As we leave Port Townsend and head into the San Juans we all recognize this is the first real "cruise" with the crew. Each takes a rapid interest in the GPS chartplotter as we cross the first shipping lane. The chartplotter also shows tidal flows and curent predictions as well as "speed over ground". SO we could compare boat speed with SOG speed and determine current strength. The Charplotter was surprisingly accurate in its current predictions.
As we reached the first "waves" of note we were in the portion of the islands that was open to a direct sea. The boat performed well as a motorsailer (the mainsail was up) as was moved along well with the Perkins 6 cylinder turning about 15o0 RPM. Occassional bow waves wetted the deck. Swell was 4-6'
Soon, in the protection of Lopez Island....the boat settled down as we searched for a place to set at anchor for the night. Chartplotter was helpful in finding a private cove on the east side with southern protection.
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