We left Port Townsend and sailed north to the San Juan Islands
What an idyllic landing spot! Our first night in the islands we anchored at beautiful Watmough Bay. We cleaned the boat, inflated the kayak, paddled around the bay, took a big breath, and prepared to sail to Friday Harbor the next day to pick up our daughter Hannah and son in law, Matt!
It felt amazing to arrive at our first anchorage, catch up on some sleep, and explore this beautiful place by kayak and on foot!
Hannah and Matt flying in the time of Covid from Orange County, CA to Seattle, WA, then on a float plane to Friday Harbor.
With Hannah & Matt aboard we sailed to Indian Cove on Shaw Island. We took a walk on shore before a brief rest looking out on Reef Net Bay.
Monday, 8/24/20, we headed to Stuart Island and took a hike through a primordial forest lush with green ferns.
Hiking in the lush forest of the Pacific Northwest!
Our skilled crew made the most of the bountiful waters! Thanks to these landlubbers disguised as expert fisher people, we ate like kings! That’s Hannah with a nice sized Ling Cod ( think fish curry with rice and veggies), Max and Matt with the local crab ( think fresh crab cakes and hot parmesan crab dip), and Matt and Max with another beautiful Ling Cod ( think baked cod with garlic and miso)
Next, we sailed east from Stuart island to Sucia Island anchoring in Echo Bay and explored on shore, tried our hand at fishing from the dinghy and fostered our culinary love affair with local crab!
If we lasted that long, nightly activities included competitive card games that went late into the night….fueled by a few beers and a bottle or two of wine!
Finding ways to stay fit on board… the Captain is workin’ it!
Friday, 8/28/20, we picked up new crew; niece Cassidy and Eric Shaefer flew in on a sea plane after a long journey from Washington, DC. We were delighted to welcome them aboard!
Uncommonly fit, we felt obligated to provide exercise that equalled Cassidy and Eric’s boundless energy level. Hiking the local forests to panoramic look out points was a favorite activity.
Hiked out to the Turn Point Light Station.
Another Ling Cod! Katie made curry and rice. Yum!
Sunday, 8/9/20 we sailed south to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island to have lunch then continued south to Garrison Bay where we caught more crabs for a luscious crab dip with homemade sour dough toast.
We hiked around the bay and enjoyed having on feet on solid ground and the spectacular views.
Back at Friday Harbor with views of Mt. Baker and the ferry. Enjoyed a fantastic good bye dinner with our DC Crew at a local restaurant….. one of the best of our trip.
In an attempt to fix what we thought was perhaps a clogged head through-hull Max bravely suited up and got wet (and cold). In the end it was a broken valve that required professional help.
Katie, Max and I sailed East to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island to hike, fish and do some more relaxing.
Since we’d not seen Orcas our whole trip on our last day we booked passage on a Jet Boat and chased a pod that was near the Canadian border. We saw quite a few and they came close to our boat but we only got a few good pictures.
On what we decided would be our last morning, we rented bikes and road south on San Juan Island. We were back on the boat by noon and under way by 1300 sailing for Port Angeles to spend the night and prepare for our journey south to Newport Beach.
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