After staying up far too late making sure we had packed “everything” needed for the trip, the original time for waking up (6am) in order to take off at 7am was moved back an hour. Not that I got much sleep, what with it being Christmas Eve and knowing that Santa was bringing us a two-week boat cruise to the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands.
So, we managed to get out the door and head to the store for ice by 8:30. Thinking this was a “lucky” day, we also decided to buy Lottery tickets, but unfortunately, Safeway doesn't open its Customer Service desk until 9am. I guess anyone going to Safeway (or at least this Safeway) expecting customer service before 9am is going to be sorely disappointed.
By the time we got the boat loaded (still managing to leave a couple of items on the truck) and made our way to the locks, an armada of recreational boats were waiting for their turn to be corralled into a very confined space and tied to one another in order for the opportunity to explore the vast expanses of Puget Sound and BEYOND!
Once we had put the “bonding” experience of the locks behind us, it was 10:30 and time to head north for our destination of Blakely Island Marina. But first, we needed to make a “quick stop” for gas at the Edmonds Marina as the Reaper was down to a quarter-tank.
We pulled into Edmonds around 11:00 and were quite surprised to find there were no other boats filling-up, which we took as a great sign for getting out of there in 30 minutes or so…or so we thought. After docking, we had to call up to the office for someone to turn on the pump and after being told “I’ll be right down”, 15 minutes later, someone was right down.
As I pumped the gas in the first tank (yes, two are better than one – and more expensive), we noticed that the digital readout on the pump wasn't moving very fast. More than an hour later, we completed the slow, painful ($3.70 per gallon, ouch!) process of filling our tanks and pulled out of Edmonds at 12:30, for the long cruise ahead to the San Juan Islands by way of Deception Pass.
Making great time cruising at 24 knots, we proceed up through Saratoga Passage with massive Whidbey Island to our port (left) and Camano Island to our starboard (the other left). At 2:30, we approached the northern most part of Whidbey Island; I hung a left and headed for the rushing currents of Deception Pass, our gateway to Rosario Strait and the San Juan Islands.
Between our cruising speed and not having to contend with other boats also vying for position through the pass in either direction, the journey through Deception was blissfully uneventful. This fortunate set of circumstances allowed me to take in the beauty of this most incredible waterway.
Once through Deception Pass, we came upon the extremely tranquil waters of Rosario Strait. In the few times I have traveled these waters, this was the most calm I have ever seen Rosario Strait as I was expecting the late afternoon winds to have picked up and made things a bit rough for the home stretch to Blakely Island.
As we approached Obstruction Pass (the entry to the north Blakely Island), I dropped my speed down to about 10 knots to enjoy the amazing scenery before us and to make sure I didn’t pass the marina entrance, which I almost managed just the same.
On our port (that’s left), we passed some very nice homes that lined the banks of Blakely Island, while uninhabited Obstruction Island rolled by on our starboard (that’s the other left I mentioned earlier – don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it before our trip is over), we kept close watch for the marina entrance and nearly sailed on by before Lysa pointed out our first stop of the trip.
The Blakely Marina is a small (by comparison), beautifully maintained marina with a very friendly and helpful staff. This will be the first of a two-night stay with many more days of adventure ahead in this Northwest paradise.
So, we managed to get out the door and head to the store for ice by 8:30. Thinking this was a “lucky” day, we also decided to buy Lottery tickets, but unfortunately, Safeway doesn't open its Customer Service desk until 9am. I guess anyone going to Safeway (or at least this Safeway) expecting customer service before 9am is going to be sorely disappointed.
By the time we got the boat loaded (still managing to leave a couple of items on the truck) and made our way to the locks, an armada of recreational boats were waiting for their turn to be corralled into a very confined space and tied to one another in order for the opportunity to explore the vast expanses of Puget Sound and BEYOND!
Once we had put the “bonding” experience of the locks behind us, it was 10:30 and time to head north for our destination of Blakely Island Marina. But first, we needed to make a “quick stop” for gas at the Edmonds Marina as the Reaper was down to a quarter-tank.
We pulled into Edmonds around 11:00 and were quite surprised to find there were no other boats filling-up, which we took as a great sign for getting out of there in 30 minutes or so…or so we thought. After docking, we had to call up to the office for someone to turn on the pump and after being told “I’ll be right down”, 15 minutes later, someone was right down.
As I pumped the gas in the first tank (yes, two are better than one – and more expensive), we noticed that the digital readout on the pump wasn't moving very fast. More than an hour later, we completed the slow, painful ($3.70 per gallon, ouch!) process of filling our tanks and pulled out of Edmonds at 12:30, for the long cruise ahead to the San Juan Islands by way of Deception Pass.
Making great time cruising at 24 knots, we proceed up through Saratoga Passage with massive Whidbey Island to our port (left) and Camano Island to our starboard (the other left). At 2:30, we approached the northern most part of Whidbey Island; I hung a left and headed for the rushing currents of Deception Pass, our gateway to Rosario Strait and the San Juan Islands.
Between our cruising speed and not having to contend with other boats also vying for position through the pass in either direction, the journey through Deception was blissfully uneventful. This fortunate set of circumstances allowed me to take in the beauty of this most incredible waterway.
Once through Deception Pass, we came upon the extremely tranquil waters of Rosario Strait. In the few times I have traveled these waters, this was the most calm I have ever seen Rosario Strait as I was expecting the late afternoon winds to have picked up and made things a bit rough for the home stretch to Blakely Island.
As we approached Obstruction Pass (the entry to the north Blakely Island), I dropped my speed down to about 10 knots to enjoy the amazing scenery before us and to make sure I didn’t pass the marina entrance, which I almost managed just the same.
On our port (that’s left), we passed some very nice homes that lined the banks of Blakely Island, while uninhabited Obstruction Island rolled by on our starboard (that’s the other left I mentioned earlier – don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it before our trip is over), we kept close watch for the marina entrance and nearly sailed on by before Lysa pointed out our first stop of the trip.
The Blakely Marina is a small (by comparison), beautifully maintained marina with a very friendly and helpful staff. This will be the first of a two-night stay with many more days of adventure ahead in this Northwest paradise.
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