San Juan Islands

{testing out one of the guest beds for comfort}
{my favorite "portrait" of Emeline so far this trip}

Grandma spent Wednesday evening at the Rocky Bay house on San Juan Island, so we motored as long as we could en route to pick her up before dropping a dead-tired anchor around midnight. Upon our arrival to Rocky Bay Thursday morning (May 28^th), we all took the skiff into grandpa’s dock to have a fun time at the house and make a trip into the town of Friday Harbor.

{taking the skiff into Grandpa's house dock}{the Rocky Bay house and dock on San Juan Island}

{bench at the house}

{this fox was on the paved road when we drove into Friday Harbor. he was not afraid of me one bit!}

Later that evening, after getting everyone aboard Debbie Sue, we cruised around to Roach Harbor to anchor in calm waters for the night. The next morning Uncle Brett, the girls, and I took a fun little trip ashore to check out some of the local history (mining lime) and play a dangerous game of Italian Bocce Ball on Friday before heading north (Jessa took a hard-core nose dive, and Uncle Brett caught footage of it on his I-phone!).{the girls having fun pretending to kayak}

F/V Debbie Sue

Dad sold Thunder last year (the pleasure yacht we came to AK on last year and has since been renamed the Sea Lion) and bought a new boat that he could put to work during the Alaskan fishing season. The girls still frequently say they miss "Lightning" AKA Thunder, but it is sure hard to beat all this deck space to play on! Meet Debbie Sue:
She is a 110 ft. US built Martinolich originally built for Alf (pronounced all-f) Sorvk for crab fishing in the Bearing Sea in 1972. She is powered by a V-12 Caterpillar D398 (850hp). It crabbed actively in the Bearing Sea as the “Rainer” until 2006. It was refit in 2010-2011 at Gardner Boat Repair in Seattle, Wa. Sidenote for you Deadliest Catch fans...in Ballard we tie up alongside the Wizard and Northwestern.

What's on the levels:

Belowdeck: 3 fish holds and a spacious engine room. [This is Uncle Brett's domain].

Deck level: Laundry, walk-in freezer, 3 living quarters (sleeping 8) and bathroom, large galley and dining area. {Most of our time is spent here and in the wheelhouse]

2^nd level: Captain’s quarters with office & private bath. [1st choice location for watching movies]

3^rd level: Wheelhouse. [Fabulous 360 scenery views out the 20 windows, not to mention is is where most of the excitement takes place]

This summer, the Debbie Sue has secured a contract tendering fish between Sitka and Craig for Silver Bay Seafoods.

{this pic gives a more accurate representation for the massive size of the back deck}

We're Back!... on our way to Alaska!

Ballard and the Locks:

We hit the docks running when we pulled into Ballard on Tuesday afternoon. There was cargo to stow below the deck, rooms to prep, and groceries to purchase. It was a late night, and Wednesday was an early morn with more preparations and final trips to the regional passport center and Seattle Marine. Grandpa finally arrived in the early evening, with a movie cameraman close behind, who shot some film of him for an upcoming movie that is going to use the boat, and apparently a little of grandpa as well!

{had to check out the cool bunks first thing!}

Later that evening I made my first trip through the locks, which lowered the boat down from the fresh water of the harbor, to the salty ocean water. I was both fascinated and nervous, never having been through the locks before, and having to manage the bow line on my first trip! I had only heard horror stories about how close the boats get packed in together, leaving little room for error while managing a line---too slack and we would hit the boat behind, and too tight would pull us up into the boat in front of us. Lucky for me though, it was not a heavy traffic trip, and we were blessed with more room between boats than might typically be the case. At least, that is what the lock dock worker told me as he coached me through the process. Ahhh…ocean at last!

Entering the locks:

Tied up at the high end:

Going down: {you can see from the algae growth where we started out}

And under the railroad bridge: