Port Townsend to Roche Harbor, San Juan Island

From this point north, it is new territory for us from the perspective of travel by boat.  We have both been to the San Juan Islands and other destinations in the Salish Sea before by car and ferry, but our visits by boat especially our own boat had been limited.  Janet had done a one week charter out of Bellingham a few years ago that took her into the San Juans and Gulf Islands.

With concerns about approaching weather and currents, we watched the marine weather forecast closely the night before and poured over all of our cruising guides trying to evaluate the recommended crossing of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to best take advantage of the currents.  A little bit of local knowledge also played in our decision to get up early and depart Port Townsend at about 6 AM.

As it turned out, the seas were relatively flat, skies were cloudy and no rain.  The rain held off until just before our arrival at Roche Harbor.  And of course, no wind, so we motored across the roughly 20 miles of the Strait riding the ebb current until we reached the South end of San Juan Island at which time we followed the coastline around until reaching Mosquito Pass, the south entrance to Roche Harbor.  After successfully navigating the pass we arrived at the Harbor, refueled and ended up getting a slip for the night at the marina.

After the rain cleared, the sun came out and we were treated with a gorgeous sunset and a double rainbow.  Janet made her best effort to fill her shopping bag with the elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but to no avail.