The start of nomadic life

And just like that, we launched into the next phase of life. The rain and cold disappeared welcoming in true summer weather. We wanted to minimize what we brought to spend almost three weeks on Mark’s Uncle’s boat as practice for our nomadic life ahead. Trying to be consistent with our effort to produce less waste, we packed rags, cloth napkins, mason jars, and reusable produce bags.

We met up with Charlie and his girlfriend, Mary Kay, in Bainbridge and made arrangements for the trip: menu planning, provisioning, moving kayaks and paddle boards. We got underway just before noon on Monday and had a leisurely, smooth cruise to Port Townsend, WA with Mt. Rainer peering over our shoulder the whole ride.

Henry Island is an easy place to stay, not just because of Charlie’s Seattle Yacht Club membership, but because it’s less than a mile from Roche Harbor, making it a quick trip helping us secure a prime spot in the marina for the Ocean Alexander Rendezvous. We arrived Wednesday at noon and were assigned to one of our preferred slips on the shore side of the A docks.   

(A dock full of Ocean Alexander boats)

After settling in, we piled into the tender and headed for Wescott Bay Oysters, just two coves over. The gorgeous outdoor dining area is surpassed only by the delicious barbecued oysters. 30 oysters, a bowl of mussels and clams, 2 bottles of sparking rose, 2 freshly baked loaves of bread, and 1 chocolate chip cookie later, we left happy and satisfied, and ready for a long afternoon nap.

(Enjoying the food, the view, and the company)

The formal Ocean Alexander Rendezvous festivities started Thursday morning when Mary Kay and Charlie went golfing. We enjoyed a quiet and productive morning on the boat and spent some time after lunch at the Roche Harbor pool. The evening was comprised of a happy hour celebration, complete with crab legs and shrimp cocktail, and getting reconnected with friends from last year and meeting new ones.

By Friday morning, the festivities were in full swing, starting with a champagne breakfast, a mid-day cooking class (featuring prime rib and cap steak — P’s new favorite food), a BBQ dinner under the big tents, followed by a disco dance party on the top deck of an 88 foot yacht. Mary Kay and I got in one game of pickle ball Friday morning, to get some movement in before all the sitting and eating the day ahead would bring. And somewhere in the day, the girls and I found time to hang four sets of disco ball LED lights on the aft deck to participate in the boat decorating contest.

(Waiting for the cooking class to start)

(Epic disco dance party on the upper deck of an 88 foot yacht)

Saturday morning, Charlie, Mark, Mary Kay and I took a hike to the mausoleum before engaging in a doubles pickle ball match. We made it back to the boat in time to clean up before the oyster feast for lunch. The girls had reconnected with another party attendee who was their age (and her friend from school). The four of them enjoyed spending most of the day together. None of them were interested in eating oysters, so we made them some pasta to enjoy before they left to decorate the dingy for the afternoon’s dingy parade.

(The mausoleum in the woods behind Roche Harbor)

The girls spent most of the afternoon decorating and getting ready for the evening’s disco themed party and costume contest. After helping their friends disco-decorate their dingy, they were invited to ride with their friends for the dingy parade. The parade is really a bunch of smaller boats following around a bigger boat that is playing music, passing out margaritas, and giving away prizes for answering trivia questions correctly. 

(The girls riding with their friends in the decorated dingy)

(A view of the whole parade)

Not long after the dingy parade, we all got dressed and ready for the main event of the evening — the dinner and costume party. While we showed a lot of spirit in dressing up for the theme, we didn’t come close to winning the costume contest, compared with the family that wins every year. The dad’s disco ball contest took top prize.

(In our disco duds)

(The winning costume of the contest)

When awarding the “best decorated dingy” prize, the organizers somehow mixed up the boats, and awarded the prize to our boat (even though it was the friend’s dingy that was decorated). We joined the four girls who did all the decorating at the VIP table (the prize for winning!) and enjoyed watching them try the four course “surf and turf” dinner,  where they mostly enjoyed the specially ordered “buttered pasta” course that was made just for them.

(Dining at the VIP table)

(The divas!)

After dinner, we stayed to disco dance the night away, including participating in the disco dance competition. We took first, second, and third place in the competition! The fact that we were just over three teams competing may have helped! The girls danced the night away, and upon returning back to the boat to go to bed, P remarked: “this was the best night of my life!”