August PNW Cruise: San Juan Island

August 13, 2021

“Defiance departing slip 22 alpha”, “Sojourner on channel 78 alpha requesting a slip for 2 nights”, The VHF radio traffic as we approached Roche Harbor was non-stop. The harbormaster on the VHF radio was talking continuously, managing the extremely high volume of traffic leaving the harbor, moving into a slip, in a holding pattern waiting for a slip or in the final bucket of “you are way down the list, what is your phone number, we’ll call if something opens up.

I really felt as if I had flown into a major international airport with the radio traffic occurring with multiple accents and the staccato instruction of the harbormaster being continuously fired back. As we moved through the marina toward the fuel dock, we had to stop and hold short of an intersecting fairway to allow a yacht the size of a frigate to depart. Looking around us we could see that every available spot was filled, sometimes with 4 boats jammed into a space meant for 2. We looked at each other and made an immediate decision to seek a calmer, more tranquil location for our San Juan Island visit. So once we completed our business at the fuel dock we set a course to Garrison Bay.

From the moment we arrived in Garrison Bay we knew we had found a good spot for the next couple of days. We dropped the hook in front of a small National Park, “English Camp”. This was the site of an ongoing border dispute between the US and England that was not resolved until 1872 by Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. Following the arbitration, the boundary between the US and the Dominion of Canada, was set in the form we know today.

English Camp has elements just as compelling today as when it was first settled in 1860. It is located on an extremely well protected bay, it has a nice dinghy dock to provide shore access, It has trails, a restroom, historical buildings including a blockhouse, and a bus stop for San Juan Island Transit. There is also a nice pear orchard, a maintained formal English garden and a relatively new flagpole from Queen Elizabeth as a gift.

As we arrived mid-afternoon, we confined our exploration to English Camp and the surrounding area. The next day our plan involved riding San Juan Transit to explore the island.

Little did we know how or what our second day would develop into. We boarded the San Juan Transit bus shortly after 9am. The driver, Craig, asked us where we were headed. Roche Harbor we said. During the drive there, we asked him what he would recommend visiting and with his help, we built a full day of touring using the various stops on his route. A full day bus pass was $15 dollars/person, and it turned out to be the best $15 we’ve spent in a long time.

Here's what Craig built us as a tour agenda:

1. Roche Harbor – You must visit to get the vibe and the history of the town