Cruising the Pacific Northwest

One of my favorite seasons for cruising in the Pacific Northwest is Winter. Anchorages are deserted, marinas are empty and the short days encourage enjoying the infrequent sunshine while it lasts, then snuggling up during the dark, cold nights. The barbecue still works extremely well for sizzling steaks and the snow flakes drifting down from the gray skies are mesmerizing.

Our “go to” spot for a winter weekend getaway is the Olympia Yacht Club’s Island Home, located on Pickering Passage, just south of the Harstine Island Bridge (47° 14.13′ North, 122° 56.10′ West). Whenever we see a break in the weather that coincides with a weekend, we slip out of town on Friday night, just as the sun is setting and cruise north to Island Home. We almost always find that we have the place all to ourselves for the entire weekend and it really recharges your mental batteries to spend two nights of blissful peace and quiet aboard the boat before heading back to the rush and bustle of modern civilization.

We’ve had a fair amount of snow this winter, but Yes Please is equipped with both Diesel and Electric Heat that keeps us cozy and warm, even when the temperatures dip well below freezing at night. Our very wet snow does have a tendency to freeze our lines solidly to the docks, so we have learned to bring the tail end of the lines back to the boat, which will allow us to depart on frozen mornings without struggling to chip the lines away from the dock!