Sea Jay Goes North 2011

We had a nice Echo Bay Yacht Club pot luck dinner with a pirate theme on Sunday night and met some new friends. we are now members in good standing of the Echo Bay Yacht Club which is made up of boaters that have been comming up to the Broughtons for many years.

The members come from a wide varity of locations in North America and membership is around 50. Tonight we get our burgee and continue this annual 3 day event.

Tom Finished up The steering cylinder this morning so we loaded up the F 16 at the crack of ten to go Catch a salmon and catch a Salmon he did. A beautiful 16 pound Silver/Coho.

Check that smile on Tom's face. it took us an hour or so to find the hot spot but when we did... wham he had the fish on at 50 feet and it put up a good fight only to become another victom of Jim's net.

Aug 11 & 12

We spent two days cleaning the boat getting e mail caught up and arranging to get the new steering cylinder shipped to Sullivan Bay. After some frustrating and contact with the President of Westport Ship Yards we got word that the parts will be shipped to Laconner overnight from Florida and Pacific Mariner will even install the proper fit our application.

Pacific Mariner will even loan Tom Sircoloumb (a former Pacific Mariner employee that takes care of Sea Jay and is flying up on Sat aboard Kenmore Air ) a pressure bleed pump which will make it mush easier to purge the steering system of air after installation.

We met several of the Echo Bay Yacht club members at Sullivan Bay and spent time with Tom and Joanne owners of a magnificent 1941 converted 76 foot super seiner fishing boat named Laredo. This wonderful super seiner from the last century has a 22 foot beam weighs 100 tons and even features a wood fired fire place Olympic stove in the main Salon. Tom has maintained most of the original features in the operation of the boat, such as brass voice tubes to communicate with the engine room, a rotating brass dial that actuates the throttle. The 343 Cat engine is a repower from the 1960’s and has air start. This monster sports a five foot in diameter propeller, is capable of 10 knots and gets a mile per gallon at that speed. With 1500 gallons of water and 3000 gallons of fuel this is a long range vessel and spent it’s former life fishing for salmon and sardines as a super seiner. These boats were so effective in catching salmon they were later banned by the government and sold off for conversion to yachts or work boats.

Once arrangements were made for Tom S to arrive at Sullivan Bay on Sat we left Sullivan Bay for Turnbull Cove and delightful anchorage about 5 miles from Sullivan Bay on the afternoon of August 12.

That evening we were treated to a fantastic pot roast dinner aboard Laredo. .

Thursday August 13 2009

At the crack of noon we had all on Sea Jay for a Jimmy Dean sausage with Gary’s wonderful gravy made from the sausage grease and Joanne’s home hade biscuits.

Yum Yum!

Then is was out for bottom fishing and Gary and Lenore caught cod and yellow eye for dinner that evening. We only got some bites but did not land a fish.

Then is the late afternoon we took three dinghies went about 6 miles to Nimmo Bay to see the famous Nimmo Bay Fly In fishing lodge that was featured on Boston Legal with Denny Crane and his buddy on one of their episodes in the show. Located in Little Nimmo Bay it has 6 very nice cabins on the water with several larger lodges in the woods, 4 helicopter pads and a very large main lodge with docks and a large floating patio with chairs and a fire pit. I suggest you look at their web site. This is a high end fishing lodge where they fly you to dream fishing only accessible by helicopter. To our surprise there were 2 65 Pacific Mariners moored at their dock and apparently only recently they have opened the lodge to boaters. This lodge was a favorite getaway of George Bush Senior.

Nimmo Bay also offers excellent anchorage inside at the head end of the bay with a beautiful back drop of peaks and meadows at the head of the bay. One must enter this Bay at High tide as the entrance holds many rocks that are just below the surface at low tide.

That evening it was dinner on Laredo with Crab Cocktails fresh, yellow eye and rock cod and salad for dinner with much discussion about Lithuanian culture.

Friday August 14, 2009

Today we leave our friends and head back to Sullivan Bay to make repairs on Sea Jay’s steering system. Tom is to arrive tomorrow with a new steering cylinder and with any luck Sea Jay will have rudder steering by Sunday. I must admit rudder steering is a luxury that is only a pleasant memory in our past. Friday we did go to Claydon Bay via F 16 for cocktails with the Tom’s and Morris’s on Laredo.

Today Tom S will arrive at noon with the steering cylinder and we will begin the repair.