I just got back from the islands and thought I'd let you see some of the sites.
I left Blaine and made it to Sucia island (5 hr trip) and spent the rest of the day and that night. A buddy showed up from Bellingham with his 33' Hans Christian and we 'rafted' our boats together that night. We left the next morning for Stuart Island, by way of Waldron island and "Presidents Channel", we were on a beam reach and ole' Ceilydh surpassed the theoretical hull speed of 7.1 knots, as my GPS was reading 7.4 KNOTS ! After rounding Waldron and making leeward towards Flattop Island the wind changed and back winded my 150% Genona and spun us around, not once but twice ! After heading out to deeper water and getting well clear of the island that was really starting to worry me, we made our way between a very small islands and Johns Island on a full flood tide that must of been running 4 + knots in our favor..... whatta' ride! Around the west end of Johns and a 90 degree wind change was enough for a Jibe and a broken main sheet fitting..... after that little problem I followed the Sea Horse (his boat) up a seemingly dead end cove, avoiding hidden rocks only 2 feet below the surface (his superior GPS was able to show them and mine was not) I stayed directly behind him and shadowed his every move until be finally made it out of "Johns Pass"........WHEW, that was a hairy one! We continued on up the northern side of Stuart Island to Prevost Harbor (which have the most hidden number of reefs of any harbor in the islands), upon arriving the first guy I spoke with pointed and said, "That is the most popular reef for running aground in all of the San Juan Islands !!!". We had a great steak dinner and turned in early. The Sea Horse left the next morning early to return to Bellingham and I spent another night just taking it easy and enjoying the company of a couple in the "Harbor Star" and after a Vodka & tonic and interesting conversation we all called it a night. The next morning I headed back up to Sucia where I spent the most peaceful night I've ever had on that island and headed back home to Blaine, after leaving Sucia and running the buoy at "Aldens Bank" (just leaving the shipping channel), I ran into dense fog that required me to steer a compass heading, as visibility was about 10 feet, thankfully after an hour or so the fog bank moved on and I later hear that it "socked in" Sucia for the majority of that day, man, I'm glad I left at 6 AM with the flood tide! .............. all in all....... time well spent........ until next time.
Pic's:
#1 - Heading to Sucia from Blaine
#2 - Shallow Bay on Sucia
#3 - Sea Horse (33' Hans Christian)
#4 - Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island (the farthest NW island in the San Juans)
