Sunday, September 11, 2016

Back to land

After our stop in Seattle we moved on to Tacoma, Olympia, Bremerton, Port Townsend and back to Roche Harbor for a grand Ranger Tug Rendezvous.

We arrived today at our last stop, Everett, Washington right back where we started. We left the Ranger Tug Rendezvous a day early since weather predictions did not seem favorable for getting back when planned. The Rendezvous was well attended. One hundred and seventy-five boats in attendance. They said this is the largest rendezvous in the world.


So now we will spend tomorrow getting the boat prepped for land travel. On Tuesday, 09/13, we will load ILLUSIONS up on the trailer and hit the road. We will be heading south and making stops in Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit my cousins and Austin, Texas to visit my niece. Our travels on the boat this year will be 180 days. We covered a lot of ground and water. We are so grateful to be able to have this experience and to have met so many nice people along the way. They have become more than just passing ships in the night. As we were making our way towards Everett I received a call on the radio from someone. “Illusions, Illusions Illusions, this is vessel Tribute." I responded and was requested to switch to Channel 69. It was former Ranger Tug owners John and Laurie that now own a Kadey Krogen. They recognized our boat since it is one of a few tugs having the Laurene Green hull color.  We met John and Laurie in Florida when they were doing the completion of their loop trip in their Ranger 29. The boating world can be small and no matter where you are paths do cross more than once. And there is always someone you meet who knows someone you met. Below are some trip stats and below that some pictures of the towns along the way. 

Trip Stats

146 hours of engine time
1037 Nautical miles traveled  Average speed 7.10 KTS
1193 Statute miles traveled    Average speed  8.17 MPH

Fuel Consumption 347 Gallons
2.98 NM per gallon
3.43 Miles per gallon





While in Tacoma I tried my hand at a little glass blowing. Chihuly may have competition in the future.

A bit of help from my instructor. That is red hot glass he has in his hand. I was told it is 2,000 degrees. Those who visit us in Rhode Island can tour my masterpiece in our garden next summer.

A piece on display at the Chihuly Glass museum in Tacoma
Five floors like this of cars from every vintage to every make. An outstanding collection and a must see. The American Car Museum in Tacoma, WA


The Capitol Building in Olympia

Downtown Olympia

Our dock at Bremerton. We hit it right. They were having the Blackberry Festival the next day. It seemed everywhere we went in Washington and Canada you could find wild blackberries and just pick to your hearts content. Or should I say stomachs content.
A view of the waterfront in Port Townsend. Jess said this was her favorite stop.



Can you see our boat? A great spot for a Rendezvous and a spectacular event put on by Ranger and supported by many of their suppliers. 


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