Eagle Harbor, Cypress Island

Approaching Eagle Harbor

We arrived at Eagle Harbor at 10:45am, traveling with the ebb tide. Many people have told us about the currents here, how they weave in and out of the islands creating a myriad of challenges to the mariner. We were cruising along at 9.4 knots at only 1,500 RPMs! That’s a pretty substantial change for Sunny 1.  It felt like the Indy 500! As soon as we rounded Guemes Island and headed up Bellingham Channel we were barely making 4.7! Along with the changing currents come rip tides – little swirling currents that want to spin the boat off course. It was a really a lot of fun. The sun was out and we were on our way to our first San Juan Island visit – Cypress Island.

Sunny 1 on Mooring Buoy

The Island is run by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and is uninhabited.  It is a hiker’s dream with miles of trails and two fresh water lakes. There are a few places around the island for mooring. The bottoms of these natural anchorages are eel grass beds, a wonderful habitat for animals. These beds were getting destroyed by the anchors of boats so the DNR installed over 20 mooring buoys around the island for free use to the public. Each buoy is limited to 3 days. There are 14 buoys in Eagle Harbor, some marked blue for deep water and red for shallow. This is very useful when determining which to pick up according to the draft of one’s vessel. We decided on a buoy on the outside of the harbor.

Look What I Got!

We settled down for our stay by putting out our Rocker Stoppers (Mexican Hats). These are plastic discs shaped like Mexican hats that are strung four to a rope with the weight on the end. We tied them off to our mid cleat on each side of the boat. Whenever the boat starts to roll from one side to the next, the ‘hats’ offer resistance to the water and stop the roll. Yes – it really works! This made our stay, and sleep, very pleasant.

Score!

The first night away from a harbor since Tessie joined our family was challenging. We needed to get her to land to ‘do her thing’ so we headed off to shore in the kayak. Once on land, I (Liz) hauled the boat up and sat to change my shoes to take Ms. Tess for a walk. To the horror of nations everywhere, Tessie was rolling in something very dead, black goop up her arm and a smile on her face! We had been warned about this canine ambrosia by both Dara and Melissa – you just never think it’s going to happen to you! After a bath of salt water and sailor’s language, we headed back to Sunny 1 for another bath of salt water (and soap!) and a night of stinky dog.

Close Encounter

Island Girls!

We were treated to several dolphin sightings while moored those two days and our very first viewing of bald eagles! We caught 31 Dungeness crabs (6 keepers with the largest at 7 ¾”), 3 Spiny Dogfish Sharks (catch and release), and 3 Bullheads. Many harbor seals popped their heads up to investigate us and the terns fished all around the boat. A special treat were several Mew Gulls, a very small and delightful bird that frequents the area in the fall/winter. Every day we can feel the weather changing as we move into fall and it is a beautiful sight indeed.

Peaceful Paddle

Practicing For My Salmon!

Off to Port Townsend!

Port Townsend Yacht Club

We hopped on the Coupeville ferry from Whidbey Island to visit with our friends Corine and Jak in Port Townsend.  The ride across the Straight of Juan de Fuca was calm and only 35 minutes long. This route sometimes closes due to rough weather or low tides. After a delicious dinner prepared by Jak, the four of us (plus one – Tessie) set off to the Port Townsend Yacht Club (PTYC) for our initiation to the club and to pick up our burgee and other goodies. We met some of the nicest people, several who offered to meet with us to look over local charts and teach us about the area. We even got an offer by Henry Kaiser’s granddaughter (now 80 years old!) to join her on a club holiday cruise to Seattle. A handful of members have also done the Inside Passage. It was very thrilling talking about it and meeting everyone.

Liz, Corine & Jak at Point Wilson

The next day Jak and Corine took us to a cute little breakfast place called The Blue Moose which is located in the area of the boat yards. Port Townsend is known for its annual Wooden Boat Festival and therefore is a haven for wood workers with the inclination for wooden boats. A drive through the large yard was exciting – just seeing all these wooden boat projects was a treat. Some of the boats are taken down to the frame and are literally being rebuilt!

Fun at the Beach!

Point Wilson Lighthouse - Built in 1914

We also visited the lighthouse at Point Wilson which marks the west entrance to the Puget Sound. It is the turning point from the Straight of Juan de Fuca into Admiralty Inlet. Arriving back at the house, Tessie, Corine, Kathy, and I (Liz) took a walk through the woods to the beach. What a wonderful visit we had!

The 3 Musketeers!

Bowman Bay and Deception Pass

Leaving Anacortes at Sunrise

We hopped in the car and drove 20 minutes to Bowman Bay, one of the beautiful parks within the Deception Pass State Park system. They reopened crab season every day until Dec. 31^st. This hasn’t happened in over 10 years so we toted along the crab net and took a shot at it from the pier at Bowman Bay. By morning’s end we pulled up a large Dungeness (must be at least 6 ¼” and male to keep) and two huge Red Rock Crabs (6 ¼’’– must be 5”, male or female). While showing two young boys how to hold a crab, Lizzie got the pinch of her life (yes, bloody…)! Learning what NOT to do can teach us just as much…

Bowman Bay Pier

Havin' Fun!

While Kathy fished for the Big One (salmon, please), Tessie and Liz picked enough black berries for two delicious cobblers. Bowman Bay also has a public float that is accessible only by boat. The Bay is just around the corner from the famous (and infamous!) Deception Pass. We ended up buying a Discovery Pass ($30) – this one-time fee allows you to visit any state park for a year. Sure beats $10 a pop!

Deception Pass

The sheer force of the waters at Deception Pass is really something one must see in person. Yes, that means you must come and visit…

Mmm. . . . Berry Cobbler!

La Conner to Anacortes

Goodbye La Conner

On Saturday, we planned on leaving the La Conner Marina guest dock at slack tide (9:32am) to avoid the precarious currents. To our pleasant surprise the waters looked great at 7:00am so we bid La Conner an early goodbye. The passage north thru the Swinomish Channel proved somewhat peaceful with the occasional fishing boat and large tree stumps passing by. However, the bees terrorized Tessie once again and Kathy had to become the ferocious Bee Terminator (fueled by Kathy’s experience of being stung twice on our arrival).

Swing Bridge

Hat, Saddlebag, Huckleberry Islands

The Channel is well marked and keeping the red buoys to the right proved successful. Normally in U.S. waters, one keeps the red buoys to
the right when returning from sea (“red right return” is the saying). Looking at the chart one would believe we were GOING to sea since we were heading out towards the San Juan Islands, not returning. So, red right return we did – until we came to the concrete bridge of Hwy 20 when the rules changed and the red buoys lie on the left side going through Padilla Bay. Since we were then headed out to sea, the red lie on the left, the green on the right.  There was also a swing bridge that only closes when a train comes through. Of course we came to the crossing the same exact time as a commercial fishing vessel! Enough said - we made it safely across Padilla Bay to our new home, Anacortes Marina, in the clear chill of the morning, arriving at 9:15am. Our departure date proved to be the best choice as we were socked in with fog the next morning (Sunday).

Approaching Anacortes Marina

So, we’ve been here 2 ½ days and are loving it! Everyone is so nice, there’s no traffic, plenty of parking, and great restaurants. Getting our driver’s licenses today took 20 minutes tops and registering the vehicles another 30 minutes (she made a mistake and had to redo everything). There is a different office for everything but the system is very efficient. It’s a small town (18,000) but not a small-minded town. And everywhere we go Tessie gets a milk bone from every merchant (i.e. drive-thru banker).

Speaking of, we found Tessie a dog park and she has loved meeting other dogs (see video). There is also some grassy area here in the marina where she has learned to fetch. All she wants to do is run! Her Border Collie colors sure shine through! Tessie met her first harbor seal this morning at 6:00am when we walked up to use the grass. Our slip is ¾ the way down D Dock in an uncovered slip (we will be moving out to the end next month). Close to the gate is an area of covered slips (mostly charter boats). While walking towards the gate in the dim light we saw our harbor seal friend rocking back and forth on the dock between the gate and us. Tessie didn’t bark – she just kept looking at the seal and looking at me (Liz). The question became how do we get past the seal peacefully – there wasn’t room for all of us! We slowly moved toward the seal and it finally rolled back into the water in a rush. Oh, Tessie was all over that move, smelling the dock and peering into the water, her tail banging into my knees and ears jetting forward and back! What a great way to start the day… A dozen young seals spent the summer hauled out on the dock. We’ve also been told to batten down the boat in preparation for the river otters – they climb stairs!

View from our marina - Hat Island and Mt. Baker

We are hoping to get out to Cypress Island on Thursday and moor for the night. It is all weather dependent. The winds have accelerated the last two days. Kathy is itching to get her fishing line in the water and I’d like to baptize these kayaks in the San Juans. In the interim we are preparing for winter. The harbormaster is working on getting us a single slip (a dock on each side). We’re thinking it will be more secure for winter. We’ve been told the winds gust to 50 in the winter sometimes so we’ve gotten out the snubbers to take the shock off the lines. I finished caulking the windows and will begin building a box around the windlass motor. Looks like it’s time to buy a pumpkin…love to you all!