31st of March, 2023 for checking out of Canada came around quickly. The previous few weeks the skies had been blue with fluffy clouds, minimal rain, temperatures above average and longer days. The morning we cast off the dock shackles the skies were grey, cloudy and the ambient temperature had plummeted. It was as if the weather gods were depressed that we were leaving our winter haven. Despite this, Amelie and her hardy crew motored towards the San Juan Islands, only twenty nautical miles away to check in to NW America for a month.
We were keen to try out the marine app that allows cruisers to check in remotely. Initially we were told not to continue our passage, to turn back but eventually another custom and border officer became involved, videoed us to clarify that we weren’t robots, questioned our month’s itinerary plus a declaration of not having banned items aboard. There is a list of items that are forbidden to cross the borders in either direction. These include fruit, vegetables, eggs, fresh fish, meat, poultry, bulbs and seeds, to name a few. Every year this list is amended.
The friendly official quickly cleared us in and we were thrilled that the app had worked, albeit with a few hiccups.
We initially anchored in Roche Harbour, San Juan Island and apart from the coast guard boat, we were the only liveaboards in the anchorage. The “black windows” of the various dwellings around the bay suggested seasonal use however we still received a friendly welcome from the store manager to replenish food and beverage necessities, which we were forced to leave with our neighbours in Victoria.
Boat chores are never ending and after six months at the dock, a thorough clean of the mooring ropes, fender covers and fenders, stashing stuff away like a jigsaw in the lazarette and all of this in a brisk, icy breeze. The bicycles were on board and already causing a space issue and marking the teak deck. We decided to donate them to PTSW co-op who use bikes to travel between the workshop and projects elsewhere in the vast boatyard. We’d had fun and travelled many miles on them but time for someone else to enjoy their freedom. Debbie is hoping to purchase a pair of foldable “Paratroopers” in the future. The skipper and the lazarette are ecstatic by the thought!
The month of April promises adventure for our “final time” in the San Juan archipelago together with rendezvousing with cruising friends, coming out of hibernation after winter docking and boat projects.
We spent an idyllic day, sailing and making water, slowly venturing to a new overnight anchorage. We were keen to revisit Jones Island but the bay was exposed to a NW wind, another time maybe?
Several miles along the south west coast of Orcas Island we discovered a protected bay named Deer Harbour with Fawn Island to its south. The head of the bay is dominated by Turtleback Mountain and the associated national park. We anchored off the two small marinas nestled in the bay, with the sun warming the cockpit and crew. The research had begun and ashore sounded promising for walking and possibly cycling.
Deer Harbour, like most places in this cultural drenched area, was inhabited by the Coast Salish people for generations. The harbour was abundant with deer (hence the name), elk, clams, shellfish and migratory fish such as salmon. In the 1850s British and American trappers arrived with some settling permanently. One such individual, Louis Cayou married a local Lummi-Saanich lady called Mary Anne, raising a family in Deer Harbour. The Cayou family successfully established a salmon cannery in the harbour and became one of the first wealthy permanent settlers of Orcas Island. This led to a thriving community in the area and by 1887, the first government light was erected on Pole Point followed in 1893 by the first post office close to the grocery store. A two-room schoolhouse was built in 1905 and remains in use as the Deer Harbour Community Club. This schoolhouse served the communities of three other islands; Double, Crane and McConnell Islands. The Deer Harbour dancehall was opened in 1907, now beautifully restored and used as a private residence.
Deer Harbour is today, primarily a holiday resort, taking its links from 1910 when Norton Inn was built as the first resort on Orcas Island. We arrived at a quiet time of year and enjoyed the peacefulness of this normally vibrant domain.
A visit to Orcas Island always includes a visit to Orca’s Landing just to walk around the exquisite deli and fabulous provisions store. We fail to come out empty handed.
The strength and direction of the wind forced us to move on to a more protected anchorage. We also needed to make water so decided to mooch around in deeper water for a few hours before anchoring. This proved to be a sensational idea as we came across a pod of six Orcas, probably hunting with the added bonus of a Orca neonate (calf) displaying play behaviour, constantly breaching for over an hour. We changed directions many times as we wanted to maintain a safe distance from them to reduce any stress and disruption to their activities. Noise from our engine could interfere with their echolocation of prey and communication between the mammals. Research suggests that the pod, highly likely to be the resident southern BC Orcas, primarily feed on Chinook salmon because of their size, high fat content and year-around availability. The Chinook are not abundant in these waters unlike the pink and sockeye salmon but the Residents are inflexible with their foraging sites (unless starving) and prefer to only eat Chinook, sometimes experiencing nutritional stress. This has a knock on effect with breeding, survival of newborns, ultimately fewer pregnancies and birth numbers and consequently fewer mature Orcas surviving.
Orcas (kakaw’in) are revered by the coastal First Nations people and they play an important role in their mythology, art, dances and social structure. Although these whales (which are closely related to Dolphins) were hunted and captured for food and entertainment, the First Nation people did not exploit them throughout the generations.
We returned to Blind Bay to hunker down for a couple of days only to experience “Westerbroke” generator issues. Nevertheless we were only twenty odd miles from PTSW Co-op and Matt Henderson kindly slotted us into their post Easter work schedule and a chance to party and visit friends.
We were further hindered by typical strong April winds and made a bolt to a new bay for us, for protection, very close to the historical American camp on the south east of San Juan Island. (Please refer to “Pig War” details in our blog from last year). The next two days the ferocious SE wind blew hard, gusts of 40+ mph, swinging us around on our trusted anchor and chain but due to our ideal spot, very little fetch. We couldn’t launch the dinghy so contented ourselves with playing board games, reading, cooking up sensational meals and watching films from our hard drive. One stood out in particular, with Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman, called The Upside (2017), based closely on a true story. Heartwarming, hilarious, full of human kindness and humbling, just what we needed.
Easter arrived and the famous Amelie egg hunt was on with only one seeker……the skipper! The First Mate, as organised as she is, had spent a fortune in Purdy’s Chocolatier before leaving Victoria, after several hints from the chocoholic on board. Last year, Stephen had been First Mate on El Mundo, battling the seas from French Polynesia to Canada, decorating fresh eggs for their Easter treat and eating melted Purdy’s chocolate hedgehogs. The eggs certainly have no chance of melting this year!
Amelie and crew returned to Port Townsend on Easter Monday and the following day the troubleshooting began. Familiar faces appeared throughout the week but the issue perplexed us. New parts were ordered and then the weekend got in the way, we were still attached to the work dock with a defunct generator. Please don’t feel sorry for us because after most work days we met up with friends, had an Amelie party on board, visited Aldrich’s deli in Uplands, had a few supper parties and overall had a great time with friends. The weather improved and we were able to socialise in the cockpit being entertained by the resident Kingfishers.
During our last evening in Port Townsend, we returned to Amelie after a stroll to find a wooden boat very close to us in the shallows. The owner declined any form of communication, despite many (including ourselves) attempting to keep him and his boat safe. The boat was hauled off the rocks by a US tow boat and we helped dock him in front of us. He continued to ignore our help and no thanks was given. Thank goodness this attitude is not typical of cruisers.
After eight days of being on the work dock, the problem was “solved” by the determined and exemplary engineer, Adam, from the PTSW co-op. Apart from replacing an electrical connection, the main issue was a faulty oil pressure switch…….or so we thought. More about this conundrum later.
Strong SE winds continued to blow but with very little rain. A lull in the gusts with more to come over the next few days, encouraged us to venture out and we had an initial hairy ride towards the San Juans. Early evening we arrived in a familiar bay on Lopez Island (not the original plan), Hunters Bay and dined on Duck Confit. Overnight was calm and we slept like babies. The next morning, Hunter Bay was not comfy in the 30knot SE gusts. The fetch was building, crab buoys were getting closer, so we decided to up anchor and move an hour away in sheltered Sylvan Bay on Decatur Island. The holding was good, not too deep and the shoreline was beautiful. Unfortunately the island and tidelands are private and the residents do not encourage visiting cruisers ashore. During our blustery stay in Sylvan Bay, we were approached by the passenger ferry, who offered the private dock if we needed it. We gratefully declined but were taken back by their kindness and caring attitude.
We are getting to know the San Juans intimately but are finding that some of the protected bays of which are some of the most beautiful, the shore is private so no going ashore. This is fine in a blow but not when we want to stretch our legs or go exploring. Nevertheless we still love them and apologies to our Canadian friends, we prefer them to the nearby Gulf Islands.
A fact about Decatur Island is the site of the Reed Brothers Shipyard. This business was established in 1895 and built many of the steamers that serviced the San Juan Islands and nearby Puget Sound. The original site is now a launch, haul out and hard dock facility for Decatur Islanders.
The strong winds abated and it was time to move on. We motored for several hours, making water, charging the batteries and avoiding the many crab buoys. We were delighted by the number of seals draped over the exposed rocks.
One of our favourite bays is North Bay on Jones Island. We entered towards low tide to an empty bay. Several hours later our solitary tranquility was invaded by another sailboat! We were disappointed that the seasonal float dock (normally in place by March) was delayed in being positioned, so any shore leave would be by the aging Kitty Kayak, the potential for the crew to get wet.
We eventually had the bay to ourselves, enjoying several long walks through the forest, following the damp trail and sometimes getting confused by using the deer tracks. We had a memorable happy hour, sitting on a bench looking out to sea, listening to the various bird songs. One woodpecker slowly hammered in a nearby tree trunk, making us laugh as woodpeckers generally hammer fast but this one was in Sunday mode. The much larger American Robin, strutted, fought and chased other robins close by, oblivious of us.
Three years ago, whilst entertaining on Amelie in Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva, an individual we once knew, declared we were crazy to return to the NW, particularly because (in his mind) revisiting places would be disappointing. How wrong he was! We have got more out of this visit than before. Yes, we’ve gone back to our favourite haunts (not disappointed in the least) but discovered many new bays and anchorages. Our strong, loyal friendships in the NW, old and new, have further enhanced our time here. We are constantly blown away by the diversity of wildlife in this region. Each day is a pleasure and the change in climate from the tropics has not dampened our zest for enjoying this beautiful part of the world and partying.
The subject of friends, we were aware that El Mundo and Manna were in the islands. We raised the anchor in sun and motored the 6nm distance to Friday Harbour, where we caught up with the El Mundos. Cafe culture, top up provisioning, cigar buying and marine book purchasing filled the early part of the day. The odd boat project and catching up on news blazed the afternoon away. The two crews were rewarded with a sumptuous meal ashore, no cooking or washing up chores. Thank you, El Mundo.
Spencer Spit, an anchorage that we have visited a few times, was our next stop, particularly as Curtis and Julie from Manna were there and they had kindly transported our brand new Lily life-raft with them from Port Townsend. Introductions were made with El Mundo and after a warm afternoon walk, we cooked our supper on one of the fire pits ashore. Naturally we reconvened on Amelie for homemade ice cream and liqueurs. Our new huge ice cream maker is a huge asset to having fun.
Most late afternoons and early evenings were spent on a beach somewhere in the San Juans, with the barbecue, cooking up amazing meals. We celebrated Mirjana and Paul’s thirtieth wedding anniversary with another banquet ashore in Echo Bay on Sucia Island. Jim and Peggy from Carisma joined us, with Stephen cooking a leg of lamb, a tasty “Manna” Key Lime pie and everyone mucking in to create a party atmosphere, hopefully memories that the El Mundo pair will never forget.
Weather changes happen frequently and encourage us to move for protection. We headed for Reid Harbour on Stuart Island, a beautiful, protected anchorage from all weather. This island is a marine state park. We quickly went for a long hike along the trail and dirt county road to Turn Point Lighthouse, stopping at the hundred year old school library and site of the old school. Several points along the trail we came across treasure chests filled with t-shirts and colouring packs depicting island life for sale requiring the buyer to use an honesty box. Further reading suggested that this business is run by an island family. The trail was stunning with the occasional glimpse of the water but the main attraction were the old trees, clustered together with deer trotting along their deer paths. Later in our stay we bumped into “Dual Dragons” and the four boat crews got together for a potluck barbecue. Each crew made a tremendous effort and the food and liquid refreshment flowed all evening.
The following day three crews made the 2nm dinghy ride to Johns Island, after Amelie checked with the state park staff that the island was free to roam around. This small island is wild, serenely beautiful, with some private residences and the main part is used for several months in the summer for a kids camp. Alas we found out towards the end of our walk that the island was private and that we had been given incorrect information. The resident was profoundly polite and accepted our apologies, we swiftly returned to our dinghies and belted back to our boats, without being fined for trespassing.
Manna and Amelie ended up anchoring in Garrison Bay by the site of the English Camp, described in a previous blog. We enjoyed a Sunday walk in the sun, followed by choosing shellfish from Westcott Bay Shellfish farm, returning to Amelie for drinks at noon. Our safari lunch/supper was hosted between both boats, with raw and barbecued oysters and a French clam dish, mopped up with warm fresh bread from a nearby store. The shellfish was inexpensive and the quality of the cooking was superior to a recent UK shellfish restaurant experience, which was not only ridiculously expensive but the food was mediocre. Wine, beer and cocktail supplies diminished but that was best as both boats were re entering Canada within the next few weeks. Over a few days we tried out various board and card games, certainly some ideas to introduce to the family in the UK.
Goodbyes came around and again, very difficult situations. Hopefully catching up with a few of the boats again during the season but with Manna, their itinerary is very different to ours and it is likely we may never see them again. We fortunately spent some alone time with them culminating with an ashore supper in Roche Harbour. Swift goodbyes and hugs were in order, our non lingering, farewell policy as it is too upsetting.
Adios Curtis and Julie, enjoy your adventures, stay safe.