48 34.737 North
122 56.381 West
Blind Bay
Friday Harbor is one of my favorite places. With that said I’m very happy to have left. Too much noise from people, planes and ferry traffic. I will tell you that the showers are excellent and put Anacortes to shame.
The timing of our departure was important, not just the day, but the hour. Our goal today was to leave Friday Harbor as the tide changed and head due east to Upright Channel. There we would head Northeast through a narrow spot between Canoe Island and Flat Point. The event proved an often heard recommendation up here. Time the tides. As we entered the narrows our speed went from 4.5 knots to 8.1 in the span of 100 yards. There were eddies and swirls all around, even with 150 feet of water under us. If we had tried to fight this current, we would have all but of stood still. Past the pinch point we were soon traveling at normal speed and rounded into Harney Channel with no traffic and little wind. In 30 minutes we dropped the anchor in Blind Bay. To our surprise we are the only boat here. Quiet, protected, and beautiful. This will be our staging spot for the next week as we let a small front move through on Monday. Then a week or so of high pressure will let us sail up into West Sound to explore all it’s anchorages, including Massacre Bay and Skull Island. There we will practice sailing, something we haven’t had a chance to do yet. This large sound will provide lots of open water, little traffic, no ferries, little tidal flow and lots of spots to tuck in.
We are really looking forward to it.
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