Blind Bay|Reid Harbor|Garrison Bay|Victoria

ToG departed Port Townsend around 10am on Thursday 9/31 after visiting the pump-out dock. We were just out of the bay when a couple of things happened. First, lots of fog. It didn’t last long but the second thing that happened added to the challenge. For some reason our navigation signal kept cutting out. We’ve not experienced this before. Nick rebooted and that seemed to take care of the problem. Thankfully the water was mostly calm and there wasn’t a lot of shipping traffic. We pulled through Cattle Pass with the current, then made our way to Blind Bay.

Crossing the Strait can be stressful for many reasons. Rough water is a primary concern. It’s also a bit boring to be honest. Boring in a “not much to look at” kind of way. We are certainly watching for marine traffic and debris. It takes us a few hours, and this time we were fighting current part of the way and ran our engine at higher rpms than usual. So that’s a lot of fuel as well. It was nice for a change of pace but I’d still rather take the scenic – and less stressful – route through the Swinomish.

Blind Bay (Shaw Island) is a popular spot but there was plenty of room to anchor (no mooring buoys open). One fun thing about this location is the proximity to both the Shaw and Orcas ferry terminals. Both are visible, providing all-day ferry viewing. Down side…wave action.

Nick dropped a crab trap right after we arrived. Friday morning we took a dinghy ride to the General Store to take a look around. Quaint as ever, with the new Captain’s taproom next door. We weren’t there for long so no opportunity to check it out…next time maybe.

We picked up the trap on the way back. Success! Just one keeper but enough for a crab Louie salad!

Margarita experimentation - Pineapple. Very good!

We’ve had some sustained northerlies which has impacted our plans. After spending one night in Blind Bay with a bit of windy rocking, we decided to check out mooring options at Jones Island. We’ve anchored in the north cove before but that is exposed to north winds. We pulled in to see if there was room at the dock – not likely at this time but worth a try. No room at the inn so we continued on to Reid Harbor, Stuart Island. Lots of boats but a couple of open state park buoys. We tied up and enjoyed the sunshine and absolutely zero wind. Plus, a nice paddle and a fantastic crab salad! (Dropped the pot again but so far no keepers.)

[Reid is spelled Ried on the park dock, Reed and Reid on the website.]

Reid Harbor had lots of Red-eye Medusa jellies. Couldn’t get a photo but check them out here. I don’t think I’ve seen these before.

We both got up Friday night around midnight to use the facilities…and then heard some suspicious noises. I opened the door and Plop! Plop! Two seals on the swim step scattered into the water at my intrusion. I sat outside for a while to watch one haul herself back onto the step. There was a lot of loud breathing and snorting as she scoped out her surroundings, and then ever so gracefully plopped herself onto the deck. Tried to get a photo but my flash wasn’t on and she was not having any part of me being so close to her!

WA State Park Mooring Permit

We purchase a mooring permit each year, as we enjoy many marine parks. There is a potential cost savings to those who visit parks often, as well as a convenience factor – not having to write checks. Last year it seemed like we visited less and I was wondering if it would continue to pay off. As of this visit to Reid Harbor, we’ve visited five parks: Blake Island, Jarrell Cove, Sucia Island, plus Prevost and Reid Harbors on Stuart Island, for a total of twelve nights. We’ve tied to docks and to mooring buoys. Permits are $5 per foot, so our permit was $180. Park rates are $.70 per foot for dock space and $15 for a buoy. By visit number nine we were at $175.80, so most of visit number ten and the last two nights have been free. I guess we’ll continue to buy permits!

Some views of our boat from a hike on Stuart Island:

We left Reid Harbor on Sunday for Garrison Bay. We expected large numbers of boats because it’s Labor Day weekend but there was plenty of room to anchor. We took the dinghy into Roche Harbor, and that was a different story! Very crowded and busy.

Demolished some oysters at Westcott Shellfish on Labor Day:

Another wonderful hike up Young Hill:

No crab. Nick is bitter.

We left Garrison to cross Haro Strait to Victoria on Tuesday. Two-foot seas were expected but it was more like glass. Very nice crossing for the most part but got chippy as we rounded the point - lots of kelp and logs in the water.

We've decided to stay in Victoria for a few days. It's not the easiest place to get to so might as well! Plus, we have a lot on our list of things to do. More about that next time!