NautaBytes

PROLOGUE:  This was the last part of my trip to the San Juan Islands in August 2015... yeah I know... almost a year later, but it is still good! This was supposed to be the most laid back part of my Vacation... but it turns out that Mother Nature had different plans for me.  It started out just fine.  I was back at Echo Bay at Sucia, one of my favorite places.  I arrived on Wednesday and Kayaked to Ewing cove and back. it is pretty picturesque from the water. Scenic Sandstone... The same from shore... kinda looks like a wave Me... hanging ten in the sandstone wave! I went for a bit of a climb... Ewing Cove.... wish I coulda gotten a mooring ball there.... Blue Heron perched on the cliff... As I was coming back from the cove, I took a detour to gawk a little at this guy..... this is the M/V Excellence.  I couldn't find out much about it other than it is privately owned out of Seattle.  It is about 130 f...

Dulcinea tucked into a slip on the H dock at Friday Harbor   After seeing my sister off on the ferry in Friday Harbor bound for Anacortes, it was time to move on to the second half of my trip.   I was looking forward to it as I was headed for a couple of Islands I had not yet been to, namely Jones and Patos islands.   After stopping by the pump-out dock to, well.... Pump out the holding tank, I bid adieu to Friday Harbor.  It is really one of my favorite places to visit when I am out, and little did I know that I would be back in a week under very stressful and ominous conditions.... But that is a story for another post!   I finally got underway around noon. It was a beautiful day, and my first stop, Jones Island was not very far - only about five and a half nautical miles.  The wind was mostly non-existent as I headed out into the San Juan Channel and winded my way past the western coast of  Shaw Island, past Cliff Island, then in between...

Wow... it has been awhile... at this rate I won't finish talking about this trip before the next trip this summer!  I will try to fix that.... Anyway, My sister and I had spent 2 days at One jewel of the San Juans, Stuart Island , and now it was time to travel to another Jewel, Sucia Island! Now, Sucia is an Island that I have been to before , and it is one of my favorites!  There are about six different anchorages around the island, so it is possible you could stay there a week, and never stay in the same anchorage, if you were so inclined. After a lazy morning of coffee in the cockpit and breakfast of Cinnamon Raisin Bagels , I hauled up the anchor with my sister at the helm, and we started to motor out of Reid Harbor at around 11:30.   On the way out, I learned an important lesson.  I suddenly remembered that I never plotted a course in the chart plotter.  Damn!  so I had to do one on the fly.  Now I don't multi-task well, so i...