August 20, 2019 - Home: Trip End

As we checked the weather, getting close to home, we could see our calm and sunny weather was about to end.  Windy and wet conditions are coming in late tonight and will last a few days.  So we decided to head on home rather than stay out in the wind and rain.  We don't really want to try and get back into the marina when it's blowing 20-30 knots, especially since we no longer have the upper helm due to the hydraulic hose that ruptured up in Glacier Bay.  Plus, it's not much fun being stuck in the boat when it's raining sideways.

We left Cabbage Island early in the morning, crossed the border into the US and submitted our border crossing information to US Customs and Border Security via their "ROAM" mobile app.  They tried to initiate a video conference with Steve, but the software in the Friday Harbor customs office did not get updated properly last night and the video conference failed.  They then called Steve to confirm some details of our information, and were granted clearance into the US within a few minutes.  No need to divert to Friday Harbor to clear customs, which saved us many hours on our trip home.  We plotted a course towards home and made a few stop along the way to check out some possible future outings.  We were killing time so we could transit the Swinomish Channel with a favorable current.  We timed it right and got a 1.5-2.0 knot push all the way down the channel to our marina.   When it was all said and done, we arrived home (up to) several days early due to weather.................................

It was a GREAT summer!!!!!!

Here's an overview of our trip.  It's a long way to Alaska!

Some statistics from our trip:

⚓  64 days onboard

⚓  13 nights in marinas (4 unplanned nights due to anchor windlass failure), 50 nights at anchor

⚓  16 docks were tied up to, including marinas, fuel docks, and US & Canadian Customs docks

⚓  2,643 total nautical miles or 3,041 statute miles
             (similar to driving Seattle to New York)

⚓  420.7 total engine hours

⚓  4 hours on generator (solar panels did most of the work)

⚓  6.5 to 7.5 knots average cruising speed, or 7.5 to 8.5 mph

⚓  41.3 miles traveled per day (average)

⚓  6.5 hours per day motoring (average)

⚓  2 complete engine oil and filter changes

⚓  1 transmission oil change

⚓  4 fuel filters consumed (2 per engine)

⚓  1 rainy day (entire day), awesome weather otherwise with just showers here and there

⚓  8-10 foggy days, mostly in Faugust (get it?  Foggy august).  Boater's know this reference.



Thank you for sharing in this adventure with us!

The Elston's 2019