MacGregorSailors.com

There is less than two weeks before the start of the Can Am '05 Flotilla!!

Shall we plan for a potluck dinner at Ganges on July 23?
We could bring our own meat (?) and beverages then snacks, salad or dessert to share with everyone. For our convenience there is a grocery store within walking distance of the Ganges Marina.

What do you think?

I'm leaving this Saturday the 16th and sailing up from Seattle. I'm planning on bringing chips and salsa to share. 'Iwalani needs just a few more tweaks.

We left on Monday the 18th from Seattle and spent last night in Anacortes. Off to Deer Harbor tonight and then to the rendezvous at Ganges on Saturday. So far lots of sunshine, but winds have been a bit high. (for this part of the world.)

We will join in whatever group activities there are at Ganges.

We left from Coulon Park on the 16th and traveled thru Lake Washington and thru the locks. Stayed one night at Port Townsend, the next at Decataur bay then at the Skyline Marina.- I had to come back to work (Jan) Jim is at Massacer bay - Orcas Island and will be meeting up with you all at Deer Harbor tomorrow. When I talked to him today, he said it was a lot windier than the previous days, but at 7pm looked like the wind was dieing down.

We brought Offline up from the San Francisco Bay area (on the trailer) as far as Portland on Wednesday, and up to Anacortes on Thur. We stayed with my brother in Portland, and with family friends in Anacortes.

I was intending to launch at Washington Park in the morning, and so we drove down to survey the situation this evening. The launch prep area is somewhat removed from the ramp, and unfortunately has a couple of trees in bad places. The boat would have to be rigged up to raising the mast, moved down to the ramp area, and then have the mast raised. Not ideal, but doable. While we were also driving around, we checked in with Cap Sante Marina. They have a travel-lift, and can put the boat in the water, with none of the post-launch hassles that might attend the launch ramp at Washington Park.

The cost for parking at Washington Park is $7/day, so for our 12-day trip, the cost would be $84. The launch at Cap Sante is $45 each way (in and out), but parking is only $3/day, so the total cost is $126. It would cost $42 more to launch at Cap Sante, but because of the full-service staff there, I think that's what I'm going to do. We also checked the lifts at Skyline Marina (Didn't see any Mac's there, but I wasn't really looking for any. Sorry JK). Cap Sante seems to be a better area.

We will be in Deer Harbor tomorrow night, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all there.

--
Mark Galbraith
"Offline"

I just talked to Jim (sure love those Nextel's) - He is at he Deer Harbor Marina Space C-7. He is looking forward to seeing everyone.
Happy Sailing!

We left space C25 at Deer Harbor this AM and are now at Poet's Cove at Bedwell. Clearing Canadian Customs was a snap. Just call in from the phones on the dock. Wind has shifted from the Northwest to the Southwest and it has cooled off a bit. When leaving Deer Harbor watch out for the tide rips off the southeast point of Spieden. Better to stay south of Spieden then head north through John's Passage, then north to Pender Island and customs.

Well we are all at the flotilla at Ganges Harbour baving a great time. Wondering where Allegro is. Hope to see Duane soon.

Alas, Allegro is nestled under its tarp parked in the backyard. We weren't able to work out boating this weekend due to other commitments. There is a slight chance we may make it to Stuart next Fri and Sat, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

At this point we have been able to plan a trip for Aug 10-14 in the San Juans (most likely Spencer Spit and Blakely leaving from either Cornet Bay or LaConner). Perhaps if any of you are still around we'll see you then. We'll also be in the south sound for Labor Day.

Sorry we coudn't be there. Send in a report of who did make it. Looking forward to pictures posted as well.

Duane

Sorry we missed you Duane. Rick and Kathy Worthy (Southwind) have a list of everyone here at Ganges. Off to Montague tomorrow.

(Port Sydney Marina, B.C., Canada) As previously reported, we made it to Deer Harbor. Rigging and loading turned into an ordeal. Brenda and I seemed to have brought everything we could possibly need or want with us. It took longer to rig and load than I expected, so we didn't get as early a start as I had wanted. We finally got on the water and underway about 3pm. It wasn't too far across Rosario to Deer Harbor, so I knew we'd make it before dark.

The wind was strong and gusty out of the SSW. If you look at the chart, you will find that Deer Harbor is not very well protected from southerlies. We were bouncing around quite a bit. Fortunately, the wind slacked off about 2300, and we were able to get to sleep and had a comfortable night.

We had hooked up with Jim (Iwalani) at Deer Harbor, and we both headed out at about 0645 the next morning to Bedwell for customs and then on to Ganges at about 1130. There were a few earlier arrivals, including some who had already been there for a day or so, and the rest of the boats arrived over the next few hours. All together we had 17 boats at Ganges.

Dinner on 7/23 turned into quite the party. I donned my chef's hat (Literally, and I'm sure someone will post a picture of me) and manned the barbeque. I'm sure I can speak for everyone that a great time was had by all. I know that I met a lot of new friends there, and can now put faces with some of the names I've seen posted here.

From Ganges, a group of four boats: Ken and Carol on Nauti-Moments, Doug on Impulse, Zoran on Liverpool Lou, and Brenda and I on Offline cruised (Including some sailing on the way) up to Genoa Bay and rafted up for the night.



Following another impromtu pot-luck dinner, and a very comfortable night in a very nice harbor (there is a marina there for those that want one), we cruised out to Brentwood Bay where the other three boats rafted up. Offline had reservations at the Brentwood Bay Spa and Resort Marina, so we headed in there.

From there our little group split up, with Offline heading to Port Sydney, and the other three going up into Mill Bay.

I have to say that this trip has been as much fun as I've ever had on my boat. I haven't even left yet, and I'm already looking forward to coming back here.

I'll be posting more details from the trip later, as well as some pictures. We all missed our organizers, Duane and Steve, but we know that sometimes life gets in the way of boating. I hope everything works out, and we can meet very soon.

(Roche Harbor, Washington) Well, the Macs are gathering in Roche Harbor. I don't know how many of us there are, but I have seen several, including Todd's (Blue Water Yachts) La Pearla Noir (The Black Pearl). It's very interesting seeing an all black hull on a Mac. Apparently Todd spent 6 days in Costa Mesa supervising the construction of his custom "M". Maybe we can get him to post his story on the forum.

Not all of the Macs I've seen will be going on to Reid Harbor, but I'd say a fair number of them are.

That's it for now. I'll have more to report when we reach Friday Harbor on Sunday.

(Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington) The flotilla continues. We spent two nights at Reid Harbor. The first night we had three Macs on the park dock (Offline, Metronome, and Mystic Rose), and a few more on the moorings (including Flying Felix). Todd brought La Perla Noir down and had lunch on a mooring in Reid on that first day.



The second night, there were no Macs on the hook, but Aythya joined us at the dock, so there were four boats for the party. The pot luck was a blast, and the crew of Metronome gave a concert on the dock, to the delight of everyone there.

Offline is in Friday Harbor tonight. It's starting to cloud over, and the weather radio says a 40% chance of showers tonight and tomorrow. Oh well. I guess that's what foul-weather gear is for.

Both Brenda and I have been having a blast. We've met so many new friends, and we both can't wait to come back.

Just got back to North Vancouver. I will be uploading the photos from Ganges to the MYCBC.ca website later this week. I will also forward the individual participant pictures to each of you as I take them off the camera.

Thanks to all of you for making the get together a memorable event.

Rick Worthy

'Iwalani is back in the driveway and emptied out. Sorry we didn't make the party at Reid but things, and not good things happened. When switching tanks, my engine went to hull. Idle and low speed is rough but WOT is OK. Sometimes dies at idle. Went back to the other tank but same situation. No place to dump gas in suspect tank so limped home on the one 7.5 gal tank. Bought some cleaner additive at Shilsole, helped a little but I see a carb teardown and cleaning in my near future. We had a smooth crossing of Rosario because we timed it for slack current, but hit a strong ebb current and strong Westerlies at Admirilty Inlet. Choppy waves 2-3 feet, 15 to 20 kt west winds, 3 cruise ships coming out of Seattle, and the Victoria Clipper heading into Seattle. All in all a very difficult crossing. No relief from the waves and wind until rounding the point into Port Townsend. Anchored out overnight, the winds swung Southerly and died down during the night. In the morning, we were ok, but another sailboat was on it's side on the beach. Had to motor over the anchor to get it out of the mud bottom. Found a crack in the fiberglass in front of the head, and another in the liner above the Vee berth. Hope all others had a safe journey home.

Looking forward to doing it again!