| Article by
Mark T. Bell
and
Dan Kingery
There comes a time when one has such a good vacation that you are
left answering the question of how to top it next time. Such
is the case for the Bell and Kingery family's June 1997 charter in
the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest.
Preparation for the charter began in early December of 1996 when
Dan and I agreed to co-charter Sanderling, a 1993 Hunter 43,
from Bellhaven
Charters in Bellingham, Washington. Bellhaven is owned and
operated by Tom Krabbenhoft. We locked in cruising dates which
balanced sailing season/weather against school and work schedules.
Our June cruise period from the 13th to the 20th
put us in the summer vacation period for our kids and the 10 percent
off in-season pricing with Bellhaven. We chose the Hunter 43 for its
size and ability to easily accommodate our two families with room to
spare. In addition to the fore and aft staterooms, the H43 has a
bunk bed style quarter berth, salon area sleeping for three, and two
heads.
Weather in the Northwest during this period is in seasonal
transition and somewhat finicky. We wore shorts during parts of some
days, light rain gear parts of others, and always jackets at night.
Daily high temperatures over the cruise week ranged from the high
60's to high 70's. With but two exceptions, winds held very good for
fun sailing. Tides ran eight to nine feet with currents sometimes
out doing vessel speed!
Our itinerary provided for a combination of remote anchorage and
dockside destinations. A mid-cruise, two-night port-of-call included
an international destination of Victoria, British Columbia. Here's a
summary of our itinerary:
- Friday: Vessel checkout at Bellhaven Charters,
Bellingham, WA.; load Sanderling with gear; proudly raise
Hunter Sailing Association - Lake Lanier Burgee on starboard
signal halyard; have great dinner.
- Saturday: Depart Bellingham at 11:50 AM, after clearing
harbor jetty set full main and jib. Temperature is warm (about
78 deg) with blue sky, scattered clouds, and 10 kts wind. As we
round Portage Is. headed up Hale Passage, wind falls off,
leaving us under the 50 HP iron sail. We spend a nice (?)
afternoon on flat water motoring into Echo Bay, Sucia Is. After
saying hello to a fellow Georgian from Lake Lanier now on a
Grand Banks (power) yacht, we set our anchor at 4:30 PM logging
23.7 NM for the day. We count over 50 sail and power vessels in
the bay (it's a big bay with plenty of space). After dinner,
watching a beautiful sun set, Dan and Mark pay homage to the
Wind Spirits of the Northwest, asking for a wee bit of a blow in
the morning. The youngsters in the group (Jennifer, Julie, and
Katie) take the dinghy for a row with sandstone cliffs, fir
trees, and wild life for a backdrop.
- Sunday: Wind Spirits must have listened as we wake up
rocking at anchor with a good blow from the southeast! Cindy
(with an I told you so) tells Mark that your should be careful
what you ask for, you may get it. Anchor is up at 10:30 AM, full
sail is set. As we clear the protection of Sucia Is., our sail
configuration is quickly deemed inappropriate as we are hit with
30 kts plus gusting wind and five foot choppy seas. Sanderling
is placed heaving-to and we quickly set double-reef on the main
and hold full on the jib. Helm is eased and jib is set, we
blast-off at 10.3 kts close hauled into the chop. What a heck of
a ride! The best sailing day, great wind, spray over the bow, a
rock steady vessel. Riding the leeward stern rail seat is an
experience to remember on this day. Time flies quickly. Mark and
Dan fight for the helm, Rachel and Cindy chuckle at the kids
(the ones they are married to). The wind falls off to a measly
12 kts as late afternoon comes along and we slip into the
protection of historic Roche Harbor, WA. Logged 32.5 NM. Roche
Harbor is a wonderful stop, enough good words can not be said in
this newsletter without writing a tour book.
- Monday and Tuesday: We leave Roche Harbor at 11:00 AM,
headed down the west coast of San Juan Island making about 6 kts.
The sky is dreary. We hug the coast looking for Orca whales, but
only find a few Sea Lions and drifting logs. Off of Lime Kiln
Light House we turn northwest and cross into Canadian waters.
Water depth is off of the sounder scale at over 1000 ft. deep.
Nearing Discovery Is., British Columbia, the wind falls below
five kts, we are being hit by the current in the wrong
direction, and GPS is telling us we are making less than a knot
over the ground. Hello 50 HP iron sail. We reach Canadian
Customs in the inner Victoria Harbor near 5:00 PM having logged
31.5 NM. Shortly thereafter we are docked stern into the most
gorgeous spot with the historic Empress Hotel on the stern and
the Canadian Parliament to port. This is a two-night stop with a
combination of tourist time and visiting relatives on the Bell
family side.
 |
Victoria Harbor lights glow in the early evening
sky. Sanderling's stern can be seen in the far right. |
- Wednesday: Mark's cousins Russ and Dorothy bid us good
bye at 10:00 AM Wednesday from the harbor park pathway as we
dodge landing seaplanes and water taxis. It's a cool day with a
nice 12 kt wind on our back and a flood tide (everything was
going our way). We quickly do 19 NM running wing-on-wing from
Brotchie Ledge outside of Victoria Harbor to Cattle Point, south
of San Juan Is. San Juan Channel is churning with mixed currents
from the flood and the wind is accelerated to our advantage with
a funnel effect between two large islands. The run through San
Juan Channel happens quickly on a close haul. We blitz by a
small ketch whom happened to catch the currents wrong, round
Turn Is., and head into Friday Harbor around 4:30 PM with 26.9
NM logged. U.S. Customs was cleared and we tied up on the
outside "T" of G dock facing the open harbor. A power
yacht a slip over is pulling up crab for dinner from a crab pot
tended over the stern. What a location and view!
- Thursday: We take the opportunity to do some shop
browsing, a little laundry, and sight seeing in the old port. At
1:00 PM we depart Friday Harbor. Its a pleasant day with 10 to
12 kts wind and temperature in the mid 70's. This leg has us
going between the block of islands with the tightest point
Peavine Pass. Tacking south of Sinclair Island the current goes
badly against us teaching us a lesson that sometimes you make
negative way over the ground. Swallowing a little pride, a short
burst of iron sail gives us a few knots advantage and we break
away from the current clutches of Sinclair Island's south
passage. At 6:24 PM, having covered 30.2 NM, we set anchor in
tiny Inati Bay on the east side of Lummi Is. We share the bay
with a handful of other sailing vessels. Our final destination
for tomorrow is visible a short 9 NM away. The youngsters are
set loose once again in the dinghy to tour the bay as the adults
savor the final night of our trip. It is a most pleasant night.
- Friday: Anchor is up at 9:45 AM and as we break away
from the wind shadow of Lummi Island we set wing-on-wing for a
leg direct to the Port of Bellingham. Its a warm day with light
winds. In the two hours it takes us to cross Bellingham Bay we
get a head start on the vessel clean-up. By the time we are
finished with re-fueling, pump-out, and docking in the home slip
it is 12:30 PM. The trip log is brought to a close, HSA-LL
Burgee is struck, departing pictures are taken, and the pending
migration back to Georgia has our thoughts turning to "Can
we take the boat out for another week?"
- The Bell and Kingery families
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