July 24th 2024
It took a few days longer than expected but I finally made it to the San Juan Islands. Specifically to Blind Bay, Shaw Island. My first attempt on Sunday morning was a mistake. I got my butt kicked in the Straight of Juan de Fuca where the waves were steep and fast. I wasn’t really expecting the conditions I found myself in and stuff was flying everywhere down below. After an hour of bashing into the waves I decided to turn around and try another day.
I sailed back under jib and planned to spend a couple days waiting for calmer conditions down in Port Hadlock instead of retreating back to Boat Haven marina in Port Townsend. When the breeze died off I discovered my jib furler had come apart so I had to drop the headsail on deck and added that to my list of things to deal with at anchor. I was having one of those days where a boat owner wonders why you do this. You start thinking about how it might be nice to just be sitting on shore somewhere with nothing to fix. This trip was not getting off to a great start, a familiar feeling.
I spent an hour trying to find a good spot to anchor in Port Hadlock. I eventually settled on one which was not really very good. Holding was poor but the boat didn’t drag too far. I did end up a bit close to some boats on moorings. I won’t anchor in this spot should I return here. It’s a challenging place to anchor as it’s deep and all the shallow areas have mooring balls in them. Here’s a pic of my morning shoreline view.
On Tuesday I finally got a break in the weather that let me get across the Strait. It was a sunny day, the seas were nearly flat and the winds were 10-12 knots. I was able to sail more than half way across on a beam reach.
The tides and current were with me most of the way. I sailed through Cattle Pass, between San Juan and Lopez, on the full flood tide, for a nice fast ride of over 10 knots. The breeze faded and it was back to motoring for the rest of trip to Blind Bay.
