Tidings of Joy: The San Juan Islands

Our time at Sequin Bay had come to an end and after a nice relaxing time there we up anchored and headed for Port Townsend. We were both looking forward to this stop because for the first time in a long time we would be in a town. The marina was positioned right across the street from West Marine and there were two shopping markets within walking distance and we really needed to do some major reprovisioning. The cruise was uneventful a short 19 mile day and our departure from the Strait of Juan De Fuca into Admiralty Inlet to Port Townsend. Some of the marinas here are kind of funny. They won't give you a slip assignment or even tell you if they have room for you until you are 30 minutes out. Very strange to us since we didn't have another place to go. Fortunately they had a slip and after pumping out the holding tank we made our way to the commercial basin with the other transients. When we got there we noticed there was only one 30 amp power plug for us to use. We require 50 amp or we can split two 30 amps of power. This was a problem. Jeff tried all kinds of ways to rig it and even ran to West Marine to see if they had a part to help us transfer our power to only 30 amp. No luck. We called the marina office and they said there was nothing they could do that was all they had. Frustrated and annoyed we pondered what to do. There was a gale warning for 3p.m. that promised 40mph winds. Jeff said he wasn't moving. Instead we ran our generator at the slip I'm sure annoying those around us. We decided to get our provisioning done and head out in the morning. So much for being in a town for a couple of days.

Entering Port Townsend Marina

Cruise to Port Townsend

Port Townsend

Cruise to Port Townsend

The gale blew like crazy all evening and as annoying as the power situation was I realized that we couldn't have left. We tightened the lines several times and watched as boats all flew around the marina. After a nights sleep we went to the second market and finished up our provisioning before heading out. Despite the annoyance of the power situation we were both excited to be leaving and heading to our first stop in The San Juan Islands. This is where we have been talking about going for 3 years. This is why we pushed ourselves so hard day after day after day on the Pacific driving in the dark and in the fog and groggy from not enough sleep and constant travel. We had made it. After consulting our guide books and YouTube cruisers from the area we decided Garrison Bay would be our first stop. We went 41 miles until we rounded the island into this meca of boats, evergreens and mountains. We found a nice spot on the outer edge of the anchorage with the clear view of the trees and all the boats coming and going. So excited we sat outside for over 4 hours just taking it all in.

Sunset Garrison Bay - San Juan Island

Garrison Bay Anchorage

Anchored at Garrison Bay

Entering Garrison Bay Anchorage

Adjacent Anchorage

View of Anchorage

The next day we were anxious to explore so we lowered the dink and headed for shore. There is a state park at Garrison Bay which has an old English Camp with remnants of old buildings and signs talking about the history of the area. There are also two hikes at the camp - one to the top of the mountain with full panoramic views and a shorter nature loop. Today we opted for the first and were looking forward to some real exercise and sweating a bit. The hike was strenuous for our out of shape cruising bodies but we managed to make it to the top and wow was it worth it. The views were breathtaking and fortunately there were some nice rocks for sitting and catching your breath.

View From Top of Mountain

Hike at English Camp

Garden at English Camp

View from the top

English Camp

View From the Top

Hiking English Camp

After completing our hike we went back to the boat for some lunch and later took the dink to do some more exploring. We really liked it here and it was nice to not have an agenda or have to leave quickly to get somewhere else.

Sunset Garrison Bay

Anchor Lights Garrison Bay

The next day we didn't do much of anything. We stayed in pajamas late. We read our books. We made food. Nothing too eventful. One of our favorite things to do at anchor is watch all the boats coming and going and discuss and surmise. Jeff even gets the binoculars out and sees people up close and then gives me the full report.

Interesting Boat From Long Beach

Evening at Garrison Bay

After our long lazy day we decided it would be good to stretch our legs a bit and we headed back to the English Camp to try out the other hike. The map said it was a 2 mile loop around the perimeter of the island. We found out the sign was very wrong. It was only at short 1 mile loop and we didn't feel like we got a whole lot of exercise. Even so it was nice to get off the boat for little bit and walk around. We cruised around some more in the dink and checked out the scene. Now that it was Saturday the anchorages were filling up. We had a quiet night on the boat and watched a movie.

English Camp Loop Hike

Tidings From the Loop Hike

View From Loop Hike

Evening at the Anchorage

Garrison Bay Boats

We felt pretty good that we had exhausted all there was to do at Garrison Bay. I could have left the day before but the real reason we were sticking around is because Jeff got the only available reservation at Westcott Bay Shellfish Company and Oyster Farm. Our guidebook said it wasn't to be missed. You dingy over to their dock and then sit outside at the restaurant which is also a working oyster farm. The weather finally warmed up to something familiar - 77 degrees and we were excited to be in summer clothes and go out for our first lunch (since covid) on our own. This was a big step for us both. We researched the place and their website said masks had to be worn the entire time after exciting your dingy and tables were spread out and sanitizer provided. This reassured us enough. The restaurant while simple sat gorgeously on the water with picnic tables and umbrellas. Our table sat away from other people with a great view. Jeff decided he wanted to get a shucking lesson while we were there and the waitress brought and demonstrated how this would be done. With knife in hand Jeff sliced, dug into and prodded until the oyster shell popped open. While an interesting and fun experience he said he prefers they come pre-shucked. We sipped our Rose eating bread and salad and oysters and talked about how great our first stop in the San Juan Islands was. What a great capper to a wonderful time.

Jeff at Oyster Farm Restaurant

Oyster Farm

Our Table

Oyster Farm Restaurant

Dingy Dock to Restaurant

Jeff's Oysters

Oyster Processors

Oyster Farmers

Jeff's Oyster Lunch

After our nice lunch we immediately returned to the boat and hoisted the dink and set off for Roche Harbor. The way the marina handles boats at Roche is first come first serve. At 8:30a.m. each morning you call them via radio and request a slip. Your name is then put on a list and when space opens for your size boat they call you. Since we wanted to be high up on the list Monday morning we decided to anchor out the night before so we would be ready to go first thing. Little did we know our evening would be so entertaining. Once we dropped the hook we sat outside taking in the scene per the usual and we heard this bizarre noise we weren't familiar with then all of us a sudden a sea plane landed right next to us. It was so spectacular I instantly was giddy and excited then one after another the planes took off and landed all around us. We took video, pictures and shouted like little kids. Jeff with his camera running to the bow of the boat laughing as the tried to get the plane taking off. It was amazing and we were so happy.