USA

If you look at Puget Sound on a map, you’ll notice that all the water has to flow through a single narrow passage west of Tacoma. This passage is called – wait for it – The Tacoma Narrows. You don’t want to be traveling through the Narrows against the current,

Ever hit your finger with a hammer, or date someone that you knew from the start was totally unsuitable, or buy a disco record? In short, did you ever experience a self-inflicted wound?

Our trip this morning from Blake Island to Gig Harbor was something like this. All me actually.

We returned from a walk around Blake Island today to find this guy sitting on top of our bimini. That’s the fabric cover over the cockpit. The cockpit is the open area at the stern. That’s the aft section of the boat. That’s the back.

Try as

As we left Port Gamble this morning for the short trip to Kingston, we found ourselves a part of the floating circus that forms whenever a submarine leaves harbor.

We were hailed by the gunboat to the left of the photo and “asked” politely to keep 1000 yards away from

More on that later. But first…

We pointed Impromptu south intending to sample just a bit of the Hood Canal. This rather large body of water is surprisingly boring from a boater’s perspective. How come? Because it’s a glacier-carved valley, the walls are steep and the water deep.

It’s August in the Pacific Northwest. In England, they’re setting heat records. In Hawaii, warm tropical breezes kiss the swaying palm trees. In Anacortes, Washington we have fog.

Rather than the sunny summer cruise to Port Townsend that I was expecting, we travelled for four hours in this…

Before life drifts too far downstream, I want to take a moment to share a few more photos from our recent boat trip.

When I left you, we were hanging out on Bainbridge Island with Fiona Bean and her new owners. From there, we travelled around the south end of

“Hey”, Mike said as his friend Chip walked into the bar. “How’s it hangin’?”

“I wouldn’t know”, Chip sighed. “It hasn’t gotten much action lately.” Bob thought that Chip looked kind of down. Not like his usual self.

“What are you talkin’ about, pal? Judy’s hot.

Find a map and stick a pin in it where you find Anacortes, Washington.

Now, imagine that you are floating on a boat nearby. You can turn north and explore the San Juan and Gulf Islands, poke your nose into dozens of interesting ports along the Sunshine Coast of British

A short voyage to an obvious but unvisited place.

Faithful readers will remember Stuart Island from previous journeys of P.V. Impromptu. The Island has a few year-round residents, more in years past, but is now mostly a spot for second homes.

There are two harbors on Stuart Island: Prevost Harbor on the north side, and Reid Harbor on

Another week of projected good weather inspired more self-isolation on the high seas. Once again the challenge was to plan in itinerary that included only uninhabited (or very sparsely inhabited) places.

We began our journey with a two-and-a-half hour cruise to little Jones Island. Jones, which lies just off the

Unlike Sucia Island, where the Spanish pronunciation is not commonly used, Matia is pronounced Mah-tee-ah more often than not. You will find some who say May-sha, but not many.

Most of this 145 acre Island is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a National Wildlife Refuge.

Arrrrrgh! Grab a chart me mateys and follow along as I tell ye a tale o’ social distancing on the high seas. Arrrrrgh (again)!

Or, you can have a look at the route we took here.

Let me begin with a short history lesson. These Islands were “discovered” (in the