Desolations Sound Flotilla - October 9, 2010 - Montague Bay to Friday Harbor

The rain came back with a vengeance in the night, and so did the wind. The anchorage was secure, but everyone was up early, listening to the weather report. The forecast called for the winds to lessen a bit by mid-morning through mid-afternoon, so we seized the moment and set off for Friday Harbor. Well, the winds did not die down as much as predicted, so we had a sloppier ride than desired. We dodged a BC Ferry as we passed by Active Pass, then bounced our way down Navy Channel, Plumper Sound, and out into Boundary Pass. Captain Bill announced a welcome back into the United States of America as we crossed the international boundary and a thank you to Canada for its hospitality. Then he kindly led us through narrow Johns Pass between Stuart and Johns Islands, which gave us a respite from the rough waters as we enjoyed the protection afforded by the islands. However, we were back into the chop after we rounded the eastern point of Speiden Island into San Juan Channel, and it was rough all the way into the port of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island.

There we had a tricky docking situation, what with the wind and current, at the customs dock. Unfortunately, our arrival coincided with that of the international sailing of the Washington State Ferry, so we had to wait until the customs officers had finished with the ferry. Over 2 hours later, we were finally cleared and had to move off the customs dock to re-dock on the other side of the breakwater –the rain and wind had increased again, so both getting off and getting back on the dock was challenging. Despite a few hair-raising moments, all the skippers brought their boats safely to rest – and everyone enjoyed getting off, at least for a bit.

Around 5 pm, we all gathered for one last social time together, finally relaxing and toasting not only our safe arrival after a trying day, but also a truly fantastic voyage. Emmelina had gathered pictures from everyone during the trip and created a beautiful slide show which we all enjoyed – it certainly felt like we had left Bellingham a long time ago. Then some crews went into town (a charming place, even in the rain) for dinner, and the rest joined together on Deception for a potluck dinner of leftovers. Then we settled down in our comfortable boats, secure at the dock, and listened to the rain.