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Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board
Circumnavigation of San Juan Island, Part 1
Posted By: Mike Hanks
Date: Friday, 25 August 2000, at 10:59 p.m.
Circumnavigation of San Juan Island, Part 1
Anacortes
I arrived at the Anacortes ferry terminal at about 2 am on Monday morning after spending the weekend in Port Townsend attending the West Coast Wooden Kayak Rendezvous (R2K). I ‘slept’ in the driver’s seat of my truck until 5:30 am. I got up and started getting my kayak and gear ready to go across on the 6:15 ferry. I was looking for Dale, Shawn, Michelle, Dan, and Paula. They were supposed to meet me at the ferry terminal. I didn’t see any of them, so I kept waiting. Finally the ferry was taking off, I hadn’t seen my companions yet so I did not get on the boat. I asked all of the workers if they had seen any beautiful wooden kayaks. I was expecting to see Dale’s beautiful Guillemot Triple and Shawn’s sexy stretched Guillemot single. One worker said the saw one wooden kayak on top of a truck. I had them call the ferry and page Shawn, he did not respond.
I called my wife and she had not heard from any of my companions. She tried calling Dale but could not fine the number, I did not know what city he lived in. I told her I would take the next ferry and try to catch up with them. She read me the float plan so I would know where to catch them. The next ferry left at 8:40 and arrived at 9:45, they were planning on departing from Friday Harbor at 8:00. I bought a cruising chart and got on the ferry. On the ferry I studied the chart, changed into my neoprene, and quickly ate some oatmeal.
Friday Harbor
I arrived in Friday Harbor at 9:45 and asked where the public dock was. The ferry employee said go to the tree and take a right. I did and the sign said “PRIVATE DOCK, NO LAUNCHING OF KAYAKS, ROWBOATS OR DINGIES”. I asked a merchant where the public dock was, she said “Just use the private dock, there were no police around”. I launched there a little after 10:00 a.m., two hours after everyone was scheduled to launch. I planned on paddling hard to try to catch up with the rest of the group. I’d never paddled a loaded kayak before, my Arctic Tern seemed sluggish but stable.
I paddled out into San Juan Channel and headed toward the north end of the island. The current in the channel was slack. There were plenty of other boats in the channel. I asked some divers whether they had seen any kayaks go by in the past few hours, they hadn’t seen them. I paddled hard up the channel. Around 11:00 I started scanning the shoreline, hoping they would have stopped for lunch. I looked hard in Rocky Bay and on O’Neal Island. Just after noon I had reached Limestone Point. I seemed to move much faster through Spieden Channel. It took me less then 15 minutes to make it through the channel. I saw a group of kayaks on a guided trip, and asked the guide if he had seen any other wooden kayaks. He said ‘No’. I confirmed which island was Posey Island, our backup destination. I paddled over to Posey Island, they weren’t there. I got out and stretched my legs, I walked around the Island looking for a note. There was no sign of them stopping.
I got back into my kayak and paddled around Pearl Island into Roche Harbor. I saw three other kayaks across the harbor and sprinted ½ a mile towards them. They weren’t my partners. I asked a few people in boats if they had seen any other wooden kayaks, no one had. I was starting to feel discouraged, I had enjoyed the solo paddle this far, but did not know if I was ready for a completely solo circumnavigation. I weaved back and forth through the harbor looking for them and then headed out though Mosquito Pass hoping they didn’t stop in Westcott Bay. I was getting sluggish but entered the edge of Haro Straight before turning into Mitchell Bay.
I started looking for a campground and came across Snug Harbor Resort at 2:00. I asked the people there if they had seen my companions, again no one had. The registration desk said that Dale had reserved a campsite, and it was already paid for, but no one had checked it. I said I’d stay there, and headed up check the camp defore hauling my gear up the hill. I new I’d sleep well tonight dispite my anxiety. I was exhausted, I’d paddled my kayak with three days of gear 17 miles in less than 4 hours. Tomorrow would be about as long and I wasn’t sure what the currents would be like in Haro Straight and around Cattle point on the southern tip of the island. Shawn and Dale had the current tables, I just had a cruising chart.
Please watch for the rest of the story. Thanks for being patient.
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