Amy Marie Visits - Deer Harbor, Orcas Island

-


Deer Harbor Marina on Orcas Island

We traveled to Deer Harbor from Garrison Bay on San Juan Island.  At ~ 11 miles, it was a short voyage.  We had good conditions, so we ambled a bit and checked out two anchorages on Jones Island.  The north anchorage was the most attractive with less boat and ferry wakes.  It had a nice state park dock and several mooring buoys and well as room to drop the hook.  It was also very popular, so full of boats.  


North Cove - Jone's Island

We continued to the other side of the island to check out the south anchorage.  It too was full of boats.  I would like to spend some time on Jones Island to explore on shore, but this was not the time to do so.  We continued on to Deer Harbor on Orcas Island.


Deer Harbor Marina - Orcas Island

Deer Harbor was easy to access, the fairways were wide so docking was easy.  A staff member met us to help us with lines.  Once secure in the slip we walked up to the office to register.  The showers and bathrooms were clean, but you had to pay to use the showers.  The laundry was also clean and so we took advantage to wash our clothes.  There is a small store and grill on site.  Across the street in a pizzeria. This is a quiet side of the island so while it is picturesque, it is not a shopping or dining mecca.  Quiet and great scenery are its strong points.


A Pizzeria is just across the street from the marina

We did walk each day.  On our first walk we were admiring a garden from the path.  While discussing it, the homeowner, Larry, who had lived on Orcas for the last 55 years, came out and asked if we had any questions.  This led to a very enjoyable and lively conversation about the garden, his gardening process, the plants, and island life.  


Larry's Garden overlooking the harbor


Healthy artichokes started from seed in a hotbox and moved outside 


Larry's well kept greenhouse

Larry's horticultural practices were very process oriented and the result of years of trial and experimentation.  The outcome spoke to the efficiency and efficacy of his process.  The garden was lush and healthy.  He used a “hot box” to start some plants and had a greenhouse in which he started and grew others.  All plants were started from seed in 3” peat containers and then planted in their final destination while still in the same container.  This avoided damage to delicate roots.  He supplemented the planting site with bone meal.  If pests showed up, he used a mixture of baking soda, Dawn dish soap, vegetable oil and water in a spray bottle to wet the leaves. 

It was a humbling lesson for both of us. We left knowing we were clearly underperforming, just doing the minimum in our own garden at home.  If we used the “Larry Method”, we would be rewarded with much better results and reap our neighbors praise for a “perfect garden”!



Down the Road from Larry's was an "honor system" egg stand

After two nights at Deer Harbor it was time to move on.  Our next destination was Stuart Island.

 

Deer Harbor Facilities

  •          Power & water at the slip
  •           Pump Out (free) and self-service fuel during store hours.
  •           Clean showers and bathrooms
  •           Laundry Room with exchange library
  •           Store with modest boat supplies
  •          Onsite Grill serving breakfast, lunch, and grill food till 5pm

Track Logs

    
Location: Deer Harbor, WA 98245, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer 2024: Amy Marie Returns to the Pacific Northwest

-
Image
Kingston Washington Waterfront The majestic terrain and contrast of mountains, forests, and water have lured us back to the Pacific Northwest for another summer of cruising.  It is simultaneously peaceful and powerful.  It is the essence of harmony until a storm arrives and then it is the chaos and fury of wind, rain, and tumultuous seas.  All attract us to visit.  We are outdoor people and spend as much time as possible outside.  However nothing, with the exception of backpacking, has ever brought us continuously closer to nature than boating the PNW.   It's second virtue is it ability to slow and focus your life.  The stress of city living melts away as soon as we splash the boat.  The many competing electronic connections of our overly intrusive push communication world are put on hold.  It is such a relief.  Have we perhaps overdone it?  Instead the focus is on weather, sea conditions, tides, currents, winds, provisioning, ...
Read more

Amy Marie Visits: The Day the Diesel Died...

-
Image
Every boater dreads the day their trusty diesel quits singing its sweet tune.  We experienced this once before in a boat with twin diesels.  Much less drama as you can easily travel on a single engine.  Amy Marie is equipped with one diesel, any unexpected stoppage is cause for concern.  Especially when you are in the middle of a bay in Desolation Sound with eight hundred feet of water under the keel.  You can't just drop the anchor and begin troubleshooting.  You drift at the whim of the currents and wind. Once a diesel is running, only one thing will cause it to cease operation.  That is the lack of fuel.  Combustion occurs as the piston compresses air to a temperature sufficient to ignite the diesel fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber.  Our task was to discover why the engine was experiencing fuel starvation.  The most common reason is contaminated fuel which can cause fuel filters to become clogged and prevent fuel from...
Read more

Great Loop: Jungle Cruise - Hontoon State Park

-
Image
Cruising Dead River near Hontoon State Park Great Loop:  Hontoon State Park – Jungle Cruise March 22 nd , 2022 It all began with a conversation on the dock.  We stopped to talk with a fellow on a Rosborough trailerable trawler.  He is retired and volunteering for a couple of months at Hontoon State Park on the St. John’s River.  As we always do, we made his acquaintance and inquired  about what fun or interesting things there are to do locally.  Mast is in the Down Position The conversation ended with “Can you get your air draft down to 10’ or less, I’m taking family out for a cruise around Hontoon Island tomorrow, would you are welcome to follow along?”  “We’ll be following a dead branch of the St. John’s River and it’s full of wildlife.” Why a 10’ air draft I asked.  Well for the overhanging trees was the reply.  Our Ranger Tug, being trailerable, has a fold down mast.  We can reduce our air draft to 9’.  We were in! We foll...
Read more