Stuart Island, Prevost Harbor

 Stuart Island has two great anchorages toward the South end across from Roche Harbor it has a very protected anchorage called Reed Harbor and on the North side a little more exposed is Prevost Harbor.  We love this island and every year we visit the San Juans we are sure to visit. This year we spent two nights in Prevost harbor.  We set anchor a little to the east of the State park dock and enjoyed crabbing and exploring with the Zodiac.  We like Prevost for the nice access at the county dock and the start of an easy hike to the Turn Point Lighthouse.  This year we hike for a picnic, I checked out the views from Lover's leap and Emily had a great time locating some hidden treasures in the form of painted rocks that some kind person left along the route.

We had a cold beer, watched a young couple set up a tension hammock, not too many people and the weather and flooding tide made the destination very much worth the hike.  It's a fun hike passing a small grass runway with the same white and blue Cessna anchored to some make shift tie-downs.  I would love to witness a landing and could only imagine how intense flying in to this place would be.

We hiked back to the zodiac spent a couple of hours on the boat then decided to return and hike to the one room school house, museum, and the local cemetery to take in more of the history of those who have spent most of their lives here.  Emily and myself shot some baskets, I looked through the old library with the smell of old books noticing how many were from the 80s and 90s with their pages turning yellow and weathered.  Checked out the rustic white washed out houses behind the school.  We imagined what it would be like to spend the winter here and experience learning in this remote place or leading a class of students so far out.  I bet it'll happen where they will open the school in the not so distant future with technology and the acceptance of working remote, what a life!

Jones Island

 Jones Island is one of our favorite places to visit in the San Juan Islands. Left Blind Bay for the North side of Jones Island we've anchored twice but picked a space that we've anchored at before.  It is a great spot and we're in about 15ft of water with a stern tie to a large piece of driftwood.  Enjoying a rum and coke as well as some snacks.

There are a bit more people this year but perhaps it is just because it's a Saturday or maybe it's just more people trying to escape Covid.

As a kid I remembered visiting the island with all the deer. We ended a great summer there one year I remember as we pulled out of the little harbor and rounded the reef when I would ever make it back to this amazing place.  I remember the wind damage of the 1991 storm.  We walking on downed trees and climbed through the maze of inter-tangled branches. Now there is little evidence of the devastation.  

As an adult I'm fortunate enough to build the same amazing memories with my wife and daughter.  Stuck in my work routine I was up early as the sun was rising and decided to hike the entire perimeter of the Island.  In the video you will see some of the amazing views.  For those that hike the island watch out for the cactuses, I ended up with one in my calf and thought it was a yellow-jacket swatting it away I ended up with spikes in my hand and in my calf.

In the video you will see the sunset picnic where we are celebrating out 21st anniversary.  The views, the entertainment, and the food will always be remembered.  

I want to thank Frank Kelley for the stern to shore line.  We have accidentally forgotten to bring this essential item in years past.  The stern tie line has allowed us to get into some pretty tight spaces preventing the swing at anchorage.  It is fun to imagine the history behind this simple line and all of the adventures it has been on in the past.  The adventures will continue for this simple line.

Indian Cove, Shaw Island

We left Friday Harbor and headed for Shaw Island to a place called Indian Cove.  We set the crab pots and in short order landed a large Red Rock crab and a good sized Dungeness crab.  This location was great and we enjoyed a nice sand beach with forts and a solid anchorage with a nice level sandy bottom.  There was surprisingly little current in the cove and we had a nice gentle breeze from the south that kept us pointed into the wind.

I will definitely return to this amazing place.  If you visit this location I would recommend you check the weather the fetch to the south is rather long and I imagine it could be a bit bumpy if there was any weather from the South.  The nice thing is if it was to get rough you could easily head off to Blind Bay for a quiet anchorage in that case.

View from anchorage looking south with the Olympics off in the distance.

First and only crab feast on the journey.  On the way home we caught three additional crabs at Spencer Spit but decided to let them return to nature.

There's a ferry in there somewhere.  I'm glad we were out of the traffic lanes and at anchor since this guy was still going fast and sticking to his schedule.

Friday Harbor

We stopped in for a day in Friday Harbor to pick up some needed supplies.  Things we forgot, topped off on fuel and enjoyed a nice dinner.  The marina was at half capacity so we have our own finger pier.  Enjoying the morning, off for some breakfast, we'll give the boat a quick wash then off to the next destination.

A boat here hasn't cast off for quite some time.

San Juan Islands - 2020

 First stop Spencer Spit with an anchorage on the North side. A quiet night on anchor right next to a shelf.  The benefits of being on the small side allows us to get inside the rest of the anchored boats.  We took off for a short sail to Blind Bay.  Mount Baker was out in full glory.

Emily enjoying the first day of vacation.

New head sail, small and great for a solid breeze.

Blind Bay for a quiet anchorage, some Verboort Sausage on the barbecue with some Spot Prawns from the local market on Orcas.

Fuel Locker Continued to Done

This posting is just a sequence of images for the install.  I sort of improvised on the creation of this after watching a you tube video of the stitch and glue method of construction on a kayak.

Corners getting a small filled of vinylester filler on the inside of the boxe to freeze the shape.  The locker will now move the the garage for final taping and first coat of paint.

Jilann helping out with painting, bond areas are masked.

Bonded into the boat with structural fiberglass putty, then tapped with 3 layers of mat veil.  I'm super happy how this turned out and now we can enjoy a little more outside storage.

Later I'll post images of the final install.

Fuel Locker Getting Built

So the 6mm panels are re-assembled in the boat, the corners of the boxes are tightened and I'm preparing to dry fit the fuel tank.