Kate, Lucy, Baker, and I set off from the Everett marina on the morning of Memorial Day, May 26th, for a three day cruise up through the San Jaun Islands on our new old boat, "the DogFish", a 29 foot Uniflite Express Cruiser built in Bellingham in 1964 (the same year the S.S. Minnow set sail for a three hour tour!).
From Everett, we motored up the Saratoga Passage between Whidbey and Camano Islands, then stopped at the Deception Pass State Park dock for lunch and a chance to walk the dogs. We got a few tips on the right gear to catch bait fish from the Filipino fishermen who were all over the dock, then set off through the pass to Friday Harbor in search of herring jigs, Orcas, and a place to tie up for the night.
The dogs quickly got used to being hoisted on and off the boat, and even settled down a bit when we were up on plane trying to make good time across shipping channels and through the more open and rough sections of water. We cruised through the more protected waters of the islands at an easy and more economical 7-8 knots, which is a lot more relaxing as well.
We stayed overnight in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, then motored up north and west to Roche Harbor. Both places were pretty quiet and resting up after the Memorial Day weekend. Had good coffee both places and Kate had "the best doughnut ever" at Roche. The dogs were just glad to be on land for a while.
We only spent a couple of hours at Roche Harbor. The weather forecast was for rougher seas the next day, so we decided to head back to Deception Pass for the night, and make the last day a shorter one. Cruising back through the islands was great, and between the depth finder and the GPS/chartplotter, we were able to squeeze through some tight channels that I wouldn't have attempted using paper charts alone.
We came back through Deception Pass on a flooding tide which added a few free knots to our speed. We tied up at the State Park dock again in Comet Bay - just on the inland side of the Pass. I got to try out my new jigs that I bought in Friday Harbor & caught 6 or 7 nice fat herring. Baker loves fishing & kept a close eye on the bucket full of fish. We gave our catch to one of the Filipino women. Not sure what they do with them, but I'm guessing that they don't use them to catch bigger fish.
Coming back into our home port, we counted no fewer than 50 bald eagles perched along the jetty in Everett!
Overall, it was a really full and fun three days. We covered about 170 miles, had decent weather, and the boat made it all the way up and back on it's own power. Not bad considering that I'm still working a few bugs out of the engine. Looking forward to heading back up that way again later this summer - hopefully for a longer trip. Though with gas at the marina now at $4.61 per gallon, I may have to get a 2nd job...
