San Juan Cruise 2012
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| San Juan Islands |
We’re off on our 2-week cruise in the San Juan Islands!
After a summer apart, it’s so nice to have the family back together again for
our next adventure. The San Juan Islands are comprised of approximately 175 islands
located west of the City of Anacortes, our new Washington hometown. The
location, beauty, and weather make this a buzzing summer destination. Now that
fall has arrived and the kids are back in school, the Islands are less crowded,
yet the weather is still perfect.
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| Lopez Island |
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| James Island |
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| Dock at James Island |
We departed Anacortes aboard Sunny 1 on September 13, 2012 to
the first of seven planned stops, James Island, a Washington State Marine Park.
What a quiet, little getaway only one hour from home! We tied up to the small
park float for the night and settled in to sort through our itinerary. Contrary
to several publications, we are quickly discovering that there are a lot less
buoys than listed. The island is owned by the State and is described in A
Cruising Guide to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands as an “hourglass-shaped
island east of Decatur (that) is rustic and delightfully unimproved.” What a
peaceful little spot with only a couple of campers and kayakers on shore sharing
this tree-covered, nearly private island.
We had many raccoon visitors on deck through the night and
noticed in the morning that an unlucky camper’s ice chest was obliterated, its
contents strewn all about. Muddy footprints littered Sunny’s decks come
morning!
Odlin County Park, Lopez Island
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| Dinghy....hey wait a minute |
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| Upright Head, Lopez Island |
We departed James Island on Friday, the morning of the 14
th,
and headed west to Lopez Island, one of the three largest islands in the San
Juans. Lopez Island’s gentle hills, farmlands, and quiet atmosphere make it a
popular destination for those wanting to get always from the noise of urban
life. We are at Odlin County Park, located at the base of Upright Head in
Upright Channel. We are mooring for $10 a night and enjoying crabbing, fishing,
and much-needed relaxation. Unwinding is challenging at first, just
letting go and allowing yourself to be in the moment as the rolly San Juan
water slips beneath the boat and dances to the shore. The Washington State
ferries run their route through here and their wake eventually finds its way to
us. If it wasn’t for our trusty Rocker Stoppers, this anchorage would be
intolerable – instead, it is pleasant most of the time. Rocker Stoppers, also
called Mexican Hats, are 18” orange plastic disks strung 3 to a rope 16” apart
and hung from both sides of the boat. The disks offer resistance to the water
and reduce roll.
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| Crab Anyone? |
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| Double Trouble |
The water here appears blue and the bottom is visible in
shallow water. We are moored in 28’. The three of us (Tess, Kathy, and Liz) hop
in the dinghy at 6 am, 12 noon, 6pm, and 9pm to go to shore for Tessie’s sake.
She has yet to learn how to do her business on a piece of Astroturf like her
cousin Matey.
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| Solar Charging Station |
On one of our visits ashore we discovered a nifty Boy Scout
project offered to campers – a small solar electronics charging station! Just
as impressive as the project is the fact that it has stayed intact over a long
summer of use.
Next stop, Rosario Resort – hot tub here we come!
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| Rosario, Orcas Island |
Rosario Resort, Orcas Island, September 17-19
th
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| The Moran Mansion at Rosario |
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| Liz's New Friend |
In 1900,
a wealthy
Seattle shipbuilder, Robert Moran (who when at 40 years old was given only
months to live due to a heart condition) moved up to Orcas Island to live out
the remainder of his days. The Moran Mansion at Rosario, completed in 1904, was
built by a team of the Moran brothers’ shipbuilders. Throughout the mansion is
evidence of this influence with low, mahogany-beamed ceilings, bronze hardware,
ship’s lighting, stained glass, and fine joinery. The foundation of the
mansion is 16 feet deep into bedrock and the walls are steel-reinforced
concrete. Moran purchased large tracts of land on the island. He helped build
roads and develop water systems, providing much needed jobs during the
Depression. Eventually, he donated 3,600 acres of his grand estate to the
people of Washington, an area now known as Moran State Park. Proof of the
peaceful paradise that is Rosario is that Moran lived another 40 years to the
age of 80!
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| The Mansion's Outdoor Pool |
The marina itself is small, only 40 slips, and the slip fee
includes access to the mansion’s spa. We have enjoyed the hot tub both mornings
and the newly resurfaced indoor swimming pool. The Mansion’s happy hour
is tasty and we indulged on “Our Famous Fries” with the works (applewood bacon,
white cheddar, and green onions) two nights in a row!
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| 'Our Famous Fries', Orcas Happy Hour |
We also visited the music
room in the mansion’s museum and were treated to a piano and pipe organ concert
by resident musician Christopher Peacock.
Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, September 19
th
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| Port of Friday Harbor |
Pulled into the Port of Friday Harbor for what is turning
out to be another beautiful and sunny afternoon. The weather has been
incredible, unusually clear and warm for this time of year. Have been in shorts
and wearing sunscreen, for sure. Friday Harbor is the county seat of the San
Juans and its biggest population center. The town offers many shops, restaurants,
and services and it was the place for laundry at the harbor and reprovisioning
at King’s Market. We will have another week without access to anything as soon
as we leave for Stuart, Sucia, and Cypress Islands. We dined at the Crabshack,
a hopping little outdoor restaurant overlooking the port. The fries couldn’t
touch Rosario’s Famous Fries, that’s for sure.
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| Lopez Island Creamery and Our Trail-Picked Blackberries |
Friday Harbor is a great place for just hanging out and home
to The Whale Museum, Sea Shepherds, and Washington University’s Friday Harbor
Laboratory. Most of the whale watching boats in the San Juans are based in the
harbor, as are kayaking outfits and island boat tours. It is a major Washington
State Ferry stop and is a U.S. Customs port of entry.
We are socked in with fog again this morning and are waiting
for it to clear to leave by afternoon. Trees continue to lose their leaves all
about and you can feel the changing of the season as each night comes earlier,
her cloak moist with dew.
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| Heading to Stuart Island |
Reid Harbor, Stuart Island, September 20-23
rd
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| Prevost Harbor Dock |
We departed Friday Harbor on a flood tide and headed to Stuart
Island, the farthest west U.S. island before reaching Canada’s Gulf Islands.
Stuart Island State Park has two welcoming harbors, Reid and Prevost, neither
offering services of any kind (other than pit toilets and a water spigot). Reid Harbor on the east side of Stuart is our destination for the weekend,
arriving on Thursday and staying until Sunday. Reid is a very protected harbor
with 2 floats and 14 mooring buoys. One night’s stay is only $12.
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| River Otters |
We left this Friday morning to the predicted overcast, cold
weather. We are hunkered down for the weekend. Nice and cozy in the cabin right
now, drinking hot beverages and getting caught up on the blog! A family of four
river otters entertained us both last night and this morning with their frolic,
munching on fish and popping up onto the public float, scurrying about. In the dark of the night, we heard a goat high on the bluff surrounding the
harbor and have spotted many deer, harbor seals, Dall’s porpoises, gulls,
cormorants, crows, Belted Kingfishers, and many more animals.
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| Sunny at Reid Harbor |
What a beautiful Saturday! The weather is perfect for a long
hike (60 degrees!). We walked nearly 6 miles roundtrip to the Turn Point
Lighthouse, a difficult hike that led us through the woods and up and down a
long, dusty county road, past an old school house, by two pirate’s treasure
chests…Pirate’s Treasure Chests?!
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| Treasure Chests of Stuart Island |
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| World's Most Beautiful Pit Toilet, Turn Point |
We delightfully picked through the Treasure
Chests of Stuart Island, a roadside chest (filled with t-shirts and postcards)
with the courtesy of drinking water and the request to take what we wished with
an IOU to send the Benson Family the money. The family has operated the chests
for a decade, sending four daughters to college and still going strong. Of
course, we had to take our pirate booty! The light station, built in
1893, is now the responsibility of BLM and is in the renovation process,
working with the Turn Point Preservation Society (TPPS).
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| Crab Crew |
Enjoying crabbing while here at Stuart Island, catching over
14 crabs (Dungeness and Red Rock). Tess and Kathy have had their fill!
Off to Sucia Island tomorrow morning! Touted as “the crown of the San Juans and
the marine park system,” with its many bays and coves, Sucia promises a
delightful visit!
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| Sucia Island |
Echo Bay, Sucia Island, September 23-27
th
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| Beautiful Cliffs of Sucia Island |
The seas this morning have been glass-calm. What a beautiful
trip! We traveled with the flood, averaging 7.2 knots and sipping fuel. We
arrived at Shallow Bay at 12:15pm and witnessed for ourselves why visitors
continually rate Sucia #1 as the best island in the San Juans. Sucia is
actually 6 islands. 314 acres of the island chain were purchased in 1960
through a joint effort of dozens of Puget Sound yacht clubs. Another 234 acres
were acquired by the Washington State Park Service and the National Park
Service totaling 568 acres and 6 miles of hiking trails. The magical landscape
of Sucia is dramatic, its cliffs and bluffs appearing carved and melted.
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| Sunrise in Echo Bay |
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| Sunny 1 at Echo Bay |
After investigating Shallow Bay, Fox Cove, Fossil Bay, and
Snoring Bay, we have decided to take up a mooring in Echo Bay, the largest area
of open water. In the twilight of fall, we are one of only 10 boats in the
entire bay. After getting settled, we headed over to Fossil Bay in our
dinghy. Kathy trolled along the way as we traveled the passage between South
Finger and Sucia. She suddenly hooked onto a hearty lingcod, an estimated 30”
that shook the hook as soon as we snapped a picture! The legal season is very
short here for lingcod (six weeks from May to mid-June), so we’ll have to
return for that one another time…
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| Ewing Island |
We have spent much of the remainder of our day fishing
around Ewing Island at an area charted as “fish haven”. No luck but have been treated
to a beautiful series of reefs and rocks, which laced all around us. Crabbing
from Sunny today also provided several Red Rock and Dungeness crabs.
It is Monday and we head out in the dinghy again to troll the
northeast side of Sucia outside of Echo Bay. We’ll see what we get…
Update: Kathy caught her birthday fish – a 27” Silver
Salmon! What a thrill that was for everyone in our little dinghy… Tess and
Kathy are enjoying delicious salmon and crab and will for a couple days.
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| Birthday Salmon! |
Instead of heading off to Cypress Island on Wednesday, we have decided to stay
another night at Sucia. With Cypress only an hour from home, we will easily
visit in the future.
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| Kayaking in Echo Bay |
Our last day at Sucia included kayaking in the bay and more
fishing, both fun and exciting in their own right. We headed for home on
Thursday morning in what turned out to be pea soup fog. It was a slow trek and
we encountered a tug with a tow and a couple of fishing boats. It was great to
arrive east of Guemes Island where the fog cleared and home was near. What a
terrific trip we had! Beautiful weather, good food, and safe passages, all in
the cradle that is our Sunny 1.
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