Anchors Aweigh

A few weekends ago, approximately 20 minutes after receiving word that we finally owned Northern (a stressful and expensive headache that we don't want to talk about yet but may be funny in thirty years), we packed her up and headed out of Seattle to Poulsbo, en route to Olympia.  

With thanks to NWCruising.net--we started out in Ballard

These are some of the very few halibut schooners still floating and working, all in a row at Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle 

Skipper!  This was our first time taking Northern out; both of them did great (Eli is used to driving boats four times this size) 

The Chittendam Locks in Ballard, cruising in

The locks have been drained, gate is open and we are about to take off (major thank-yous to Eli's buddy who came along to help us out)

We aren't quite sure how tall Northern's masts are, but it turns out they are too tall for the Ballard railroad bridge.  Fortunately they were opening anyway for a sailboat's 75' mast

Coming out of the canal to Shilshole bay, we encountered a regatta of very slooooowly moving sailboats.  When we are on our sailboat and have right-of-way, we think this is great.  When we are on Northern and have to wait nicely for them to toddle by, we get cranky

This gorgeous old woody exerted her right of way by refusing to steer around us and very nearly steered into us instead.  There was very little breeze so they are all flying their big spinnakers and looking like giant kites

Kicking back on the foredeck...there is nowhere to sit on this boat...yet

Autopilot selfie!

Approaching Agate Pass bridge (almost as old as our boat!)

Northern, steaming along like she's done it forever

Cruising at 7.5 knots and with a very efficient hull, you don't end up with a lot of bow wave for porpoises to play in.  One came up and investigated but got bored pretty quick

Happier than a gearhead on diesel fumes (and the shades even came with the boat!)

Bainbridge on the left, Suquamish on the right (hi Nora's house!)

Agate Pass up close

Just through Keyport, heading into Liberty Bay.  Almost home!

Moored in Poulsbo for the weekend.  Northern is 72 feet; Poulsbo's guest docks have two giant end slips, both of which were reserved (and totally empty when we arrived, but whatever) so we ended up here:

On the very inside slip with six feet on either end of us.  That is what you call excellent ship handling, courtesy of Captain Stevens (who triumphantly disappointed the half dozen people on the dock with their camera phones, waiting to upload the latest YouTube boat morons hit)