July 4th

[joreyn]

Wanted to get away for the long weekend and cruise in the San Juan Islands. Beuatiful weather forecast, and our NW cruising paradise beckoned. Well it didn't matter where I called, every marina was booked solid with 4 pages of wait-listed boaters. Same with the park buoys.

Solution? 10 miles North of San Juan Island lies Canada, which celebrates its founding on July 1st! So it was off to Bedwell Harbor on South Pender Island. Beautiful facility called Poet's Cove Resort. Low-key with lots of very friendly boaters. Couple of excellent restaurants, nice swimming pool, etc. Check it out at http://www.poetscove.com/marina.html .

You can clear Canadian Customes right there in the harbor. Very easy and friendly. But make sure you have your passport for the return to the US. Although the US customs officers were friendly and very professional (unlike last year when they always seemed to have a chip on their shoulders), you MUST have your passport or one of the approved alternatives to get back into the US. And don't forget a current vaccination schedule if travelling with your dogs.

For the return trip, spent Sunday night (the 5th) in Deer Harbor, also a cute little harbor with an excellent marina. Really good restaurant about a 1/2 mile walk up the road. Weather front came in the next morning, but no big deal, since we were headed back to Anacortes at that point.

Put about 12 hours on the engines (twin turbo cats) averaging roughly 1600 RPM which gave me a speed range from roughly 7 to 11 knots, depending on the currents. Topped off the tanks with 86 gallons, so just a little over 7GPH. #2 diesel was $2.27 plus tax.

[jcollins]

Sounds like the perfect cruise. Everyone seems to be getting in "water" time this year.