A NEW TUG IN TOWN .... and other odds 'n' sods

Seaspan has added to its fleet here in the harbour ... not sure if it's new, or just new to Seaspan, but it's a prettier boat than any I've seen so far!

I was knitting at Clover Point the other day when I heard a tap on my window -- it was my friend Bev from the Guild, and she and her hubby were in the very next car!


Marj and a few others have mentioned knitting at Clover Point, too --- maybe we'll start a summer knitting circle there! :-)

When I went there this morning, I was just in time to watch some sort of sailing regatta coming out of Enterprise Channel ...

It was a busy day on Juan de Fuca!

At 4:00 we drove Mischa to the ferry for Vancouver - she has a hair show to attend and then she's going to her sister Hailey's cabin in Whistler to 'chill out' for a few days. Yesterday was like a summer day, so after we dropped her off, Michael and I went to a local (Sidney) market, bought our 'dinner' and headed for the nearest beach...

... which had a view of the Anacortes Ferry dock, and across the channel, Sidney Spit -- lots of boats at anchor this weekend!


In knitterly news, I've FINISHED Sivia Harding's Moonshadow Stole, and I love it, love it, love it! I'll get some pics today if I can (unblocked ... that'll happen this week some time). Now I'm going to start on her River Rock Scarf (which may be for an exchange 'secret pal'-- I haven't decided yet) and get back to a blue shawl I started a month ago.

THE VIEW FROM HERE

It's been a long day!

First thing this morning, I drove Michael and Rennie to the Pippin, which was already up 'on the hard' getting surveyed when we arrived...


I left them there because Wednesday is Guild day, and I had some serious knitting to do. :) On my way home I stopped at Clover Point and just as I parked, my cell phone rang - it was Rennie saying Pippin was back in the water, all well, and that they'd just cleared Enterprise Channel en route 'home' to the harbour. Sure enough, I looked up from my knitting and there they were, just off the lighthouse! I told Rennie to come close to the point so I could get a picture ... that's my husband waving from the bow!

By the time we all got back to the marina (them sailing, me driving) the sun was still out and the day young, so we decided to go for our first dinghy ride of 2008. The skipper was acting camera-shy...

But we cruised through the Inner Harbour to see the sights...



And just when we thought we'd seen it all, we saw this - tied up under the Ship's Point jetty:

Then we passed the Amy Usen -- a 90' fishboat built in 1966 -- and got back to the marina just before supper.

Ended the day by watching the eclipse .... beautiful! Here's a pic from the water of the very beginning of it (taken with my cell phone, not great quality):

Somewhere in all that fun, I managed to knit at least 6 rows on the Threads of Compassion shawl, AND 4 or 5 rows on the Secret of the Stole. All in all, a pretty productive day!

A BOAT PARADE

Yesterday morning my son and I took my grandson Joshua to the train, and since I was already 'out and about' I realized I could get some errands done -- if only the stores were open that early! So what's a gal to do while she's waiting? Find a nice look-out and knit, of course! The lookout I chose is called 'Trafalgar Square' which is really quite pretentious considering it's a simple u-shaped pull-off along the waterfront in Oak Bay.

It is, however, a place where one can watch boats go through Enterprise Channel, which is the tricky narrow bit of reef-infested water between Trial Island (where the now de-commissioned lighthouse is) and Victoria. There must have been a New Year's yacht club cruise leaving town, because I got to watch about a dozen boats go through the pass -- all successfully!


That was my entertainment while I worked on another diamond for River's blanket -- it's his birthday tomorrow, so it's not going to be done, but it'll be a great take-along project for the next few weeks.