May, 2021
Today was super. This morning we drove just 30 minutes north from the Fort Ebey campground on Whidbey Island. We drove across the Deception Pass Bridges at the north end of Whidbey, then drove onto Fidalgo Island. We were simply out exploring and decided to check out Rosario Beach just north of Deception Pass, just on the west side of Fidalgo Island. What a gorgeous sunny day for exploring!
Here is the map (below) of where we went … Whidbey is to the south (where all of us were camped at Fort Ebey State Park) … Fidalgo Island is to the north … in between the two islands are the two Deception Pass bridges that connect Whidbey to Fidalgo … and then Rosario Beach is on the western shore of Fidalgo Island.
Rosario Beach is very popular with visitors and with locals, for good reason. It’s beautiful. The island in the distance in the photo below is Northwest Island. You can kayak out to that island but the island is surrounded by a steep cliff and huge rocks, so it has no beach access, no place to land a kayak without risk of crashing. But birds love that island, and I’d bet they love that island exactly because humans rarely get on the island.
After exploring the picnic and wooded parts (above) of Rosario Beach park, we then ventured down to the beach itself. There’s an isthmus between the bay called Rosario Beach and the bay called Bowman Bay. There’s this cool, little, protected cove right there, with a pier and a small floating dock where people can moor a boat for short periods of time.
I walked out the trail, then walked over the edge of the grass towards that dock, and I was stopped in my tracks. What stopped me was the boat (above and below) that was tied to the dock. I think my friend Mitch may have owned this very same exact boat! and I had the privilege of going cruising with him a few times on this boat.
The boat is a 38-foot 1969 Tollycraft. It’s a wood hulled boat, but it wasn’t built with solid wood planks … it was built with plywood. There weren’t very many of these built. Tolly didn’t build any of his other version/design boats using plywood, just this one style of boat, and not many of these! Tollycraft is a well-known boat manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest, although it has long since gone out of business. It was started and owned by Robert Tollefson (everyone called him Tolly). There are a great many of his boats still plying the waters of Puget Sound … almost all of them built with sturdy wooden planks, not plywood … handsome and seaworthy boats!
One of the reasons that I think THIS very same exact boat was owned by my friend Mitch is that the gear shift levers and the throttle levers were originally installed “incorrectly” on these plywood boats. They had the two gear shift levers on one side of the steering wheel … and the two throttle levers (that controlled the speed) on the other side of the steering wheel. On one of our trips, Mitch and I both dove under the “dash board” with flashlights in hand and we both agreed what needed to come apart and which lines and housings needed to be swapped from right to left, and from left to right, forward/back, etc, in order to put those levers in the proper positions … one gear and one throttle on the left side (for the left side engine) … and one gear and one throttle on the right side (for the right side engine). We spent a couple of hours figuring all that out and we were so proud of ourselves after we got everything reattached, back in place, good to go! We checked everything (or so we thought) and then we quickly prepared to leave the dock at the marina where we were moored (Mitch, were we at the Langley city dock on Whidbey?) because we were overdue to leave … the marina manager was standing there wanting more money if we stayed a second longer! So Mitch started up those two engines … left throttle worked the left engine A-OK … right throttle worked the right engine A-OK. Mitch just nudged the gear shift levers to make sure they too were connected to the correct engine. I jumped off the boat onto the dock, untied all the lines, brought in the fenders, and shoved the boat away from the dock as I jumped back on board. Let’s go!
Mitch put both engines in “forward” by pushing the black knobbed levers forward … WHOA! the boat went backwards! in reverse! Mitch shook his head, then shook his head again, and then put the engines in neutral and almost without hesitation, pulled both levers backwards which actually made the boat go forwards. Gads, had we screwed up on hooking up that linkage. We did everything else right except that one thing. He and I looked at each other with wide eyes, and then we simply laughed. We knew we would reverse just that one set of linkage when we got to the next marina on our cruise.
Mitch said he had to rewire his brain before we arrived at the next marina, because the gears were backwards. Parking the boat was “interesting” given that forward meant reverse, and that reverse meant forward. Mitch made just one or two little errors while maneuvering the boat, but he corrected them immediately, and he parked that boat like a pro, which he is. As soon as that boat got tied to the dock, we both dove under the “dash board” again and by then we knew exactly what we’d done wrong and so corrected it in about 5 minutes. Lesson learned. SO! That’s why I think THIS boat might be Mitch’s boat … here’s a photo of the helm of this very boat that was at Rosario Beach … with the levers in the proper positions … red-black-steering-black-red.
Some of you readers are boaters. Please feel free to comment. I love all comments, no matter how irreverant. 🙂 This ended up being a really fun memory for me … and I’d bet Mitch remembers it too.
And now let’s get back to real time, to Rosario Beach and the sunshine and that dock because I have something else to show you that you will adore.
I was looking at that Tollycraft (on the left above), trying to see if anyone was onboard. I walked half-way down the ramp, still hoping to see someone, but it seemed there wasn’t anyone on that boat at the moment. But mid-stride down the ramp I stopped short … do you see the dark smudge in the middle of the dock in the photo below?
I zoomed the camera in quickly. A river otter! Just lolly-gagging there in the middle of the dock, cleaning and preaning, just looking around, peaceful as can be. How cool. 🙂
She was handsome, and perfectly at home.
I didn’t go any further down the ramp, just stood there and watched her for quite a while. Eventually I realized she had no intention of leaving her comfortable, cozy, sunny-warm, napping place. I walked back up the ramp away from her. This was her home after all.
This visit to Rosario Beach was so special. I hope you enjoyed it too. 🙂
One of the most beautiful photos of the beach at Rosario Beach is on this website. It’s a photo of the ocean-side of that isthmus … the “other” side from where that dock is with the Tollycraft boat. No wonder this park is so popular.
Beautiful beach, pretty flowers, super otter photos.
Thanks, Judy Bee. 🙂
We have spent much enjoyable time at this beach, and kayaked here a few times. Great descriptions and love the otter photos! We saw otters there playing in the water, but not getting a suntan!
Ah, it’s all about the suntan. 🙂 Kayak, great reminder, Laurie, gotta get my kayak in the water.
Loved the boat throttle/gear levers story, Ann! I can just imagine how I would screw it up if I had to do that myself on my boat. Both engines might just fly out of the boat, ha! You and Mitch must have had a great time doing that, and I’d have to agree with you about Mitch being a pro if he could think “backwards” when he wanted to go “forwards”.
Mitch is a great friend of mine. He’s been a boater for many years and taught me a lot about boating. And yes, Rob, when you can make your brain think backwards, and do it so quickly, that’s pretty cool.
We’ve been here too. We stayed at the tiny campground at Bowman Bay. just around the corner but we prowled around Rosario and all sorts of fantastic places here. This is a super great place to explore, all round Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands.
Jim
I’ve driven through that tiny campground at Bowman Bay and have always wanted to go camping there. When I do, I’ll bring my kayak. Thanks, Jim.
Great boat story. The otter is really cool, or warm. 🙂 Fun photos.
Thanks Joe. 🙂
All of this is very very cool! I love that you knew the boat, too bad there was no one there to talk to….but if there had been, you wouldn’t have had the otter, who is very CUTE!
In the end, I agree Dawn. I’d rather have seen the otter than talked with anyone on the boat. I can talk with humans any day! 🙂
There is so much water where you live! Ha, I know, I know, Nebraska where I live has probably less water than maybe anywhere else on earth. Maybe not, but sometimes it seems like it. It’s so beautiful where you live. And the otter was just so cool.
So I took a peek at the State of Nebraska on Google Earth. It has lots of gorgeous country and lots of gorgeous water. Ok, maybe not like this huge body of very protected water … Puget Sound. As well, we here have one of the largest rivers in the world, the Columbia, and we have mountain lakes and rivers and inland lakes and rivers. Ok, I guess we have lots of water, Nebraska! 🙂 My mom went to college in Nebraska for a year back in … well, a long time ago … and she loved it there. Maybe one day I’ll bring the trailer to Nebraska and get to see your state.
The maps you share are great. We follow along on Google Earth and feel like we know right where you are. 🙂 If we ever did get over to the Pacific Northwest, then with your maps we’d know exactly where to go to find the best stuff to see. Super otter photos!
I love maps. So I think at least some of the blog Readers here like them too. Come on over to the Pacific Northwest, Marge. When you folks do, let me know and I’d be happy to show you around.
As usual, so many interesting and unpredictable things happen to you when you go camping.
You had me in stitches reading the story of the re-wiring adventure and the marina owner counting the minutes.
I’ve never seen an otter out and about…what a sight!
Indeed, Robin, it seems I am often surprised by things … animals, flowers, humans and their stories and history. One of the things I like about traveling by myself is that I can take all the time I want to stand and look, or listen, or chat with a local person, or change my plans on the fly. It’s fabulous to be able to travel alone part of the time, and then with friends part of the time too. Being a boater here, I’ve seen several otters over the years, but not one just lollygagging in the sun out in the open where humans are … that was really special.
Love the daisies. Love the otter! I had the same thought that Robin did, that you have so many adventures and see so many extraordinary things, and not just things that you know about ahead of time and go to see, but things that are unexpected. I wonder if maybe most of us just plod on through life, but you are stopping and looking to the left and right and up and down so you see these things. Thank you for doing that and for sharing it with us. Oh, I have one question, you say that’s a river otter, but it’s on a dock on saltwater, isn’t it then a sea otter? Help me. 🙂
You may be right, Tim. I know people who never go anywhere, though sometimes that’s a result of physical restrictions. My attitude is that I’m going to keep moving until I fall over permanently. And yet “moving” doesn’t have to be fast, in fact I like walking slowly best of all. Wandering, I call it. 🙂
Ok, otters … Sea Otters are huge, maybe 3 or 4 times the size of River Otters. The tail of a Sea Otter is short and flat, whereas the tail of a River Otter is long and pointed. I’ve never seen a Sea Otter in Puget Sound, even though it’s ocean salt water, and I suspect maybe they are here. But there are LOTS of River Otters here in Puget Sound who live as much around salt water as they live around fresh water. That’s the lesson for today. 🙂 Thank you for asking.