Another great trip to Jones Island State Park

Our favorite local destination is Jones Island State Park. A gem of an island located just north of Yellow Island and west of Orcas, it offers safe and easy anchorages, amazing hikes, nice second growth forest, big open fields for frisbee with the kids, and surprisingly few other people. It only takes an hour from our slip in Friday Harbor and so it is an easy half-day trip.

This time we took advantage of some rare sunshine and brought along a good friend for the ride. We sailed for a while but were going into the teeth of a max ebb current which reduced our SOG to about 1.5 knots in the slight and variable 10 knot winds. Alas, at least we got to raise the sails and use the new traveler. Wow, is it pretty to look at and works like a dream. I'm sure the first time we use it something more than 20 knots will surely show the benefits of the 4:1 ratio and smooth bearings.

We anchored in the south cove as the wind was from the north and after going to shore did a lot of sun lounging on the beach. The boys are always happy, as all kids would be, playing on the shore. We try as much as possible to afford them a Huckleberry Finn childhood.

The hike around the west side was especially beautiful and the boys and I took advantage of the extreme low tide to explore some smallish coves/caves in the north cove. Couldn't have had any more fun than playing tag and walking logs and just being boys.