PugetSailor.com

Five days of squirting through narrow passages in a small sailboat, flying all sail, motoring against contrary currents, having a sailing partner and a buddy boat, porpoises, eagles, great geology and landforms, and challenging currents — the marvels of the San Juan Islands translated into a great August boating trip.

Overview

A short video taken from JoJoma is available here.

• Friday, August 10 — Kokomo and Whisper launched on Friday and tied up overnight in the commercial boat section at Squalicum Harbor Marina.
• Saturday, August 11 — JoJoma arrived at daybreak. Fog in Rosario Strait delayed our departure until noon. We motored out of Bellingham Bay, and sailed and motorsailed up Hale Passage. A strong current in Rosario Strait flushed the three Potters northward, and late in the day we motored against the current to reach Echo Bay on Sucia Island, where all three boats tied up to a linear moorage line.
• Sunday, August 12 — An 8:00 am departure for all three boats also marked the group splitting up. Kokomo headed back across Rosario Strait for a solo return to Bellingham, with some sailing, a reef tucked in, and a safe return to port. JoJoma and Whisper rounded the south end of Sucia Island, transited President Channel, then followed New Channel along the north side of Spieden Island to reach Reid Harbor on Stuart Island.
• Monday, August 13 — JoJoma and Whisper timed their departure to transit Spieden Channel along the south side of Spieden Island at near slack, but the boats were chased by the incoming tide as they entered San Juan Channel. Near Friday Harbor, another tide rip slowed the boats to a crawl.
• Tuesday, August 14 — Another timed departure allowed the boats to pass through Upright Channel relatively easily. We took a side trip up East Sound to see Rosario Resort, then stayed overnight at Olga.

• Wednesday, August 15 — This was the most challenging day, with Rosario Strait current flushing us south off our route. We made very slow progress until we passed between Cypress Island and Towhead Island. After that, there was good sailing across Bellingham Channel and halfway through Bellingham Bay, arriving late in the day at Squalicum Harbor Marina.