Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Our Final Cruise!


How Much Does This Hurt!

You may have heard that old saying; "the two happiest days in a boaters life is when he buys his boat and sells his boat!"

Well, we will tell you this is not the case, at least for us!

Selling Kozad was a difficult decision and the final steps in the selling process have been at times painful and emotional. Kozad has been a great little ship for us; safe, seaworthy, comfortable and most importantly provided us with a platform to learn cruising and how to handle a boat!


Our Last Cruise on Kozad:April 2nd, 2011 was our final cruise on Kozad; moving our boat from Anacortes to her (Anne's) new home in Friday Harbour!


We met the new owners, Richard and Mary Anne, at the Anacortes Ferry Dock. They came over as foot passengers on the Friday Harbour ferry at 1210hrs! The weather was foul in the morning, with winds, rain and the occasional squall which threatened to postpone our departure.

Richard & Mary Anne
Happy New Owners

Amazingly at 1230hrs the winds calmed, skies cleared and sun came out allowing us to depart Anchor Cove Marina at 1240 for the three hour cruise to Friday Harbour.

Craig's last trip on Kozad



At the Helm one last time!
Jan loves boating and especially piloting the ship.



Richard & Mary Anne
Enjoying their first cruise on Anne!


Our good friends Richard and Gwen on Northstar (Willard 40) asked if they could join in on Kozad's last cruise! They graciously offered to escort us to Friday Harbour and would provide us with a return ride home to Anacortes!


Northstar Entering Port of Friday Harbour

Richard and Gwen on Northstar
It was nice sharing this moment and company helped ease the pain!


Our last cruise on Kozad also provided the opportunity to familiarize Richard and Mary Anne with their new boat; and as always Kozad/Anne performed flawlessly!

Calm Seas, Light Winds and Sunshine
A Great Last Day on Kozad!

Great day for a cruise through the San Juan Islands!
Kozad enroute to Friday Harbour



New Home: Port of Friday Harbour

We arrived in Friday Harbour at 1550hrs and berthed Anne on E Dock, next to Richard & Mary Anne's other Willard MV Pearl. Pearl was awaiting shipping to her new owner who lives in Windsor, Ontario and is to be trucked across the USA after being loaded onto a low bed trailer at Skyline Marina, Anacortes, Wa.
sometime this month.


Kozad/Anne next to Pearl



Kozad/Anne's new home at the Port of Friday Harbour
Friday Harbour is one of our favorite destinations in the San Juans

Notice how dirty Kozad's bum is!!!!


Once Kozad/Anne and Northstar were both securely docked , the six of us (Richard & Mary Anne, Richard & Gwen, Craig & Jan) met on Anne to celebrate the change of ownership, giving up our great little boat to the new owners!

One very happy couple!
Congratulations Richard & Mary Anne
MV ANNE


Celebration Time.... how about some bubbly?

New owner Richard under great pressure, but with tremendous skill, uncorked two bottles of Champagne for the celebration. We sat on board and enjoyed the moment, then we all went out to dinner at one of Friday Harbour's newer restaurants for a great meal!

Richard with the Special Bottle of Bubbly!


Getting ready for the toast.... uncorked with great skill!


Party Time!



Cheers to "Motor Vessel Anne"


A few small tokens for Richard & Mary Anne!


Our Last Night On Board!

Richard and Mary Anne were very kind and allowed us the use of Anne while we were in Friday Harbour. On Saturday night we slept one last time on board Kozad/Anne; our last evening spent on a boat we love dearly!


The Last Cleaning!

As usual, Craig was up early (0630) on Sunday, having to clean and polish the boat one last time! This man is totally obsessed with keeping our boat immaculate! Craig will miss his ritual of maintaining, cleaning, waxing and polishing our boat!

Craig washing Kozad's Bum!
Have to get all that exhaust off the stern!



Cleaning once again!
Does it ever stop....



It is a wonder he has never fallen in!
Hey, where is your life jacket!!!!





The Trip Home on Northstar!

Well it is finally over! On Sunday at noon, we handed off the last set of keys to Richard and Mary Anne and said good bye before returning to Anacortes on Northstar!

The trip home on Northstar was also an opportunity for us to receive a few pointers on how to operate a Willard 40; Richard (W40) demonstrated the skill in handling such a big boat off and onto the docks! It is amazing how much bigger a W40 is compared to a W30!

Jan and Richard
Preparing for the return trip home!


The two Captains on the flybridge!
Our next boat needs one of these, a flybridge not another Captain!



Returning to Anchor Cove Marina!
Northstar is way bigger than Kozad.
Richard docked Northstar perfectly without a hitch!



Saying Good Bye!

Kozad has served us well over 4 cruising seasons. Our little ship provided us with a stable and safe platform to learn our coastal boating skills!

The Willard 30, and in particular the Voyager plan is a great couples boat; one which safely took us on many adventures and gave us such great memories. Kozad attracted a lot of attention on the dock as well as on the water. This resulted in us meeting a lot of people who were curious and attracted to our boat! Kozad amazed them all!

Salish Sea
Newly named for the Pacific North West Waters
from South Sound to Desolation Sound inclusive

We have cruised the waters of the Salish Sea; north of Campbell River to the far reaches of South Sound in Washington State!

Kozad provided us the opportunity to ply the waters of Puget Sound, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia while exploring the San Juan and Gulf Islands, the East Coast of Vancouver Island and the West Coast of British Columbia.

We have cruised solitary inlets and bays while chartering our course to Princess Louisa Inlet, have anchored, moored and docked in so many wonderful locations; and Craig especially enjoyed "Urban Cruising" while docking downtown Tacoma and Seattle!

Boating has been a passion of Craig's since he was 14, so many years ago! Boating has become a part of our lives and we have been especially blessed in meeting so many wonderful people while on board Kozad!

Our last image of Kozad as we departed for Anacortes!




No one is home!
Slip B-55 at Anchor Cove Marina
Where did Kozad go?


A New Chapter Begins!

We are pleased to have sold our boat so quickly and to such nice people;
we have no regrets about selling Kozad but maybe a little sadness!
Although, both of us are unsure how we feel about not having a boat,
nor about giving up our time on the water
!

Our goal is now to charter various boats in different locals,
so that we may better determine what our next boat will be!

The plan is to wait two years before we find our next boat.

.......but you never know!
Motor Vessel Kozad
2007 to 2011

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Another Note

Not A Good Day!

On our last morning in Anacortes we saw this unfortunate sight.
The Cap Sante Boat Haven fuel docks have a shallow area to the SE.
We were told not to leave the dock in this direction when we fueled up here!
We wonder if this Skipper was given this advice?


Tug On The Rocks
Nordic Tug 42 on the rocks!
The small boat at the dock is Vessel Assist for the tow,
but he will have to wait for the tide to come in first!



Ouch, that has to hurt!
Not sure if the skipper is feeling worse than his boat!

I was once told there are three types of boaters:Those who have gone a ground,
Those who will go a ground,
and those who lie about not having gone a ground!



Monday, April 4, 2011

Our Final Cruise



How Much Does This Hurt!

We heard that old saying; the happiest days in a boaters life is when he buys and sells his boat!


Let us tell you for us this is not the case; selling Kozad has been a tough decision and the final steps have been at times painful and emotional.
April 2nd, 2011 was our final cruise on Kozad; moving our boat from Anacortes to her new home in Friday Harbour!

We met Richard and Mary Anne at the Anacortes Ferry Dock as they came over as foot passengers on the 1210 ferry!
The weather was foul in the morning, with winds, rain and the occasional squall which threatened to postpone our departure.
\

Richard & Mary Anne
Happy New Owners


Amazingly the winds calmed, skies cleared and sun came out allowing us to depart Anchor Cove Marina at 1240 for the three hour cruise to Friday Harbour.


Craig's last trip on Kozad



Jan at the Helm one last time!
As usual Jan loves to pilot the ship.



Richard & Mary Anne
Enjoying the comforts of Anne!


Our good friends Richard and Gwen on Northstar (Willard 40 FBS) offered to join us on our last cruise; escorting us and provide accommodation and a return ride home!

Northstar and the Friday Harbour Ferry


Richard and Gwen on Northstar
Our great friends who eased our pain a little!

Our last cruise was a great opportunity to familiarize Richard and Mary Anne with their new purchase; and as always Kozad/Anne performed flawlessly!

Great day for a cruise through the San Juan Islands!
Kozad enroute to Friday Harbour


We arrived in Friday Harbour and berthed Anne next to Richard & Mary Anne's other Willard, MV Pearl. Pearl was awaiting shipping to her new owner who lives in Windsor, Ontario.


Kozad/Anne next to Pearl



Kozad/Anne's new home at the Port of Friday Harbour
One of our favorite destinations in the San Juan's


Once we were on dock, the six of us (Richard & Mary Anne, Richard & Gwen, Craig & Jan) celebrated the change of ownership on board Anne.

One very happy couple!
Congratulations Richard & Mary Anne

New owner Richard under great pressure, but with tremendous skill, uncorked two bottles of Champagne for the celebration. We then went out to dinner at one of Friday Harbour's newer restaurants for a great meal.


Richard with his special bottle of bubbly!


Getting ready for the toast.... uncorking time!


Cheers to "Anne"


A few small tokens for Richard & Mary Anne!

We stayed Saturday night on Anne; our last night spent on a boat we loved dearly and one which had taught us our boating skills and taken us to numerous destinations from Princess Louisa Inlet, Campbell River to Tacoma, Seattle and the South Sound of Washington and many, many points in between!

As usual, Craig was up early and had to clean and polish the boat one last time! He will miss this maintaining, cleaning, waxing and polishing his boat!


Craig washing Kozad's Bum!


Cleaning once again!
Does it ever stop....



Our last sight of Kozad as we prepared to leave for Anacortes!


We handed off the keys to Richard and Mary Anne and headed off on Northstar for our trip back to Anchor Cove Marina.

Jan and Richard
Preparing for the return trip home!


On the flybridge!

Returning to Anchor Cove Marina without Kozad!
No one is at home in slip B-55 Anchor Cove Marina
Where did Kozad go?

We are pleased to have our boat go to such a great couple.
But we are both unsure how we feel about not having a boat!

Time will tell!