Sea Ray Summer ~ Roche Harbour

Roche Harbour is located on San Juan Island in Washington State.
Just south of the 49th parallel across Haro Strait from Sidney, BC awaits a picturesque marina with all the amenities. It's a lovely spot to tie up our SeaRay for a few days.
It also is the permanent home to many US boats.

Modest boats mingle together with vast opulent yachts sharing dock space while the owners are free to enjoy the Resort. Boaters are an extremely friendly lot. It makes little difference that you are cruising on a 70 or 100 foot yacht or a 25 foot runabout...you are "out there" on the ocean having fun.

We observed two families sharing a "very compact" boat, which was probably about 25 feet...4 adults and 6 children..can you imagine the logistics? The sleeping and cooking arrangements would require immense planning and precision.
They were having a fabulous time and there was lots of laughter and some good natured competition.
Racing on paddle boards, floaty toys, kayaks and a sailing dingy and when they were not having races they were swimming at the pool...I imagine that they were exhausted by the time their heads hit the pillow!

Roche Harbour Resort has a swimming pool, assorted shops, a spa, cafe, bar, restaurant, The Hotel de Haro, beautiful gardens, a church and tennis courts. At sunset the flags are lowered in a precision military fashion accompanied by music.
This is known as the "Colours ceremony."

I snapped a bunch of pictures to share with you...

Here we are tied up on the guest dock in front of the church.

The Hotel is a popular spot for weddings.

The historic Lime Co. building houses the grocery, clothing store, the washrooms, laundry, showers and a post office.

Crab Season opened and many boaters were setting their traps.

The cook pots on the docks were boiling away in no time and people were enjoying their haul.

The Lime Kilns.

The lovely Classic Chris Craft "Paloma" formerly known as Destiny.

She has just been professionally and lovingly restored.

Her new home port will be San Francisco, California.

We met the proud owners who had just taken her out on their maiden voyage and were cruising with their friends aboard the classic beauty "Rialto."

These beautiful Chris Craft wooden boats in "just out of the box" immaculate condition require a lot of hard work, TLC and VERY deep pockets!

The grocery store is well stocked with an assortment of food...

they carry all kinds of things that mariners might have forgotten to pack!

Wines from Washington, Oregon and California as well as imports are available.

White roses

White wedding gowns...

a perfect pairing.

It was hot weather and we needed to make shade on our boat which was quite a challenge.

We used towels and a blanket to help keep the midday sun off our lounge.

I was most surprised to see Starbucks working out of one of the kiosks in the square.

There are many local artists and artisans selling their work out of these kiosks and by the amount of people milling about I think they must do a pretty good business.

The Kayak rentals were always busy.

We took the shuttle into Friday Harbour one day to explore.

Stay tuned...

I'll show you some more of this idyllic destination...

in the next post.

Hooray!

we have had a downpour of rain this morning and we really need more to help douse the forest fires that are raging in our province.

The gardens are parched and there are water restrictions in many municipalities...

I'm praying for rain.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Ship Shape...a floating boating post.

The weather is HOT HOT HOT!
I am keeping my cool by wearing cotton frocks and I have donned a pair of shorts.
I just hope that The Fashion Police have taken the day off.
I am showing much more skin that I usually do and feel a bit vulnerable.

Grey mix of batik type pattern

loose and cool.

a water mister for a quick shot of cool

~ ~ ~

 now for a few snippets of life aboard ship

I love to coil our dock lines.

polished chrome scoops bring air in to cool the engines

our cozy V berth

screened "air conditioning" above

also

our personal sky light if you will

a view from the deck

We are moored at Poet's Cove Resort

pools, hot tubs, a pub, restaurant, cafe and a Spa

all here at our fingertips.

Mr. HB has been working his summer daytime job as The Crab Man

he brought in 3 for our dinner tonight

we'll sit and pick them leisurely while sipping a cold beverage

and I made a batch of "prawn sauce" which we love on all seafood.

Prawn Dip

1 cup mayonnaise

2-3 tbsp. grated fresh ginger

2-3 tsp. soy sauce

mix and chill ahead to allow flavours to blend.

Lovely daughter will be joining us tomorrow

we have lunch at a Gulf Island Vineyard planned

and there will be swimming

and perhaps a visit to the Spa!

Hope that you are keeping your cool.

Stay hydrated until next time.

Your Humble Hostess

reporting from our Chris Craft Constellation.

XO

Galley "creations" are common aboard our wee craft.

Lunch time rolls around and we are famished.
With the invigorating salt air we find ourselves nibbling between meals
munching naughty snacks and our meal time portions tend to be on the larger size...
I am sure that I will gain weight this holiday.

There's a pub up at the top of the dock which serves up fabulous fare

we enjoyed lunch there last weekend. 

I like to cook and doing so in my small galley gives me a sense of satisfaction.
I rustled up a ship board lunch using swiss chard, bacon and eggs...
(vegetarians look away)

fry up pieces of bacon

Meanwhile 

look in the fridge for some veggies

~ ~ ~ 

swiss chard from our Humble Bungalow Garden

corn sheared off the leftover cob that went uneaten

asparagus spears from the previous night's dinner

after removing the bacon

wilt the veggies 

boil water in a pot 

when boiling add a glug of vinegar so the eggs stay "together"

and poach some eggs

Plate the veggies

top with eggs and arrange the bacon

a hot salad lunch is served!

Mr. HB is out setting the crab traps

we've met up with some boating buddies and they have a sleek new boat

 we dined aboard their vessel last evening

they are off hiking 

they'll be joining us for drinks and appetizers tonight.

I am alone with a cup of coffee

and have done all my boat chores.

One of which was to polish all my bangles 

as they were so very tarnished

 I had no Twinkle aboard so I used toothpaste

it worked brilliantly!

We have been thinking about selling our boat

as we have not been using it very much the past few seasons.

But when we get out and relax aboard her it feels like we are meant to live this life.

We sleep so soundly and ship life is rather carefree...

maintaining a classic takes deep pockets and lots of elbow grease.

Moorage in the boathouse is very dear.

Looking ahead to retirement one wonders if owning a boat is an extravagance that is too expensive.

It 's too confusing to think about just now

so I am going to put these thoughts far away from my mind and live in the moment.

reflections of our boat in the ocean...

The sounds of a seaplane

the seals floating by

the call of the ravens

the gentle hum of the fridge as it cycles

the smell of hot coffee

the tick tock of the ship's clock

the creaking of the dock

the flapping of the burgee in the breeze

the gentle rocking from wake of boats passing by

the scent of lavender from the soap from my morning toilette

is all I need for right now.

Have a wonderful week!

Persols and snippets on the high seas...

We are aboard our 1957 Chris Craft Constellation cruising the salty seas.
It's a quiet pace and we keep the days simple.
Meal times are 10am 2pm and 8pm...
it just feels right when on vacation to sleep late
and our bed is ever so cozy.

Our boat is 35 feet but inside is a compact space
with bunks in the V berth, a dinette in the salon and a settee.
There is not a lot of storage space so one needs to stow things carefully and keep clutter to a minimum.
The galley consists of a 2 burner stove and a fridge and a small wash basin.
The head has a shower, sink and toilet.
Most of the living space is outside on the back deck.
So we are fair weather cruisers!

our dinette and garden roses

love the sea theme aboard

faux starfish

when we were kids we'd pull starfish off the rocks and study them

we'd also fish for shiners at the dock pilings

catch them and put them in buckets before releasing them

boat gems

aqua and sea glass green

lemons and limes to ward off scurvy!

 lemonade and limeade

so refreshing 

I pop them in a glass of water to add flavour.

I found these Persols in the basket under my sun hats.

I'd completely forgotten that I still had these.

They are polarized which is so necessary for the glare from the sun as it reflects off the ocean.

Here is where I sit to blog.

As I closed the pages on Rules of Civility I wished that I was just starting it again.

It's was a fabulous novel.

Here's a little fluff read

to keep me entertained...

But then there is

cracking crab

dock walks

watching the Ospreys, Blue Herons and Eagles

the Farmer's Market

evening cruises in the dingy

playing cribbage

nibbling appetizers

enjoying seafood

sleeping soundly

laughing

there's

lots of action.

~ ~ ~

Must close for now 

the sun is shining

and there's a book calling my name.

I'll post again in a few days...

thanks for stopping by.

Pearls amid the Picasso's

Mr. HB and I were with our friends when we stumbled upon a studio in the most surprising spot on  Pender in the Gulf Islands.
Renaissance Studio is definitely off the beaten path.
The artworks massed here are stunning...
Chagall's, Picasso's and an assortment of contemporary artists make up this collection.
Antiques, collectibles and designer jewelry.

It was in this wee shop that I spied some freshwater pearls,
almost gum ball size and very colourful.
FUN!

They called my name...
and what could I say but "Happy Anniversary Honey!"
We did have dinner out on the date to celebrate, but these are a forever reminder...
(38 years)

Pinch me...
Dear reader I think I am very lucky!

I have them on my neck and have been wearing them everyday since we bought them.

On another tack I am reading a fabulous book!
The writing is crisp and evocative, the story rich.

If you decide to read it let me know what you think.

We are cruising the salty seas in our classic Chris Craft Constellation and while I am able to produce blog posts for some reason I am having trouble commenting on all the blogs I read.
It's frustrating because there have been so many great posts in the past few days...
marina Wi Fi can be very slow.

Please know that I am keeping current with your blogs I'm just mute for now!

Crab cakes 

for lunch.

A very special visit from our son, wife and their precious daughter.

I am savouring life from the slow lane....

pondering

reflecting

resting

and 

giving gratitude for the multitude of blessings in my life.

Be well

Namaste