Cruising the Pacific Northwest!
In September, we return to Seattle where we spend a few days in the marina getting Avante back up and running. Provisioned and fueled, we set off for several weeks in the nearby Pacific Northwest Islands on a sailing trip through the San Juan Islands and Canada’s Gulf Islands. We are up here “cruising” which was our plan when we bought Avante. Adventure, discovery and exploration are ahead of us, and all those islands are calling!
Monday, September 11th – We depart the marina around mid-morning and sail north up Puget Sound, then going east of Whidbey Island to our first night’s anchorage in Penn Cove.
Tuesday, September 12th – With a heavy morning fog, we delay our departure hoping it will burn off, but we cannot delay too long because we need to be at Deception Pass at the northern end of Whidbey Island at 1330 to transit the pass at slack tide. The large tidal range in this part of the world creates currents that can be quite strong, and the safest time to go through many of the passes is at slack tide when the current is minimal. At 1030, The Captain announces that we must get underway now, as “time and tide wait for no man.” We slowly creep out of the cove in the fog, navigating by GPS and using radar to watch out for other boats. The Captain has a lot of experience with instrument flying, but not seeing where we are and where we are going is a new experience for The First Mate. Fog is a weather phenomena we are going to have to get used to when sailing here in the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately, the fog begins lifting about an hour later, and we are finally able to begin to see land.
We arrive at Deception Pass under blue skies and bright sun. Ahead of us on the other side of the bridge that arches over the passage, there is dense fog. Slack tide is approaching, and there are some other boats waiting. If we want to go through the pass today, we have to go now despite the fog ahead.
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Motoring through Deception Pass, Avante is once again enclosed in dense fog. When we went through fog earlier today, there was little boat traffic, but now we have entered Rosario Strait, a main thoroughfare for ferries, cruise ships and freighters. Even with perfect visibility, one has to be on the lookout. We turn on Avante‘s lights, regularly sound her fog horn, and keep a close watch on radar as we proceed. We cross the strait without any drama, but the fog is still patchy when we anchor off Lopez Island.
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Wednesday, September 13th – The skies are overcast, but there is no fog as we work our way northwest through the beautiful San Juan Islands. Reid Harbor on Stuart Island is our anchorage for tonight.
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The next day we explore Orcas Island visiting Deer Harbor and stopping for the night at Double Island anchorage on Orcas. We cannot get enough of the natural beauty around us.
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Friday, September 15th – The autopilot has been acting up on us. Before we take off in the morning, The Captain is on the phone to Eric, a man who has worked on and knows a J/160 inside and out. He is our go-to guru when things are not working aboard Avante, and one of the reasons we have decided to remain within reasonable distance of help and replacement parts for these first several years on the boat.
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Before exploring the Gulf Islands, we must clear into Canada. That we do in Victoria where The First Mate is again amazed at the seaplanes motoring around, revving up for take off or gliding in for landings. Once again, we enjoyed spending several days in this lovely city.
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Monday, September 18th – Leaving Victoria to head up to the Gulf Islands, we encounter dense fog before reaching Haro Strait. This strait forms the boundary between the US and Canada and has a lot of ship traffic. We proceed quickly across the foggy strait to minimize our time in or near the busy shipping lanes. For the past hour, we have been hearing radio calls from the Canadian Coast Guard requesting any information on a small sailboat that is lost in the fog, but we have not paid a lot of attention because the estimated position is nowhere near us. As we slowly proceed up the west coast of San Juan Island, The Captain notes a small target on radar that is moving erratically. We divert to investigate. Sure enough, the lost sailboat appears in the fog. We call Canadian Coast Guard and report the boat’s position, but as “no good deed goes unpunished,” we are asked to standby the lost boat until the Coast Guard arrives. This takes some time as the Canadians had been searching way over on the other side of the strait. They finally arrive, and we are released from standby duty. We resume our course northward, and within 30 minutes, the fog magically lifts.
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We soon pass the Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island. How crisp and clean the buildings look with their white walls and red roofs! At Turn Point, the shipping channel and the international border both take a sharp turn and run northeast through Boundary Pass.
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Between the fog and the lost boat, it was a long day before we reach Montague Harbour on Galiano Island, our anchorage for the night. This is a popular anchorage, and there are more boats here than we have seen elsewhere.
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Tuesday, September 19th – Travel time today ends up being much shorter. After a rainy morning, things clear up, and we head to Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island where we set ashore to explore. Through the trees, we can see Avante peacefully at anchor.
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The Gulf Islands enthrall us, but we must return to Seattle for a few days. The Captain has to fly off to a board meeting. The trip south takes two days with a stop for the night in Friday Harbor where we clear back into the US.
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Tuesday, September 26th – Underway again, we turn our direction south. The view of Mount Rainier as we tack down the Puget Sound is impressive.
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Entering tony Gig Harbor, the coast is lined with beautiful homes with equally impressive boats docked below them. This would be a neat place to live with Avante is the thought that runs through The First Mate’s mind.
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Wednesday, September 27th – A tour down to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and back is on the schedule for this beautiful Pacific Northwest fall day. As we approach the bridge, even though we know the height of Avante‘s mast is well underneath that of the bridge, the optical illusion still makes us apprehensive. With The First Mate holding her breath, we clear under it with plenty of room to spare.
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Looking back, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is an impressive sight.
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We motor back to Gig harbor for the night. Shortly after we are anchored, another dark blue J/160, a sistership of Avante, enters the harbor and heads for the docks. We launch the dinghy to motor over and meet a nice couple who live nearby and keep their boat in this picturesque harbor.
Thursday, September 27th – Our short tour of the southern Puget Sound is over. We enjoy a nice sail for most of the trip back to Elliott Bay Marina. Before entering the marina, the main sail must be secured. This task is one of the most cumbersome on Avante. The Captain has to climb out of the cockpit up onto the deck with sail ties to lash the sail down to the boom. With a 75-foot mast and a 26-foot boom, Avante‘s sail is huge and heavy. On a calm day as today, corralling and tying down the sail is no problem, but when the wind is up and the seas are tossing, it can be a precarious operation. At those times, watching her Captain balancing up there, The First Mate at the helm is biting her lower lip in concern.
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The Captain also has to climb a few steps up the mast before detaching the halyard. One hand to hold on and one hand to do the work. Sail secured, we are ready to enter the shelter of the marina.
We have two days to clean, provision and fuel before one of our sons, David, arrives. What fun it is going to be to have him on Avante!