Yesterday was a day of running errands and doing a little provisioning in Anacortes. The service department won't be starting on Airship's solar panels or its new stove until next week when the parts arrive, so we have the uninterrupted use of the boat this week if we want it (and we do!!) The weather is still great and the crowds of summer are gone. It's a perfect time to be cruising the San Juan Islands.
We made the customary New Boat Owner trip to West Marine (not too much damage, actually…two small bags), a stop at Bed Bath and Beyond (a few larger bags), and then we set out to have a couple sets of boat keys made (which turned out to be the most gigantic hassle). Six tries later (with three back and forth trips from the boat to the hardware store and no working keys) we ended up going back into Burlington (about 30 minutes away) to A-1 Locksmith. We arrived 15 minutes before closing and they rocked it! They reworked the two non-working keys, plus made us a couple new ones, and they ALL work. (Interesting bit of info: Our Nordic Tug is made here in Burlington, WA, but its key blanks come from Norway.)
If you're anywhere near Anacortes this weekend and want to see a bunch of cool boats, there's a boat show at the Cap Sante Marina (October 3-4-5) and it's free. This cute little Nordic Tug 26 called Strumpet is in the slip across from us and has the most adorable little tuggy stained glass windows:
One slip over is a Nordic Tug 42 for sale:
There's also an adorable little 21' Ranger Tug named Juliet for sale. (There are sailboats and stuff too…not just tugs.)
The guys here at Nordic Yachts Northwest have been amazing, and we highly recommend them if you're in the market for a boat. There are several dealers here at Cap Sante Marina and tons of brokered boats in all price ranges. And if you're not in the market, well…it's still pretty fun to look at boats, and the weather looks like it's going to be gorgeous.
Next, I think we'll head to Sucia Island and Stuart Island, north and west of Orcas. Will report back!
