Unless you live with you head in the sand (which to me doesn’t sound half bad these days considering the current state of the world and our current leader) you probably know that the west coast is on fire. While that may sound dramatic is isn’t far from the truth. We thought when we left California we were leaving the wildfires and Covid stricken big cities behind. Little did we know the fires would find us. And boy have they ever. But we’ll get back to that.
Leaving naked sailboat guy and cider bars behind we up anchored from our large anchorage in Blind Bay and made our way South to Jones Island. Talk about night and day. We went from a large wide open anchorage to a very tight squeeze in deep water in a small horseshoe shaped anchorage with mooring balls, a dock and space for about three other boats (us being one of them) to anchor. Frustration was high deciding on a spot shallow enough to drop the hook, spaced out enough from rocks on the sides and other boats who were already there. Finally in about 50 feet in a less then ideal spot we settled in. To give you a sense of just how small this anchorage was after we were secured I went outside and could hear every conversation on all boats surrounding us. So much for privacy. Fortunately Jones Island has some great hikes. Two permitter hikes and one other that connects our anchorage to one on the other side. Sun shinning and warm. It was the first day the entire summer that it was warm enough for me to wear shorts. We through on our tennis shoes and hit the trails. Little did we know that we were not the only inhabitants on land. Five deers walked and ate grass as we trecked by. Not even phases by our presence they continued eating and looking at us but never moved. What a treat. Incredible tree lined paths wound us around the parameter of the island and through areas we would have never seen otherwise. A nice sea breeze kept us cool on this warm 77 degree day. Several other groups of masked hikers passed us by waving and saying hello. Nice touches such as picnic tables, chairs and swings were placed along the hike for people to enjoy. Adequately exercises it was time to dingy back for happy hour and to observe the other wildlife. It was also the first night of NFL football. Super excited. We fired up the sat t.v. and settled in.
The first night at a new anchorage like this can be a little nerve wrecking. Will the anchor hold? Will other boat’s anchor’s hold? Will we crash into one another over night? Will the boat drift out into the big open space around us? No matter how many times we anchor in tight non-surrounded spots these same thoughts always run through my head the first night while trying to sleep. After we make it through the first night without incident I’m fine but until then my mind races. Fortunately a trusty anchor held tight as did the other boats and we lived to tell another day.
The next day we woke up to what we thought was pea soup fog. When I opened the back door to check around I noticed an awful smell in the air as if something was burning. I assumed it was campers on shore and didn’t think much of it. Only a little while later did I realize it was the wildfires. They had found us. The weather channel app informed us that we were under a air quality advisory and the air due to the wildfires in eastern Washington which were now blowing our way, was no longer safe to breath. What?! Never ever did we imagine that nestled in the San Juan Islands in Washington in the middle of the water would we be effected by wildfires. Since I’ve dealt with asthma in the past we decided to spend the morning indoors. Worried but not panicky we were baffled. Fortunately early afternoon the smoke cleared and we set out for another hike around the island. Not failing to impress we sweated our way around scenic Jones Island wondering what was to come.
We both slept well our second night at Jones and when we woke up that same worry and anxiety took over. Fog or so we thought was thick.But it wasn’t fog. Smoke. The fires has once again blown in. Causing up the west coast most days we were in fog. It isn’t something new or uncomfortable to us but smoke did not feel the same. The air smelled like a campfire and everything looked hazy and brown. I told Jeff it looked like an old time photograph that had yellowed. The air quality was still in effect and after we made it to Fisherman Bay Anchorage we stayed in for the rest of the day staring out the window in disbelief.
Fisherman bay is my favorite type of anchorage - surrounded in all sides, plenty of swing room and some decent scenery. In this type of anchorage I feel comfortable right away. If any of my previously listed fears should happen this is nowhere for us to go. We woke up to much of the same fog/smoke but it seemed to have dissipated a bit. Since it was our last day there we decided to take the dink to the dock and walk the mile into town. Our guide books told us there was bakery that wasn’t to be missed. Walking along with road on a soft shoulder isn’t our idea of a nice walk but in a lot of these “towns” that’s all there is. The temperature was cool and cars waved to us as they passed. Finally we made our way to Holly B’s Bakery and Jeff got their speciality an almond maple horn (something we’ve never heard of - think of a large danish) and a chocolate chip cookie. Sweets in tow we made our way back to the dink. By now the smoke had come in a lot and we couldn’t even see the anchorage from the dock. I got really nervous but Jeff navigated us back like a champ and once again we were in our safe abode. Smoke surrounded us all night and we kept the doors closed and watched the first Sunday NFL football games.
Most of the San Juan Islands are made up of anchorages both big and small, some state parks, some private islands and far and few between are marinas. These tend to be super exciting at the thought of getting shore power, water, emptying your trash and seeing what goods and services the places have to offer. Friday Harbor was one of those places. This is considered the big city of the islands. Shops, restaurants (yes, more then one), bars and a whole community of local services like a post office and a county seat are located here and we were excited to check it all out. The cruise much like the last few was smoke filled. This was our new norm. Positioned in a tight spot inside the breakwater Jeff slipped the boat in like a champ. He did so well that as we walked down the dock to explore another boater came out of his boat and commended him on his superior docking. That made our day. The town did not disappoint. We bought some much sought after local coffee for a friend and cruised up and down the streets. Jeff making mental notes of all the seafood he would get. At the end of the dock a permeant seafood vendor is set up and jeff grabbed some local fish to cook for dinner. Just as we returned to the boat the rain set in just in time for happy hour and the Monday night football double header. We put on our p.j. poured some libations and watched the rain and the game. Safe and nestled we were happy.
At 6a.m. we woke to the ferry blasting its fog horn as it entered the harbor. Fortunately we had no where to go and nothing to do so we fell back asleep. Today was my kinda day - slow morning with no specific agenda. Time to catch up on laundry and few boat projects and then we would go back to the much anticipated Chocolate and Port store that was closed yesterday. The kind owner was seated behind the counter as we entered and when Jeff inquired about one of the ports she gave us a sample to try. She had a full display of individual chocolates including a nice vegan selection and several other prepackaged chocolates as well. I was in heaven. Chocolate and port what could be better?! We settled on a bottle of port and a small selection of chocolate and headed across the street to the market for some fresh produce.
When we arrived Jeff scheduled the Friday Harbor pump-out service Pumpity Dumpity to come first thing before we headed out. After a much needed pump we readied the boat for our noon departure. But before we could leave Jeff wanted to get fish and chips from The Baitshop which had been closed the previous two days. Greasy bag in hand we hurried back to the boat to eat before it got cold. Jeff adequately fished and happy was ready to go.
They say when you choose a destination you should always have a plan B ready just in case. We’ve never really done this except for today. Turn Island was to be our next destination. While listed in the guide books and marked on the map nothing too inspiring was said about it. Rocky, strong currents and a lot of wake from passing boats was mentioned in two books. Somewhat determined I told Jeff lets just go and take a look and decide when we get there. Connected to our marina at Friday Harbor by a side bay was another anchorage we could always go to as a back up. Well sure enough the guidebooks did not lie. The anchorage was a slight indent to Turn Island with swirling currents which was deep until almost shore and rushing wake slapping us as we inched closer to shore then we would like. Nope. This wouldn’t work and we both knew had we attempted it it would just be a bad nights sleep for us both. So we made the U turn and headed back to Friday Harbor After frustratingly circling over and over here to find the best spot in the right amount of depth we finally dropped the hook after an hour and a half. Not very scenic and nestled between a bunch of derelict boats we gave up. At least we wouldn’t be rolling around and would get some sleep. The smoke continued. Happy hour came and we went to bed.
Fortunately our plan B was only a one nighter. Our final stop in the San Juan Islands - Mackaye Harbor has to be trimmed just right to avoid massive 3-4 knot currents in the straight. Our time to depart was 9a.m. At that time we could not see past the flag on our bow due to heavy smoke/fog filled air. Sitting and wondering we pushed it back to 10a.m. which gave us a view of our exit but not much else. Thick thick smoke filled air filled our vision and every time jeff had to use the bathroom I was nervous to take the helm. It’s one thing being in fog in the Pacific where it’s wide open and you know you are alone for miles and another being in the narrow straights of the San Juan Islands that while watching radar you can hope it’s okay but you never know when you’ll find a log or some crab pots. As we approached out anchorage I got the sickening feeling that what if we can’t see the anchorage at all? And what if we can’t see other boats that are anchored there? I didn’t mention this to Jeff but knew he was thinking the same thing. We never saw the islands we were approaching or the channel we entered but fortunately when we rounded the corner to the anchorage we got about 200 yards of visibility and could see the other boats anchored. We dropped the hook and just like that the smoke/fog returned and we no longer could see a thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment