All the Usual Suspects

Ginger and Bob, friends from Puerto Vallarta, joined us for an adventure.  They travelel 5,326 miles (roundtrip) to join us on the SeaDrifter.  And we wanted to introduce them to all the usual suspects.

Halibut:

Salmon:

More Salmon:

Prawns:

More Prawns:

Pilot Roberto:

Civilization (??) At Shearwater:

Cheers to Good Times and Good Friends:

Just for the Halibut

Beck and Rick ventured back on the boat this year even after our failure to pick them up last August.  The mistake on dates caused much family angst and acquainted us with the highly professional and talented Canadian Coaat Guard.

As Beck and Rick exitted Star Taxi which is operated by Don-Who-Is Richer-Than Midas they looked a bit relieved that we were there on the right day at the right time.  Forking over the $12 each fee for the 3 mile ride from the airport, Rick hoisted their bags and we set forth.

Typically, we have beautiful weather in August but this year has been anything but typical.  For too much of their time with us it rained and that rain was sometimes of Biblical portions,  But we refused to let it interfere with our fun and merriment.

We ate well!

We prawned well!

We fished well!

We fished well again!

Just for the halibut!

Good Friends, Good Times, Good on You

One of the many nice things that Doug brought to our marriage was his friendship with Jim and Denise.  Many years ago Jim and Doug were part of the Simpson Timber Company but in very different sectors.  They met at a clean up preparing the Mason Lake Campground for summer use and have been friends ever since.  Like so many of our good friends we see them too little due to a "drifting" lifestyle, so it is a special treat when they join us on the boat.


We have a tradition of having crab for our first dinner on the boat.

Really, Doug, how many crab did you cook......

What big pincers you have, my dear.

Fishing was GOOD but not GREAT.  Last time Jim was up, they caught a 52 lb salmon.  That is a hard act to follow.

But not too shabby!

Those of you who have cruised with Captain Doug understand that he has fully earned the name Captain Redundancy.  Now sometimes being redundant is not a good thing but at sea it is a very good thing.  We have not one electronic navigating system but two with a third held in reserve.  When our Nobeltec started bonging, Doug became concerned about the dongle.  Great help I was with my insightful question, "What's a dongle?"  

One of Jim's many talents is computer systems.  I believe that Simpson still uses one he developed.  Doug got the new dongle and charts all downloaded and Jim helped him with tweaking them to perfection.  This is a good thing for the Captain's calmness.

Denise knitted a long time ago and brought yarn for a project to do on the boat. A hat for their beautiful little grand daughter.   She and Jan had a great time knitting and chatting.  Pretty cute EXCEPT for the color.  Got to get that girl some Cougar duds!