Joe’s Bay & the CCA

Joe’s Bay was on our list of places to visit in the Broken Group for reasons described yesterday but we had added incentive because friends aboard MV Eventide (pictured in the right of both photos) suggested that we hang out with the Cruising Club of America’s PNW Chapter who would be cruising the Broken Group when we would be there. We chose Joe’s Bay to meet up with them. MV Eventide introduced us first to SV Shingebiss II whom we spent several hours chatting with and picking their brains. This couple returned 3 years ago from a 14 year, primarily high latitude (far North and far South) circumnavigation. They visited places like Antarctica and the Falkland Islands in their sailboat. Way cool, eh? We also spent time chatting with SV Lyric who also spent years circumnavigating, who traveled to most of the places we are dying to visit and were kind enough to fill our ears and our bellies one morning. In both cases the boats left from this area which adds to the excitement for us. Two more couples, on two more boats, who left from approximately here to have an adventure.

 We attended a dinner and a sing-a-long aboard an absolutely enormous motor vessel (MV Far Out) which was great fun.  Carol led the crowd in “Alouette” to sing for our dinner ;) The hosts deserve a medal for having close to 50 soggy boaters aboard their boat all arriving and departing in a rainstorm. One sobering moment was when a boater left and stepped off the swim platform into thin air. Thankfully someone was outside to hear him fall and to pull him aboard. I don’t know if he had on a PFD. It is a good reminder that some of the most dangerous times of boating are during the silly, easy tasks.

A criteria to become a member of the CCA is having done a significant ocean passage and they were kind to invite strangers who hadn’t done so into their midst. We had a great time.