“Gale warnings.”
“Several vigorous fronts will sweep across the region.”
“A significant wind event may occur.....”
Lovely. After 2 weeks of nice weather in early December, this was the forecast for our post Christmas winter cruise.
We had planned to go to Victoria then up to Genoa Bay for their New Years Eve 5 course dinner. Weather gets a vote and Victoria, with current swept approaches off the strait, was out. We got beat up there in September and there was no enthusiasm to challenge a December gale. The fronts were predicted to pass every 24 hours or so and careful attention to the forecast and the barometer, combined with short moves in relatively sheltered waters ought to provide for a fairly comfortable cruise.
Tom and Tessa brought their boat over to Friday Harbor from Anacortes and had already suffered a minor casualty during docking. A broken starboard rail was the outcome of wind, current and a couple of months of boating inactivity. We would have to be aware of that confidence syndrome. Tom and Tessa had spent 8 weeks on their boat this summer. Jodi and I circumnavigated Vancouver Island. We can handle boats and this cruise was a short one in known waters. Practically our backyard. In a December gale. Over confidence, poor weather and familiar waters. Perfect recipe for bad things to happen. Can't control the weather, but we can take a couple of prudent pills.
After getting to the island early to prepare Moms Tahoe for sale, Jodi came up and we had dinner with Tom and Tessa. We figured we’d go "all the way" to Henry Island. A 2 hour juant. We had an uneventful motor over and tied up at Henry Island. Wind was in the forecasted it was nice being at the dock, secure, with shore power. We ran over to Wescott Bay to set the crab traps and settled in for a nap, some reading, then cocktail hour. Tessa made one of her famous flat bread pizzas. Fantastic.
Thursday morning we retrieved the crab pots and while there was only one, what a crab! He was 8 inches across and none of us could remember seeing anything bigger. His imminent demise precluded naming him.
We briefly considered Victoria, but the weather was just too sketchy. It was safer to stay in protected waters and after some discussion we all came to the same conclusion. In any case Jodi and Tessa were eagerly looking forward to the hike on Stuart Island. I was ok with the hike, Tom was dreading it.
We untied and made the short crossing over to Stuart. The Swinomish yacht club (the other ‘SYC’) was having an informal cruise to Prevost harbor and Tom and Tessa knew most of that group. We opted for Reid harbor and found no one there. Perfect. Protected, secure.
After docking, we all hiked over to the Light House. I couldn’t remember the short cut, so we followed the signs, all the way down the stairs, to link to the county road. On the way, Rex took a detour. His nose told him there could be something quite dead that may be interesting. His disappearance, followed by Jodi’s screams later on, confirmed that his nose was right on the money.
The walk to the lighthouse is nice. Just over 4 miles round trip, it provides a decent off the boat alternative. We later found the short cut. About 20 feet shy of the stairs, there’s a faint trail that heads slightly up and to the right. That trail follows a ridge that terminates at the school house.
One phenomena is the ‘King Tides’ – unusually high tides. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the tides this high. Note the angle of the ramp.
Cocktail hour centered around devouring the unnamed 8 inch crab. It fed 4 of us. Not quite a meal, but close. Enough to get started. We then headed over to one of Tom and Tessa’s friends boat to watch the Husky game. Oh the magic of satellite TV at a remote dock. How civilized! We left at half time, the Husky’s in a comfortable lead (they ended up LOSING!) and went aboard an old wooden trawler that had been in their family since the 30’s. Magnificent!
Jodi cooked up some sliders towards the end of the evening and Tom and Tessa came over. Wonderful late meal.
The wind that blew throughout the night hadn’t really abated, but the forecast called for stronger winds in the afternoon. We decided to run back to Henry Island, but when Tom and Tessa got out of the bay, they got really knocked around. We heard them on the radio and watched as they got tossed about. They turned around, which was the prudent call.
We again tied up in our former places and Tessa, Jodi and I decided we’d run / walk back to the lighthouse. Tessa and Jodi probably could have run a bit more, but the combination of running and walking was fine for me. A great way to start the year (even though it hadn’t really yet started!).
After our outing, the wind started to die down and we thought we could comfortably make it back to Henry. A little lumpy, but not bad. Once tied up, we took advantage of the showers and then went over to Roche for a meal. We had the fortune of bumping into Neil Tarte. His father bought Roche Harbor (and most of the northern part of San Juan Island) back in the mid 50’s and my father bought a small waterfront lot from Neil’s father a few years later in ’61. Neil is now in his 80’s and conversations with him, always entertaining, are much more entertaining now. It’s pretty clear what is on his mind and he spontaneously vocalizes his thoughts. All of them.
Saturday morning brought calm (for once!). Time to head over to Genoa. We motored over and cleared customs without incident. We backed in at Genoa (I was a little heavy handed on the throttle) and docked with a little bit of an audience. No damage, all was well.
The dinner was very good. Chef Dave Cartner served up a great meal to end the old year and bring in the new. Gordi and Stacey run a great restaurant and between the 3 of them, the end product really works. Genoa Bay Café is in good hands.
There’s a tie between Genoa bay and Roche Harbor. When Rube Tarte bought Roche, he was looking for a business model. Genoa bay had started charging for moorage back in the 50’s to the recreational boater. It was a novel concept back then. Rube thought there may be a future in that model and, in effect, bet the ranch on it. To have a chat with Neil, then the next day go to Genoa, was special, knowing the historical connection between the two places.
Sunday morning came way too quickly and Jodi and I left Tom and Tessa and headed back to Friday Harbor. We ran into a bit of a Northeasterly as we entered Straits of De Haro and winds were a sustained 20 knots with higher gusts. Waves were 2-4 feet for a while and we got knocked around a bit. Nothing Cambria couldn’t handle, but Rex was less than impressed.
We arrived at Friday Harbor about 20 minutes before Customs closed and for once (the first time in years) we had a pleasant time checking through US Customs. It’s a rare event to have an unpleasant time getting into Canada, but it’s an equally rare event to have a pleasant time getting back to the US. We tied up in Cambria’s home slip just as the wind, once again, started to pick up. Perfect timing.
2011 had come to a close. Not the best year by any stretch. 2012 had begun with a good start. Hopefully that’s a predictor of how the year will go.
