The Sailing Vessel Apropos
San Juan Islands Trip
August 17-26, 2007
Destination: San Juan Islands
Crew: Jim, Karen, Jacintha
Day 1: Lake Union to Edmonds Marina (14nm)
Departed Lake Union after work and motored to the locks with Doug as crew. Karen decided to drive to Edmonds with Jacintha and meet us at the marina. Everything went well getting through the locks but then the trouble began. A train was using the trestle so we had to wait outside the locks until the trestle opened up. The trestle opened just as the lock was releasing which created an outrush current. Before we could react, the current swept Apropos towards a piling, scraping the port side for about 4 feet until Captain 'Oh *$%#*' was able to motor away. The scrape broke thru the gelcoat, not a good way to begin a trip! We sailed north to Edmonds, met Karen and Jacintha, then went to Doug's house for pizza.
Day 2: Edmonds to Lopez Island (51nm)
put white duct tape on the
hull where the damage was. This protected the gel coat and equally
important hid the scrape so it wouldn't be a constant reminder for the
next 9 days. With that taken care of, we sailed north to Admiralty
Inlet
and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca with a good southerly wind.
Jacintha did great and helped mom and dad at the helm. She also learned
navigation 101 using a hand compass. We spotted whales at a
distance and dolphins up close during the crossing. Pulled into
Hunter Bay on Lopez Island as it was getting dark. After anchoring, we
grilled salmon for dinner.
Day 3: Lopez Island to Sucia Island (27nm)
Sucia
Island last year and decided to go there for 2 days. After anchoring in
the bay, we relaxed in the
sun. After dinner we read
books and Captain 'shouldn't have
eaten that
year old box of choc. covered cherries'
started feeling ill. He couldn't sleep and around 3am he parted company
with his dinner and chocolates.
Day 4: Sucia Island
in bed until the rain
stopped. In the afternoon the sun came out so we kayaked to shore. With
Jacintha in the carrier, we hiked around the island, taking lots of
breaks since one of us was still feeling a bit green. Sat on some logs
at Fossil Bay and had a snack while Jacintha played with the flotsam
and jetsam.
Began feeling better
and finally got an appetite back
around dinner-time.
Another storm rolled in around bed-time. Jacintha sleeps in the aft
berth on the starboard side. We place a thick piece of plexiglass at
the head of her bunk so she can't roll out. This also works well to
keep her in place when we
are
busy docking or anchoring. She woke up
screaming at
1am but calmed down and went back to sleep after a change and
feeding.
Day 5: Sucia Island to Jones Island (20nm)
We
woke up
to rain and fog. It was relaxing sleeping in with the sound of the rain
hitting the teak decks. 
By
the time we finished breakfast, the rain had
stopped so we up-anchored and motored out of the bay. Saw this huge
yawl as well as some dolphins on the way to Jones Island. The sun
finally broke out after we anchored, so we kayaked to shore and hiked
the island loop. Jacintha seemed to enjoy the nature which is quite a
contrast from the usual city environment. Ate lamb chops and corn for
dinner and watched a movie
with popcorn after Jacintha went to sleep.
Day 6: Jones Island to San Juan Island (22nm)
lighthouse on the north
end of Stewart, we spotted a pod of Orcas 
moving up Haro Strait
toward us. We turned off the motor and drifted and they went right by
us. One of them surfaced about 25 feet from the boat, went under, and
came up on the other side. They are wonderful to see up close. We
motored in to Roche Harbor, dropped the crab trap in the bay, and
moored so we could charge up the house batteries. We're
learning to manage the batteries better while at anchor, but after 4
days it was good to get a full charge. We headed straight for the
outdoor cafe and had our favorite french dip and bloody mary. In the
evening Captain 'spit shine'
cleaned the decks, polished the brass, and filled the water tanks.
Jacintha had a bath in the galley sink.
Day 7: San Juan Island to Stewart Island (14nm)
Today we were joined by
Anna Marie, a friend from Seattle, for some sailing, kayaking, and
hiking. The wind picked up
so we had a nice sail before going to
Stewart Island, where we dropped anchor in Reid Harbor. Jacintha is
just starting to crepe but not yet craw, so she can be placed on the
cockpit cushions without much trouble. We relaxed during
the afternoon, had spaghetti and meatballs with a bottle of syrah for
dinner, then played "pass the pigs"--a fun game Anna Marie gave us.
Day 8: Stewart Island to San Juan Island (6nm)
Since
there were 3 adults and a baby, we made 2 trips in the kayak to
get everyone to 
shore.
Last year we 
hiked
to the schoolhouse and this
year we decided to go further to the
lighthouse located on the
northwest corner of the
island. We stopped at along the way at a tree
swing. As we neared Turn Point lighthouse, the
views out into Haro Strait were spectacular. The hike was 4 miles one
way so we
brought snacks and lunch. Along the way there is an old
graveyard and an airstrip field, as well as the schoolhouse that's no
longer being used due to the declining number of children living on the
island. We returned to
the boat and motored the short distance back to Roche Harbor to drop
off Anna Marie. Dropped anchor in the harbor and got the steaks out to
cook on the grill. Captain 'clumsy'
dropped one in the water as he was
flipping it onto the grill, which is mounted on the cockpit stanchion
rail. To make up for it, he caught 2 crabs that evening.
Day
9
:
San Juan Island to Port Ludlow (66nm)
With
a long sail ahead of us, we got an early start leaving Roche 
Harbor.
There was a strong southerly wind with choppy seas in Haro Strait and
Karen stayed below deck with Jacintha. When we reached the Strait of
Juan de Fuca (sometimes known as Wanna Puka), there was a westerly wind
and opposing tide, making for
rough
seas with whitecaps. Karen was trying to rest in the vberth and got
very seasick since the bow was pounding up and down the waves. After
about 2 hours of this, the seas calmed and we had a 
pleasant
spinnaker sail to Admiralty Inlet and most of the way to Port Ludlow.
We took turns taking naps with Jacintha along the way. The winds began
to calm as the sun was setting on the horizon. We anchored out in
Port Ludlow and boiled the crabs caught the previous day.
Day 10: Port Ludlow to Lake Union (28nm)
Up-anchored and left Port Ludlow in the morning. Motor-sailed most of the way to Shilshole, went through the Ballard locks, under 2 drawbridges, and arrived at our Lake Union moorage at 4pm.
| Ports visited | 7 |
| Nautical miles | 248 |
| Engine hours | 47 |
| Diapers changed | >50 |