Mike and Beth's Adventures

Friends are one of the reasons we enjoy boating in the San Juan and Gulf Islands.  Several years ago we met John and Brenda while visiting Refuge Cove in the Desolation Islands.  They cruised there on John's 30' diesel cruiser, Salish Dream.  Next time we saw them we linked up on Gabriola Island where John gave us an Island tour. Following the tour we visited his sister and her husband who have a home overlooking Dodd Narrows.   Prior to departing for the Pacific Northwest this summer, we arranged to meet John in Montague Harbor on Galiano Island.  He grew up near Parksville, on Vancouver Island and has cruised these waters for many years,  He has willingly shared his extensive knowledge of local anchorages, harbors, sights, and experiences to enjoy. John was in Ganges getting groceries when we arrived.  We anchored just outside the Provincial Park mooring field and set about boat chores while waiting for John's return.  As we waited, float p...

Happy Birthday! If you read our last post, you know that our plans to splash Amy Marie in the Pacific Northwest were delayed for 10 days due to a wheel bearing on the trailer that decided it had worked too hard for too long,  and quit.  Thank goodness we got it fixed and were able to launch Amy Marie in Kingston Washington.  Great little town.  Many people know it as a stop on the Washington State Ferry System.  It is a shortcut to the Kitsap Peninsula for people living on the Seattle side of Puget Sound.  We love it for it's variety of restaurants, the town green near both the marina and the ferry terminal.  Events and markets are hostedall summer long on the green.  We also have extended family who live there. Miss Bones welcomes you for a slice of Kingston Pizza It was important to be in the water and moving so we could join a week long celebration of two family birthdays.  Consequently,  we were unable to linger in Kingston.  My...

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 o...

The site of the British Garrison on San Juan Island is now a National Park First a little island history on an unusual incident, in the 1860’s, associated with clarifying the border between Canada and the United States.   As a result of uncertainty on the islands ownership, both the US and Great Britain maintained military garrisons on opposite ends of the island.   Tensions rose briefly when an American killed a British pig.   A satisfactory resolution was arranged, and the island continued to be jointly occupied until 1872 when Germany was asked to intervene and render a judgement on which nation should be the sole owner.   The ruling favored the United States, so the British Garrison reluctantly left for Vancouver Island. Today, there are national parks at the sites of the two camps.   The American Camp was on an inhospitable shoreline swept by continual winds and fog, devoid of protection, and continually cold. The British Camp was on Garrison Bay, a p...