We are planning a 6-8 week cruise this summer, up in B.C. So that means Chef Robert has to get cooking. Which I am. And giving the vacuum sealer a workout.

I have always tried to be on the water every Father's day, probably since I became one nearly 28 years ago. This is the first Father's day with Mahalo in the family! 

Decided to share it with our good friends from Seattle. Ashwin is actually the first friend I made when moving here, through photography.  It's always great to spend time with them (Jen is the mom).

And Sophie has grown a bit since we first started getting together! I'm her Uncle Bobby (honorary) and that really pleases me. You might remember Sophie from the Mahalo christening blog post.

Turns out Sophie is quite the aspiring captain! You only need to show her once. I think the next time we cruise together she'll know the Garmin system better than Deb and I. 

Ashwin is an excellent photographer and a force in the Seattle photography community. He's also been on a real health improvement program and has lost a lot of weight. Good going Ashwin!

Which is a good thing since I planned a big lunch. We motored around Bainbridge and anchored in Manzanita bay. It was warm with blue skies. Perfect time to BBQ my pizzas. ACK, I was out of propane. But the oven did a decent job. Pulled BBQ pork on the left, shaved asparagus on the right. Ashwin brought vegetables to roast on the BBQ, er, oven.

After lunch Sophie wanted to try out our pedal kayaks.

Jen and Ashwin had a go as well.

Deb getting a little Sophie time, on the best seat in the house.

These girls decided the cruising life works for them!

Gotta be the best picture of me in a long time? Sophie does that to me. It was great to catch up with all three of them. Sophie is really excelling in sports and school. Her energy and curiosity is wonderful to be around. 

Bye Sophie, until next time. Thank you for making my Father's Day cruise so special.

Did you know "Ohaha" means "family" in Hawaiian? I did. Because I know maybe 10 words now. 

A few weeks ago I saw this lovely family waiting next to one of my dock neighbor's boat. I asked if they were his grandkids and found out not quite, grand nieces. When they found out the name of our boat is Mahalo, they got all excited. They are learning Hawaiian and have a connection to the state.

The next word they blurted out was "HONU" which means turtle. I think they were a little surprised I knew that word. I said "well there is a good reason, why don't you come on board and meet our honu ohana.

So I was the lucky guy to give these three a tour of the boat and show them the Hawaiian touches all over Mahalo. 

I gave them some seat time at the helm and they wanted to know what would happen if they pushed the panic button? "Push it and find out" I said. What a face!

So now Parker and Taylor are official members of the Mahalo Ohana and you are welcome to visit any time! Meeting them really made my day. Thank you to mom Kendall for this picture and permission to post the pictures of them here on the blog.

Well this was pretty special. Deb and I have been looking forward to this for an entire year. You see, we attended last year's event, but we didn't have Mahalo yet. She was in South Lake Union being commissioned and not ready for the trip. So we stayed in a condo, while most attendees were on their boats!

Encore is the latest Endurance 658 in our waters. Like ours, highly customized around the owner's desires and cruise plans.

And in fact a christening party was held. Wait, that's wrong. They called it a "Yacht Mitzvah," how awesome is that? That's Geo from Hampton as the Rabbi, I guess. "To the sea, the PERILOUS sea!"

Weather was a bit different than our christening party held in September of 2018 with rain bucketing down. 

Sometimes they really wedge them in here. They were going to put Mahalo in one of these slips, alongside an Endurance 720. I got the boat about 2' from the dock when they realized it just wasn't going to work. No prob, got another slip. They do such a nice job at Roche.

Some great shooting at sundown, although we didn't have the usual spectacular clouds. That 720 is a gorgeous spec boat, so if you are in the market, contact me, I'll get you a special deal.

I told Tom this image was "a sign." He needs a little "churchin' up" as my grandma would say.
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They feed us incredibly well at these events!

And provide great entertainment. This is a married "dueling piano" couple. I won a $400 gift certificate by completing the next lines of a song "with tangerine trees and marmalade skies."

Although I didn't get a picture of him, each year they have a magician who is just incredible. Always new tricks. A lot of them just boggle the mind.

We also do a "tender run" over to Westcott Bay Oysters. It's a fun race, of course. And once there, such a gorgeous spot. Great new owners Pat and Bob. I had dinner with Bob in Fort Lauderdale in 2017 when they were in the looking stage.

Biggest Weber grill I have ever seen. Like 6' across.

Oysters are just the beginning!

They also have Coast Guard Auxiliary members around to do Vessel Safety Checks. We passed easily (I just have one follow up item). Having this sticker makes it less likely you'll be boarded for CG safety checks.

Mahalo tucked in for the night.

Well, you get the idea. It's three days of partying with old friends and new friends. Checking out the new boats (and used boats new to the new owners). Fantastic place, great group of people. 

I'm closing with this image even though it really was part of the first day.  We cruised up with three other Hampton boats that came out of Seattle. The weather was foggy/overcast until we go to San Juan Island and then of course it just turned beautiful. 

I told Neil on Encore to follow us in, it was his first time there. And then the lighting and scenery was just right, for this shot. I radioed to Neil that I got a great shot of his boat and he replied "I'm never going to forget this."

Which is kind of a metaphor for boating here in the PNW with great boats and great friends. Unforgettable.

Until next year!  

On a recent trip back to Bainbridge we ran into one of my friends that has a) a fast power cat and b) a grandson with an actual camera!

He got some nice ones of Mahalo! 

Deb and I just returned from the annual Hampton rendezvous in Roche Harbor. I'll get a post up about that as soon as I can.