The last weekend in February we had the first cruise of 2021 to the Blake Island Marina. It was a nice weekend with moderate southerly winds for a beat down on Saturday and a nice run back to Shilshole on Sunday with some boats hoisting spinnakers. Six CYC boats with 14 people attended plus a family of three that were thinking of becoming members. They had a great time with us on Saturday and signed up to become members via the CYC website Sunday morning. The wonders of modern technology!! Welcome to Nathan, Vanessa and Evelyn!! We are excited to have you as some of our newest members.
The marina was full with 17 boats Saturday night. An additional 15 other boats had tried for spots without luck. The marina was a busy place on a nice winter weekend. All of the CYC boats managed to get a spot on the dock with Cruise Leader Morris Lowitz arriving last and having to wait on a mooring outside the marina until they could take the Load/Unload spot at dusk. A spot on the dock opened up first thing Sunday morning so they had a place on the dock instead of having to go back out to a mooring for breakfast. Morris brought his three person J-80 crew to help him sail his Jeanneau 44 Keala for the weekend. Thanks Morris for stepping up to lead this cruise. In fact this was not only Morris’ first time as Cruise Leader, but also his first CYC Cruise period. The other boats on the cruise were Solstice, Altair, Tula, Mara andMaggie May plus our new members on their Beneteau 393 Equilibrium.
Saturday we had informal socially distanced cocktails on the dock at 5:00 with some people sitting on their boats. Everyone then did their own dinner before meeting up ashore for a fire. The group at the fire was never more than ten as people came and left during the evening by chance. We had a second campfire going in the event the group was larger at any one time and we needed to split up into two groups. The Shelters that we usually use for a potluck dinner and fire are currently closed due to COVID Restrictions. We took hikes around the island or out to the West End in small groups, great exercise and the chance to visit with old friends or make new acquaintances, even if the trails were a bit muddy in places. A great start to the CYC Cruising Season and a wonderful group.
