July 9 – Lake Union to Port Orchard, 21 miles

Most of our preparations were done by this morning other than to pack the last few odds and ends. We picked up Ray and Mary and their luggage around 10:30 or so and headed down to the boat. Parking had been tight at our moorage recently, and today was no exception. After we unloaded the car, Ray and I executed Plan B, which was to drive home and take the Interurban (a ride from Trav and Barb) back to the boat. That worked well, and Trav and Barb got to see their table in its setting aboard the Potentate. Barb brought her camera and snapped a few pictures of us departing. They’ll email them to us for inclusion in the blog. We’re now at the Port Orchard Marina, and there are a few wireless signals around, but so far I haven’t had any luck making an actual connection.

After our departure, our first stop was at Ballard Oil for fuel. We had planned on making a trip down there ahead of time, but never got around to it. As it turns out, that procrastination saved us some bucks – the price of diesel had dropped 17 cents per gallon over the last 3 days, and the cashier said it would probably be increasing again tomorrow. “Good timing”, he told us. Their price breaks were at 175 gallons and 375 gallons. We probably could have squeezed in 350 gallons, their old price break, but it was easier to cut it off short and not worry about venting any raw fuel out the air vents. We took on 280 gallons, which will be more than enough for our trip. With the additional discount for cash or debit card, our price was 2.08 per gallon.

Next stop was the government locks, which are nearly adjacent to the Ballard Oil fuel dock. There were enough boats waiting for the small lock that we knew we wouldn’t get in on the next load, but when the lock was loaded we took a position on the waiting wall and were third in line for the next round. We were glad to see that we weren’t going to be routed to the large lock – waiting for the next small lock would be both quicker and easier.

When we emerged from the lock into Puget Sound it was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. There was a fresh breeze and the morning clouds had lifted, giving us a beautiful cruising day. The water was calm, and we turned to the left to head across the sound on the east side of Bainbridge Island and into Rich Passage. This route afforded us a view of the Seattle skyline, and also gave us a chance to dodge some commercial traffic. Crossing our bow as we passed the lighthouse at Discovery Park was the Love Boat – the Pacific Princess. We speculated on its destination, but we were sure it would be somewhere in Alaska. We headed diagonally across the sound, keeping an eye out for traffic as we entered the shipping lanes. A Crowley tug was headed towards our starboard beam, but passed safely behind us as it headed towards the Seattle waterfront. A Bremerton Ferry entered Rich Passage ahead of us, and the Bainbridge Ferry was leaving Eagle Harbor as we passed. Heading south, we were traveling the same direction and speed as our breeze, which caused it to disappear. We had the top down and basked in the sunshine.

Tribble, our cat, is handling boating fairly well for her first day. She spent the first couple hours under the couch, the safe spot she discovered when we introduced her to the boat on her first few non-cruising visits. Once we were in the middle of the sound, she came out and looked around a bit. Erin brought her up to the bridge, but that was a little too much exposure and she raced down the ladder back to the main salon, where she stayed at the bottom of the steps, within eyesight of us, but not on the bridge. That’ll be reserved for another day.

We arrived here around 6 o’clock, and after getting situated had a dinner of hotdogs, baked beans and fresh corn on the cob.