Friday Harbor – Riveted

To Fisherman Bay, Lopez Island

Laura Domela — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 23:25:27 +0000

We left Jones Island this morning and cruised back over to Friday Harbor for some grocery-getting and some lunch.

Airship, middle of the below photo:

The forecast for tomorrow looks a little rough, so we chose to head across to Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island and stay put until Tuesday.

Tonight
E wind 5 to 15 kt…becoming NE 25 to 35 kt after midnight. Wind waves 2 ft or less…building to 4 to 6 ft after midnight. Rain or snow showers likely.
Mon
N wind 25 to 35 kt…easing to 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft. A chance of snow showers in the morning…then a slight chance of snow showers in the afternoon.
Mon Night
NE wind 15 to 25 kt. Wind waves 2 to 4 ft.

Gorgeous winter day for a cruise. Fisherman Bay is only 3-4nm from Friday Harbor. We were wishing we had further to go, so we slowed down a bit to make it last a little longer.

The sandbar at the entrance to Fisherman Bay is littered with boat bones:

Entering Fisherman Bay is shallow and winding but not difficult as long as you pay attention to the markers, your chart, your depths, and the plethora of crab traps as you wind your way in.

Safe Harbour and Airship are tucked in and anchored in the bay now, and we’ll probably have dinner together again and then make an early night of it, and with less wine (unlike last night). Tomorrow we’ll get some more Slowboat work done here with Sam and Anna before heading back to Anacortes on Tuesday.

Thanks for the Cocktails!

Laura Domela — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 03:29:24 +0000

To whomever anonymously paid for our drinks tonight at Downriggers in Friday Harbor with the “Thank you for the blog” message: Thank YOU SO MUCH. That was such a sweet thing to do and we only wish we knew who you were. Please, if you see us again, come say hello. You’re why we love doing the blog in the first place. We hope you enjoyed your evening as much as we did. Thank you! xo

Photo above: Airship on a cold night in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island

P.S. Dinner and service at Downriggers was great, and we’re so glad they’ve reopened. This place has been one of our destination eats since long before we had a boat. So nice to have them back!

Sucia Island to Jones Island to San Juan Island

Laura Domela — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 21:01:27 +0000

Sam took that photo of Airship, above, as we were on our way from Sucia Island and headed for Jones Island yesterday. The wind was picking up and we figured it would be best to get inside the islands with a little more protection so we didn’t have to cross over in worse conditions. We left with the wind and current at our backs, and it wasn’t too bad…choppy and maybe 4ft following seas.

We moored at the south side of Jones Island last night, and got some more work done before dinner. It’s still quite cold out (30 degrees Fahrenheit when I took this photo just before sunrise this morning), and there’s snow in the forecast for this afternoon, but we’ll see:

After breakfast on Sam’s boat, we cruised over to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, where we are now. We’ll stay here while the wind does its thing (NE wind 25 to 35 kt. Wind waves 4 to 6 ft.). We’re recording another Slowboat webcast today (an overview of the Inside Passage), and we’ll probably go into town for dinner tonight…then more webcast work tomorrow. Excited to get these finished and posted for you guys to check out!

Turn Island

Laura Domela — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 23:52:00 +0000

We left Anacortes this morning around 9:30am or so…sleeping in meant we had about 2 kts of current against us as we made our way out of Guemes Channel. Oh well. It was so nice to be on the water and out of the marina that we didn’t much care if today’s cruise over to Friday Harbor took a bit longer than usual. In fact, I even throttled back some of the time so it WOULD take longer.

The weather today was just fine. Not too windy, and we only had 1-2 foot chop in Rosario Strait.

We were feeling a little “marina fever” (the weather has been crap since we got to the boat last Saturday), so we decided we’d stop over at Turn Island (just around the corner from Friday Harbor) for a little hike before heading into the marina.

Found still life with barnacles:

The hike around Turn Island is about a mile and looks like this:

We’re tucked in at Friday Harbor now. We went for a walk when we first got here, and we’ll probably have dinner with friends tonight at the Downrigger (it’s back!!) Tomorrow we’ll be having Thanksgiving dinner at the Coho Grill (just like last year, only this time with friends). Hope everyone has a great holiday!

San Juan and Sucia Islands

Laura Domela — Fri, 27 Nov 2015 21:58:46 +0000

Sunrise at Friday Harbor this morning:

We left Indian Cove at Shaw Island yesterday morning and did a little sightseeing and whale watching searching. Sights were beautiful, but no whales. We arrived at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island right around 1pm. We had a Thanksgiving dinner reservation for 3pm at the Coho Restaurant. Last week when we figured out we'd be up here in the islands, I called to see if they had any availability for Thanksgiving. They said they had a waiting list, but that they did have one last table available and it was a table for two at 3pm. We took it, and our 3pm Thanksgiving dinner was delicious! I started out taking photos, but only got as far as the amuse bouche (meaning, I took one photo of the very first thing and then spaced on all the rest…oh well). That first thing was really good though: a deviled egg with smoked salmon on top. Delicious!

The next courses were a sweet potato ravioli with brown butter and sage sauce, and a crab cake with a pomegranate and citrus chutney (they were both great), then a soup and salad (the soup was the winner: a truffled celeriac soup with bacon…delicious), and the entrees were turkey (white and dark meat, perfectly tender and juicy) and pan-seared trout, with sides of cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, and brussels sprouts. (There were two options for each course, so we ordered one of each and tried everything.) Desserts were many, and we chose apple pie and bourbon chocolate pecan pie (the winner). The wine pairings were great and it was a very nice meal.

We got back to the boat and after a while noticed an email from some folks who follow our blog, Chuck and Connie (in Friday Harbor from Bellingham with their Grand Banks). Turns out they were up at the Coho Restaurant for dinner also (with friends Bob and Jill, also from Bellingham and also with a Grand Banks), and were wondering if we were still there at the restaurant. We told them we had done the early shift and were already back at Airship, and invited them to come by the boat after they finished dinner if they wanted. They did, and it was super fun! New boating friends!

The docks were frosty as we headed up to the market this morning for some groceries before heading out:

Bob and Jill and Chuck and Connie had invited us to stay for a second Thanksgiving today (Friday) consisting of Bob's deep fried turkey on the dock, and as seriously tempting as that was, we opted to head over to Sucia today. We were really itching to be out on the water (because it's just so gorgeous out still) and also wanted to get in some hiking. We all exchanged info though so we'll plan another meet up, for sure!

We moored in Fox Cove on Sucia this time, between Sucia Island and Little Sucia Island. We've never moored here before, and figured we could get the sunset and the view through to Fossil Bay from here. It's gorgeous. We put out some crab traps (cuz, you never know) and then dinghied around to Shallow Bay, where we beached the dinghy and then hiked out around Echo Bay.

I know, I've posted many photos of this place in the past, but man it's gorgeous!

There were no boats at all moored in Echo Bay when we started our hike (around 2:30pm).

As we were finishing our hike (around 4) there were two boats. That's it. On a holiday weekend. Where are all the boats, people??

As we came around a bend, I noticed a large blue heron sitting in a tree. I took a quick shot, and then moved quietly along the path to see how close I could get to him before he took off (and made that loud cranky sound they make):

Dinghy ride back to Airship as the sun sets:

Sunset from Fox Cove:

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, wherever you are!

Work Day/Back to Anacortes

Laura Domela — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 21:08:00 +0000

We worked this morning over at Friday Harbor for a while, and then headed back to Anacortes. We're going to have some work done on the boat this week/next week (haul out, bottom paint, zincs replaced, stuff like that). Sad to say goodbye, but it's just for a short bit.

Great day for a cruise though! Mt. Baker looking pretty:

Here's our track from today (23 nautical miles):

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.)

Birthday Cruise

Laura Domela — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 22:08:13 +0000

Today is Kevin's birthday! We left Active Cove this morning and headed for Friday Harbor, where we thought we'd have some lunch, and pick up some seafood for dinner tonight at the little fish market down on the dock. Active Cove lived up to its name last night, and was pretty dang active. Our first night there was nice and calm, but last night the north wind caused the swells to come straight into the bay and we rocked and rolled all night. Kinda crazy, and we did not get much sleep. But I did get to snap this shot of the moon as it was setting…sometime around 4am:

It's super grainy becaused I cranked the ISO on my camera as high as it would go, but it still gives a pretty good representation of how it felt. In real life of course it was much clearer and a little softer.

We picked up some clams at the fish market and a few items at the grocery store in Friday Harbor for tonight's dinner: linguine with clams, and asparagus.

It was another gorgeous day in the islands, and we decided to moor at Spencer Spit State Park tonight on a buoy (but not one of those nice new ones…they still have the old style buoys here that we haven't seen since…um…yesterday).

View from our buoy (looking toward Frost Island):

Looking toward Spencer Spit:

Kevin's working on his quadcopter video from Patos Island and should have it uploaded either later tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait!

One more shot of the moon over Frost Island:

And here's our route from today:

A Choppy Day on the Water

Laura Domela — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:08:57 +0000

We woke up early this morning in Friday Harbor (with the help of that extra hour, thanks Daylight Savings Time). We decided to have a quick breakfast and head out early while it was still nice and calm.

Well, that didn't last long at all:

Originally we thought we'd take the long way home, around the bottom of Lopez Island, but quickly realized it was not going to be a very pleasant ride as we were approaching Cattle Point. Super rough (see above)! We bailed on that plan and headed back the way we came, around the north end of Lopez, then north of Blakely Island through Peavine Pass. Here's our route (click image to enlarge):

After a very windy fueling up at the fuel dock (docking with the wind, so, plastered up against the dock), and then another stop at the pump out dock (docking against the wind, so tons of power to get TO the dock in the first place) we got back nicely in our slip, washed the boat with fresh water, squeegeed the windows, and then went up to Anthony's for some fish and chips and a beer. We're back cozy in the boat now, doing some work to get ready for the week.

Here's what it looked like (still) as we approached Anacortes:

Airship handles like a champ!

Also, here's our track from the weekend: Anacortes up to Patos Island (twirling around a bit while we watched HUMPBACK WHALES!!, then moored for the night in Active Cove on Patos (with the spin around the island on the dinghy not shown), then on Saturday morning down to Jones Island, then Deer Harbor on Orcas Island, then Friday Harbor for the night, then this morning out to the rough water, um, nope, back the way we came and to Anacortes the wussy more pleasant way:

Patos Island to Friday Harbor

Laura Domela — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 15:52:00 +0000

Yesterday morning before leaving Patos Island we took the dinghy out and decided to do a lap around the outside. It took us one hour, exactly, and the sun was out for a bit of it.

That's the edge of Sucia Island on the right (and Mount Baker in the far distance):

As we rounded the far end of the island, there was a cove FILLED with harbor seals…hundreds of them! They came off the beach quickly and headed out to greet us, looking curious as if they'd never seen our kind before (easy to imagine here in the off season when we were the only people around for miles).

Many of them followed us for a while (could this have been an escort "out of town" perhaps?) Here they are, behind us as we head for the lighthouse (Mt. Baker in the distance, looking pretty huge):

We made it back to the boat with about 20 or so seals still on our tail watching as we went from the dinghy to Airship, snarfing and mouth breathing as they poked their heads out of the water, swimming alongside. Pretty cute!

We left Patos Island and decided to go check out Jones Island (home of the tiny tame deer). We looked for the humpbacks from yesterday, but it was calm and there were only seals and porpoises out:

We came upon a bunch of porpoises acting a little more crazy and aggressive than the others we'd been seeing…they just seemed much more active…feeding or whatever they were doing. When I blew up one of the shots I took, I could see some white on one of them, so we think these maybe were Dall's Porpoises. They have similar markings to the Orcas:

It's too hard to see in this photo, but maybe zoomed in you can see the bit of white:

We did a quick recon at the north cove on Jones Island, and thought we might return there for the night (on one of the mooring buoys), but decided to head over to Deer Harbor on Orcas where we might grab some lunch first.

We docked and walked around a little bit, but learned that the one restaurant there was only open for dinner. By that time, we'd gotten the "go out for a meal" bug and so we headed to Friday Harbor with the idea of going back to a place we'd been ages ago that was really good: the Backdoor Kitchen. We got a spot in the marina for the night, called the restaurant to see if they had availability for dinner tonight for two, and learned via their recording that they are closed this week, starting on October 31st. Well, we're on a roll!

Our backup plan turned out great, however. We had a very good meal at The Place, in Friday Harbor, right near the ferry landing.

On our way to dinner:

We had cocktails (a manhattan and a sazerac), shared some crab and shrimp potstickers and a caesar salad as starters, and our main courses were a True Cod special, grilled with artichoke hearts, capers, tomatoes, white wine sauce and veggies, and a black bean ravioli with sauteed shrimp. Both dishes were delicious and it was fun to have a window seat at the marina and have someone else cooking and doing the dishes.