All,
We just got back from our week long adventure 7/12 through 7/19. We modified our cruise to stay within the San Juans.
Day 1: We departed from Moses Lake a bit later than planned and after a couple of stops along the way to pick up a Crab trap and Shell Fish Licenses plus a few other things, we arrived at Skyline Marina in Anacortes. After loading the boat, pumping up the dinghy, getting slung into the water, we were finally underway at around 4:00 PM. The weather was the worst of the trip with some very light rain that stopped just as we arrived at Spencer Spit. We spent the night on a State Park buoy.
Day 2: Sailed / Motored to Stuart Island and got another State Park buoy. It was a bit overcast in the morning through the afternoon. We hiked to the school and then to the Turn Point Lighthouse. It was a very fun hike. My crew enjoyed the unexpected tree swing attached to a maple tree. The view at Turn Point was spectacular.
Day 3: From this point of the trip through the rest, we essentially had nothing but blue skies
We motored around the north end of Stuart Island to get a view of Turn Point from the water. Sailed to Lime Kiln Lighthouse with the hopes of seeing whales. No whales :cry: but the sailing was great:dance:. From there we motored to Roche Harbor and stayed at the marina.
Day 4: We sailed back to the Lime Kiln Lighthouse with one more attempt at finding whales. It was just like the previous day with great weather, great sailing, but no whales. We motored to Garrison Bay and decided to try our first night at anchor. With the muddy bottom and light winds we had no problem. With the crab season just open, we set our trap (we got a folding crab trap, while it was a bit expensive - around $150 from a major marine retailer, it was essential with the limited storage space on my Macgregor 26S. The trap's frame is two circular stainless steel cables. To stow it, you place a tie strap around the middle and twist the loops into doubled over smaller loops. The trap goes from about 3' diameter down to about 18" making it small enough to store in the aft locker.) We took the dinghy ashore for a steak bbq and returned to the boat and found two male crabs large enough to keep. We re-baited the trap and turned in for the evening.
Day 5: We woke to find 8 large male crabs and no females in the trap! We motored over to Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island and set anchor. We had arranged a guided kayaking trip and they picked us up from the marina and drove us to the south end of the Island. The kayaking was a blast. It was a different perspective being right on the water and paddling through very shallow water and into a couple of caves. We saw lots of starfish and jellyfish.
Day 6: One keeper crab caught over night. We motored over to Friday Harbor and set anchor again. We rented some bikes and rode down to False Bay. Lots of hills, but a very beautiful ride.
Day 7: Sailed to Blind Bay on Shaw Island. With the three State Park mooring buoys taken, we had a difficult time finding a good anchorage close to Blind Island. The winds were a bit stronger and I wanted to minimize the distance that I had to paddle the dinghy - next year I will get a small motor. After another bbq on land, we moved further south into the bay and anchored along with about 60 others. In the evening it was fun to watch the ferries steam by with all their lights. At around midnight, I came out of the cabin for a look around and was amazed with the sight. The water was as smooth as glass and all the anchor lights were reflecting undistorted off the water. The sky was brilliantly lit with stars and the Milky Way.
Day 8: Motored back to Skyline marina and returned to life on the land:cry:
This was an incredible trip:dance:. We saw lots of beautiful sights, enjoyed the sailing, and caught more crabs than we could eat. We had a blast! The tips provided on this forum helped us plan a great trip- thank you very much!
Bob