At last - a successful Internet connection! By now, we imagine people had assumed we had hit a rock and sunk. What really happened was that our computer was blocking access to hotspots, so we found a computer tech to fix us up.
It has been a great trip so far. We motored out of Anacortes, WA on Saturday, crossed Rosario Strait and encountered some pretty intense currents. Luckily, our GPS set a course that compensated for the current. There were enormous upwellings of water that tugged at the rudder. We transited Thatcher Pass, which is approximately 1/4 mile wide and headed for the anchorage we had planned to use. It turned out to be very shallow - about 5 feet, and not very scenic, so we decided to head for a more protected area known as Shoal Bay on Lopez Island. Shoal Bay turned out to be a very peaceful spot, with good anchor holding. We spent the night there and headed for Rosario Resort to spend the next two days. Had two hours of great sailing, with winds up to about 25 kts.
Rosario is an incredible place - it is an estate that has been converted to a posh resort which features a 100 year-old mansion, three swimming pools, a spa, restaurant, and of course, a marina. We hiked into Moran State Park, which is a short climb/hike from the resort. It is situated in what looked like a rain forest.
We had some pretty interesting company at the marina, where we were docked for two nights. There was a 65' yacht that was 3 stories tall docked across the dock from us. Our boat would have fit beautifully into their salon. it could also have served as their dinghy. I guess size does matter.
We headed out of Rosario about 9:00 am, and sailed for the town of East Sound. This was a leisurely sail of about 3 miles. We are now anchored in Fishing Bay at the head of East Sound. The town is immediately to our north, and is reminiscent of Mendocino. This is a quaint, 19th century town that has a distinct counter-culture feel to it. It has many shops that cater to tourists, which, we have heard were scarce this past summer.
