2024: August Cruising Summary

-
August was a short cruising month for Amy Marie.  She was treated to a spa treatment at CSR South Boat Yard in Des Moines while we attended family events.  Beth headed to San Diego and Santa Rosa California and I headed to Colorado.  We reunited with Amy Marie in mid-August.  During her "spa" visit she had damaged gel coat areas repaired, heat exchangers serviced and a full exterior buff and polish.  She looked quite jaunty and proud of herself when we returned!

As we planned to attend the annual PNW Ranger Tug Rendezvous in Roche Harbor in early September, we started meandering that direction.  This gave us an opportunity to re-visit some favorite destinations as well as explore some new ports of call.



Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island


Our first stop was Eagle Harbor.  Why?  It has a great grocery store and it is fun to walk and explore.  Town and Country Market is very close to the public dock, so a good location to perform a major resupply.  Their produce is wonderful, they have their own bakery, and their meat selection is terrific.


No trip to Puget Sound is complete without a visit to Poulsbo, the cute Kitsap Peninsula town with a strong Norwegian Heritage.  The Sons of Norway Hall occupies a commanding waterfront position, with Sluys Bakery, a source of excellent breads and pastries,  nearby.  We anchored in Liberty Bay and dinghied to shore.  The city skyline is dominated by the First Lutheran Church on a prominent hillside location.  The town has worked hard to maintain a Scandinavian look and feel.  I feel mid week is the best time to visit.  While not tranquil, it has a much less busy feel than weekends.  On the other hand, if your weekend visit coincides with a local festival or event the town has an energetic and alive feel. Fuel prices were reasonable, so we topped off our tank prior to heading to the San Juan Islands.

Sluys Bakery - Poulsbo


We departed Poulsbo for Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.  This is a Navy Town with the neaby Naval Air Station.  There is a good museum in town which shares the story and artifacts of the Air Station's History. Skagit Community College has a campus in town. A waterfront trail follows the shoreline.  Cute shops are augmented by a variety of "big box" stores just a little to far from the marina for easy provisioning.  If you are a retired veteran or active duty military, you can shop at the nearby Navy Exchange.


Beth in the "Fred Flintstone" Car at the Oak Harbor Shoreside Park


While at the marina, we had a couple stop by as we were flying our Gold Great Loop Flag,  They said they were also Gold Loopers and upon hearing their voices and seeing then we immediately recognized them as Loopers with whom we travelled for several days from Cape May through New York City two years earlier.  What a treat to reconnect!  Olin was a retired Marine Corps Aviator and used the local Navy Exchange to re-provision.  We hope to visit them again at their home in Southern California.

There seems to come a time, every summer, when we are afflicted with "2-footitis".  All mariners are familiar with this disease.  It's onset is triggered by spending extended periods of time on board a boat.  Eventually you start fantasizing about the need for a larger boat.  We both contracted "2-footitis" in late August.  This led us to the town of Anacortes, where your boat ownership dreams can become reality.  We worked with a broker to explore and look at boats to ~ 40'.  Very tempting....  We could easily see ourselves in a Nordic Tug 37.  That is our current dream boat. However we decided the desire to trailer to new locations was still strong so we were not quite ready to settle down.  Beth did find a boat that already carried her name and I thought her resolve was going to crumble....



We next met up with Adam, Alex, and Addison at Spencer's Spit on Lopez Island.  Another reason for a larger boat.  They tent camped on shore as Amy Marie is really only a two person boat in it's cruising configuration.  The first night was wet, but the second night was rain free.  We hiked the island and the shore.  We were treated to a former San Francisco Bay Pilot Schooner anchoring near us for the night.  It's current name is Zodiac and it is based in Bellingham Washington.


Schooner Zodiac at Spence's Spit



The Rain as it appeared on our Chart Plotter


We were destine to have several days of cold, windy and occasionally windy weather.  At the end of the weekend our guests returned to work and school.  We continued on to Fisherman's Bay, where we anchored.  Winds gusted to 25 knots at night with intermittent rain.  We hiked on the island between down pours. We also read and got caught up on other chores.


The Entrance to Fisherman's Bay



The Anchorage in Fisherman's Bay


From Fisherman's Bay, it was a short trip to Friday Harbor. We opted to stay at the guest dock for a couple of days.  Our "big find" was a more affordable grocery store with good selections.  It is the Friday Harbor Market Place located at, 515 Market St, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.  It was a bit over a half of a mile from our boat to the market.  However the prices and selections made the hike worthwhile.  It is where the islanders shop.  King's Market, near the waterfront on Spring Street is the other option for grocery shopping.  It is smaller and more expensive. but a more convenient.  Nice to have options.  We also hiked past the County Fairgrounds, Jackson Beach, Shipyard Cove Marina and back to the boat.





Beth Baked Coffee Cakes onboard


From Friday Harbor we headed to Matia Island, a place we had never visited.  It has limited docking so is not crowded.  It also has some wonderful trails that provide terrific views of Orcas Island, Mount Baker, Sucia, and panoramic views of the Gulf and San Juan Islands.  There is a pit toilet ashore as well as picnic tables, but no other services.  The dock has room for 4 boats.  You can also anchor in the cove.


The Dock at Matia Island



Mount Baker from Matia Island



Hiking on Matia Island




Sunset from Rolfe Cove on Matia Island



The final location we visited in August was Shallow Bay on the west side of Sucia Island.  I feel it has the best sunsets.  There are 7 mooring balls in the bay and also good anchoring.  Sucia is a popular location, so we arrived around 11am on a Friday.  We were one of 7 boats.  Within 24 hours, there were 37 boats in the bay.  Spacing was good.  People were thoughtful, but it was full. Fortunately, we had a good "sunset spot" so I was a happy camper.  During the day, we hiked the many trails which crisscross the island.


Mount Baker from Echo Bay on Sucia Island



A Unique Homemade Catamaran anchored at Sucia Island



Me relaxing 



Dinghy Ride to Fossil Bay




Hiking on Sucia



Sunset at Shallow Bay, Sucia Island






Voyage Summary for the Month of August 2024













Location: San Juan Islands, Washington, 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, anchorages, whales, birds, bears, eagles, minks, otters
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 reaching the engine.  We changed the fuel fi
Read more

August PNW Cruise: Hood Canal to Alderbrook

-
Image
In 1792, George Vancouver, British Royal Navy,  ventured into Hood Canal in longboats. He left his ships, the  Discovery  and  Chatham , in nearby Port Townsend. Vancouver and his crew journeyed as far as the mouth of the Skokomish River, near the present day town of Union, where Menzies, his botanist, was amazed by the rich vegetation as well as the natural beauty of the area. He wrote in his journal, “here the arm was hemmed in by lofty Mountains on one side and low flat country of considerable extent on the other.” We also have been captivated by the beauty of Hood Canal.  There are no large towns, so it looks much the same today as it did when initially explored.  Its beauty continues to be defined by the clear blue skies, blue water and lush green forests descending all the way to the water.  The Fjord, which is often more than 500 feet deep, separates the Kitsap Peninsula from the Olympic  Peninsula.  The towering mountains of the Olympic Range dominate the skyline to the west. 
Read more