Winter week in San Juan and Gulf Islands-A grand tour

We are just back from the most wonderful week of cruising around the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands. The boys had the week off school, and I from work. We had every single anchorage to ourselves...Where were you?

Dramatic light on Russell Island, British Columbia

Where were all the boats from Puget Sound and Canada? The marinas are full, the people haven't died of the plague yet, so why did everyone stay home on both weekends and week between? Why have I seen it this way every winter for over a decade now?

We had Shallow Bay on Sucia Island all to ourselves. And Echo Bay was empty.

We had Reid Harbor all to ourselves, where in summer I routinely count 100 boats.

We had Russell Island near Salt Spring all to ourselves, where I have shared it with 30 other boats in July.

We had Winter Cove on Saturna Island all to ourselves, and it routinely fills with 30 boats in summer.

We had Reef Harbor on Tumbo and Cabbage Islands all to ourselves for two whole days and nights, and in the summer every one of 14 balls is taken and a dozen others anchored nearby.

Why?




Wind? It was a wet and stormy week according to the media, and yet we had more sun and warmth than you would ever guess. Winds were occasionally 30 knots SE. Yet, most of the time, it was calm. We never had to travel in wind above 20. I've faced far stronger winds in July and August.

Rain? We had times of intense rain, but few, and had time every day, and some whole days, without a drop. We were often in T-shirts and playing on beaches that would be packed in summer. My boys went in shorts the whole week.

The sky and sea. A canvas for reflection. 

Temperature? Highs every day in the low 50's. See that in summer too. Comfortable in light jackets if still, and if walking, comfortable in less. Lows in the high 30's or low 40's. With a kerosene cabin heater, we are always warm as Aeolus sits at about 70 degrees. It's just not an issue. Cozy on the boat, and comfortable on walks or playing on land. I'll tell you what, I love summer more than many, but I will take 53 over 89 any day of the week.

So if not wind, and not rain, and not temperature, what is it? What keeps the hordes of boaters away from these idyllic and popular cruising spots from November to sometime in April or May? I can only guess that it is some collective hibernation that lulls people into a phobia of winter boating. The reality is that it is stunningly beautiful, no more hazardous or uncomfortable than I see in summer, and you will have incredible places to yourself.

I'll never understand how I can enjoy a full week and two weekends cruising among the most popular spots in the islands and not have another soul around.

Enough. On to the trip.

The boys and I had an amazing time in all ways. It was perhaps the most wonderful trip I have ever done with them, as much a credit to them as to the trip itself. We started off on Sunday by going to Shallow Bay on Sucia and had Amy along for this portion as she only got the long weekend off work. The journey there from Anacortes is about 4 hours at 5-6 knots. Easy going trip up between beautiful Cypress and Lummi and Orcas. We frolicked and went for walks and I went for a nice run. Winter is the only time we will visit Sucia as you are guaranteed to have it to yourself, it is at it's most beautiful, and you avoid the partying hordes that over run the place in summer.

We then scooted over to the Orcas ferry dock on Monday to drop Amy off for the ferry back to Anacortes, and the boys headed up to Reid Harbor for the night. Always a magical place. Spieden, someday you will be made into a park and the devouring non-native sheep will be sterilized so the native Oaks and vegetation will be able to recover. Not a young tree on the whole island as the sheep see to that. And Stuart, lovely Stuart. The loop trail at the park is a wonderful way to stretch your legs and take in a variety of habitats. Great madrone and doug fit, nice salal and oregon grape. Prevost Harbor was also empty, of course

Reid Harbor dock, empty. Us, full. 

From there we journeyed across the border and went to perfect little Russell Island just below Salt Spring. This is one of the gems of the Gulf Islands National Park system in Canada. A place to be treasured. Unfortunately, they are having a problem with English Ivy and it needs attention before it really takes over. Hope the park folks are on top of that. Russell has the most wonderful beaches, and views. Just breathtaking. the anchorage on the north side is easy and better sheltered than you might think. We were alone there. The boys went without shirts and it did not rain all day. They played on the shell beach and found an old long boat pole to use as a pole vault. We played frisbee. The usual escapades.

From there we dropped in at Ganges for some shopping. Take note, the public wharf does not have any space for transient tie up, despite what your guide book says. Boats are two abreast even in winter. We anchored out and rowed over to town. I heartily endorse a meal at the Salt Spring Inn as we thoroughly enjoyed our lunches there. Resupply successful, we left and motored over to Winter Cove on Saturna. During this passage it poured rain, but once we got there, it stopped. I'd always wanted to visit Winter Cove in winter, and now I have. Be sure you watch your chart in here and avoid the shallows.

Ochre Stars at Boat Passage, Saturna Island

Boat Passage is one of the wonders of the Salish Sea. We took the nice trail over and marveled at the speed of current and dynamics of hydraulics. And to our delight, there was a healthy population of ochre stars at the point! Most we have seen since the big die off.

I went for a nice long run on the roads and the boys played in boyish ways. Back on Aeolus our nights were all the same. The boys play an enormous amount of games, both card and other. They play lengthy games of gin and crazy 8's and others. When not playing games, they are reading. Boy are they reading. I would estimate that the boys spend 4-6 hours a day reading on the boat. Even more than they would at home. Elliott, always a fast reader, read through some 15 books or so, and then re-read them. Owen, 11, and not quite the speed reader Elliott is, finished 4-5, but understands them fully.

Dinner is something tasty. Sausages and veggies. Mac and Cheese. Burritos and veggies. We eat like Kings.

From Winter Cove we went to Tumbo. Tumbo. Tumbo. Sacred Tumbo. I don't know of another island area, aside from Jedidiah, that holds such magical elements of perfection. The views are superb. The natural history is extraordinary. There is something literally in the air, there. You feel it.

Boat Passage, Saturna Island

You are surrounded by constant Bald Eagles, mergansers, buffleheads, gulls of various sorts, goldeneyes, harlequins, river otters, harbor seals, and even whales. It is as close to the wild abundance of pre-Western contact as you can find in the Salish Sea. The area is such a fertile feeding ground that every critter finds a meal. We were the only boat there, again, despite it being packed all summer long. It sits in such a picturesque spot that you stumble around with your head on a swivel for all the things to see. The forecast for the next day, Friday, was for gale winds from the SE. We got strong winds this night and Friday for sure, but Reef Harbor on Tumbo is well protected from the SE.

Marsh on Tumbo Island. Rare and precious. 

We play on Cabbage, circumnavigate, and just hang out. The conglomerate rock on the east side is particularly beautiful and an excellent teaching opportunity as the cobbles it contains are so well rounded as river rocks it lets you see the story of the sediment deposits in antiquity. This old earth.

I told the boys that one of the reasons I love wilderness and wild things so much is that they are true and beautiful beyond any human reckoning. That they have been true and beautiful for millions of years prior to humanity, and none of our religions, philosophies or story telling has any meaning to the perfection of natural systems in a natural state. Unfortunately, our religions and philosophies and actions have dramatic impacts in most places, and now everywhere through climate change.

On Friday, despite the storm, it barely rained. We hiked the trails on Tumbo over to the south facing beach and played for some time. I explored out to the eastern point and was delighted to find a river otter just below. I called the boys over and we got to watch it among a pile of rocks, not 15 feet away.

There is a rope swing in a giant oak tree at the head of Reef Harbor, and we go there every time. It is one of the wonders of the world, this swing. High and long and takes you over the water at high tide. Just perfect.

The swing

On Saturday we did the 6 hour and 30 mile trip back to Anacortes in 15 knot South winds and mostly sunny skies. It was the end of a perfect week. We traveled 125 miles from start to finish, among some of the most beautiful places in this part of the Salish Sea.

The boys have grown into such fine people, and our time on the boat only reinforces the bonds within ourselves and between ourselves that engender our better natures.

So why don't you go out in winter? Surely you will be glad you did.

Boys in south facing beach of Tumbo Island, looking toward US. They played for an hour right there, lost in a perfect moment.