As avid readers of this site (if there are any other than close relatives (and I am not sure about them)) will note, we’ve been to Blake Island an awful lot lately. In our defense, sans windlass, we are currently limited to marinas and mooring buoys. We choose mooring buoys over marinas any day. That limits us to relatively few places close to Seattle.
So that’s how Kim and I ended up at Blake Island all by ourselves (but by no means alone) this weekend.
Warning. Spoiler alert! This post contains descriptions and photos of actual boat use. Not the usual fix this, untangle that, install something sort of project post that has bogged this site down recently. Read on if you dare …
Our friends Tim and Carmel, and Cindy came up from Southern California for a day on the boat. The weekend before the Fourth of July was amazingly warm and perfect. People in California think it rains all the time in Seattle. It was nice to show them how wonderful it can really be here. We swore them to secrecy upon their return to California.
They only had one day with us so I picked them up from a dock on south Lake Union in the dinghy bright and early Saturday morning. Kim had breakfast waiting when we arrived. After a quick tour and orientation, we headed for the locks eating breakfast along the way Surprisingly, there was no wait at the locks. We motored in behind one boat and two smaller boats followed us in. We popped out through the locks and headed for Blake Island.
On the way over, Tim and Cindy were playing with the flybridge intercom. Tim ordered up a couple of Vodka Tonics. I called their bluff and produced two high quality drinks. They were surprised and somewhat appreciative. It was 10:30 in the morning. I think they liked them.
Don and Debbie are doing what I can only dream of at this point. They are off to Alaska for the next four months aboard their wonderful Grand Banks 42, Change of Latitude. You can follow their adventure at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/col/ or subscribe to their RSS feed at www.sailblogs.com/member/col/XJ12007_rss.xml.
One of the events at the Grand Banks rendezvous was an appetizer potluck. Everyone was asked to bring a mexican themed “heavy” appetizer for about 20 people. As our contribution we chose a chipotle pork loin taco with a really nifty three chile salsa. The salsa has a deep rich smoky flavor with moderate heat. Yum. The whole thing is easy to make. Make it ahead of time and assemble it on the boat. But make up a batch of margaritas first!
Both recipes come from Rick Bayless cookbooks. I can’t remember which ones, though. Sorry. And they may not be entirely accurate reproductions. The pork can be used in multiple dishes. The salsa is great on pork and probably most everything else.
Sunday morning. The Grand Banks rendezvous is over. Time to go. Boats started leaving early. Real early.
I managed to get a few photos of some of the boats departing. A number of folks had already departed by the time I thought of it, though.
Voyageur
The last day of the Pacific Northwest Grand Banks Owner’s Association’s Grand Banks rendezvous in Roche Harbor is over. Lots of stuff going on today.
The weather has been fantastic, but that looks like it is about to change. Rain is on the horizon for the trip back to Seattle.
Most boats arrived Thursday afternoon. The official start of the rendezvous is Friday. A number of boats arrived Friday morning. We have new neighbors on both sides.
We met a number of people, looked at some great boats, listened to a few talks, and ate a bunch of food. We are off to a good start.
