Here we go again this year for a Grand Adventure sailing the 34 foot Hunter sailboat, Abby Normal, around The San Juan Islands and up into the Canadian Gulf Islands. Because of the Independence day Holiday this year the event will encompass almost 4 weeks from July 3rd to Sunday July 28, three days short of 4 weeks.
The first three days do not really count. That is for transporting us’ens and the boat to the San Juans. We made some changes this year. We spent the evening of July 3rd in the Poulsbo harbor at anchor to watch the “Independence Day Fireworks.” Yes, a full show on the 3rd of July. We were anchored in the middle of the bay and when the show was over we watched a procession of several hundred boats go in front of us as they returned to their moorings.
We discovered several items missing from our inventory so the next morning we returned to our slip in Brownsville to be met by Christine with a load of forgotten items. It was almost right on our way to our second destination, Everett. We were just in time for Everett’s “Independence Day Celebration” and got a second round of fireworks.
What we failed to fully appreciate, is that Everett is on the Skykomish River and this particular day was the highest to lowest tide of the season. Translation: When we got ready to leave around 9:00 am the current past our mooring was probably on the order of 5 knots. We were tied stern-to the seething ebb tide. So instead of leaving we made a six mile trek to the nearest Safeway store to pick up a couple more items we left home.
Finally at 1:00 pm the current had dropped to a mere 1 knot and we were able to spring out from the float and back away from the big ugly barnacle and muscles encrusted pilings a few feet from our bow and get under way.
Our next stop was in La Conner, Washington. Stark contrast to Everett. It is a quiet town on the Swinomish boat channel. This is a quiet channel cut through the lowlands between Fidalgo Island and the mainland. The current is mild but the channel is only dredged to about 20 feet deep. It is an alternative to the rip roaring sleigh ride through Deception Pass that we did last year.
That exciting piece can be seen at: https://www.dinsmore-enterprises.com/2018/08/20180803-the-grand-adv-return/
The most exciting time on Saturday’s trip from La Conner to Cap Sante Marina in Anchorites was when we spotted a flock of around fifty Great Blue Herons just where we enter Padilla Bay at March Point.
Cap Sante marina at Anchorites is a great place to restock your stores. The Safeway is just cross the street and West Marine is a block up. We made good use of both of these stores, Saturday for groceries, but this morning while “pre-flighting” the Abbey Normal for the day’s voyage Captain Glen broke the bronze bolt that holds the lid on the sea water strainer. Replacement seemed the only option so we hiked on up to the West Marine Store and picked up a bran-new Sea Water Strainer and spent most of the day installing this important auxiliary device in the engine compartment. The space is very limited and Glen and I were both working at full arm’s extension into various service ports to mount the strainer.
For a celebratory lap we went out and checked our crab trap. We had a single legal crab. He will be supper. Yum! However the day is far spent and we will snuggle in here in Cap Sante again tonight.
