Shakin' down...

More for me than the boat.

Another staff member volunteered to come along to handle lines.  Then, a couple more.  I got there early to go through the boat.  She is looking and running good.  Since the staff who rode along are not boat crew, I was looking to practice some close-quarters maneuvering, then take the boat out into open water and make sure all the systems are ready to go.

The fog from this morning...

Was heavy and water saturated when I dropped Joan off at work this morning.  I didn't have to be to the other side of the island until mid-morning, and by then, it was clear blue sky.

I was just finishing all the boat checks when the other staff got there; I briefed Alex (kayak guide who was serving as first mate) for my plans, and we shoved off.  Then came back to the dock.  Then shoved off again.  Back again.  Off.  Back.  That's enough of that - the arrivals were all as I was hoping (of course, no one was looking), so we headed out of the harbor, out Mosquito Pass, and into Haro Strait.  If there were whales nearby, we would go check 'em out, but that wasn't the case.  Yes, we saw other wildlife (harbor porpoise, seals, bald eagles), but I was more interested in checking all the systems while underway.

After a couple hours of enjoying the scenery... I mean, completing the checks, I headed the boat back to her dock.  On the way, I got the camera out for a few photos of the scenery that brings us back...

The bottom image is looking west towards Vancouver Island, BC.  And the ferry coming back to the US from Sidney, BC...

Staff onboard...

Battleship Island...

And, a rare site coming back in to Roche Harbor...

Hardly any boats anchored out.  I didn't have to "thread the maze" on the way back to our dock.  I dropped staff at our dock, Alex and I took the boat to the fuel dock, then celebrated a successful shake down with a burger with a view of the marina.

Nice first day.