Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

September 24th - 25th: The day started off cloudy and calm with light rain at our anchorage in Garrison Bay. We put up the bimini and donned our foul weather gear. Off to Friday Harbor, via Speiden Channel and San Juan Channel. We were able ride the incoming tide much of the way, with our speed over ground exceeding 7 kts. at times. That's pretty darn fast for a tiny sailboat like ours! It started to rain in earnest, and we had to head straight into it. It sure would be nice to have some kind of dodger on top of the cabin to shed rain. At the intersection of Speiden and San Juan channels, the currents created a roiling cauldron of turbulence which tossed our boat like a cork in a bathtub. (For Donna, it was that bad, but not for me!) There were also standing waves where the wind collided with the current. Our boat, all considered, handled the buffeting quite nicely.

After dodging ferries, we arrived at Friday Harbor, which has a gigantic marina with over 600 slips. We were placed on H dock, which is (I'm not kidding) about a half mile walk on the docks to the office and showers. The place is really nice, as it is well maintained with updated facilities. Spent the afternoon exploring the quaint adjoining town of Friday Harbor, which has some great restaurants, galleries, and specialty stores. I am writing this blog in the Pelindaba Lavender shop, which features exotic lavender teas, and every lavender-based product you can and can't imagine. There is French pop music playing, and the entire place is permeated with the sweet scent of lavender. The interior is pictured here. Not exacting a stress-inducing place!!

Right about now, you are probably asking yourself how a couple married for 37 years is faring while cooped up in the confines of a 26 foot boat for a month. We are doing great, and the boat has turned out to be a miracle of great ergonomic design. We didn't realize how great it was until we cruised in it for an extended period. There is literally space for everything, and the interior is spacious enough not to feel confining. We are warm, dry, and quite cozy, with LED lights, an oil lamp and a candle lantern. Heat is provided by an upside-down terracotta flower pot atop the alcohol stove. We have continuous forced air ventilation to the outside, so CO is not a problem.

It's off to the fish market on the dock to find tonight's dinner. Tomorrow, we sail for Fisherman's Bay, which is about 5 miles from here.

Garrison Bay, San Juan Island

September 23rd: Motored about two miles through narrow, current-ridden Mosquito Pass to secluded Garrison Bay, where we anchored in about 14 feet of water at high tide. This is the site of the Royal Marine encampment during the "Pig War" (that is, almost a war) between the US and England in the years 1860-72. There was a disagreement over which country controlled this land. Hostilities heated up when an American soldier shot a pig that belonged to the English. Meanwhile, a few miles away, the Americans established a military outpost. Finally, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was appointed as an outside arbitrator, and both sides agreed to abide by his decision regarding which country would control the island. The Kaiser ruled that the Americans were entitled to the land. The English immediately abandoned their outpost and left peaceably. Imagine that!! Wouldn't it be great if all potential wars could be settled this way?

The English Camp is now a historic park, with re-constructed barracks, blockhouse, and outbuildings that are open to the public. We dinghied to the park, explored the camp, and then hiked up 650' Young Hill, from which there were outstanding views of the bay, as well as surrounding waters, islands and mountains. It is pictured above.

These huge maple trees at English Camp are the largest on the west coast.