Boy were we relieved to get settled in at Barlow Bay after traveling in the fog. And just as the hook was dropped and secured the fog rolled back in followed by the rain. So happy to be safe and warm and nice in our nest. Just the excuse we needed to spend the entire day reading. What a luxury and by far our favorite way to spend a quiet day.
The guidebooks said that the docks near the anchorage were all private and the only way to access land is to dingy across the bay to the boat launch ramp and make your way from there. Fortunately the next day gave us that opportunity. We waited until afternoon when the fog cleared and headed out to explore. We’ve heard from other boaters that locals in the San Juans aren’t very excited about tourist coming through this year due to Covid and we got to see evidence of this first hand. As we walked by a house next to the town market we noticed a very unfriendly blunt sign reading, “Tourist Go Home!” I felt anger immediately. While I understand Covid is bringing out all kinds of traits in people we were there to patronize their store and were only taking a walk on the street. It isn’t as if we were knocking on doors and breathing on people and running away. Fortunately as we meandered on almost every car waved to us as they drove by and one person outside even said hello. So I decided to chalk up the sign as one angry house. The town consisted of one tree lined road along houses and leading to another anchorage. We always appreciate stretching our legs and walked the street till we felt it was enough. On the way back we bought a few items at the little store and dinged back to the boat. For some reason ever since the Loop going to grocery stores has really turned into a sense of entertainment for us both. Weird right? The rest of the day and into the evening was clear and we really enjoyed being there.
When we woke both the Gale and the Small Craft Warning had ended and it was time to say goodbye to the San Juan Islands. This left us both feeling sad and yet excited to be moving onto explore new areas. From the San Juans we will slowly begin making our way South to our winter destination Elliot Bay Marina in Seattle. Our slip opens up November 1st. Until then we will see what North and Central Puget Sound have to offer. I tried to design a logical linear path that will take us that direction while seeing all of the highlights. Our first stop post San Juan Islands took us to Bowman Bay on Fidalgo Island. Our guidebooks gave it a 5 out of 5 stars and said not to be missed in settled weather. The cruise took us through patchy fog but lifted as we got close. As we approached the anchorage we could see just what the guidebooks talked about. It was stunning. Nestled in trees with rock cliffs we knew we would love it. We dropped the hook pretty early around 10a.m. and sat back and enjoyed the spectacular panoramic views. Not only gorgeous but this anchorage was also a state park which meant good hikes. After lunch we set out to explore. Our walk took us through campgrounds, along beaches and all with spectacular views. As if the anchorage and hike wasn’t enough the sunset was absolutely amazing and we had the best front row seat. What a perfect day.
After a good nights sleep and a slow morning we headed back out for our second hike. This time a bit more difficult taking us over the hills to Lighthouse Point. Spectacular views abound and a slight glimpse into Deception Pass where we would need to traverse next we huffed and puffed our way up and down occasionally taking breaks to take in the gorgeous scenery. Another wonderful day at Bowman Bay capped off by Monday night football.
Unfortunately our time at Bowman Bay was coming to an end due to a strong Gale blowing in we needed to take cover from. Around the corner and through the elusive Deception Pass was Cornet Bay Anchorage which offered good South/Southeast wind protection. Jeff studied our tides and passes book and determined that 1:30p.m. was the best time to traverse the pass to hit slack tide. Deception pass’s current can run upward of 8-9 miles per hour and if you time it wrong you could be in for a very dangerous and wild ride. You want to cross at either slack or beginning of flood tide in order to get no current or a little current going with you. Our crossing while at slack still left a few wild tide pools bubbling at the surface that Jeff had to hand steer through but not too bad. Cornet Bay was nothing special. It had a launch ramp and some free floating docks with no power and some room to anchor butted up against the tress. That was just what we were looking for. We let out 150 feet of chain and settled in for the big blow.
The weather apps proved to be true and overnight the gale blew in flinging the boat all around. Amateurishly we left our looper flag out on the bow and between that flapping like crazy and the anchor chain scrapping along the rocks I didn’t get much sleep. After a few minutes of these hideous sounds around 2a.m. I got up to inspect and remove the flag. Like a champ our Rocna anchor held tight and we had not moved from out original position. The dingy hung on tightly along side the boat and we just wagged around like a dogs tail when his owners come home. With the flag now down I could get a little sleep in between anchor scrapes. Wednesday morning we woke up to much of the same. The gale would carry on all day and into Thursday morning. No where to go and nothing to do we stayed in p.j’s the entire day and watched the big blow.
After another sleepless night of wagging and anchor scraping the gale had finally ended and resulted in a small craft warning which brought lighter winds -20-25 mph so we were more then ready to get going. Our next stop fortunately was a marina. After several sleepless nights at anchor I was really looking forward to this. We up anchored in the rain and me in full gear and boots helped secure the anchor and we headed out. Only an hour and a half away up the Swinomish Channel lies La Conner Marina where we currently sit. Somehow we managed to both pump out and tie up before the rain blowing back in. Shew! Secured to a dock, full power and no where to go for days. I was relaxed and happy instantly. Since we arrived early we had lots of time to get much needed boat projects done including getting workers here to fix our forward leaking head. I started laundry and completed a few other much needed tasks. Late afternoon the rain let up and we were able to put on our tennis shoes and see the cute little town. We even got to FaceTime with our friends Randal and Michelle and hear all about their RV adventure.
We are getting really excited because tomorrow Sami and her boyfriend Josh arrive. They will be our first visitors since leaving San Diego on June 16th. We continued to finish up our port day boat projects in anticipation of their arrival. We even got to take a late afternoon dingy ride. As of a couple hours ago Sam & Josh we getting close to San Francisco. We’ll watch their progress closely and look forward to their arrival tomorrow.
