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.
We are here at the Rendezvous. Guest Dock. 28. Stern In. Starboard Tie.
But first, getting here … We left Point Hudson this morning at 0800. We knew it might be a bumpy ride for a while north of Point Wilson. I think we were both surprised at the bouncing around. For the first 4 or 5 miles, waves were occasionally large with short distance between the next. This made for some good ups and downs with a few moments of an almost weightlessness feeling. We discovered what needs better security. Drawers flew open, then shut. The oven opened and closed on its own, and things generally bounced around. Then the seas settled down. We were much more comfortable the remainder of the trip through Cattle Passage. Once between the islands, seas were calm.
We are on our way to our first Grand Banks rendezvous. Our destination is Roche Harbor on San Juan Island.
This will be our first rendezvous. Our idea of boating is a quiet place with no one else are around. This will be interesting. We are sporting brand new brightwork by Native Brightworks and shiny new doors from Mike Thomas at Thomas Marine Interiors.
Last night we were at the Point Hudson marina. Fewer boats than I would have expected here. In fact, there were only six.
Our next stop is Roche Harbor. We’ll be on our way shortly.
I just signed us up to attend our first rendezvous. The Grand Banks rendezvous. May 9th to the 12th in Roche Harbor. We’ve never been to a rendezvous before. In fact, our idea of quality time on the boat generally does not include other people anywhere near us. This should be interesting. We actually do expect to have a lot of fun. How can it be bad. Lots of Grand Banks boats in one place. A very nice place on top of that.
The rendezvous is put on by the Pacific Northwest Grand Banks Owners Association.
We should be in fine condition by then. Much work is in progress. Native Brightworks will have finished the brightwork and Thomas Marine Interiors will have repaired the inside of the doors. I have a number of projects to complete between when I get the boat back and time to head to the rendezvous. And, of course, a whole lot of cleaning is required. We don’t want to look like the poor relation from the wrong side of the tracks when we get there.
We are looking forward to the experience.
Departure this morning was at 6:30 am. We slipped out quietly without disturbing the neighbors. We had hoped to go directly to Port Townsend, but were unable to make an appointment with Customs. Soooo … we had to back track a bit and go to Roche Harbor in the San Juan Islands to clear Customs before heading south across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. That detour was worth about three extra hours.
