We moved onto the boat yesterday and will use today for settling back in and doing a final shutdown of the house. It is amazing how much we’ve forgotten in the nearly nine months from not having lived on the boat.
We also like to do a couple of nights on the boat prior to departure to acclimatize the cats to the changed environment. They sensed something afoot yesterday as more and more boxes and bags scattered around the house disappeared. As Marcia gathered each of them up to put into their crates, they first run away, then hissed and finally resigned to their fate. Pitiful meows and moans serenaded us during the half-hour drive from house to boat.
Once on the boat, Maggie did pretty well and is busy rubbing against everything in sight to scent mark them. Annie is far more timid and has spent most of her time on the master stateroom berth burrowed under covers. Hopefully in a few days she’ll feel comfortable enough to spend daylight hours in the pilot house or salon.
For the 2011 cruise, we are trying out the changes we made based on last year’s experience. Marcia has packed the freezer efficiently with more meat and fewer prepared toppings. With respect to clothing, we’ve pretty much left cotton behind and gone with all synthetics. Our combo washer/dryer simply couldn’t dry heavy cotton t-shirts or jeans effectively.
The plan is for an early departure tomorrow (5/29) with a destination of the Port Townsend area. On Memorial Day, we’ll cross the border and try to get into position for a Strait of Georgia passage on Tuesday.
We are going to push north steadily and not take any side-trips or voluntary rest days along the way. It is about 700 miles from Seattle to Ketchikan via the Inside Passage. At an average of 50 miles, that works out to two weeks. Schedules seldom work so smoothly so extra days while waiting for weather a crux points won’t bother us.
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