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.