Going Where the Wind Takes You

In my last post, I mentioned that my proposed itinerary may be modified due to wind or current and was it ever! Take a look:

Day 1 - Port Townsend (proposed); La Conner (actual)
Day 2 - Victoria (p); Spencer Spit on Lopez Island (a)
Day 3 - Sidney (p); Stuart Island (a)
Day 4 - Cowichan Bay (p); Poet's Cove/Bedwell Harbor on Pender Island (a)
Day 5 - Ladysmith (p); Princess Cove at Portland Island (a)
Day 6 - Telegraph Harbor (p); Maple Bay (a)
Day 7 - Ganges on Saltspring Island (p and a)
Day 8 - Poet's Cove (p); Tsehum Harbor near Sidney (a)
Day 9 - Friday Harbor on San Juan Island (p); Roche Harbor on San Juan Island (a)
Day 10 - Port Townsend (p and a)
Day 11 - Home/Shilshole (p); Port Townsend (a)
Day 12 - Home/Shilshole (a)

Overall, it was a wonderful trip and I'm having a bit of trouble finding my land legs and adjusting to normal life. Just to savor the time a little more and avoid an unreasonably long blog posting, I'll be writing multiple posts to cover some of the highlights.

Day 1
With winds forecast to be strong in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Trent suggested that it would be more prudent to take the inside route. Remembering past years where other sailboats sunk in the Strait just days after our passage, I took his warning seriously. Turns out, we would have been fine either way, but heading to La Conner allowed us to sleep in until 4 a.m.

The wind was fickle, but for the most part between 10 and 20 coming from the south, which allowed us to arrive by 3 p.m., flying our rainbow spinnaker before switching to the genoa as we changed course. Motoring the Swinomish Channel is still a novel and risky business, as dredging occurs infrequently and at one point the depth sounder read 2' (Trent slowed the engine and maneuvered us into a deeper part of the channel). Unfortunately, it looked like a larger boat that was following in our path ran aground there.

Soaking up the sun on Rock Lobster (after a well-deserved nap) while moored at the marina, I marveled at all of the boats promenading past. While most marinas are tucked away from marine traffic, La Conner allows you to see all of the action.

We pulled out our folding bikes to ride into town for dinner, though it is close enough that we didn't really need them. We ended up eating a transcendent meal at The Oyster and Thistle, which more than made up for my disappointment at the change in itinerary. We sat in an absinthe green room facing the water we had so recently emerged from, with La Vie en Rose and the Girl from Ipanema playing in the background. Trent and I shared a small plate of Pernod mussels which we devoured with two baskets of bread. Trent ordered the pan-fried oyster fettuccine, while I chose the Dungeness crab ravioli with a creamy saffron sauce. We each had a glass of Muscadet (a dry white the same variety as Trent's family makes in France) and finished up with a Grand Marnier souffle, fresh from the oven and so divine I had to close my eyes several times to savor each bite.

Bellies content, we rode back to the boat on our tiny matching bicycles to try to get a good night's sleep to be fresh for Day 2.