San Juan Islands June 2014

starcrafttom · Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 3:01 pm Post subject:

Float plan with the marina? I love it. They could care less. Hell half the time if we have a spot for the night and go fishing, we come back to some on in our spot. Most of the staff is just young kids that are just waiting to get off work and go party.

I truly doubt that the marina and her lawyers want to take your float plan. If you gave it to them and you did not return at X time and they did not call the CC they could be liable. It they did not see you, but you where there, and called the CC they would be liable for the search. Loss loss for the marina so I don't see why they would do it. leave word with some one that care about you. My mother gets a call when we are off the water most days and always at the end of a trip. Susan always gets a call twice a day and at the end of the day when i am out fishing with out her. I has to be some one that will miss you.

colbysmith · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 1:02 am Post subject:

Did Stuart Island today. Once again, the water was pretty much calm flat. Nothing like Lake Michigan. On a perfectly calm day, Lake Michigan isn't this flat! Smile

Got up to Prevost Bay around 10am and had plenty of room on the dock. Did the hike up to the School house, then on to the Light Station at Turn Point. Met the lady that has the Treasure stuff for sale. Nice gal and learned a little more about the island from her, then the museum. And talked her into giving us a ride part way on up to the light house. While we had come up the road to the School house, ran into another family that took the trail and decided to go back that way later. Definitely a better way to go! Found the geocache near the Light Station and enjoyed the view from there. But it was a helluva walk up (and down) some steep hills. Oh yeah, wife loved the nice privvy out by the light station! Smile

Met some nice folk at the dock. A few "tourists" like us, and the park caretaker...and later the ranger. After leaving Prevost, we headed thru the north pass to Deer Harbor. Stopped at the marina for some ice cream and to see if an old friend was around. Left via the Wasp and Yellow Islands passage. Today had lots of sunshine, so the cooler weather didn't feel so bad. But would be nice if it were a bit warmer at night. Midnight Flyer gets a wee bit chilly with out a heater! Feeling pretty comfortable & confident with the water here now...so as some of you said, don't worry, just enjoy. Smile

Finding the Garmin GPSMAP 541S does a good job at "guiding" to waypoints, and of course watching the charts too. So far tide and current has not been an issue. Just weird going thru the "tide rips", but still smooth sailing!

JamesTXSD · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:10 am Post subject:

Nice to meet the Mrs. yesterday, and to hear about your time on Stuart Island. (I did tell you it was a "hike" Wink

) Hope you enjoy exploring Friday Harbor today - the Farmers Market starts at 10:00 (look for the walkway next to the theater).

While I agree with Tom about the float plan regarding the marina staff, I find the young people who work at the Friday Harbor marina are well-trained and helpful (based on seeing them on a daily basis). Their radio procedures are good, they do a fine job of assigning slips, and they'll send someone to your slip to grab lines if you need a hand. Beyond that, I'm not sure what else they should be doing for transient boaters. If someone is in your slip when you come back, it is probably because you didn't put a flag on it, or the person in there is trying to "poach" a slip. Listen on Ch. 66 to the boaters coming into the marina - these young people deal with all kinds of boaters: people without a clue, people who don't follow directions, big boats, little boats, people who don't have a reservation on a holiday weekend... and they do it all with patience and a decent attitude.

If you need some entertainment and want to learn how not to use your radio, listen to Ch. 66 on a busy weekend between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm in Friday Harbor. That will give you a new appreciation for what the marina staff deals with and how well they do it. Wink

Sorry for "drift" on Colby's thread here.

Enjoy your time in Friday Harbor!

Best wishes,
Jim

Pat Anderson · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:58 am Post subject:

Colby, glad you folks are enjoying your time in the SJs!

I have one suggestion. The next time you are here (and you will return, look at the dang Texans who are now seasonal residents!), get some kind of a dinghy, even a relatively inexpensive inflatable that you can strap to the roof.

This will open up a whole new side of the SJs that you have yet to experience. Marinas are fine when you need a meal in town or a shower, but the REAL SJ experience is going where only boaters can go. Sometimes that is a state marine park dock, but more often than not, it will be either a DNR mooring buoy (Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island) or just swinging on the hook (dozens and dozens of little coves). Naturally, I am assuming you have an anchor, if not, run don't walk to your chandlery to get rode, chain and anchor!

Our favorites are Matia Cove on the SE corner of Matia and Tombolo Cove at the south end of Decatur. Don't look for those names on charts, because they are both actually unnamed. They are fairly small and shallow at low tide, so big cruising boats don't favor them, but they are perfect for our shallow draft C-Dorys.

Having a dinghy and being able to anchore wherever you want will enhance your SJ experience a hundredfold!

colbysmith · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 12:31 pm Post subject:

I got the flag on the first day, and have just left it up, along with leaving my power cord and a line on the dock... just watched a 41 footer park behind me last evening. Not sure why the hell he brought that in here, when there is so much more room on the outer dock. He tried pulling in first, and when his crew couldn't step off the back onto the dock, turned around and backed into the next slip... I have been given some serious thought to a decent inflatable dinghy. I'll be looking into that later. What I need right now is a decent heater and way to keep the condensation down. Last night was the coldest night yet at 41! Off to the Farmers Market ...

colbysmith · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 10:52 pm Post subject:

Lazy day today. Smile

Started out with checking out the Farmer's Market, bought some souvineers and supplies, checked out a bit of the town. Then headed up to Rosario, came back by way of Olga and Blakely Island Marina. Nothing to special about these places, other than just more nice scenery. However, the ice cream was good at Blakely! Wink

Got back here, and found our new slip mates are from our neck of the woods. (They were from Lodi, but live out here now and had our same last name. Smile

Going back to my earlier comments about marina staff and float plans. Just so there is no misunderstanding, the marina staff has been excellent. But I find that true of most marina's. The folks at Roche, Blakely and Deer Harbor were also very nice. I also understand why marina staff might not want to be responsible to hold a float plan...however I've found most places back around home are willing to (or at least appear to be....) hold them when given, or at least know what they are. Smile

None the less, makes sense to let family members know where we are going and when we'll return. At least when cell or internet coverage exists. Smile

I was just a little surprised that the dock attendant here didn't know what the float plan was. Hopefully it just added knowledge to his experience working here. Smile

There are lots of boats around however if help was needed. Heard someone talking with the USCG today on 16, as they had taken a 25' cuddy aground with 7 people between Stuart and Jones Islands. Oops.... Sad

The scenery here is beautiful, but then so is it at Door County and the Apostle Islands. Smile

But I have to admit, it's hard to find this much nice (calm) water in those other locations. I could learn to live with Tides and Currents over rough and choppy! I understand I've been fortunate with my observations here thus far. Hoping it stays this way for a few more days!

colbysmith · Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 10:53 pm Post subject:

So far my favorite's have been (besides Friday Harbor) Roche Harbor, Stuart Island and Fishermans Bay in Lopez. Regarding Stuart, Reid would be very serene to hang on the hook at night, while Prevost provides a little more dock space.

colbysmith · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 12:12 am Post subject:

Ok, finally decided I was freezing my ass off on the boat at night and couldn't take it any more. (41 degrees night before last was the final straw!) Found a decent electric heater at the hardware store here in Friday Harbor yesterday, and price was actually very good. Last night was a much warmer night on the boat! Smile

Went to the Catholic Church (St. Francis I believe) mass this morning before meeting Eric (Doubles) today as he came down trying out his new Etec 90. Enjoyed sharing adventures with him and learning a little more about Turn Again light station as his grandfather was a station keeper. After lunch took off for Fisherman's Bay where we parked on the Island Marine Center dock and rode our bikes into Lopez Village. Had a nice time talking with one of the curators at the Historical Museum. Got some ice cream at the Fudge store, but the ice cream at Blakely was much better in our mind! Smile

Getting back to the dock, ran into a sailor and with some small talk learned he met "Ell and Bill" a while back as they were passing thru. Seems they left their impression on him. Smile

Tomorrows plans are probably to go check out Blind Bay, and then on Tuesday my brother and his wife may ride the ferry out here to join us as we go to Sucia then head over to Anacortes to pull out. Yesterday heard the Coast Guard working 16 with a 25' Cuddy that had gone aground between Stuart and Jones Islands with 7 folks on board. Today as we were entering Fishermans Bay, once inside after passing several large outbound yachts, heard one of them hailing the other to stop where they were. Apparently they had made their turn between the two shoal markers. Lucky someone was watching them, and they were able to back out of their mistake! I'm glad I have and know how to use my charts and navigation gear. Knock on wood, we'll continue to keep Midnight Flyer off the rocks and the weather and seas will continue to stay as calm as it has!
Hope I'm not boring anyone with my use of this thread as a daily log. But maybe if it helps anyone else thinking about doing the San Juans for the first time, this fresh water guys ramblings will set them at ease on making the trip. All my worry about tides was pretty much for naught! And while a dinghy would have opened up a few more possibilities, I have still been able to see quite a bit without one. Colby

TyBoo · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 12:40 am Post subject:

Hunkydory · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 1:23 am Post subject:

I agree with Mike. To read your enthusiastic post about your trip out to the PNW & then your first time experiences on salt water, around the San Juan's has been a very fun read. We just made our 1st time trip to the San Juan's this year too.

I have stated many times that I wish more would share. For me it's a welcome break from all the new stuff & change/fix it threads though I've come to appreciate them a lot more too.

Jay

colbysmith · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 1:38 am Post subject:

Going back through my "logs" here, wanted to add that while on Stuart Island in Prevost Harbor we parked at the State Park dock. If we had used the "County" dock, our walk would have only been half as far! Smile

And to reiterate, there is a trail at the top of the "129" stairs, that remains relatively flat and comes out at the school house. We took this back, but used the road going. The road has some steep ascents to make up for the "129" steps down to it. The Turn Again Light station is not a light house, and we understand is only open for tours during July and August, so we only got to see the grounds. For Geocachers, there is a geocache near the "privvy". The only other geocache on this island appears to be on Cemetery Island, which of course we did not get to do without a dinghy.... At Roche, we enjoyed walking out to the Mausileum, which was a nice walk and interesting to see. We skipped walking through Sculpture park, but if we had more time think that would be interesting as well. The gardens in front of the Haro hotel are beautiful. We did not get off the boat at Rosario or Olga, and not really that much to see from the water. At Deer Harbor, the marina has a nice gift shop and ice cream shop/store, and nice view coming in, but you are a ways from town. We did find dock space at all these places, but seems like we are still a bit early in the season. There was no charge for parking on the end of the fuel dock at Blakely Marina, but they do charge a minimal fee at Fisherman's bay. (I think like $10 unless you are eating at the Lopez Resort...that is if you use their docks.) We ended up pulling into the Island Marine Center docks, and since they were closed on Sunday, we were able to find a spot on the outer dock with no problem for free! Everyone has said stay out of the Ferries way or they will come up behind you and then honk their very loud horns. I have heard and seen that happen several times here at Friday Harbor. (No, not us. Smile

My wife also noticed most sailboats around here are under power with sails down. The Lopez Historical Museum curator (or at least gal working today) said that's because lack of wind...that's it's not really a big mecca for sail boats to sail! I have been amazed at the amount of floatsom in the water. Not just the kelp, but some sticks and rather large logs that I'm glad I see! Today was actually one of the roughest water days since we've been here, and that was while crossing the short distance between Friday Harbor and Fisherman's Bay. Don't know if it was the combination of a little bit of wind and opposing tide or not, but on a scale of Lake Michigan/Green Bay proportion, it still rated fairly smooth. Smile

(Slightly choppy, but still ran at 16mph fairly comfortably.)

colobear · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:08 am Post subject:

Glad you are enjoying yourselves...and are now warm. You've hit the marina and some other hotspots but there is a lot more. If you can make it back sometime, try to get across the border. The Gulf islands are a very different experience. You are right, most sailboats in the SJ's are just powerboats with keels. Squirrelly winds shifting around the islands is often given as an explanation but when you cross the border and get into the Gulf Islands you will see many more boats under sail. Too bad you did not get off the dock at Rosario. The resort has quite a past, with a big pipe organ (concerts), pictures of the battleships built by the owners, good restaurants and a lot of history. Worth a visit if you get there again. Your Apostle islands have a reputation around here as really good cruising, hope your visit will leave good memories.

doubles · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:55 am Post subject: Chop

Colby,

enjoyed the visit and hearing about your journey (can't wait for my turn!). The chop you went thru on the way to FB was just tidal. Take my word for it, you will know when the wind opposes the tide. As there is no dock at Blind Bay (it is a great anchorage), you might want to run up from there to "Eastsound". There is a county dock about 1/2 of a mile back from then end of the channel on the right hand side that you can tie up to. Easy walk into town and enjoyable venture. Was also thinking on your trip back to Anacortes from Sucia Bellingham Channel is usually a calmer route and less exposed. Safe travels!!

Eric

colbysmith · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 11:45 am Post subject:

After talking with Jim (Wildblue)) today, think I'm going to run Cattle Pass and see if we can find any Orcas on the south side. I suppose I shouldn't leave here this time without running Cattle Pass. Smile

So far, we've very much enjoyed the San Juans. But I have seen a lot of scenery at my young age of 56, with having a motorhome earlier in life. And both the USCG (with a stint in Kodiak, Ak) and American Airlines on my resume. Smile

Door County with Green Bay and Lake Michigan and the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior have very good scenery also, and at a much closer distance too me. (And without the tide and currents. Smile

My next big adventure has to be the North Channel. I hear that is another beautiful spot. So anyway, still taking in all I can while here. Some day I may be back, but so much more to explore in many other places. If all I do is scratch the surface in many places, that still gives me a pretty good flavor of what our world has to offer! Colby

AstoriaDave · Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 12:24 pm Post subject:

Colby,

If you are not likely returning to the San Juans anytime soon, visit Sucia on the way back to Anacortes. Not a direct route, but also gives you the N and E sides of Orcas, and Matia as well. Matia and Sucia are quite different from the inner islands. Not a lot of rough water that route except maybe NE corner of Orcas. Swing wide. Longer crossing of Rosario, but you can do it.