Sailing the San Juan Islands

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Trip start
June 27, 2020
Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Arriving in Seattle
June 27, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Andy and I made it to Seattle at about 3pm in the afternoon after a brief stop in Dallas. Despite Covid, the plane was about 80% to capacity. From the airport it was about a 20 minute ride with Uber to our Airbnb located in Belltown, only a in short stroll from the Pikes Place Market and the Space Needle. The weather was chilly but no rain and our first stop was “German Doener” for a nice dinner. I have to admit though that I was rather disappointed from Seattle. Downtown is grungy and looks run down with a lot of homeless and obviously mentally ill people in the streets.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Pike Place Market and Downtown
June 28, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
We spent the day studying for our ASA certifications and taking a stroll to Pike Place Market and Puget Sound.
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Seattle to Bellingham
June 29, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We had a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant and after picking up our car made our way to the airport to meet Kristina. After a 2 hour ride we arrived at the Heliotrope hotel in Bellingham. We found a nice brewery where we had dinner and called it a night.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Bellingham - ASA 101/103 certifications
June 30, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
Spend the day shopping and getting the boat ready. We chartered ‘Raven’, a 42 ft Juneau Monohull. This evening Don and Terry joined us and completed it crew. In addition we took our ASA 101 and 103 exam and Andy and I both passed the test!Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Inati Bay on Lummi Island
July 1, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Today we welcomed our instructor Alexander on board who will teach us ASA 104 bareboat sailing! Our first destination is Inati Bay. Unfortunately the weather is deteriorating and we had drizzle all day but still learned a lot. We learned how to correctly apply propwash and prop walk and how to turn the boat on the spot and stop it. He showed us how to do a stern anchor when we arrived at Inati bay and stayed there for the night.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Clarke Island
July 2, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Another rainy day and not much wind. Yet we had some time to practice our sailing skills and I did some tacking and jibing. I also motored us up to the mooring ball where we spent the night at Clarke Island after an adventurous hike and a jolly dinner of wine, cheese and salami around a camp fire.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Bellingham Harbor
July 3, 2020 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
It is raining cats and dogs and today is our last day of ASA104. So glad I brought foul weather gear!! We motored back to Bellingham bay, this time with Andy at the helm. We practiced all sorts in of docking maneuvers and were exhausted by the time we finally went to our slip. Andy did a marvelous job getting us in! Alex also showed us how to do a pump out. Once back, we still had to take our test that we both passed! It was past 10pm when we finally were done with class!Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Bellingham Harbor
July 4, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Today was a down day after the rigorous past days to get our ASA certifications. And the sun finally came out! We took the dinghy and rowed it out of the harbor to do some fishing, but we weren’t very lucky. But on the way back we came across some seals that were sunning themselves on the dock.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Sucia Island
July 5, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
We motored from Bellingham Harbor to Sucia island today, leaving at 10 am and arriving at 2pm. We were lucky to get one of the 12 mooring balls. Andy was at the helm leaving our slip and bringing the boat up to the mooring ball. It was a beautiful day today but not enough wind to go sailing. However we saw some seals and dolphins on the way. Andy did some trolling along the way but without success. He took the kayak out ad went for a paddle when we made it to Sucia. The plan is to stay here for two nights and do some beach combing and hiking. Terry and Don are making dinner- we are having chicken and baked potato! Tonight was a full moon and Jupiter just to the right of it.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Reid Harbor on Stewart Island
July 7, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
We sailed to Stewart Island today, which is as close to the Canadian border as it gets as it is still closed due to Covid. Sailed for a little while until the wind died, then I motored us into the bay where we anchored. The weather seems to be turning. It was more chilly and clouds are coming in. It’s a beautiful evening though, the clouds went away and we are having steak dinner on the cockpit.Read more
Genießt den Regen ☔️ und das „Sauwetter“ .... Sonne 🌞 habt ihr daheim 🏠 genug [Alexandra]
7/8/20Reply
Traveler😂
7/8/20Reply
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Friday Harbor
July 8, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Andy, Kristina and Terry went for a hike on Stuart island in the morning and came across some 🦦 otters that were playing in the water. It was a beautiful day although a bit chilly. In the afternoon we went on a 5 hr sail to Friday Harbor. After arrival we went for a nice dinner at ‘Bluewater’ restaurant where we could overlook the harbor.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Friday Harbor Day 2
July 9, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
We decided to stay for a second day. We registered the boat in the morning and then went to the supermarket downtown to do some provisioning. Later Andy and I set out for a walk around town while Kristina walked 3 miles to a lavender farm. Andy and I met up with Don and Terry after our walk and we found a nice little restaurant for lunch. Back on the boat Andy whipped up a batch of brownies and we had homemade burgers for dinner.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
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Roche Harbor on San Juan Island
July 10, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
We left Friday harbor and sailed around the west side of the island to Roche Harbor on the southern tip of San Juan Island. On the way we also got in some fishing but so far no luck! It was another beautiful day and we saw another lonesome orca in the straight. After arrival we went on a walk around the harbor which is dominated by a 5 star resort, two restaurants and some little shops.Read more
Traveler Da habt ihr euch eine abwechslungsreiche und interessante Fahrt zusammengestellt... alle Achtung
7/12/20Reply
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Open Bay
July 11, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We decided to stay in Roche Harbor for another day as the forecast predicted rain for the afternoon. Andy wanted to do some more fishing so we left for open Bay in the late morning. I took the boat out of the slip and also put it back in when we returned. We fished for about 4 hours but did not get one fish! It also started raining as predicted and I am so glad I had bought some rain gear before we left. Luckily the weather cleared back up in the evening and we had a nice chicken dinner on board.
The real cool thing about the water here is that it not only is very deep (over 1,000 ft in some places) but where the currents converge between the islands, it creates eddies and the water looks like it was in a washing machine while just a few feet away it is totally calm. There are also plenty of logs and kelp one has to look out for floating in the water, and the most dangerous are the rocks that are hidden just beneath the water surface. The tides here can vary up to 10 feet between high and low tide!Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Rosario Harbor
July 12, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
We played a round of Bocce before we left Roche harbor. It’s another beautiful day - shorts weather! Kristina took the boat out of the slip and is taking us to Rosario Harbor. We are expecting about a 4.5 hr ride. We had to motor most of the way but once we were in the bay the wind picked up and we sailed for about 2 hrs before going into our slip. Had a nice dinner at the restaurant that overlooked the harbor and had a unique encounter with some deer. Rounded off the day with a fun evening playing cards against Humanity with Kristina and Terry.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Rosario Harbor and Cascade Lake
July 13, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Andy, Kristina and I went on a 10 mile hike today to Cascade lake through a nice wooded area that reminded me a lot of Germany. The weather was perfect.. a blue sky and just the right temperature for walking. We had picnic lunch at cascade falls before returning back to our boat. A deer appeared right in front of me and I was so startled that it took off. Since hunting is not allowed on this island, the deer is not very shy. We had a delicious spaghetti dinner on the boat this evening and had about 6-8 otters playing on the dinghy dock next to us. Unfortunately it was already too dark to take a picture! We also saw the deer in the meadow again. Apparently they come down every dusk to feed.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Watmough Bay
July 14, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
Left Rosario at 10 this morning and motored to Watmough Bay. It’s been another gorgeous day but no wind. Upon arrival we saw some otters eating some fish in the rocks and after some downtime we took the dinghy to the beach to go on a short hike. We spend some more time on the beach and watched some locals swim in the below 50 degree F water. Kristina was the most courageous one of us to dip her feet into the cold bay. The view from here is breathtaking with Mount St Helens as a backdrop.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Anacortes - Cap Santes
July 15, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
I woke up and was unable to open my right eye 👁. So everyone thought I had Pink eye. So I was pretty much useless on our sail from Watmough Bay to Anacortes. We had a lot of fog in the morning so we didn’t get out on the water until after lunch. The wind was great and it took us about 4.5 hours to get to our destination. We refueled the boat and Andy and I went to look for an urgent care clinic but they were all closed already. We met up with the rest of our crew for dinner at Anthony’s, a nice restaurant overlooking the harbor.Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Anacortes to Bellingham
July 16, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Our last day on the water! First thing in the morning we went to a walk in clinic and the good news is that I don’t have pink eye, but a scratch on my cornea! As soon as the PA put a numbing agent in my eye, I could see again without any pain! Unfortunately she couldn’t give this to me to take home, but I got an antibiotic and some ibuprofen eye drops prescribed. On our way back we found a Starbucks for some breakfast and we left Anacortes at12:15pm. It was foggy again in the morning, but had lifted by noon. The wind picked up along the way and we were able to sail all the way with winds between 15 and 23 knots. We arrived safely in our home harbor in Bellingham at 4:30pm and are in the process of preparing our last dinner on board. Before we got to eat we had a little incident - another boat tried to dock in the slip next to us and accidentally hit us in our stern. Luckily we only had some superficial damage that can be buffed out! There is always some excitement on the water! 😊Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Seattle - Belltown Inn
July 17, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
The morning was spent packing and cleaning up the boat. We left Raven at noon and Kristina, Andy and I drove to our hotel in Belltown Seattle. It felt great um taking a shower without having to feed it with quarters and having the water cut off after 5 minutes, as to have a soft bed where you actually an sit up in! We found our Italian restaurant ‘ la vita e Bella’ (Life is beautiful- so fitting and true!) again that we already visited last week and had another scrumptious dinner and a nice bottle of Chianti! To digest our food we took a stroll down second ave and it is just sad to see all the homeless and mentally ill people loitering in the street, businesses boarded up, and so much trash on the sidewalk!Read more
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Sailing the San Juan Islands Traveler
Seattle - Starbucks, Amazon and Tesla
July 18, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Another perfect day with blue skies and no cloud in sight! We walked (uphill) to the Starbucks Reserve where one can watch how the coffee gets roasted and packaged. Moreover they had flights of coffee martinis 🍸 that we had to try and of course some delicious pastries. I went for a coffee float that tasted like a German Eiskaffee just without the whipped cream. Then we came across a bubble building that we thought was a greenhouse, just to learn that this course was one of the Amazon office buildings which was on the Amazon campus where they also had the headquarters building and the AWS tower... and no Amazon logo or brand name in sight. When we asked the security guard he informed us that Bezos felt it would look tacky since about every building in the vicinity belong to Amazon ( I later found out that Amazon owns 45 office buildings and towers on 5 campuses and sub campuses in Seattle alone). However, you can tell that it is an Amazon building if you look at the entrance door and it has a funky name etched I to it, e.g. DayOne, Bigfoot, or Nessie, just to name a few...Next we came across aTesla store and Andy almost drove out in a new Tesla! 😉 After a quick stop at Whole Foods for some libations and almost 11,000 steps later we made it back at our hotel! For our last dinner in town we found a nice place that served sushi and on our way back we made a stop at the Space Needle. It is still closed but we at least could admire it from below. Back at the hotel we enjoyed a last night cap on their roof top balcony looking out to a nightlights of Seattle. Thank you Seattle and the San Juan Islands for a formidable vacation and long lasting memories!Read more
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Trip end
July 19, 2020