of beach combing during today's minus 4 low tide. Unfortunately, the winds are too strong for us to enjoy a stay there. We do U-turn and return to the protection of Jarrell Cove and the comradery of the dock. We return to the dock a very salty boat, waves have splashed over us from stem to stern. A good washing will be in order when we return to Swantown. There is no water on the Jarrell Cove dock, although there is power.
Photos from our short aborted cruise:
Photos from our short aborted cruise:
And more photos back at Jarrell Cove:
We head to the shady forest for an afternoon stroll.
Evening shots - Bob has a canopy for his little sailboat so that he can sleep aboard! We try something new for dinner, a flatbread pizza heated on the Magma grill (yes, we charred it a bit!).
Date: June 6, 2023
Time Start: 4 p.m.
Time Finish: 6:30 p.m.
Cruise From: Jarrell Cove
Cruise To: Swantown Marina,Olympia
Engine Hours Start: 1503
Engine Hours Finish: 1505
Weather/sea conditions: Sunny, mid 80's, north winds
My 77th birthday, and what a day for it, and what a place to be, on the water with a dock full of friendly boaters, hooray! We start out with breakfast in the sunny cockpit (fresh strawberry parfaits, chocolate almond biscotti, and coffee). An eagle and an osprey both soar over the cove, and an eagle sweeps low beside our boat. Swallows are continually vocal as they fill the skies gobbling up insects. And ashore, the showers are both clean and hot. The day is off to a great start for us. A sailboat that was here on our first night has returned and is beside us. They spent the night on a mooring buoy at Stretch Island, and the winds caused some damage to their boat gear. Glad we opted not to be out in the wind last night!
Time Start: 4 p.m.
Time Finish: 6:30 p.m.
Cruise From: Jarrell Cove
Cruise To: Swantown Marina,Olympia
Engine Hours Start: 1503
Engine Hours Finish: 1505
Weather/sea conditions: Sunny, mid 80's, north winds
My 77th birthday, and what a day for it, and what a place to be, on the water with a dock full of friendly boaters, hooray! We start out with breakfast in the sunny cockpit (fresh strawberry parfaits, chocolate almond biscotti, and coffee). An eagle and an osprey both soar over the cove, and an eagle sweeps low beside our boat. Swallows are continually vocal as they fill the skies gobbling up insects. And ashore, the showers are both clean and hot. The day is off to a great start for us. A sailboat that was here on our first night has returned and is beside us. They spent the night on a mooring buoy at Stretch Island, and the winds caused some damage to their boat gear. Glad we opted not to be out in the wind last night!
I'm calling this the "dock of dreams, possibilities, and accomplishments" because of the people here. Dan "too" with his fixer upper sailboat, Bob and Earl with their handmade crafts, a sailboat next to us with dreams that may never come true to one day sail the world but still slowly taking each step along the way to reach those dreams, they all inspire us. We are all dreamers and doers in the boating world, dreaming of possible cruises and doing the continual tasks to make our boats and ourselves prepared for the many challenges and rewards of boating. We learn so much from one another. Aren't all these dock chats the greatest! The destinations are a dream, and as a fellow boater put it well, you have to love to tinker to be a boater!
The cove seems even greener today, almost flourescent, and we learn it is probably due to a plankton known as Euglenoids (and a sign of stagnant, poor quality water). Once again we have a super low tide, and parts of the cove go dry. A mooring buoy sits on the bottom, as do some sailboats in the cove. A yacht arrives but can't get to the dock. It is stirring up the bottom as it scrapes and manages to back out and leave for deeper water.
The cove seems even greener today, almost flourescent, and we learn it is probably due to a plankton known as Euglenoids (and a sign of stagnant, poor quality water). Once again we have a super low tide, and parts of the cove go dry. A mooring buoy sits on the bottom, as do some sailboats in the cove. A yacht arrives but can't get to the dock. It is stirring up the bottom as it scrapes and manages to back out and leave for deeper water.
All too soon it is time to head home. The cruise is relaxing as we pass familiar sites, and we opt to have dinner aboard in our marina and sleep aboard there for another night.
Date: June 7, 2023
Swantown Marina
Weather: upper 80's, lots of sun
A favorite thing for us is to stroll to Dancing Goats near the farmers market in the morning for coffee and a pastry. We find a nice shady spot for our treats, enjoying flowers, before returning to the marina and giving NORTH STAR a super washdown. Goodbye salty boat! We'll be back soon for a long summer cruise!
Swantown Marina
Weather: upper 80's, lots of sun
A favorite thing for us is to stroll to Dancing Goats near the farmers market in the morning for coffee and a pastry. We find a nice shady spot for our treats, enjoying flowers, before returning to the marina and giving NORTH STAR a super washdown. Goodbye salty boat! We'll be back soon for a long summer cruise!
A surprise, our local fire departments and emergency services are doing a complete drill at the marina. It is a super hot day, the tide is out making ramps steep, yet they are in all their gear, hauling heavy hoses, even wearing respirators. So impressive!
Something is always happening around the marina, and we have enjoyed hanging around today and extending our cruise into a home stay. NORTH STAR is ready and waiting for our return.
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