Port Ludlow

The departure for the San Juan’s was a bit more hectic than I would have liked, but departures seem to be that way. The day before we were supposed to leave, the only other sailor coming had to cancel, so I was crew-less! I called Kathy and with very little coercion, she agreed to come up early and help with the delivery to the San Juan’s!

Friday morning, Ron & Peggy introduced me to Suzette at Shilshoal who was so kind in helping me not only move my boat, but also get fuel. So the two of us left the slip (my second time leaving a slip!) and went to the fuel dock. After adding 20 gallons of fuel to what Tank Tender showed was a nearly full tank, we figured out my fuel gauges don’t work at all. Then we enlisted a another couple of people to help and Suzette found a slip for me to move my boat into for the rest of the day while we waited for everyone to arrive.

4:30pm was our scheduled departure time. I wasn’t thrilled about leaving late, but you gotta set a date and just go for it! I knew we would be really close to getting in before dark. I had initially planned on anchoring, but went for the marina instead since it was going to be so late. But everyone got there and with the help of more friends of Suzette, we got off the dock at 4:50!

I was beyond stressed during the sail over. I was worried and panicking about everything. I did a poor job raising sails and having a good “crew” plan. It was definitely chaotic. I think people still had fun though.

We got to Port Ludlow, and this was the 3rd time I’d be docking Royal Venture. I’d never been to Port Ludlow before, so I wasn’t familiar with anything. It was dark which makes everything more difficult. I only had one other sailor on board, and I like to have about 5 when I dock. But we went in, circled around and back out because we couldn’t read the slip numbers. It was a good thing I had circled in and out, because I hadn’t realized how much current was going through there. It was a tough docking job – but we got in alright!

It was still early enough to celebrate Hope’s birthday on board after our first successful leg in the journey!