It was an interesting summer; we, our guests Siegmund Grozinger and his wife Claire, my wife Janice and I, attended the 2005 Catalina Rendezvous with our Catalina 36 at Two Harbor, California. Janice and I were doubly sad when our boat was awarded a prize from Gerry Douglas for one of most innovative improved Catalina 36. I guess he liked the wine cabinet underneath the chart table instead of the door blocking swivel chair. We were sad because we had already set our sights on a Catalina 42 and the Catalina 36 was listed for sale and very likely it would be our last trip with our trusty Catalina 36.       This 36 is the boat we sailed south from Vancouver BC - mishaps and all - she brought us safely into Long Beach, California. A great boat the Catalina 36, solid, strong and sweet sailing. But ever since we had been in the Pacific North West with our 36, it was our dream to really explore the area and keep the boat up there for a longer time. Our friends that have a Catalina 42 have been in Vancouver since 2002 and so far have no intention of moving their boat south to the San Francisco Area. We have kept in touch with them ever since we met them at the 2003 Catalina Rendezvous on Thetis Island.       We wanted a little bigger boat and the Catalina 42 - 2 cabins, fit the bill perfectly. Since new boats were simply out of our price range, we concentrated on locating a used 42. We found a Catalina 42 - Hull #746, in Douglas, Michigan that was exactly what we wanted.       I contacted Catalina and they gave me a little history on Hull 746. Two flights from Orange County to Chicago later, after a survey; we completed the necessary paper-work. She was shipped to Seattle, Washington where she was commissioned by CSR at the Des Moines Marina.       The difference in size was intimidating the first time we took her into the Puget Sound in the beginning of October of 2005, to sail north into the cana connection Puget Sound with Lake Union. The winds were a perfect 15 knots from the NW as we exited the Des Moines Marina and the boat accelerated to 6.5 knots. I turned on the stereo system, broke open a bottle of wine and enjoyed the sail.       I was too nervous and overwhelmed by the size of the Catalina 42 to take the boat through the Ballard locks myself, so I called my good friend John Herron who lives in his houseboat on Lake Union. Living on a houseboat has to be the life - he not only has a very frisky Husky Dog who loves him dearly, but also a beautiful wife. (I am sure she loves him too- the wife that is) He had passed through the Ballard Locks many times.       We picked him up at the Shilshole Marina and proceeded to the Ballard Locks, arriving there around 3:00 p.m. We followed directions closely on how to tie the boat to be lifted 15 ft up into the Canal. We read all the cruising guides and I was still somewhat nervous, but we did really well.       Since the locks are a local tourist attraction there were quite a few folks taking pictures of us and waiting for us to do something stupid. Fortunately we disappointed them. The fact that John had brought a bottle of my favorite brandy helped too. We dropped the boat off at the Barret folks dock next to the Ballard Bridge. I had been referred to them to install the Catalina Hardtop Dodger with glass windows. We left the boat there and returned to Southern California.       I returned with Sigmund Grozinger three weeks later. What an improvement over the old dodger - you could actually stand up and work the lines. The next morning it was sunny and clear so we proceeded to get ready to go through the locks into the Sound. I must admit, I was very nervous, so nervous that I gave the wrong signal to the Ballard Bridge operator who then publicly chastised me over his loudspeaker system. Luckily my hearing aids garbled his scolding.       We then motored toward the locks. Green light - in we went. The lock operators were extremely helpful - I felt so foolish for loosing sleep the night before over the locking-thru procedure.       I proudly gave the correct signal to the railway bridge operator and soon we were past the last obstacle into the sound into - heavy fog. No problem - lets turn on the radar. What are all those little lines and bumps??? They must mean something. Get the manual - oh that's a buoy and that must be a boat since it seems to move across the screen or maybe it's a ferry. Get the chart - no ferry lines on the chart so it must be a boat... Hey it's moving towards us - hope he has radar. This is getting stressful. We broke out of the fog near Everett, exactly where the GPS said we were, into beautiful sunshine. All was well with the world then. We admired the clear blue water and the houses on the beach. Lucky people. We headed toward Oak Harbor and enjoyed the incredible scenery passing by.       Then the fog began closing in again with the approaching darkness. More sweat on our part. Have you ever noticed the more nervous you are the louder you talk - well we were yelling at each other by the time we found all the entrance markers and channel markers toward Oak Harbor. Again the radar came in handy showing the buoys and confirmed the GPS. We tied up at the first vacant dock in Oak Harbor.       The next morning we went to the Harbor Masters office to pay for the night and since we had inadvertently tied up in the yacht club area we were told - no charge. I guess the fact that we were members of our local yacht club helped. Nice surprise.       We monitored the weather and the prediction was for another nice day with winds in the 15 to 20 knot range and plenty of sunshine. I made the decision to head out, planning to go through Deception Pass to get to Orcas Island before nightfall. Days are short in late October. We followed another sail boat out of the harbor - and it immediately became apparent that the weather forecaster must have talked about another area - like Southern California - since the weather was completely different than forecast. The local conditions were cloudy with steady winds of 20 knots and gusts of 30 knots as we headed out the harbor. As we turned the corner at the entrance buoy the wind came near the starboard beam and now the wind had increased to a steady 32 knots with gusts of 37. I noticed that the sailboat that had left ahead of us had turned back. I guess he had more common sense than we did.       We set one half of the main sail and half of the Jib - wheeeeeee it became an "E" ticket ride. The seas where 3 to 4 feet and the wind pushed us to 8.2 knots SOG. I am glad I had the Hard Top Dodger. It sure protected us from the spray and sometimes green water. I let out more of the jib as we turned a little more north - the wind was now almost from behind and we actually saw 10.2 Knots SOG. (Hull speed is 8.0 knots on the Catalina 42) Here we were, a couple of old guys whooping and hollering, having the time of our lives. Unfortunately the ride came to a quick end as Whidbey Island started to blanket the wind - back to motoring again. Darn.

Siegmund enjoying the ride Deception Pass At the Ballard Locks At the Ballard Locks Anchored in Canoe Cove, BC Drifting with Orca Whale La Conner, WA

Now for another e-ticket sail. We caught the outgoing tide through Deception pass and at 2300 rpm we hit 10.0 knots SOG. Outside the Pass the winds picked up to 20 knots from astern and we again enjoyed a great sail. I marveled at the responsive helm and had no problem sailing with winds and waves astern. Just before Thatcher Pass we furled the sails and started the engine, as always, enjoying the scenery going by. After Thatcher Pass the temperature dropped to the low 50's and we decided to break out the brandy (John Herron's present) and also turn on the heaters in the boat so that one of us could go below and warm up our insides with brandy with the heater taking care of the outside.       We headed towards Orcas Landing - where we were going to spend the night in a small Marina, where Mike Powell, the owner of Cruising Concepts, had arranged a spot for us. Those of you that receive the Mainsheet (a Catalina publication) will be familiar with Cruising Concepts beautiful teak additions not only to the Catalina Yachts but all other fine yachts as well. The depth sounder read 7 feet as we slipped into a very tight slip (I now appreciate the wing keel) - we plugged in the electricity and turned on all the electric heaters. The warmth was greatly appreciated. Mike took us to his home, which had an incredible view of Harney Channel and then treated us to a great dinner at one of the local eateries. We turned in early and slept extremely well. There is nothing like sleeping on a real mattress rocked gently to sleep by the waves.       Early in the morning I monitored the weather. The predictions were gale force winds with rain showers to start in the afternoon. Based on the weather prediction, we decided to pass up a night in Friday Harbor and go straight into Canoe Cove at Sidney B.C. The winds were light, but cool as we left our slip at 7 a.m. I estimated it to be a 4 hour motorsail so we would be securely tucked in the harbor before the winds really started to blow.       We cautiously motored past Crane Island and through the Wasp Passage, always checking the chart against the GPS (many rocks), turned north up the San Juan Channel. We were treated with winds of 10 to 15 knots from the southeast - so out came the sails and we sailed at 5.5 to 6.0 knots SOG. Too soon the Spieden Channel came into view, where we turned west with the winds now at 20 knots, almost abeam. Soon we were sailing along at 7 knots.       As we left Spieden Channel to cross Haro Strait we were greeted by a pod of Orcas. I quickly furled both sails and we drifted among them - for at least 30 minutes we were treated by these wonderful, almost mythical animals. It was absolutely the highlight of our trip. Unfortunately I was too busy marveling at the sight of these beautiful animals putting on a show for us, and did not take too many pictures. But I did get one good one.       In the meantime we turned on the engine, Sidney came into sight and we had to concentrate on the many reefs and rocks that surround the area and in addition we were distracted by the magnificent mountain scenery. We followed the entrance procedure into Canada to the letter. We called Canada customs, after we had tied up to their dock in Canoe Cove. They cleared us by phone - I guess they considered us too harmless. I had to get used to the customs officer's delightful Canadian accent. Ehh? We then called the Canoe Cove Marina people to ask where to tie up the boat. We were directed to a slip close to shore and at least 4 or 5 people came rushing to help us tie up. I also may have scared them with my backing maneuver. Since this was the first time that had I backed the C'est la Vie, I found that she needs a little more room to start the reverse process because of the prop walk.       The weather? The winds never did materialize until late evening and then the winds never got stronger than 20 knots. At that time we were sitting in one of the excellent restaurants in Sidney drinking Canadian wine and eating dinner. The next morning, after assuring ourselves that the boat was secured for the winter in her slip at Canoe Cove, we boarded the morning ferry to Anacortes. Before we left the boat - Siegmund treated me to a great breakfast with Limburger Cheese that he had bought at a Deli in Seattle. For those of you who are not familiar with that German delicacy, it a great tasting cheese that is best washed down with a bottle of beer, eaten alone, far from people. It's the smell - if you can ignore the smell the cheese actually tastes great. I actually double bagged it in two Ziplock baggies and it still stank up the fridge. (I hope the smell will have dissipated by January, when Janice and I expect to spend a week on the boat). We were checked through immigration and customs very quickly. I noticed that the customs officer stepped back a foot or so and covered her nose with a Kleenex when she inspected our passports. We were by ourselves on the ferry. Every time someone came near us they took a double take and left. (Now I know why Siegmund and Claire sleep in separate bedrooms on separate floors after Siegmund has feasted on the Limburger).       Again the Orcas put on a show in the Haro Strait. The ferry stopped to let the few passengers enjoy the sight. We picked up our car at the ferry dock in Anacortes. From there we drove to La Connor for dinner and added the town to our list of "must see" next summer by boat. The next morning we left for Southern California. We are looking forward to next spring and summer to explore more of those beautiful islands with our wives. We met nothing but friendly people throughout the islands but also the folks at CSR Marine were extremely helpful and did first class work. For that matter all of the people that worked on the boat did an excellent job. We are so proud of our hardtop dodger, it protects us well. The biggest thrill was of course the boat itself - the interior room, the comfortable beds and best of all how she sails. It does not get any better than that, and, oh yes, life can be fun even if you are over 65. ...back to 48° North title page.