We transited the locks in short order on Saturday morning and motored North past the south end of Whidbey Island dodging regatta boats that were floating aimlessly in the slack early morning wind. Abreast of Everett the winds started to build until we were snorting along at over six knots under jib and mainsail.
Wanting to arrive at Langley before the marina office closed at 5, we used up our play time and headed in to dock and explore the town.
Langly has a small town feel to it, but the general store has ample provisions and the dock has great WIFI. We stopped at a small beverage cafe to unwind a little and then found a trail down to the beach to get a little walking in.
Saturday was all about giving the crew time to become acquainted with Quijote and her various systems. For lunch, Lavanya and Jason put together awesome grilled sandwiches and salad and we barbecued chicken on the stern rail for dinner. The new griddle Kay added to the galley works really well.
Sunday started by anchoring outside the marina and, with more great cooking by the Lavanya-Jason duo, Bruce and I worked though the dinghy deployment and used the new outboard hoist to mount the outboard onto the back of the dinghy. With a few practice runs of the dinghy around the boat, we filled our bellies with the fruits of L&J's efforts: a mushroom cheese scramble and toasted bread, granola, fruit and yogurt. Awesome!
After a little attention to some odds and ends, jack lines, man overboard procedures, etc, We were under way again with a galloping 16 knot following wind - great conditions for spinnaker sailing!
Photos by Rod and Lavanya
