On the road again!

     **Kristen's note: "Hi everyone! I'm woefully behind on blog posts. I wrote this one originally as we were departing Port Townsend, back on September 6. It is now the first in a series I'll have to do to catch us up! Enjoy!**
     Kyrie is underway again!  After a major stop in Port Townsend, all work is now completed, and we are headed out to Neah Bay to prepare for the "big left turn" on our way to Mexico! A final tally of all the work done? Someone on our Facebook page asked Joe what he did the whole time we were there and here is his response: I rewired the mast, installed all new nav lights, VHF antenna, and new anemometer; ran all new halyards, rebuilt the furlers, rebuilt our backstay using our old backstay insulators for our SSB, and reassembled the mast prior to restepping. On the boat, I changed the engine impeller, engine oil and filter, engine zincs, changed all the engine belts, changed out the engine raw water hoses, rebuilt the alternator, rewired the alternator, rewired our main 110v charger, wired in our aft solar panels. I removed, drilled, partially polished, and reinstalled all our new chainplates; and rebedded one leaking Nicro vent. 

The Kyrie kids at the waterfront in
downtown Port Townsend.

The Kyrie crew, along with
Joe's grandma.

      Joe mainly worked on all this, although I certainly lent a hand wherever I could. Port Townsend Rigging did an amazing job, and let Joe do a lot of work in their shop, using their tools. He spent so much time pulling everything on this boat apart and putting it back together that he now feels confident in his knowledge of how everything fits together. Even more important, Kyrie has so much that is new, chain plates out.

Joe, Levi and one of the Mosaic kiddos
exploring a battery at Fort Flagler

       We did enjoy our time in Port Townsend, although probably not as much as we could have. Last weekend, in honor of Rachael's birthday, we pulled away from the dock and motored over to spend some time playing at Fort Flagler. Aside from feeling extremely weird being a temporary power boat, we had a great time. It felt so good to be away from the dock and on the anchor again. One thing I did note is that we definitely have to start getting used to being in anchorages with more boats. After cruising in Southeast and British Columbia and enjoying being the only boat, sharing anchorages is hard to adjust to!

Kristen peeking out from an old
bunker at Fort Flagler.

Rachael, Megan, and the other Mosaic kiddo
in the middle of their imagination expedition!

        A highlight of the weekend was getting to meet up with a family we've been in touch with via Facebook for a couple of years. The Messerschmidts, AKA Mosaic Voyage, met up with us in Mystery Bay and rafted off to us for the night. They have a boy Rachael's age and a girl Megan's age and the kids all hit it off. The adults all seemed to enjoy each other's company as well! :)  Rachel and Brenden, I'm so glad we were able to meet up with you and your family at last. Safe travels until we meet again!
     We left Port Townsend Boat Haven for the last time this morning around 10:30. At first, it wasn't bad. The current was against us at first, which made for a bit of slow going, but then it eased off. We enjoyed 6 knots for a while, even though the wind was directly on our nose and therefore couldn't sail. Then, the wind decided to really get with it. For those of you who have never been in the Strait of Juan de Fuca before, it is notorious for west winds in the afternoons and evenings. This time, a gale was scheduled for late afternoon, so we had wanted to make certain we were well underway to Port Angeles before the wind really kicked up. We made it about 2/3 of the way before we started seeing 20+ knots, as well as 4 to 5-foot square waves and occasionally 6-footers. Ugh! I was reminded why the Strait is sometimes called "Juan de Puke-a!"
           We made it at last into Port Angeles around 5:30 pm, and dropped the hook just outside of the marina, as far inside Ediz Hook as we could comfortably fit, and decided to stay for a couple of days.