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Search Main menu Skip to primary content Skip to secondary content Home Post navigation ← Older posts July 31, 2019–Across the Finish Line, Oak Harbor Posted on August 1, 2019 by captain 2 Departure Port: Fisherman Bay; Departure Time: 6:30am; Destination: Oak Harbor; Arrival Time: 11:50am; Distance Cruised Today: 38 miles; Total Distance for the Trip: 1,082 nautical miles; Conditions: overcast in morning; strong ebb current; sunny afternoon; wind light; air temp: 80 degrees; water temp: 64 degrees Our final day is all about timing the current. We depart Fisherman Bay at 6:30am, and are aiming to arrive at Deception Pass in time for the 9:37am slack, with turn to flood. Arriving early is not to our advantage; being a little late will be ok, and give us a good shove to inside waters. Unlike our low tide arrival in Fisherman Bay, we’re at mid-tide on our way out, with plenty of water to work with. It doesn’t even look like the same place. Our route takes us right past Duane and Lorrie’s home, perched atop the cliff at Upright Head. As we draw near I give them a cell call. As they did 7 weeks ago at the start of the cruise, they step out to the railing, wave to us, and then ring their bell. It’s the sound of friendship and goodwill. I reply with two quick blasts on the air horn, and then we motor on, toward Thatcher Pass, which will be our exit from the San Juans. The current is running strong on the ebb, giving us a solid 3 knot push on the way out. Once out in Rosario Strait, the strong ebb continues to affect our progress, albeit in a most favorable way. The current is setting strongly to the south. Our course toward Deception Pass is southeast, so our speed benefits significantly from the current. However, I regularly must adjust course to counter the effect of the southerly current, which seems determined to set us onto Belle Rock. This nasty rock pokes most inconveniently out, square in the way of boats traveling between Deception Pass and the San Juans. We’re averaging more than 3 knots faster than our throttle setting would justify, and when we pass by Belle Rock, our speed accelerates sharply, up to a brief top speed of 11 knots. All this extra speed is tending to bring us to Deception quite early, however, in the last 2 miles we enter a counter current which slows us to 4 knots. We end up passing beneath the Deception Pass bridge one minute past the published slack time. Boat traffic is quite heavy, in both directions. Once inside, I empty the ballast tank and give her full throttle for the first time on the trip. Our speed picks up, although not as much as the reputation of the planing MacGregor might lead people to expect. Our heavily laden boat, still burdened with cruising gear and supplies, peaks out at 10 knots. While not fast enough to water ski behind, it still nearly doubles our speed from the rate at which we cruised for most of the trip. Both noise and rate of fuel consumption are dramatically higher than we’re accustomed to, but today, it’s an acceptable trade-off, because we’re headed home. In quick succession we pass Hope Island, Strawberry Point, Polnell Point, and the red buoy which marks the turning point for entering Oak Harbor. We’re coming in at dead low tide, and the tide today is a minus 2 foot tide. Great amounts of Oak Harbor are exposed as mud flats, however, the waters immediately next to the Oak Harbor Marina are sufficiently dredged to permit our entry. At 11:50 am we ease into slip number 36 on F dock, bow in starboard tie, and we’re home. We’ve been out 45 days, have cruised a total of 1,082 nautical miles, ranging from 48 degrees north almost to 51 degrees north, and extending 6 degrees of longitude out, and back again. Weather impeded our progress only once, when high winds delayed our crossing of the Strait of Georgia for a day and a half. The occasional cold fronts, with associated rain and wind, hit us at convenient times when we were either on a dock or in sheltered waters. We were blessed with settled weather and favorable conditions as we approached each of the challenging places in the circumnavigation: Johnstone Strait, Cape Scott, Brooks Penninsula, Estevan Point, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We had but one serious day of fog, on our run into Victoria. The fishing was good, wildlife viewing was wonderful, the scenery was spectacular, and the people we met along the way were fascinating and memorable. We consider ourselves fortunate to have been able to experience this great cruising area, and to have had such a successful trip. Posted in Vancouver Island Cruise 2019 | 2 Replies July 30, 2019–Dinner With Friends on Lopez Island Posted on July 31, 2019 by captain Reply Departure Port: Roche Harbor Marina; Departure Time: 8:30am; Destination: Lopez Island Resort; Arrival Time: 11:30am; Distance Cruised Today: 14 miles; Total Distance for the Trip: 1,044 miles; Conditions: mostly clear, wind S 15-20 in morning, seas 1-2 foot chop; air temp: 68 degrees; water temp: 57 degrees Our day begins with a hearty breakfast at the Lime Kiln Cafe. We delay departure until 8:30am, because of the anticipated current pattern on San Juan Channel. By the time we pull out, Roche Harbor is already coming to life, with float planes both arriving and leaving, and cruising boats doing much the same. We turn into Speiden Channel and find ourselves bucking a strong ebb current. I steer near to shore and catch a few eddies, however, when we round the pointand nose into San Juan Channel, we’re forced to bounce our way through a moderate rip. The choppy water bounces all over the place, as if it can’t decide what to do. We finally push through the confused seas and cruise southward, down San Juan Channel. A stiff 15 to 20 knot wind is directly on our nose, and as the current begins to flow toward the south, very bouncy seas give us a rough ride, with occasional spray reaching back to the cockpit. These conditions are brief, though, and by the time we pass the approach to Friday Harbor, things are settling out. I raise the jib once we’re past the west end of Shaw Island, and we’re able to motor sail toward Lopez Island. A check of the tide reveals that we’ll be entering Fisherman Bay channel at very near dead low tide, and it’s a minus 2 foot tide. The entrance channel to Fisherman Bay is notoriously shallow, and many boats have grounded on their way in or out. At low tide the channel can be as shallow as 3 or 4 feet. I know I can motor in 2.5 feet, so I decide to head on in. The approach looks worse than it actually is, for our boat, that is. The shallowest reading I get on the depth finder is 4 feet, and most of the time I’m in considerably deeper water. The approach to the marina is made difficult by shallow water on the inside, as well as a stiff cross wind. A bit of confusion with the dock hands delays our approach to the slip, but it finally gets straightened out and we tie up without incident. It’s great to be in and secure. After lunch we walk over to the pool and hot tub for a good swim and soak. The pool is quite warm, and enclosed by wind breaking glass panels. After we return to the boat I give our friend Lorrie a call and we set the time for her to drive over to pick us up. We are to be dinner guests at Duane and Lorrie’s remarkable home, which sits dramatically atop Upright Head, 275 feet above the water. Lorrie picks us up at 6:30pm and drives us up to the house. Duane is still finishing up on his day’s work. He’s in the midst of replacing the roof on the house, in addition to building a major addition and remodel of the existing structure. He’s doing the work on his own, and it’s a really major project. For him to stop work amidst this project and welcome us for dinner is a remarkable gift of hospitality. We are simply captivated by the view from their deck and living room window. The house looks right out onto the major crossroads of the San Juans, between Lopez, San Juan and Shaw Islands. At times you can see 3 ...