July 7, 2013 ~ Hunter Bay to Prevost Harbor

We considered going to Friday Harbor in case we needed some work done with that overheat issue, but ultimately we’d rather be holed up in a place like Ganges, so we decided to press on.  We cruised at a leisurely pace of about 7 knots for over 3 hours with no problem.  I’m developing a theory that perhaps the impeller weakens or softens over time and doesn’t deliver the same volume of raw water after several hours of use.  I like this theory because it would be an easy fix and I have a couple of spare impellers on board.  I like to be scientific about these things.

The weather has remained terrific – we woke to a calm morning and a slight haze in the harbor.  We had a view through a cut out into Rosario Strait, and could see a fog bank there that was probably only 20 feet or so high, with a backdrop of the distant Cascades.  Erin baked some cinnamon rolls to augment our breakfast of sausage and eggs over easy. 

We admired our surroundings for a couple more hours before finally getting underway.  I had just replaced a leaky hose nozzle on our raw water washdown hose at the bow, and it came in very handy as the chain was caked with mud.  We were anchored very securely overnight.

We cruised north towards Spencer Spit, passing between the spit and Frost Island – always a scenic route but even better at the minus tide we had.  Spencer Spit juts out from Lopez Island almost all the way to Frost Island.  From a distance it doesn’t look like there’s a passageway, but as we hugged Frost Island passing the spit we still had 30 feet under us.

Continuing on past Lopez, we entered Harney Channel to pass between Shaw and Orcas Islands.  We watched one ferry leave Shaw as another was leaving Orcas heading over to Shaw.  I think it’s about a 5 minute ferry ride between the two landings.  Our route led us past Blind Bay on Shaw, a nice anchorage that we’ve enjoyed in recent years, but we continued on towards Stuart Island, the site of two nice anchorages, both of which are state parks.  We took the Pole Pass route, which passes between Orcas and Crane Islands.  It’s a fairly narrow passageway, usually transited by one boat at a time, although a small runabout came barreling through towards us as we entered.  Our passage was timely, as a flotilla of several cruisers were lined up approaching from the opposite direction, led by a 50 footer casting a huge wake and at least doubling the 5 knot posted limit through the pass.  I guess it would be more accurate to say he was passing the flotilla than leading it – the others were very respectful of their wakes.

Somewhere there apparently had been a gathering of steam launches, as we passed at least 4 or 5 open boats with boilers and smoke stacks, out for a Sunday cruise.

We cruised along the barren side of Spieden Island, and spotted several deer grazing.   This island was once a big game reserve with imported exotic animals from various areas of the world, and many of them have flourished here.  Clearing Spieden, we made a 90 degree turn towards the gap in the reef that extends from Stuart Island, and made our way through Johns Pass, where we got a boost from the current pushing us up to about 9.5 knots.  From here we could either head to Bedwell Harbour and Canadian Customs, or turn into Prevost Harbor for an early anchorage.  We’ll go international tomorrow.