A New Home for ToG

Some weeks back I mentioned our decision to move our boat up north in order to be closer to our preferred cruising grounds - the San Juan and Gulf Islands - where we've been spending the bulk of our boating time. We put our name on a waiting list at the La Conner Marina.

We were 17th on the wait list then (or 23rd, depending on who we talked to). After checking in once and finding out there wasn't any movement on the list, we were fairly certain we'd be lucky to get a slip by the end of next season. No big deal.

And then, last Tuesday, our friend Dave (Salish Nomad) contacted us regarding a buddy and neighbor of his who has a dock to rent at Skyline. We decided to hop in the car Wednesday morning and take a look.

We like it!

This slip is not at the Skyline Marina, rather it's a private dock being rented by a Skyline homeowner.

After checking it out, we hopped on the ferry - we decided to continue to Friday Harbor to visit Nick's sister for a few days, since we were in the area.

After sleeping on it and weighing some potential pros and cons, we decided to let the owner know that we'd love to berth ToG at his dock. The cons didn't amount to much. The dock has 20amp power, there is no convenient garbage and recycling, no dockside pumpout service, and it's not covered (the slip at La Conner would have been). We can easily deal with all of these.

The good things: Proximity to islands, easy access to pumput station at marina, a private driveway to leave our car, available immediately, the whole dock is new, the access to the dock is fairly open (La Conner Marina slips look tight!), and a location in a safe neighborhood. Perhaps the best thing is the fact that the homeowner will have eyes on our boat - a lot. Added bonus, our friend Dave lives just down the street and will also keep an eye out.

There is more to this story. Believe it or not, Thursday morning, before we contacted the owner to say "yes" I received an email from the La Conner Marina stating they had a slip available! What are the odds?! We declined.

We have until the end of December to vacate our current slip at the Foss Harbor Marina, and will be looking for a weather window to motor north.

The weather in Friday Harbor was clear and cold. Yet another gorgeous morning skyview from Kit's deck overlooking Griffin Bay: