Poulsbo, WA Cruise

February 11, 2001

On Sunday I met with Rusty Lane and Ron McDonald in Suquamish, WA, to go boating. Since no one else arrived by the prescribed meeting time of 10:30 AM, we changed our minds and decided to put in at the Poulsbo boat launch instead. At least there we would have a dock and not have to get our feet wet.

There was a line of boats waiting for the single ramp. Most of these were small single person trimaran sailing vessels that were wheeled down to the water on small dollies.

After the three of us launched our Escapades and parked our cars in the few remaining spots in the nearby lot, we headed northwest toward the furthest reach of the inlet. On the way we cruised in and about the marina, taking a look at the yachts and talking to some of the folks on the docks.

At my request Ron had picked up some pastries at Sluy's Bakery. A truly top notch bakery, it claims among its staff two of the five bakers in the US trained at some high falutin' school in Europe. All I know is that their stuff is excellent! Fattening? Not if you water cycle it away!

So, while we were cruising about I had one of their really scrumptious cinnamon roll/nut pastries, a butterhorn and a cherry danish. The running joke was that I had better do a lot of pedaling, or the extra ballast might sink me.

Ron and I put up our bimini tops to take advantage of the breeze blowing down the channel towards Agate Pass. The effect was fairly noticeable, as the bow waves off Ron's boat were definitely higher than with the top down. Going back into the wind was no problem, nor was it noticeably more difficult.

Heading back to the southeast, we cruised around the Liberty Bay Marina, and headed towards Keystone. The blue sky, moderate breeze, and beautiful setting with the Olympic Mountain backdrop was truly delightful. Having each of us equipped with a FRS walkie-talkie also made life a lot simpler. We went as far away from each other as we wanted and were still quite connected. In general, though, we stayed within a couple of hundred feet of each other.

Towards Keystone Ron saw a bald eagle. Otherwise, the most of the wildlife we saw consisted of various gulls and herons. During a pit stop at the Keystone marina I found some strange anemone-like creatures growing on the bottom of the dock.

We turned back after reaching the Keystone Navy Base. As we approached Liberty Marina there was an impromptu race between me and Ron to see how far out of shape we were. After all, next week is the Sound Rowers La Conner race. Yes, I am definitely in sad condition!

The boats were pulled from the water about 2:30 PM, after which we had a "real" lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Take a look here for pictures.

Thanks, Ron, for suggesting this outing!
Thank you, too, Rusty, for lunch!

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