Winter Cruise to Gig Harbor

Last time we had been away from the dock was Thanksgiving of last year.  And that was for a quick Christmas Ships cruise.  Alison and I were itching to head out somewhere for a weekend.  We decided to head to Gig Harbor Saturday morning and spend the night, returning Sunday afternoon.

After a quick dash to the grocery store, we donned our headsets, tossed off the lines and headed out!  It was a spectacular cruise south.  Breeze was near calm, seas were just a ripple.  From the pilothouse, you wouldn’t imagine that it was 35 degrees outside.

Our plan was to dock at Tides Tavern for lunch and then tie up at the public dock (it now has power, 30 amp) for the night.  We wanted to confirm that there was space as well as depth for us at the dock.  As the dock was half full, we changed our minds – let’s get our spot at the public dock now and walk down to Tides.  Unfortunately, as we were poking in to where we would need to be, we realized that there would not be enough water for us at low tide (minus 2.5 feet).  Plan B.  Dock at Tides and then anchor out for the night, drop the dinghy down to take Zoe in for the needed walks.

So it was an easy docking at the Tides and enjoyed our meal – great spot, always good food.  We left the restaurant and Red Rover was the only vessel anchored out.  We uncovered the dinghy and found its battery dead.  Completely dead.  I had left the battery switch on (duh!) and a dash switch was toggled on – this over the course of the last 3 months completely killed it.  Well….  we decided that we’d go back to Tides for breakfast!  We pulled the fake grass potty mat that came with the boat to see if Zoe would try it.  She decided to wait until we arrived back at the dock for some real grass.  Something that we are going to work on with her!

After breakfast, we headed home on an equally beautiful day with a trip to Fisheries Supply planned after arrival.  Good opportunity to replace the spring hinge on the seat that holds the battery.

After fisheries and the grocery store, we were home in time for sunset.  All we could ask for is 75 degrees.  Waiting for summer…