Single handing

I single handed from Friday Harbor, WA across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Townsend, WA and then to Edmonds, WA. I left Carol at the customs dock in Friday Harbor after we sailed there the night before and cleared customs and anchored out in the harbor:


Here is the fog bank I hit in the first few hours:


I should have gone back to Friday Harbor and waited it out but I thought I would go "through it". Of course, there is no "through it". There is more fog. So with radar, my fog horn, and Navsim electronic charting software I navigated into MacKay Harbor. Here is the bank of the harbor from where I dropped anchor in fog:


And out of fog:


The fog lifted and I crossed the Strait anticlimactically. No wind and a sunny motor to Port Townsend where I dropped anchor for the second time that day by myself. I spent a nice night there and then motored in no wind to Kingston where I did a touch-and-go pick up of my father at Kingston and he helped me dock in Edmonds, WA.

Overall single handing was pivotal. I feel more in control of the boat and a lot more confident in my own skills. Although the fog was an unnecessary risk not to be repeated, it showed me how much I've learned about radar and navigation generally. I have a sense of where and in what conditions I can anchor by myself and at least "un-dock" the boat by myself which I did several times.

- Livia