Originally Posted by
sleddog
Offseason cruising in the San Juans means empty coves, wildlife, and why good friends Gary and Ev have converted from sail to a 34 foot, diesel stove heated, tug, SLOPOKE. A letter yesterday from Gary highlights a recent winter cruise:
BIG High Pressure & inversion meant cold temps here but light winds. Always worry about the dreaded "Fraser Valley" outflow. Kind of like "Arctic" version of the Santa Ana winds. Out 6 days last week on Slo Poke, which was only possible because of the diesel stove making the boat interior toasty/warm. Basically, fired up the stove on departure & turned off on return. It ran perfectly! Hiked up to Reed & Duck lakes on Cypress Island & found them frozen over. Going ashore in the morning, the beach landing sites had driftwood & chunks of bull kelp coated with ice. The bird population was amazing. Ducks everywhere, golden eye, bufflehead, merganzers mallards.......you name it & they were present. In Eagle Harbor there was a sea gull who thought it was a duck. It hung out with a large flock of buffle head ducks & they seem to accept it's presence like one of their own.
Some mornings the anchorage was enveloped in dense fog and kinda magical. Since we were the only boat, I didn't think it necessary to sound a bell fwd. & a gong aft. Didn't have to worry about the stove running out of fuel as it is fed by the port aft diesel tank (60 gals.).
Now, THAT is a powerboat.
1968 Selmer Series 9 B-flat and A clarinets
1962 Buesher "Aristocrat" tenor saxophone
Piper One Design 24, Hull #35; "Alpha"