Rejoice In The Lord Always
Friday June 17th
http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe#100781
Some photos of the Wandrian Crew – http://gallery.me.com/sundogjoe/100788
Went out yesterday in the dingy to the other side of the breakwater at the harbor and did a little jigging for rock fish. It was a little slow but so sunny and flat that it really did not matter and then Caleb hooked into a nice little King salmon and the action began. We really were not setup for salmon, no nets, no bonking stick, or as we fondly refer to them as “The Stick Of Pain”. So we quickly turned the oar into a whacker and after 3 or 4 attempts and fear that our meal would get away the shiny king was in the boat. Fresh King salmon on the barbecue on a sunny evening along the sea is pretty hard to beat and our King quickly turned into a 3 boat potluck with the Wandrian crew and Joe and Carol, our neighbors in a live aboard sailboat. We had planned to have a double date with team Wandrian but the meal by the sea with fresh King surpassed any restaurant we could have had to celebrate and mark our parting. It has been a blessing to travel together up the inside and we will be praying for their safety as they head to Glacier Bay and then back home to Olympia. I have really felt God put us together and our trip up is that much richer having shared the time. Cheers Wandrian Crew! They are hoping to connect with some boaters heading to Glacier Bay and back to Olympia and it will be an amazing adventure for them working the rest of the way north and then back through new places and some of the same that we enjoyed on the way up. Traveling with the “Sundog” they have had sunny skies the whole way up so I warned them that sunny weather follows the “Sundog” so I hope they still get some rain free days after they head out:)
First King Of The Season
A couple of days ago we decided to give fishing a try and headed out to Cape Edgecumbe, about a 2 hour run out into the gulf and as we neared the sea swells grew and I should have turned back sooner as by the time I got about 3 miles away I noticed no one was awake and it was clear no one was planning on waking up so I did a quick salute to the volcano and turned and ran back with the swells. It was nice to get a taste of the gulf and the trip to come starting Sunday. I have been watching the weather patterns and right now it is calling for 10 kts variable wind and 5-6 feet in the gulf which is a great report and I will be continuing to pray that the pattern holds. I spent a good part of the day yesterday changing fuel filters and filling batteries and generally making sure everything is in order in the engine room for the crossing. I also reviewed the survival suits and prepped my inflatable kayak which I will be towing as our survival floatation for the worst case scenario of having our boat sink out from under neath us. I can hardly believe that if all goes well I will be home in less than a week.
Granny Linda arrived yesterday and It was great to have her on board. The triplets really enjoyed seeing her and it was nice for Cathy and me to be able to take a walk together and share the sunset. Our friend Nicola “Nicki” as I call here will be here tomorrow and we plan on heading to Goddard hot springs south of sitka for a day of exploring and then Sunday the northern Gulf leg of the journey begins.
Joshua finally took a back flip into the ocean last night. I am amazed that it has not happened sooner as he always is going mach 2 and walking on the normal walkway does not work for him so he is always on the edge and it finally turned into a sploosh into Davy Jones locker. It was quite a site to look down and here him screaming for me as he went in through some of the nastiest green ooze in the harbor and popped up with same green ooze wrapped around his face. I was quickly on top of him and scooped him onto the docks and his life jacket which we make him live in did it’s job. It took the promise of a dollar to let him take a picture of him and another dollar was not enough to entice him to jump in one more time. It did not take him long to return to his cheerful mach 2 speed and he finished the night in glory winning all the chips in his first try and Poker with our neighbors from Florida teaching the boys how to win at the casinos.
Another beautiful day in paradise and I feel overwhelmed at how God has blessed us with this trip and the safety and time we have shared as a family that will be important to all of us as long as we live. This last part of the trip will be exciting but what will be most important is knowing that I am heading home to the family and looking forward to continuing to enjoy Prince William Sound in the bigger boat with our boating friends.
Cheers from the Sundog Crew
We Are Social