September 2, 2013 ~ Blind Bay to La Conner

Yesterday the barometer was predicting rain again, and this time it was right.  Around 5 o’clock this morning it began to rain.  It wasn’t anywhere near the deluge we had in Ganges, though, and it soon cleared up a bit, with just a couple passing showers later in the morning.

Ray regaled us with some songs of old this morning while cooking his now signature potatoes, along with bacon and eggs.  We enjoyed both the breakfast and the entertainment.

We set our course for La Conner and got underway around 11:00 o’clock.  As we left Blind Bay and entered Harney Channel it seemed like a multi-lane freeway, with a lot of boats heading both directions – no doubt on their way home or somewhere at the end of this Labor Day Weekend.  Fortunately we didn’t also have to contend with ferry traffic between Orcas and Shaw.  We ended up beside a sailboat that was matching our speed, but he wanted to head off to starboard while we wanted to go to port.  I bumped our speed up a knot or two until we were a few boat lengths ahead of him where we could switch positions.

It’s been quite a few years since we’ve taken the main route south towards Thatcher Pass to cross Rosario Strait over to Anacortes.  Instead, we headed east towards Obstruction Pass.  After crossing the mouth of East Sound, we took the northern route around Obstruction Island out into Rosario Strait.  The skies had mostly cleared and the water was calm – perfect weather for cruising out towards the northern end of Cypress Island.  We saw a few boats at anchor or on mooring buoys at Pelican Beach on the northeast shore of Cypress – I think it’s a state park there.  We continued on towards Guemes Island, and followed its eastern shore down towards Saddlebag Island, Anacortes and the entrance to the Swinomish Channel.  The current was in our favor through the channel most of the way.

With the holiday weekend going on and all the boats on the move today we wondered a bit if there would be moorage available at La Conner, but as we approached the town we could see first that there was plenty of space at the north basin, and then also at the south basin.  Our plan was to cruise down into town to see if one of the city docks was available.  If so, we’d be right in town for walkabouts.  We don’t need any hookups from the marinas, so that would suit us fine.  A spot indeed was open, right in front of what was formerly Palmer’s Restaurant – it has been closed for quite a few years.  As we were on our final approach, a small runabout came from the opposite direction and tied to the dock – but they signaled they were moving ahead to the adjacent smaller dock as soon as the boat there left, which it was doing at the moment.  By then the current had changed and was flowing north.  We were already configured for a starboard tie, so we did a 180 turn and I angled the stern more towards the dock, applying occasional shots of reverse to keep us abreast of the dock while the current pushed us in. 

Once we were tied down securely, without hesitation Erin and Mary took off into town to make sure they could visit the shops before closing time.  They were back about an hour and a half later, carrying huge waffle ice cream cones for everyone.  Licorice is a

favorite flavor for Ray and Erin, and they both had double scoops, while I received a raspberry and maple walnut cone.  Mary opted for a single scoop after seeing how huge the scoops being dished out were.  None of us were very hungry for dinner after that.  Speaking of dinner, we had some chicken thighs that had been marinating for a couple days and needed to be cooked.  I set up the barbecue later in the evening and cooked them while Erin and Mary played a game of canasta. 

Erin and I went for a walk after dusk, and found that they’re building a walkway or promenade along the waterfront.  A section has been completed to the north of us, and there are new steel pilings in front of the vacant restaurant.  To the north is another building that was formerly a restaurant, then a vegetable market, and now we see there’s an application to convert it back to a restaurant.  The fore sale sign had a “pending” banner, most likely awaiting some sort of city approval of the buyer’s plan.  Hopefully they’ll be successful – La Conner could use some new business along the “strip”.

We’re getting awfully close to home – it’d be a one day cruise from here, although of a longer duration than we’ve been doing.  We’ll break it up by cruising down to Everett tomorrow and on to home on Wednesday.