We took a shakedown cruise on Raven last weekend to Blake Island. Blake Island is a Washington State Park between Bainbridge and Vashon Islands in Puget Sound, about 8 miles south of Shilshole Marina. We will be taking an extended cruise through the San Juan Islands later this month, and wanted to run Raven through her paces, figure out what needs fixing, and learn how to do several things that are new to us. Blake Island is a nice destination, not too far away, and we thought it would be a good testing ground.
For this trip, it was just our family plus Dick. Dick is heading out to the islands on Saturday, so he was even more motivated than us to get Raven in ship-shape for the cruising season.
We met at the boat on Friday afternoon. We stowed our personal gear and provisions, put the dinghy in the water, shipped the outboard, and attached the bridle to the stern cleats for towing. Unfortunately, there was very little wind--about 2 knots--and that was right on the nose, so we ended up motoring the whole way.
We entered the small breakwater at Tillicum Village, and a State Parks volunteer directed us to a 30' stretch of dock. Raven fit, but it is pretty shallow in that particular portion of the basin. We looked at the tide tables, and a -1.6 tide was in the cards for the following morning. We would hit bottom if we stayed, so we warped our way out of the breakwater and found a mooring buoy. After a quick spin around the anchorage in the dinghy with the boys and some s'mores, we all settled down for the night.
At first, all was very peaceful. Then the first ferry wake hit us. Blake Island is just south of Rich Passage, and ferries run through it on the Seattle/Bremerton run. Their wakes aren't extreme, but were enough to wake me up several times. The real fun began when the wake from the first commercial ship (tanker? container ship?) hit us. We must have rolled 25 degrees to each side, and it was so intense I thought I would fall right out of my berth. That was not fun, and no one (except maybe Lochlan) got much sleep.
The next morning was great. We woke up to a surprisingly warm, foggy morning, and after breakfast ferried ashore in the dinghy. We explored Tillicum Village, hiked through the woods, and had a great time beach combing.
We learned a lot on the trip--how to fill the fresh water tanks, tow the dinghy, attach to a mooring buoy, cook while underway, use the dinghy, pump out the holding tank, etc. We also learned that the anchor light does not work, and the anemometer sticks. So, I'll be going aloft tomorrow to fix those.
Here are some photos of the trip. We are already looking forward to exploring the San Juans!
For this trip, it was just our family plus Dick. Dick is heading out to the islands on Saturday, so he was even more motivated than us to get Raven in ship-shape for the cruising season.
We met at the boat on Friday afternoon. We stowed our personal gear and provisions, put the dinghy in the water, shipped the outboard, and attached the bridle to the stern cleats for towing. Unfortunately, there was very little wind--about 2 knots--and that was right on the nose, so we ended up motoring the whole way.
We entered the small breakwater at Tillicum Village, and a State Parks volunteer directed us to a 30' stretch of dock. Raven fit, but it is pretty shallow in that particular portion of the basin. We looked at the tide tables, and a -1.6 tide was in the cards for the following morning. We would hit bottom if we stayed, so we warped our way out of the breakwater and found a mooring buoy. After a quick spin around the anchorage in the dinghy with the boys and some s'mores, we all settled down for the night.
At first, all was very peaceful. Then the first ferry wake hit us. Blake Island is just south of Rich Passage, and ferries run through it on the Seattle/Bremerton run. Their wakes aren't extreme, but were enough to wake me up several times. The real fun began when the wake from the first commercial ship (tanker? container ship?) hit us. We must have rolled 25 degrees to each side, and it was so intense I thought I would fall right out of my berth. That was not fun, and no one (except maybe Lochlan) got much sleep.
The next morning was great. We woke up to a surprisingly warm, foggy morning, and after breakfast ferried ashore in the dinghy. We explored Tillicum Village, hiked through the woods, and had a great time beach combing.
We learned a lot on the trip--how to fill the fresh water tanks, tow the dinghy, attach to a mooring buoy, cook while underway, use the dinghy, pump out the holding tank, etc. We also learned that the anchor light does not work, and the anemometer sticks. So, I'll be going aloft tomorrow to fix those.
Here are some photos of the trip. We are already looking forward to exploring the San Juans!
A shrimp Liam caught in one of the tidepools at low tide.
Matt & Dick dinghying in to the village.
Raccoon prints were in evidence all over the beach.
Amy and Liam exploring the beach.
A dead needlefish (?) Liam found.
A crab Lochlan caught.
The boys discovered the sandstone cliffs are great for temporary graffiti.
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| Tillicum Village was covered with interesting NW Native Art |
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| Raven on her mooring. |
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| Self-portrait from the dinghy. |
