I signed up for the first learn and cruise session of the season, for the last week of March, with San Juan Sailing. The learn and cruise is a 7 day cruise around the San Juan Islands in Washington, spending all 6 nights on the yacht. March is still early season for the Pacific Northwest so I was expecting cool temperatures and rain.
I packed all my gear into a duffel and flew from Oakland up to the small regional airport in Bellingham on Friday evening, spending the night in a hotel. When I landed the ground was saturated and there was a cool stiff breeze, everyone I talked to on the way to the hotel remarked “oh, has it stopped raining now, it was coming down heavy”.
In the morning I awoke to clear skies, with low clouds enveloping the surrounding mountains, the air still crisp and full of moisture. As I had time I walked, with my duffel on my back, the couple miles to Squalicum Harbor and the marina where San Juan Sailing is located.
Day 1: Bellingham to Echo Bay
We met our sailing instructor, Captain Lara, and my crew mates Monica and Zach, both from Oregon, and after quick introductions we got to work loading our gear and the provisions onto the boat and preparing a quick lunch. We checked all the safety equipment was in order and then left the dock. The weather was still fair and the winds fairly light, we managed to make way under sail alone across Bellingham Bay, but the winds were not holding out and the rest of the day we motor sailed; up the east coast of Lummi Island, across the Strait of Georgia, towards Sucia Island and Echo Bay where we will anchor for the night.
We were the only boat in the bay and picked the choicest spot, setting our anchor in the calm protected waters. The boat had a diesel heating system that we put on in the evenings and mornings that kept the cabin nice and warm. We prepared dinner and agreed to wake with the sun in the morning.
Overnight the winds started building, and the deep horseshoe of Echo Bay protects from 3 sides, however the wind was blowing directly up the bay and the chop rocked the boat all the way to morning.
Day 2: Echo Bay to Roche Harbor
I wasn’t sure how I felt in the morning with the boat rocking about in the chop, I wasn’t brave enough to risk chowing down a large breakfast so I just nibbled. We made plans to get going quickly in the morning, just to get out of the unstable water. The wind was still blowing strong, with gusts almost up to 30 knots. We put the main sail up with a reef in and made our way around Waldron Island through President Chanel and up into Reid Harbor on Stuart Island where we practiced tying to a mooring buoy and had lunch.
Reid Harbor was well sheltered, and after lunch we practiced boat maneuvering under power, bringing the boat to a stop and turning it as tightly as we could. Once we’d all had a go at this, we hoisted the sails again and made our way south to Roche Harbor in the north of San Juan Island. We were beating into the wind and were able to get some practice tacking.
At Roche Harbor we dropped anchor and used the dinghy to motor ashore and stretch our legs in the little town, looking in on the old hotel and lime works. Back aboard the boat we prepared dinner and again settled in, this time for much gentler night as the wind died down and sporadic rain pitter pattered on the boat.
Day 3: Roche Harbor to Friday Harbor
We woke up to calm weather, perfect conditions for docking practice. We all found the idea of maneuvering our 42 foot Jeanneau yacht in tight confines mildly terrifying, but the calmness of our instructor and the reminder that slow is pro helped ease us in. After docking all morning we had lunch tied up at the dock and got under way in the afternoon.
Today we navigated around San Juan Island to Friday Harbor on the opposite end of the island. As we were planning our passages we were keeping an eye on the currents in the channels to make sure we would be able to navigate them under sail or under power. The winds remained fairly light and we motor sailed through President Channel before turning the engine off and sailing down the coast of San Juan Island.
Tonight we would spend the night at a berth, we radioed in to the marina and got instructions for where to dock. As it is still very early in the season the marina was fairly empty and we didn’t get instructed to a specific slip. After docking and connecting to shore power we were able to wander around town, use the shore showers, and prepared dinner again on the boat. Friday Harbor was the largest harbor we stayed at all week, with ferry service, shops, and a downtown.
Day 4: Friday Harbor to Blind Bay
We awoke Tuesday morning to fog and calm conditions, and used the morning again to practice docking. This time the slips were smaller and shorter and we all learned the necessity of communication to line up the boat, and its fairly wide turning circle.
By day 4 we were starting to practice route planning. Each day we rotated duties on the boat and the navigator charted a route through Pole Pass, one of the narrowest passes in the islands, and down to Blind Bay off Shaw Island. After lunch the fog had cleared and we left the harbor to some light winds in San Juan Channel and were able to turn the engine off and sail up to Wasp Islands. From here though the winds died down again and we motor sailed the rest of the day. The currents through Pole Pass were pretty strong and we crabbed our way to the narrow pass.
From Pole Pass we made our way down to Blind Bay where we dropped anchor for the night. I was eager to explore so two of us took the dinghy to Blind Island and then to the little dock at Shaw Island while the other two stayed aboard and got dinner started. The skies cleared and we were treated to a beautiful sunset and a starry night.
Day 5: Blind Bay to Inati Bay
The morning remained clear and I got up and watched the sunrise. Not that our spirits were low but the sun coming out I think lifted everyone, and we set sail. All week we had been checking the weather forecast which had continuously showed strong winds arriving again on Thursday, and our instructor wanted to make sure that we had an appropriately sheltered anchorage for Wednesday and Thursday nights. So today we headed for Inati Bay on Lummi Island, making our way through Obstruction Pass.
We started motor sailing as the winds were too light for sails, but mid morning we got enough of a breeze to turn the engine off and make way under sail. Today we made lunch under way, and Lara got her first turn at helm as we all ducked down to make a sandwich. As we turned into Obstruction Pass the winds died again and we motor sailed through. On the far side the winds continued to be variable and we got some point of sail practice in before we were forced to turn the engine on as we rounded Sinclair Island.
The winds continued to play with us though, on the far side of Sinclair they suddenly picked up again, so much so that we put a reef in the mainsail as we rounded Lummi Island. We were again beating into the wind and we got more tacking practice, after a couple of tacks our boat hook slid off the boat and we had an impromptu man overboard drill as we attempted to recover it. Usually with the man overboard drills we use the boat hook to grab the fenders that we throw overboard, but we struggled to find a technique to recover the hook. After failing to snag it with the mop we lowered the swim platform and finally managed to grab the hook out of the water. While unintentional it was a great lesson in the challenges of recovering something from the water, particularly when unplanned.
We continued tacking up to our anchorage at Inati Bay, where there is a small beach and waterfall trickling down into the ocean. In Inati we set anchor and then stern tied our boat by taking the dinghy to shore and securing a line to a fixed anchor, a tree trunk. I again took the dinghy for a little exploration of the shore, this time pulling myself along the stern line and rowing myself around. As we settled in for the evening there was thunder and lightning flashing the boat as the forecast storm system made its way towards us.
Day 6: Inati Bay to Pleasant Bay
We woke up to fairly clear skies, and the winds had picked up, but enough to be sailable. We set sail and practice some more tacking, points of sail, and putting the boat into a heave to. The winds were gusting fairly strong, but in the heave to the boat was calm as we prepared lunch for the second time under sail. After lunch we practiced man overboard drills with the fenders and each got a turn practicing the maneuver from both tacks. The wind continued to blow and we carried on south to our final anchorage of the trip in Pleasant Bay.
The anchorage was well protected from the swell and mostly protected from the wind, but we could still hear it whistling over the boat. We dropped anchor in front of a little beach and settled in for our last night on the boat. Everyone was tired but so content, the boat was cozy, we were well fed, we had finished all our exams, and Lara treated us to celebratory cider and she taught us to make cobra head knots to use for a keychain or zipper pull. Tomorrow we had an early start to make it back to Bellingham dock at the scheduled time.
Day 7: Pleasant Bay to Bellingham
We got up before the sun the final day, ate leftovers for breakfast, drank our morning coffee, and started to prepare the boat, packing up our belongings and the food. The wind today was the strongest all week, as we left the bay it was already gusting above 20 knots so we put up the mainsail with a double reef. As we made our way north the wind gusts continue to pick up, the highest gust we saw was about 34 knots (!!), not really cruising weather but great heavy weather experience. We dropped the mainsail and sailed under the foresail alone up to Bellingham Harbor.
As we pulled into our slip in the harbor we got busy preparing the boat and going through the checklist for check in procedures; emptying the boat of all our gear and food, filling up gas and water, emptying the holding tanks, putting all the electrical systems, sails, and rigging in place, and making sure everything was were it was supposed to be.
The week was a total immersion and every day felt long, but everyone had a smile on their faces at all times. Lara was always a calm influence, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience, the stunning scenery, the varied weather, and the great instruction and boat systems and handling practice that we learned through the week. We all vowed that this would not be our last trip to the San Juan Islands. We said our goodbyes and all went our separate ways. It would be fun to see each of my shipmates again in the future, but we’ll see where life takes us.