Deception Pass

One of the things that a boater needs to be aware of when going through Deception Pass to the San Juans is what the tides are doing.  There are very strong currents and whirlpools so going through at slack tide when in a trawler or other slower moving boat is very important. Today slack tide was at 10:38am and we arrived right on schedule. Along with us were other boaters who also planned their run through the pass at that time. We had no problem at all.  Prior to arriving at the pass, we were going with the current and making 12.7 knots while running at only 1200 rpm. Normally, that would result in going about 6 knots. Needless to say, our fuel consumption was great today.

Sucia Island - Day 2

Today we decided that we needed to explore some more trails on Sucia. We took the dinghy over to Fossil Cove and explored some more trails. They have a great dock with a special area for dinghies so it made it very easy to come here and access different trails.

This trip to Sucia gave us a chance to see many eagles.  As we walked along one of the trails, Bob and Jerry were startled by an eagle taking flight only 10 feet from them. They are an amazing site to behold and we did not tire of trying to get some good pictures of them. Even in great photos, there is nothing like being there and seeing them looking so regal and majestic. We decided they truly are the perfect national symbol for our country.

We had a great time enjoying the island but had a couple of humorous incidents that kept us laughing every time we thought of them. Holly had brought a bag of frozen Rhodes bread to cook for dinner. The bags contain 3 loaves and are to be thawed individually in their pans before baking. Because the cooler was not cold enough to keep them frozen, the loaves all thawed, blended together and then started to ooze out of the bag. In spite of a major "oops", the bread tasted great once we figured out how to salvage it.

The other incident fortunately did not get caught on camera. As we were leaving the dinghy, I mentioned that the davit system for the dinghy made it really easy to get out of. As soon as I stepped out of the dinghy I tripped and nearly fell to the floor of the cockpit.  It wouldn't have been so hilarious to everyone else if I hadn't just commented on how easy it was!

Following dinner we took advantage of the time left to go on one last trail. This one took us one mile around Shallow Bay and along Lawson Bluff.

Sucia Island - Day 1

Today we are back at Sucia Island and enjoying the beauty as much as last time. I love bringing people here and watching their reactions because the scenery is beyond description. We decided to stay at Shallow Bay again because of the shelter it provides as well as the view of Boundary Pass where we saw the Orcas last week. Unfortunately, we did not see them again this time but we did hear other boaters talking about seeing some near Deception Pass on our way home. Shallow Bay provides the best sunset views of any of the anchorages on Sucia. It is also one of the quietest since it well away from the busier Echo Bay and Fossil Bay.

An interesting fact that I learned about Sucia is that back in the early 1900s, a sandstone quarry hired thousands of workers to excavate sandstone for the streets of Seattle. When they discovered that the stone was too soft for that use, they closed the quarry and it sat, privately owned, for years. Then in the 1960s it was purchased by local yacht clubs and donated to the state.

Once we were settled, relaxed a little and had eaten lunch, we decided to explore the half of the island that Bob and I had not been to.  We took a 4 mile walk over to Ewing Cove and back.  Anchorages in Ewing Cove provide spectacular views of small sandstone sculptures that can be seen at low tide. The entrance to this cove can be tricky and is the most exposed of all the anchorages.

Our walk took us along the shoreline of Echo Bay where we enjoyed the scenery as well as the marine life. We talked with several other hikers who were very excited about the mama sea otter and her two pups that were playing in the water. We watched the otters for a long time and made sure we pointed them out to people we met along the way. We also saw quite a few seals throughout our trip and marveled at the way they seemed to bob along in the water and were always alone.

 

Back to Deer Harbor

We returned to the San Juans again this week with friends, Holly and Jerry. Common sense says to go to some new places but we loved Deer Harbor and Sucia so much that we wanted to bring them here and we were able to enjoy everything again. Our run through Deception Pass was an adventure as the current was running about 6 knots. Bob ran the engine up to our maximum cruising speed of 14 knots and we still found ourselves going only 6 knots at times. Thanks to some good helmsmanship and quick reactions Bob got us through just fine but we had several people up on the bridge who got quite a show.
Bob and Jerry were very excited about the EA6 Prowler and the F-18 planes that they saw. Holly and I were much more interested in getting some pictures of an eagle that was perched on, and flying around, a small island.

When we arrived at Deer Harbor, Bob and Jerry took out the crab pot and later brought in two nice crabs for dinner. I think we are getting the hang of it. We took the advice of our butcher (and a customer who was there) and bought a turkey leg to hang in the pot. The pot was only down for about 3 hours and had 9 crabs in it. Unfortunately, 7 were females or too small but the two we kept were plenty big enough for the four of us to have a good amount each.

Holly, Jerry and I took a walk along the coastline to the other side of the harbor. There we were able to find the one last geocache that I had not found last week. Then we got some nice pictures from the bridge that crosses the channel.

World Famous San Juan Islands - Day 4

Today was the end of our wonderful first time in the San Juans but the day did not disappoint. We still had beautiful weather and headed out early to get in some salmon fishing near the south end of Whidbey Island. Along the way we saw some dolphins and seals as well as a lot of boat traffic headed home after a lovely weekend. We enjoyed a beautiful view of Mt. Baker and even saw some Orcas.

When we arrived at our fishing spot we trolled for about an hour but did not catch anything. We need to get some downriggers and other equipment to fish properly but we still had fun optimistically dropping our lines in the water.

We are now home and just drinking in the memories of a fantastic weekend. We wish we could have stayed longer but, fortunately, Bob and I are headed back up to the San Juans in three days with some other friends. So long until then!

World Famous San Juan Islands - Day 3

Today was even better! It was a beautiful sunny Northwest day so after a leisurely breakfast we decided to relax on the upper deck. Suddenly we noticed other boaters looking out toward Boundary Pass and just beyond that the Canadian border. Not too far out we could see a pod of 4 Orca whales playing in the distance.  As we watched, we saw them coming up out of the water nose first and could hear them blowing. Notice the four dorsal fins behind the first whale! What a show they gave us.

In the afternoon we decided to venture out and do some geocaching. For those of you who don't know what that is, check out geocaching.com.  It is a fun hobby of looking for hidden "treasure" using GPS coordinates. There are more than 1.3 million hidden by geocachers around the world. As it turns out, there was one hidden on Sucia so we loaded the coordinates into my GPS and took the dinghy to the other side of the island. After finding it (a tupperware container with a log book and trinkets to trade) we realized there was a trail that would have made it much easier to access. As you can see, the route we took was quite challenging but it made for better pictures!

 

While on our little dinghy excursion we even spotted an eagle but were unable to grab the camera in time. Bob says that means it doesn't count but couldn't resist at least mentioning it. The Pacific Northwest has many of these beautiful birds but we were only lucky enough to spot one this weekend.

After returning to Stargazer, Bob and I went ashore in Shallow Bay to get a picture of our boat moored in the bay and of the bay itself. The view was breathtaking and we were able to get some great shots.

Our evening ended with a wonderful pork tenderloin dinner prepared by the night's chefs, Kevin and Julie, and then a rousing game of Mexican Train.  Another wonderful day in paradise.

World Famous San Juan Islands - Day 2

Today we had a relaxed morning that began with Kevin taking the dinghy out for some salmon fishing. Unfortunately, he didn’t get any but did thoroughly enjoy the early morning beauty of the islands.

After breakfast we left Deer Harbor and cruised for two hours to Sucia Island. We like to cruise at about 8 knots to keep  fuel  consumption down and to take in the sights. We are definitely on island time right now and enjoying every minute of it. As Kevin said while at the helm, "It doesn't get much better than this!"

Sucia was purchased in 1960 by the Puget Sound Interclub Association (consisting of various yacht clubs) and placed in the trust of Washington State to be used by yachtsmen forever. It is now a state park consisting of trails, campsites and moorage.

 

This is one of the northern most  islands before crossing into Canada and is not accessible except by boat making it one of the most desirable locations in the San Juans for boaters. After arriving here, we understood why.  It is absolutely gorgeous. There are several coves and fingers of land that provide exceptional anchorage and mooring. We decided to stay in Shallow Bay and were able to grab up one of the last two mooring buoys.  We enjoyed seeing the interesting rock formations that were carved into the rock from the centuries of waves crashing into them. There are miles of trails to explore while on the island and we look forward to going back to check out some more.

After getting settled we took out our crab pot for another try and then settled in for lunch. The afternoon was spent relaxing, fishing and then walking the trails of the island. We visited Echo  Bay, Fox Cove and  Fossil Bay, all of which also provide great moorage,  then hiked back to Shallow Bay where we returned to our boat. Bob and Kevin checked the crab pot – and success! – we finally had our first crab! Now, being the experts that we are from yesterday’s lesson, Kevin cleaned our crab, I cooked it, and we enjoyed our first “crab feed” on Stargazer. The first three pictures show Fossil Bay, Echo Bay and Fox Cove. The last two are of our first successful crabbing!

 Tomorrow…. Who knows? We will just see what the day brings but so far we cannot think of one good reason to leave Shallow Bay.

World Famous San Juan Islands - Day 1

We finally have had a chance to go north to the beautiful San Juan Islands that lie just south of the Canadian border. We left this morning with my brother, Kevin, and his wife, Julie, for 4 days of cruising around the islands. The trip up was absolutely beautiful - island after island, cove after cove, kayakers, boats and even an eagle. The following pictures are from Deception Pass and the San Juan Islands. Ferry boats run from Anacortes through the islands and then on into Canada.

We decided to spend our first night at Deer Harbor Marina on Orcas Island. One of the first things we did was find a place to drop our crab pot for a second attempt at crabbing. We really lucked out when we noticed our neighbors in the marina cleaning a 5 gallon bucket of crab. We asked if they could show us how to clean them and did we ever get a lesson. The folks were so nice and gave us a great demonstration then gave Kevin and I each one to practice on. I had read many suggested ways of cleaning them on the internet but they had the easiest yet - grab the legs, smack the middle of the shell on a cleat, rip off the shell along the edge of the dock, crack the body in half, and rinse! It took all of 1 minute and we were done. Well, they were done that fast. It took me awhile to break mine apart and I gave everyone a good laugh when I automatically apologized to the crab for taking too long as I ripped it in half.



We spent our afternoon relaxing, visiting with friends of Kevin and Julie's from the island, and geocaching - and of course, eating! I would highly recommend Deer Harbor as a great place to moor. It is a quaint and picturesque harbor with plenty of moorage - just be sure to call ahead for a reservation. The San Juans are very popular for cruising and marinas fill up quickly. They have kayak rentals, whale tours, gift shop, groceries (with ice cream!) and very nice showers and restrooms.