We live in the San Juans and love spending time on the water. Our first boat was a sailboat, but we've become too old and rickety to manage the rigging, so we are making the switch to power boat. A few days ago, we traveled up to Maple Bay on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to close on a vintage boat we've been eyeing. The next day we drove it home, crossing the waters of the Salish Sea. On that late summer day, it was warm and sunny, and we had "fair winds". We did not have "following seas", timing being what it is, but our sturdy Swedish craft powered through the strong incoming tide beautifully, including frequent tidal rips. The long trip down the Salish Sea gave us an opportunity to see many other boats; I was surprised to see how busy it was, and with such a variety of craft.
Here are photos of some of the kinds of boats we saw. This is by no means a comprehensive inventory of water craft in this area; rather, it's what I noticed of them on this one day.
Our first stretch was negotiating the Sansum Narrows against a flood tide. Once through I could see Saltspring Island and a small sailboat astern.
If you like boats too, join me as we cruise SE on this sunny day...
(All photos by me. In Lightbox...click to enlarge)
A serious sailboat, enjoying a rare moderate summer breeze:
A hybrid of some sort:
BC Ferries (British Columbia) has many different routes in these waters. Their boats are quite various depending on the distance they travel and how much open water they traverse:
Yachts in the style of tugs are quite popular:
We crossed the international border in Haro Strait. These 1000 foot deep waters are a major shipping channel. That day we crossed paths with a bulk container ship and an oil tanker heading toward Vancouver. I just learned about a real-time tracking map where you can identify cargo ships, tankers and other boats.
Now in U.S. waters we make our way past Turn Pt Lighthouse (Mt Baker in the distance). The currents there can be extremely hazardous. Later in the day I heard one call on our marine radio channel 16 (the international VHF distress frequency) about a boat having trouble there.
A runabout for hire. With its 2 big engines and planing hull it can get places fast and land on any shoreline.
Washington State ferries provide most of our transportation to the mainland and between islands. There are no bridges (thankfully!). The Klahowya is currently doing the interisland run, which is primarily for folks who live in San Juan county and do business on another island. In summer it becomes an inexpensive tour boat for walk-on tourists.
The San Juan Islands are renowned for marine wildlife. There are many Whalewatch tour boats available to see marine mammals and birds, especially in summer when the Southern Resident orca pods come to forage salmon heading into the Fraser river. Whalewatch boats range from the big "cattle boats" that pack in large crowds and zoom around at high speed to small operations focusing on natural history. The Western Prince is one of the latter (nice view of Turtleback Mountain on Orcas island too), as is the Odyssey (a converted 1941 Navy search and rescue vessel).
Kayakers wend their way along quiet shores and across major channels. Good thing this group had brightly colored boats, out in the middle of San Juan Channel with power boats on all sides!
Some people put a lot of money into their yachts. This one passed us on the way into Friday Harbor, getting to Customs before us. While we waited at Customs there was plenty of time to observe the boats tied up at the marina. Some big expensive yachts are beautiful, while others - just as costly - look quite interchangeable to me, much like modern cars are.
Another ferry, this one bringing visitors from the mainland. Two car decks. It's packed at this time of year.
For folks who want to get here quicker than a 2-hour ferry ride, sea planes run a regular route into all the major islands. Not a boat exactly, but a water vessel of a sort :)
The Victoria Clipper is a passenger-only ferry from Seattle to Victoria BC, stopping in Friday Harbor. As a catamaran its cruising speed once out of the harbor is fast: 30 knots! That gal in the rowboat and the sailboaters are keeping an eye on it as it leaves the dock.
Vessel Assist, the little boat that can haul you out of trouble. We needed them once. Very professional and capable. There are two in the San Juans.
Two sailboats racing. Pretty respectable breeze for summer.
As we approached Fisherman Bay at Lopez island, we came across several gillnetter fishing boats. I think it was a Sockeye season opening.
Inside the bay, a kayaker paddles past a derelict reefnet boat. Reefnetting is a traditional NW Coast Indian fishing method.
In the bay, among the more usual recreational boats are some fishing boats.
This old patched-up one has "1911" on its stack. Not sure if it's still commercially active.
There are some houseboats in the bay. Here's one that's a trimaran:
That's as far as we got that day, after getting stuck at Customs, and cruising against the strong flood tide all day. Even so, we made better time than the sailboats. But that's not usually the reason people go sailing. Late afternoon sparklies on the water:
The next day we motored our boat the rest of the way to her new home, a bay at the south end of the island. Here she is on our buoy. She weathered her maiden voyage across the Salish Sea beautifully. Lots of minor projects to have fun with, and excursions in our future. Our sailboat, soon to be sold, is behind her on the hook.
What kinds of boats do you find interesting? Do you do any boating where you live?