Chuck and I just scrubbed The boat clean. It's amazing how dirty the city makes a boat that's sitting still. That's especially true where Quijote is tied, under the Aurora bridge. Quijote is eager to get going. Bob and Jeff are helping with the Ballard lock transit today. Tina will play the roll of shuttle driver when we arrive at Shilshole.
Later…
The lock transit went very smoothly with very little waiting for bridges to open. As we were approaching the locks, I was using my best squint to try and see the traffic lights that tell us when a lock is clear to enter. Suddenly a loud speaker told us to enter the small lock. For a change they were waiting for us.
The small lock has floating walls to tie the boat to. When the water level drops, the wall we tie to goes goes with it, which makes it a hands off affair. Tie up, wait for the water level to change, untie and go.
After the lock transit, we had perishable provisioning to do. Tina and I knocked that out in under an hour. Then it was back to the boat to stow the provisions, then back to the house for final showers, dinner etc, then back to the boat to catch a few hours of sleep before our 5am wake up.
The tide turns to ebb at 3:30am and turns to flood at 11:30 am, so between those two times Puget Sound is a river flowing north. The earlier we get going tomorrow morning, the faster and more fuel efficient we'll be. 5:00am isa good compromise. Sunrise is at 5:15.
Great to see you under way, Rod. Good luck to you all on the trip northwards. SOOOOO tempted to try to get out and meet you at Bedwell or some other place for a dinner, but it's just not in the cards this year. Still, I'll be pretending to see you as you go by!
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