Charter in the San Juan Island out of Anacortes, WA - September 24 - October 1, 2003.

 

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Beneteau Oceanis 40 Center Cockpit sailboat

s/v Fantaisie Impromptu

 

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Wednesday

 

Ann & Ana at the Oakland Airport Barry at Oakland Airport.

First stop in Seattle? A quilting store of course! Ann checking out fabric. Quilt Ana checking out quilts.

Steve inspecting boat on first day. Dangerous areas around the islands. Ana preparing our provisioning list.

 

Thursday

Ana tends the docks lines as we leave the slip. Resting sea lions on floating breakwall. Barry drives us out of Anacortes Yacht Harbor.

Lots of fog in Rosario Straight. Thank goodness for radar. Ana bundled up. Once we left the fog the layers were soon peeling off. Fog breaks up on other side of channel. Beautiful sunshine as we come out of fog bank. Fog is gone until the last day of our trip on the way back to Anacortes. Starting to warm up.

Ann, Ana at the helm, and Barry hanging on. Steve tried fishing but no bites the entire trip. Ann & Ana enjoing the sunshine and scenery. Not enough wind to sail so we motor to our first anchorage.

Ana & Steve determine the best heading to steer. Keep an eye out for the ferries. Free eastbound, toll westbound.

Checking out our first anchorage at Orcas Island. Didn't look too great so we turned around. Found a great spot to anchor between Double Island and Orcas Island. Double Island anchorage.

Securely at anchor, Ana relaxes. Securely at anchor, Ann & Barry relax. Steve tries to catch some crabs using a punctured can of dog food as bait. Maybe crabs don't like liver flavored dog food. First crab. Looks like we may starve.

Barry BBQs at Double Island. Beautiful evening. Great meal. Good friends. Teaching Ann & Barry how to play 'OhShucks!' The game continues, more or less, with a few glasses of wine and gin & tonics.

 

Friday

Ana prepares first breakfast cooked on the boat. Ann rings for room service to no avail. Breakfast was great.

Steve stores the snub line while leaving Double Island / Orcas Island. Ann checks our course to Friday Harbor. Enough wind to sail along at 4 - 5 knots under jib alone. Sailing to Friday Harbor, San Juan Island.

Tied up at the Friday Harbor guest dock. Ann & Ana watch the boat while Barry & Steve get a slip for the night. Ann, Ana & Steve at our Friday Harbor slip. Barry on Friday Harbor dock. Ann & Ana on Friday Harbor dock.

Steve at Friday Harbor Marina. Friday Harbor Marina Friday Harbor Marina Ann on Friday Harbor pier.

Snowcapped Mt Rainier in background. Lots of crabs here! See next picture. This is where all the crabs were. We resisted buying any. We wanted to catch our own dinner.

Lunch at Herb's Tavern in Friday Harbor. Poster on the ceiling at Herb's Tavern. Barry changes his order from Diet Coke to a beer after reading poster.

Ana & Ann shopping in Friday Harbor.

 

Saturday

Fat Cat Cafe, Friday Harbor Fat Cat Cafe outdoor setting. Good breakfast except for the hash.

Typical cruising lifestyle. Get to an exotic anchorage and repair the boat. Broken water heater hose.

Ann & Ana Leaving Friday Harbor. Ann

Great sail to Stuart Island. Seagulls on deadhead. Quite a few dangerous 'deadheads' to remind us to keep a constant watch. Sailing to Stuart Island.

We enjoy the day despite the dangers. Barry adjusts the sails. Ann takes a nap of the aft deck. Ann, Ana & Steve on a perfect sail. Steve at the helm and fishing at the same time. Another great day,

Fish on! Drat! That big fish must have got off!! So much for a fish dinner tonight. It was almost a record sized kelp, but they're out of season so we had to throw it back. The sea lion seemed amused.

Checking out the danger areas at tonight's anchorage. Arriving in Reid Harbor Barry checks out the Reid Harbor anchorage at Stuart Island. Reid Harbor, Stuart Island Reid Harbor, Stuart Island anchorage

At anchor in Reid Harbor.

Steve ties a turkey leg onto the crab net. The official crabbing position. New 'top secret' bait does the trick. The turkey leg does the trick. Crabs really like the turkey leg and salmon. All undersized. We finally catch a keeper.

We made our own measuring device. Crabs have to be male and measure 6" or more across the top of the shell. Catch 50, keep 1. 2 good sized crabs for dinner. Dinner at last.

Bringing up the crab net. Getting the crabs out of the net. Isn't he cute? Female, wide bottom. Male, skinny bottom.

Barry dives in the water quickly. Barry dives 'out' of the water even quicker. Ouch FREEZE BRAIN HEADACHE Yes, the water is only 53 degrees. A nice warm, freshwater rinse.

Happy Hour at Reid Harbor Happy Hour at Reid Harbor Ana starts another crossword puzzle and we extend Happy Hour. Happy Hour seems to have gotten out of control. Still Happy Hour Steve and Ann enjoying the afternoon sun.

Barry fires up the BBQ again. Sausage and crab tonight. Ann prepares the sausages. Crabs in the pot. Crab's are in the pot. Our first crab meal. Delicious!!! The best tasting crab we've ever had.

Incredibly good! 1..2..3..GO

BBQ fork in hand, Record high temps made for warm evenings. The sun sets on another great day. Ann & Ana enjoy the sunset.

 

Sunday

Ann finally brushed her teeth. JUST KIDDING!

Rowing over to the island. We take the dink over to Stuart Island for a short hike. Tied up to the dinghy dock.

Shore ramp at Reid Harbor. Ana & Steve on Stuart Island. Fantaisie Impromptu at anchor.

Ana, Ann & Barry on landing ramp at Reid Harbor. Ann, Barry & Ana on Stuart Island. Ana at crooked tree on Stuart Island. Stuart Island hiking trails. Ana & Steve on Stuart Island hike.

Ann & Barry, Provost Bay, Stuart Island Ann on trail next to Provost Bay.

Ann keeps a lookout on the trip to Roche Harbor. We decide to double the lookouts on the motor to Roche Harbor, San Juan Island. Boat in slip at Roche Harbor. Home for the night.

Ann and Ana walking the docks at Roche Harbor. No money made. Barry and Steve walking the docks at Roche Harbor. No money spent.

Hotel De Haro, Roche Harbor, San Juan Island Ana in front of the Hotel De Haro. Ann in front of the Hotel De Haro, Roche Harbor Hotel De Haro gardens Roche Harbor rentals Steve picking blackberries. Sweet and messy.

Fields of art. Who said pie are square? Cake are square, pie are round. Ana pets tamed seals. Art. Funny, doesn't look like him. No comment. Barry and Ann find comfortable art.

Old Roche Harbor limeworks. Old Roche Harbor limeworks. Old Roche Harbor limeworks.

$6 bottle wine, what a treat.

 

Monday

Ann and Ana have their morning tea and coffee and prepare to meet the new day. Leaving Roche Harbor Marina.

On our way to Sucia Island. Orcas Island Sucia Island

Darn, the cell phone works even out here! Autopilot poops out so we hand steer.

Entering Shallow Bay, Sucia Island. Entrance to Shallow Bay, Sucia Island. Which mooring do we want to hook up to? Steve brings the dink around while Ana handles the mooring line. Tying to the mooring ball in Shallow Bay.

Anchorage at Shallow Bay, Sucia Island Ana on the beach at anchorage at Shallow Bay, Sucia Island Ann and Ana on beach at Shallow Bay.

Cruise director. Entertainment director. Captain

Departing for Sucia Island. Hard to tell when, where or if they will make landfall. Looking good. Straight as an arrow? Success. The first time Ana has ever rowed a dinghy. Ann and Ana rock climbing on Sucia Island.

Lots of crabs here, too. So many crabs and so few keepers. Back in the water to grow up. Time to check the net again. Hey, a keeper!!!

The only bald eagle we saw. Bald eagle in the tree. Telephoto on bald eagle. Telephoto on bald eagle.

Otters, mom and 2 pups at Shallow Bay.

What do Ana and Ann find so shocking. Oh, it's just Barry extending Happy Hour from yesterday.

This one was almost too big for our pot. Ready for consumption. Crack the shell, eat the meat, toss the empties overboard. What a life.

The end of another picture perfect day. Playing cards with a crescent moon shining through the port light.

 

Tuesday

Shallow Bay in the morning.

One more try to catch a salmon. Last day to catch some crabs to take home. Guemes Island.

The fridge on the boat worked fine! Ann keeps a daily log.

Barry and Ana do dishes.

Forepeak looking aft. Forepeak pullman and head. Forepeak cabin - port side. Forepeak cabin - starboard side.

 

Wednesday

Guemes Island dew on the boat. Dew on spider web.

Ann prepares the last of our food for breakfast. Looking good. Pop them in the oven for a bit. Plop a little vanilla yogurt on top and breakfast is served.

 

The end of a great trip. We were lucky and had record high temperatures while sailing the islands.

 

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