Pat & Sue let loose of the mooring lines about 10:30 from Anacortes marina this morning: refreshed from a good shower, two pots of French pressed coffee and a solid breakfast. That should have anyone wired to go. The day promised to be on the warm side - Sue did not start out with as many layers as she has the past couple of days. Shortly after getting out of the marina the wind was clocking up to 12 knots. Good for sailing but we needed to charge the batteries since we did not hook up to shore power last night. By the time we could the wind had died down. The current was going in our choice of directions, Obstruction Pass. Sue has not seen this route and the object of our journey this year is to go down different paths from the routine Pat has traveled over the course of time. Mutual consent was not to drop anchor in the usual spots. They want to try out new moorings, which will lead to new adventures.
Wow! I got a real thrill this morning. The wind picked up to 14 knots and within a very short discussion, the main sail was up, the jib was out. Hold on I did! We were flying across the water between 7.5 to 8 knots. This was short lived and the wind shifted and droppe
d to nil. The conversation was how easy all this was for just a 10 minute thrill. Sue did not grumble but quickly released cleats, pulled car for jib control. She handles all the sails while Pat stands at the helm, not having to say a word but keep Liberté s nose into the wind while the sail works its way up the track.
d to nil. The conversation was how easy all this was for just a 10 minute thrill. Sue did not grumble but quickly released cleats, pulled car for jib control. She handles all the sails while Pat stands at the helm, not having to say a word but keep Liberté s nose into the wind while the sail works its way up the track. With Spencer’s Spit off the list, we considered Deer Harbor, Orcas Island. As we followed the ferry, it slowly turning into Shaw Island, we saw a bay. As we rounded the corner, we headed between Blind and Shaw Islands. Blind Bay opened up into a big pictorial bay. There were three buoys off Blind Island, two vacant. We made a bee line, carefully watching for hidden rocks and shallow water. Sue skillfully with great finesse caught the ring in one pass. Pat came forward to run the line through the ring and instantly bumped his hat against the shroud and his hat went overboard. Heck with the buoy! The hat was more important. Pat deftly snagged the hat with the boat hook and swung far and wide to drop it onto the deck. Ooops, too much energy exerted, it flew off the port side of the boat and into the water again! Retrieved once again we returned to starting over to tie up for the night. The location is appealing and tranquil. To west we see the Orcas Island ferry terminal, and starboard Shaw Island ferry terminal. Ferries run about every 30 minutes, th
e last one was around 10:30. The wake enters the bay and gives the boats a minute of rocking and rolling.
e last one was around 10:30. The wake enters the bay and gives the boats a minute of rocking and rolling.I went out on Sue’s kayak for my first time. She carefully secured me on the deck, positioning me so I could see her and where we had come from. The sun beat down on us and I could have gotten overheated. Sue’s paddling has a way of keeping me cool- with every left stroke; the water runs down from the right. My feet and hands are still damp 12 hours later. I won’t complain. She might not take me out again. We paddled over to Blind Island to register for the night’s stay, a total of 20 strokes. There is a group of teens on a kayak adventure over on the east side of the island, one young lady swimming – squeals of how cold it is and all the while laughing at the joy and freedom of what she was doing.
We then climbed back into the kayaks and headed toward the ferry terminal. Sue idled on the other side of the ferry dock, commenting to me that she had never been so close to a ferry. Pat called out that this was not a wise choice. (Something to do with ‘backwash”.) I am so grateful that she listened and responded immediately and moved over to the shore some distance away! You shou
ld have seen the water churning, making big waves and a chaotic motion with the boats tied to the dock adjacent to the terminal! As the cars began boarding the ferry, we quickly exited our corner and began the clockwise exploration of the bay. The highlight was watching a pair of Great Blue Herons valiantly attempting to distract Pat & Sue from their nest high in a tree rooted along the shoreline. Sue sat patiently for some time hoping to catch a glimpse of the chicks. No luck for the nest was deep within the boughs.
ld have seen the water churning, making big waves and a chaotic motion with the boats tied to the dock adjacent to the terminal! As the cars began boarding the ferry, we quickly exited our corner and began the clockwise exploration of the bay. The highlight was watching a pair of Great Blue Herons valiantly attempting to distract Pat & Sue from their nest high in a tree rooted along the shoreline. Sue sat patiently for some time hoping to catch a glimpse of the chicks. No luck for the nest was deep within the boughs.The evening was warm and we sat out in the cockpit until the sun met the horizon. It created a beautiful peace and colors to quiet the soul. Sue tried to capture the feeling with lots of photos. The sun illuminating the back sail of Adventuress as she entered the bay to drop anchor for the night was picture perfect. The only negative for this moorage was the number of small flies that were determined to annoy. Sue remained calm, telling me that she was pretending to be in the Congo where this is a normal occurrence. Pat took refuge in the cabin where the flies chose not to explorer.
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