Fossil Bay – Riveted

More from Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Wed, 07 Dec 2016 17:32:44 +0000

The sunrise yesterday looked exactly like the sunrise today. It’s cold (28 degrees Fahrenheit) and perfectly crystal clear out. It’s gorgeous out!

Yesterday Kevin and Sam and I had breakfast on Sam’s boat and then hiked out to Ewing Cove to check out the sea conditions. Snowy mountains in the distance, from Echo Bay:

Rough water out past Ewing Cove. It’s hard to tell just how rough it was by these photos…but we would not have wanted to be out there yesterday!

Back on Safe Harbour, the three of us got to work on more webcast material. We’re excited to share these next ones with you!

Some clouds moved in yesterday afternoon and gave us a beautiful sunset:

I cooked dinner last night on Sam’s boat (shrimp tacos, and rice and beans). Here we are…at the dock in Fossil Bay, with the whole island to ourselves:

Here’s one of Sam’s drone shots from the other day (the day it was not gusting to 40 knots). This gives a good perspective. We’re docked in Fossil Bay, and the land that’s at the far left toward the top of the island is the outer edge of Ewing Cove:

Roche Harbor to Fossil Bay

Laura Domela — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 21:19:37 +0000

We left Anacortes on Sunday morning a little after 9am. The plan was to meet up with Sam over in Roche Harbor and then walk up to the San Juan Island Distillery (open Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 4pm) to pick up some more of the delicious shrubs I bought at the Christmas market in Friday Harbor when we were there for Thanksgiving — Kari’s Island Elixers. I bought a Sweet Summer Tomato shrub and a Spicy Rhubarb squash. They’re so great to mix into fizzy water for a non-alcoholic cocktail, or to add to cocktails…and as soon as I tried it at home I wished I’d gotten more. You can’t order them online (but you can order her bitters online), but apparently she sells some shrubs/squashes at the distillery…so anyway…where were we? Oh yeah, leaving Anacortes:

It was a little windy out, but not bad at all. We anchored over near Henry Island, near where Sam was docked at the Seattle Yacht Club outstation, and then we all dinghied into Roche Harbor for a walk up to the distillery.

Awwwwwwww. So sad. We’re here, but they’re not.

We’ll be back in Friday Harbor this weekend…maybe I’ll just give Kari a call and see how I can get us more of the delicious elixirs. We out to be able to work something out…it’s not a huge island.

Back in the marina we stopped to visit with some friends of Sam’s and they invited us all to stay for drinks and dinner aboard their 48′ Tollycraft. It was a super fun evening with great folks!

The docks were frosty and a bit slippery as we walked back to Sam’s dinghy. Hotel de Haro reflection under the dock:

The dinghy ride back to Airship was cold but short.

On Monday morning we headed for Sucia Island (photo taken from Airship, Safe Harbour up ahead):

The wind was supposed to pick up (gale warnings and such) so we thought we could hunker down and get some work done in Fossil Bay for a day or two.

Snow on Mount Constitution, Orcas Island:

At the dock in Fossil Bay:

We got some work done and then before it got dark we went for a hike out to Fox Cove:

Snow on Orcas Island:

Back at the dock…we’re still the only boats here! Winter boating is awesome!

Yesterday at Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 14:03:13 +0000

Yesterday we spent most of the day working and going through the cabinets and bins in the boat and getting rid of stuff we don't use or want on the boat (thinking about the additional stuff we'll be bringing for the next Alaska trip). Feels good to streamline things even more! Then at around 3pm we went to shore and hiked over to Ewing Cove. From Fossil Bay it's just under 6 miles round trip. There was only one boat in Echo Bay with its own personal view of Mount Baker. So lovely!

Heron on the shore:

Hollow Madrone:

Sunset:

This morning after breakfast we're going to head over to meet some friends at Turn Island on the east side of San Juan. There are a few light clouds today and the wind picked up a little this morning, and we're now the only boat in Fossil Bay.

Hanging with Friends in the San Juan Islands

Laura Domela — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:28:41 +0000

Part Two

We said goodbye to Sissy and Bob on Thursday morning in Anacortes and spent the day working and doing a few errands. Our friends Becki and Stephen drove up from Portland and met up with us on Thursday night. On Friday morning we headed out for Sucia Island where we'd again meet up with our friend Sam in Fossil Bay.

Anacortes to Fossil Bay on Sucia Island (21 nautical miles, 3 hours 15 minutes):

Hiking around on Sucia Island:

Shallow Cove:

Echo Bay panorama:

Saturday morning sunrise at Fossil Bay:

After a late breakfast we headed over to Patos Island for a little hike out to the lighthouse. I took no photos of the lighthouse this time, but you can click here or here if you need a refresher.

Dinghy on shore in Active Cove (where there used to be two mooring balls, but now there's only one):

The paved part of the trail to the lighthouse:

Looking out toward Orcas Island:

After we'd hiked around and watched the seals for a while, we headed back to Airship and continued over to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island.

Sucia Island to Patos Island to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island (21.5 nautical miles, 3 hours):

Roche Harbor Resort:

We walked up to the sculpture garden, which is kind of neat overall, but this was definitely NOT my favorite sculpture there. At all. (Apologies to whoever made this…but for some reason it feels more like a nightmare than the happy childhood moment I think it's supposed to represent.) Eeek.

Okay I can't look at it anymore.

Chapel on the hill:

We had a delicious dinner at McMillin's Dining Room on Saturday night, and on Sunday morning after breakfast we hiked up to show Becki & Stephen the trippy mausoleum in the forest:

Here's a link to a past post about Roche Harbor and the mausoleum, if you want more info.

The weather was a bit foggy and gray on Sunday morning as we left Roche Harbor and headed back to Anacortes.

Chapel reflection:

We saw lots of porpoises, many seals, all kinds of birds, but no orcas or humpbacks.

Roche Harbor back to Anacortes (27.4 nautical miles, 3 hours 53 minutes):

We said goodbye to Becki and Stephen, washed off the boat, and then decided that since we still had a few hours of daylight, we'd head over to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island for the night (or maybe two) before heading back to Portland.

Anacortes to Eagle Harbor on Cypress Island (8 nautical miles, 1 hour 9 minutes):

It was so quiet here last night, and there's only one other boat moored on the other side of the bay. Today it's foggy and gray and a little drizzly, but it's a perfect day for getting a lot of work done (and maybe putting out a couple crab traps).

Happy Monday!

Kayaking Echo Bay

Laura Domela — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 17:06:44 +0000

This morning we left Fossil Bay and headed around the corner to Echo Bay for a change of scenery. We grabbed a mooring ball, made brunch, and then inflated our new Sea Eagle kayak for a test paddle. It's fantastic! We paddled 2.5 miles around the bay:

I love getting up close to these alien landscapes out here:

It's so nice to have a kayak again! This one inflates and deflates really fast, and we were 25 minutes from unhooking it from the top deck to fully inflated, outfitted, and in the water ready to go. Not bad for our first time with it. (And that's with the manual foot pump…just wait 'til we get the electric pump out here!)

And brunch was delicious! A bed of wilted spinach, then fresh crab meat, two poached eggs, topped with hollandaise sauce (awwww, no chives), served with a side of leftover roasted potatoes from last night's dinner, and some greek yogurt with blueberries and raspberries. Super yum, and good fuel for the paddle.

It's still pretty choppy in here, so we might head around to the back side of the island to Shallow Bay, and then get in a nice afternoon hike.

Eagles and Sunsets at Fossil Bay

Laura Domela — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 12:34:02 +0000

Kevin changed the prop on our dinghy yesterday afternoon (from an 8" pitch to a 7" pitch) and now the boat gets up on plane immediately with two people in it. Before, it would only occasionally get on plane, so we're rockin' now! We took it out for a (fast!) test drive and spotted a couple bald eagles circling above the tree tops:

Beautiful light on the bluff:

Back to Airship:

The wind had died down by the time we got back, so we sat on the top deck for a bit before starting dinner:

The sunset here was cloudy but still beautiful:

After dinner we just hung out and read a bit. It rained last night for quite a while, and some small swells kept us nicely rocking while we slept. It's wet out today, so Kevin's trying out his Grundens. I'm going to use the rest of the crab I cracked yesterday to make us a little spinach/crabmeat/poached egg/hollandaise Florentine/Benedict kind of thing for brunch later on. Not sure yet whether we'll stay here in Fossil Bay or go somewhere else today.

Airship in Fossil Bay

Laura Domela — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 17:35:24 +0000

Fossil Bay, Sucia Islands, March 2015

Flying Around Fossil Bay

Laura Domela — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 13:41:50 +0000

Kevin shot some aerial/quadcopter video of us in Fossil Bay over on Sucia Island the other day and made a short video.

The weather wasn't quite as beautiful as as it was for his previous Sucia Island quadcopter video, but this is a different view of the bay on a gray day and gives a good overall feel for where we were moored in the bay (and Ev Henry Point there on the right of this frame, where we hiked the other day):

Sucia Island to San Juan Island

Laura Domela — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 20:31:28 +0000

Fossil Bay on Sucia Island last night at dusk:

Sucia Island sky from bed this morning:

Fossil Bay, not from bed:

In the stateroom up front there are two portholes and one skylight, and I can usually tell by the color of the light if I should get up and see how pretty it is outside.

We got up and did some work early this morning, and I made us a smoked salmon and spinach omelette, topped with a little hollandaise and chives. It doesn't look super pretty (I usually make one omelette in a pan and we share it), but trust me, it was SO delicious:

We left Fossil Bay (headed to Friday Harbor) on the early side, since the wind was supposed to pick up significantly this afternoon/overnight and we wanted to be somewhere with good protection:

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM PST THIS EVENING

GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM PST THIS EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY
MORNING

TODAY
N WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

TONIGHT
NE WIND RISING TO 25 TO 35 KT. WIND WAVES BUILDING TO
4 TO 6 FT.

Our planned route took us around the west side of Orcas Island, but once outside the protection of the bay, we were in some pretty hefty chop. We were definitely in 4ft wind waves and they were pretty much directly on our beam (hitting the boat sideways, which makes for some side-to-side rolling action…not much fun). Waves on the bow or from the stern, you wouldn't notice a thing, but when the waves hit the boat on its beam, it can be a bit unnerving with all that sideways rolling. A little further out, I'd say we were now in 4-5 foot waves, mostly abeam. We got one REALLY good roll, turned into the waves immediately, and decided to change course and go around the east side of Orcas Island instead.

Here's how that one good roll rearranged the salon:

Kevin calls this look "postmodern post frat party." (That pillow at the bottom of the photo…that pillow is from the pilot house!)

Here's us, changing course:

The new course was much better, and much calmer. (Note: when in rough conditions, boating in socks is not advised. Not enough traction. Check.)

It's another gorgeous day in the San Juan Islands, and the rest of the cruise over to Friday Harbor was great. We washed all the salt off the boat (there was A LOT of it), then grabbed some lunch and a few things at the market and the marine store, and now we're back to work.

Check out the wind sock:

(That wind was not fun to dock against, by the way…but I rocked it anyway. Today was all about good practice in challenging conditions.)

Boatin’ and Hikin’ – Sucia Island

Laura Domela — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 20:22:48 +0000

This morning we decided we'd seen enough of Stuart Island (even though we really hadn't) and we headed for Sucia Island. (It's possible we were also thinking about trying to watch House of Cards, and we were getting very poor cellular and data service in Reid Harbor). We headed toward Fossil Bay on Sucia. It was so beautiful out (and really calm in Reid Harbor). It was a bit rougher outside the harbor, but still not bad (and not the 3-5 foot waves predicted…more like 2-3 foot).

We decided to moor in Shallow Bay at Sucia Island, since we hadn't been there before. Here we are:

We took the dinghy to shore and walked across to check out Echo Bay. We usually stay at Fossil Bay, and have never even seen Echo Bay before. It's big, pretty, and looks like it's ready to party in the summertime. There was only one (very large yacht-style) boat out there today though:

From there, we took a nice 4 mile hike out to Ewing Cove and back. THIS HIKE!! I took way too many photos to show you how pretty it was, so I'll just stop talking and show you:

The trail! It's just like this…the whole way. Love it.

The trail ends at Ewing Cove where there's a nice rocky beach with tons of driftwood, and a marsh of nearby frogs singing some very loud frog songs.

Listen to frogs (and waves) in Ewing Cove, Sucia Island

The trail heading back…still pretty:

When we returned to Shallow Bay, the wind had picked up a bit, but unlike predicted, it was out of the west and straight into the bay. It wasn't terrible, but we decided to stick with the original plan and head over to Fossil Bay for the night.

Mt. Baker looks nice as we are about to round the corner into Fossil Bay:

Here's our hike (and a good overview of what Sucia Island looks like if you're unfamiliar with it). Shallow bay is there on the west side, Echo Bay just across that bit of land to the east, and Fossil Bay is down at the bottom of the map. (If you click to enlarge the image, you'll see that clearly this satellite image was taken in the summer, when every single mooring buoy is occupied by a boat. As this moment, there is one boat in Echo Bay and two other boats here in Fossil Bay. On a clear, sunny, and even warmish Saturday…on the last day of February.)