South to go north, of course
Updated: Oct 1
We left Sidney, B.C., on April 26, bound for Alaska, with our bow pointed south toward Olympia, Washington, as you do.
Actually, no. You really don't.
Because of a bad batch of fabric, we had to return to Olympia to have warranty repairs completed on the canvas enclosure, dodger, and bimini we'd had installed the prior fall. Given we were headed for a rainy, buggy, cold summer in Alaska, adding a 300-ish mile southern loop to our northern journey seemed worth it to have our full enclosure set up in good shape, even if it was a bit illogical on paper.
Leaving Van Isle Marina for the last time
Sidney to Port Ludlow | April 26, 2026 | 56.3 nm
Captain's log: It may be a month and a half later than we hoped, but we're officially off and cruising. Don't let our southerly direction fool you, we're heading for Alaska the logical route via Olympia... for warranty work.
An 8:06 a.m. departure was with little fuss or fanfare because planning to the day when we'd finally be ready to leave was an exercise in futility. Just the day before (and into the early morning hours the day of), we had stood up and re-mounted the solar panel arch, and installed new solar panels to the point that we could get moving. Had we not had a date to make with Iverson in Olympia on April 29, we might've kept fudging the departure date even more in favor of trying to get a few more projects completed, but in all honesty, by that point we were in good enough shape for heading north, and we were starting to come to terms with the fact that whatever else needed to be done could either happen in Olympia, along the way, or when we'd be back for haul out in August.
Honestly, it didn't really set in that we were starting the next chapter of this whole sailing or cruising bit that day. We were pretty tired, and there was still a lot to do before we could get into "cruising mode", whatever that meant. After 56 miles of motoring, we tucked into the quiet and calm anchorage of Port Ludlow for the evening just in time to catch a lovely sunset. I wrote a post that evening about this milestone if you'd like to read a rawer account of the day.
Racking up those new engine hours
Port Ludlow to East Oro Bay | April 27, 2026 | 58.5 nm
Captain's log: Kept motoring our way toward Olympia with 15 knots dead on the nose. Either too lazy to raise sails and tack endlessly or "have to break in new motor" were the excuses depending on the hour. Anchored and checked out the brick factory beach.
In the spirit of just getting there, we opted for a full day of motoring against wind and current with little serious consideration in raising the sails and trying to be "real" sailors; we weren't really in the mood for a 15-hour day that would have likely ended up with us covering less overall distance towards where we were going by tacking back and forth approximately 13,573 times down the Puget Sound. We'd hoped to make it all the way to Olympia, and even though we felt confident we could manage getting into a place we'd already been to after dark if necessary (we showed up in the dark last time, for what it's worth), we opted to duck into an anchorage while we still had a little daylight and give ourselves a shorter day for the next.
Potty breaking the dog on the turf grass pads on the boat was not going well. Tessi had wised up to the fact that even though our new home didn't have a yard right out the door, land with real grass was never too far away; asking her to pee on our roof seemed absolutely ridiculous. The current compromise was twice-a-day walks for her to do her business—once in the morning, once in the evening. So, despite being dog-tired after an already 13-hour day by the time we dropped the anchor, we had to hold up our end of the bargain. We promptly launched the dinghy and took the creature to shore. Luckily, it turned out to be worthwhile.
Oro Bay on Anderson Island is split into an east and west bay by a peninsula called Jacob's Point. Having done little research on the island itself since we made a game-day decision to duck into the anchorage about 3 miles before arriving, all we knew was what looked best for dropping the hook and that it was state park land. We anchored in the east bay, and as we approached the shore in the dinghy, we both commented on some quite angular-looking rocks up ahead. As we got closer, we realized those angular rocks were actually bricks. And there were bricks everywhere, all over the shore, like someone had haphazardly dumped a bunch of bricks around in a pattern similar to what it looks like after sneezing into a bowl of confetti.
After landing the dinghy on top of rocks and bricks (one of the first of many times we'd come to appreciate our ridged aluminum dinghy), Tessi scurried up to the first patch of grass she saw while we took in the literal thousands of bricks strewn about. Noticing some posted signs further up on land, we ventured further into the state park where the clues started to make more sense about what this land once was and how those bricks came to be: we were standing on the former site of the since defunct Anderson Island Brick Works, and the homestead of the Jacobs family (hence the namesake peninsula and now state park called Jacob's Point Park).
Despite a short time at Oro Bay, we managed a couple of exploratory walks, much to Tessi's satisfaction and probably good for our sore bodies from a bit too much boat yoga the weeks prior. It was wild to think that place was once a bustling hub of activity, given we were the only people or boats around on an island not far from some of Washington State's major urban hubs.
Our GoDu dinghy; Built like a brick sh*t house!
The last time pointed south... until the next time
East Oro Bay to Olympia | April 28, 2026 | 18.1 nm
Captain's log: Final miles south before a summer going north, also the last dock we have planned for the foreseeable future. 🤞
The next day was a short day of motoring to Swantown Marina in Olympia, where we were greeted at the docks by Ethan’s aunt and uncle who live a stone's throw away in Oregon and seem to have a penchant for finding good excuses pack up the camper van for a get away (glad that our second trip to Olympia was reason enough for a van trip up, Matt & Therese!). After tucking the boat in and collecting a cartload of packages from the office, we set off to find a good beer spot and pick up a rental car before tucking into bed at a reasonable hour that evening.
Repairs, prepare and provision
Olympia, Washington | April 28 - May 1, 2026
Blurry is the best way to describe the next few days in Olympia. The canvas swap took all of a day, but we had a fair bit else shortlisted to get checked off the to-do list before leaving. We spent time with the Woodys, made it to Costco for a big provisioning haul, spent a day in Seattle renewing our passports and stocked up on spare parts for the boat. We chipped away at lots of other projects, too, including finishing up the solar arch wiring runs, did a boatload of laundry, organized all the food and provisions (amazing what the relatively small boat seems to be able to absorb), washed the boat, filled water and fuel tanks, and I’m sure a hundred other little things that I’m not recalling.
By the evening of April 30, we felt good, the boat looked good, and it felt like as good a time as any to start making miles north to Alaska the next morning.
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