I was also going to mention the Clipper. I've never taken it myself but I have
heard about it.
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 31, 2015, at 10:13 AM, David Egan <david.egan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Mike,
I've through the years spent much time around Sequim, Port Angeles, Port
Townsend, and Victoria. Both Clallem and Jefferson counties have good
transit systems compared to other areas in Washington State. Some possible
options to consider for Victoria if chartering a sailboat doesn't work out
are:
1. The Victoria Clipper runs between Seattle and Victoria. It's a hydrofoil
so it can be a quick trip if the weather is okay. We've taken it once or
twice, but find it's a little like riding a bus.
2. Lake Union Air runs flights to Victoria from Lake Union, but that to me
is a bit of a detachment from the joys of being out on the water.
3. We like taking the Blackball ferry "The Koho" between Port Angeles and
Victoria. I believe it's about a one hour crossing or so. The nice thing is
that Port Angeles is considered the gateway to Olympic National Park. There
are plenty of hotel options in Victoria and Port Angeles.
We like the Koho because it's a bit old fashioned, and can get to rocken and
rolling if the water gets rough, when the tide is running.
I'm quite familiar with the San Juan Islands, and have heard of Blind Island,
but know nothing about it.
My Braille note takers with Sendero GPS have all come to a sad ending, and
I'm a little reluctant to dump more dollars their way even though all my
cumulative personal POI's and saved routes are stored there. These days I'm
relying on Seeing Eye GPS and other aps on my IPhone. In addition my Seeing
Eye pup is pushing fifteen years so I for the past year or so have chosen to
stay close to home with him, and am a bit out of the loop with respect to the
joys of travel adventures.
Let me know if you need additional information for the Blackball ferry, the
Clipper, Port Angeles, and/or Sequim. Those areas have been a part of my
romping grounds for over 30 years.
David
On Aug 30, 2015, at 9:02 PM, "Michael May" <mikemay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I was on Orcas Island in the Washington San Juan Islands this past week and
had a number of interesting GPS experiences. We got there via a Sea Plane,
also called a Float Plane from Seattle. There was no issue using a cell
phone and BrailleNote GPS on this 50 minute flight. It was fascinating to
know what we were flying over, to see the speed and the altitude. Sometimes,
these planes stay 100 feet off the deck. I should post the Replay file I
created. This is what others may know of as a bread crumb track.
On an island without a lot of points of interest, it sure was useful to be
able to record points and to use points I previously recorded. There are
some cool hikes for example and the key points on one of those hikes were
marked.
It was extremely useful to have the exact location of our inn marked so we
could go on walks and find our way back.
I was trying to figure out on a future trip how to visit Victoria British
Columbia and Sequim Washington. I could see from using Explore mode that
Victoria was only 27 miles South West and Sequim 37 miles South. Most
ferries route you through Anacortes so unfortunately, it is not as simple as
going straight to those places unless you are in a boat or sea plane. So
close but yet so far. I am going to see if we can charter a sailboat to take
us to these places.
I have mentioned before that there is an Island near Orcas called Blind
Island. I would try to at least set foot there just for the heck of it.
Apparently, there are no inhabitantgs there.
Orcas was just a reminder of a place where having the BrailleNote was more
helpful than the cell phone since there was little to no coverage.
Next stop for Gena and I is Ireland, September 4-12. We have been learning
about the trip virtually, starting in Westport and ending up in Achill,
walking 40 miles. More about that next week.
Mike
Michael May, CEO
Sendero Group, Davis California
Developers of accessible GPS
Sendero Phone: 888-757-6810, extension 101
Home Office: 530-757-6900
Email: MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sendero web: http://www.senderogroup.com
General GPS web: http://www.AccessibleGPS.com
Mike May Personal: http://www.CrashingThrough.com