The participants of the 2005 NW Cruise were (top row - left to right): Dick Lane, Michael "Bones" Bowden, Mark and Roberta Dvorscak, Larry Yake, Randy Graves, David Barnhart and Gary Hyde. Next row; Theo Petron, Ann Lang, Lilly and Fred Shelley and in the front looking comfortable is Dik Lang. The boats were launched one at a time with a sling lift. The process took a bit of time but the personnel at CapSantee Marina of Anacortes, Washington were careful and gentle with their approach and all came out fine. The M-17 pictured is Randy Graves new (to him) N.S. Dinky . Lots of quaint little areas and small Island towns to pull into for the night. The dock on the right is on Sucia Island.

A few photos of the World Famous Butchart Gardens of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The gardens have been open for public viewing for decades and have drawn people from many Countries to see the beautiful displays of flowers and greenery. What Bears do in the woods has been discussed all over. Thanks to Fred Shelley, what Deer do in the fields may now be a topic as well. Seems there ought to be a caption over the photo. You know, like uh... "Hey close the door" or maybe "Take a picture it lasts longer"

To the right is the sailors dream home. A few flowers to water, no lawn to mow and easy access to the Montgomery. And, to the right again is Gary Hyde and Randy Graves with a quite gentleman they met while on shore leave in Sidney, BC.

Larry Yake was Cruise director for the 2004 NW Cruise and fortunately for all, volunteered to do the same for this one. To show their appreciation, Mark and Roberta Dvorscak were prepared with a set of beautiful glass mugs with an M-17 etched into the sides. The Orcas, above (Killer Whales) were spotted in the Haro Straight when Bones took some of the crew out for an afternoon aboard the BCC Sentient. The Pod was large, well dispersed and the only Orcas seen during the cruise. The Orcas of the Inland Northwest are mostly Salmon eaters. It varies from Pod to Pod in that resident Orcas feed on Salmon while the transient Pods tend to feed mostly on mammals such as the Seals and Sea Lions.

Photo credits given to: Randy Graves, Larry Yake, Theo Petron, Mark and Roberta Dvorscak and Fred and Lilly Shelley. Thanks to all for taking the photos and sharing them.

Larry Yake explains: "We launched in Anacortes for a two week cruise of the San Juan and Gulf Islands. There were nine boats. Two M15's, three M17's, two M23's, a Nonsuch 26, and a Bristol Channel Cutter. The weather was generally cool with scattered showers. We wore foul weather gear more than shorts, but those weather fronts also meant wind, and we had lots of it! Small craft advisories on a couple days; 25 knot winds with higher gusts. Most days were consistent 10 to 15 knot winds. Of the 200+ miles we travelled (GPS log), we must have sailed 150 or more. Early June is a great time to take a group. We were able to get dock space together everywhere we went (for the second year in a row), even the real popular spots like Sucia, Stuart, Montague Harbor, etc., so we were able to enjoy the evenings together; visiting the other boats, sharing meals, taking hikes, and sightseeing.

"That's all for this year... We'll do it again in 2006"