Taking the opportunity for a three day weekend to board Aeolus and escape to wilderness was just what we needed. We went up Friday morning and knew the forecast was for gale force winds sometime Friday evening. This was perhaps the fastest turn around we had ever had from arriving at Aeolus in Friday Harbor and leaving the slip. It must have been 10 minutes or so, releasing emptying the dinghy of rainwater and moving it to the stern, getting the chartplotter out and ready to go, turning off the fans and boat heater and removing the AC shore power chord, getting the food and stuff put away enough to be voyaging, and letting loose the lines to syphilization.
Oh blessed be.
Our journey north to Stuart was aided by the growing SE winds. We raised the genoa and motor sailed at 7+ knots all the way up to Spieden. Spieden channel was as gorgeous and rich with wildlife as always. More on that later.
Upon arrival we dropped anchor and did not want to be on the dock with high winds forecasted. Banging against a dock is no fun at all. We went to shore in a freshening breeze and walked the State Parks loop on the peninsula. We got back to Aeolus around dusk and settled in for the night. The Cubic Mini was soon ablaze and what a delight that wood stove is for our winter trips.
During the night the wind indeed came up and was as strong as any we've experienced in Reid Harbor. It is a hurricane hole for sure, but the steep ridges on each side can create it's own small version of williwaws. The wind twists and gusts and shifts and roars. We tossed around pretty well but there is not enough fetch for any real trouble. I wish I had put out our anchor riding sail to dampen the motion.
On Saturday morning all was calm. We did the Stuart Island Grand Tour, to the lighthouse and another favorite spot. We had mostly sunny skies and it was a beautiful day. At the lighthouse the first of the around the County boats were starting to approach. Big 60 foot plus beasts with 10 crew as rail meat and just flying along. They were tacking right at the point, and we had court side seats!
At our other location we had a birds eye view of the race, now the slower boats of more modest sizes. I counted over 40 boats along the Stuart shoreline heading toward Roche Harbor and the end of the first day race. There is no more beautiful site in all of Washington State or the PNW than that from this spot.
Another quiet evening with a 78 degree cozy warm boat due to our Cubic Mini.
On Sunday we headed back and Spieden Channel was in fine form. The deer and goats were on Stuart, eating the green grass of winter. The sea lions were in the water and more than 20 were on the point. There were harbor seals, and porpoises. There were Harlequin Ducks. It's the most fecund and biologically rich marine area in the Salish Sea, and we go all over. The joy and peace and resonance of these wildlife encounters up there fill us with feelings of completion.
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| A small fraction of those in my view |
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| Those are sea lions |
Only a few days and a few hours north of Friday Harbor, and yet a time warp aboard our Space Ship. The Good Ship Aeolus.
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